I’m still a physical book guy, but I can’t deny that this is a cool innovation. Note how Amazon connects the read directly to the author, disintermediating publishers, agents, and other sources of friction in the process.

To have me “sign” one of your Kindle books, click here.

We are only immortal for a limited time

Translation: You can only go so hard for so long. Eventually, you have to slow down.

I think about that line quite a bit, especially since I started writing books. What will be my legacy?

At a high level, I believe that we all have two choices:

• Mediocrity
• Greatness

There’s nothing inherently wrong with producing mediocre work. I’d argue that there are rafts of people and institutions that demand the same mind-set, employees, content, and processes. Many if not most people hate change. You have to make a living somehow, and that often means giving people what they want. If they want less than your best, then so be it.

That’s one philosophy.

Then there’s the “all or nothing” approach, perhaps best embodied by Howard Roark in Ayn Rand’s classic, The Fountainhead. That’s the approach that Rush and scores of other artists, writers, musicians, and actors have taken for years. I firmly put myself in that boat. I could name many creative types who do the same thing, including my friend Aaron Goldfarb.

Is this approach riskier? You bet.

Is it potentially more frustrating, especially when others don’t see the light? No doubt.

More rewarding and likely to leave you with a legacy of which you are proud?

Yes. And that’s why we do it.

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I’ve written before about passion.

I’m the same guy I was five years ago, but writing has ignited an inner passion in me that never manifested itself while working as an IT consultant. Sure, I cared about my projects and clients, but it was never my candy store. CXOs always made the calls, and they could always take or leave my opinion.

When you call your own shots, you cannot be indifferent about the outcome.

Many employees in large organizations have their passions thwarted by internal politics, silly policies, bad managers, and the like. Others work with passion and purpose but don’t achieve results because they have no stake in the outcome. They lack a line of sight.

And it’s not just a problem with big companies. In many bands like Pink Floyd in the mid-1970s, one member (Roger Waters) routinely mocked the others for their “weak” contributions. His domineering style discouraged the other three men from contributing as much as they could have, and the band’s work probably suffered for it. More than 25 years of acrimony ensued.

Passion is not something you can teach or something you can learn. It’s easy to let others kill your passion. Don’t let them.

The author will always care about her book more than her publisher.

The musician will always care more about his songs than his record company.

The artist will always care more about her painting than the gallery showing it.

The director will always care more about his movie than the studio.

Except when these creative types decide to mail it in. This can happen when they get big advances–or when they sign big contracts loaded with guarantees.

These rewards can weaken the incentive for the artist to create truly great work. They can enervate. They can sate the hunger.

No matter how much success you have, never lose the desire to produce great work.

I have almost reached half of my funding goal for The Age of the Platform. I’m psyched to be so far so fast. I have a shorter time period on this one due to a Kickstarter policy change. I’m also trying to raise 50% more money. (Last time, I underestimated some key costs.)

I’m a little paranoid about falling short of this goal since most of the contributions from my experience come from those early on.

I’d really appreciate it if you helped me spread the word on social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and Linked in. Contributions aren’t bad either.

I hope to hit 50% this week and will with your help. Also expect some real cover mock-ups this week.

Click here to back it.

We like to think that we’ll keep building on our successes.

• If our company’s first product sold 10,000 units, we should at least sell 12,000 for our second.
• Bloggers think that their Alexa rankings will continue to climb. Same with Twitter followers and general sphere of influence.
• Authors like to think that our next book will do better than our past ones. Ditto musicians.
• Many solopreneurs think that they can raise their rates every year.

But more than ever, success, sales, and profits are unpredictable. I’m not talking about how many large companies manage earnings through different tricks to recognize revenue and amortize assets. These methods are artificial. I’m talking about true, organic growth.

I have worked deals for months without any success. I have also had new clients find me and sign up in a matter of days. I’ve learned that it’s impossible to accurately predict things. So I don’t even try anymore.

In the din of our times, it’s easy for things to get lost in a near-constant stream of information. We just don’t have time to read everything that we’d like.

Yet, on occasion, you reach someone with your words–and it feels great.

This happened to me this morning with Wayne Hurlbert’s review of my book.

Do I need constant validation? No, and I never have. At the same time, though, it’s just an amazing feeling when something that you created finds an appreciative audience, no matter how large. I suspect that musicians, actors, artists, and other writers feel the same way.

By the way, I’ll be appearing on Wayne’s show tonight.

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What makes you create?

Voila! I’m number four. Not bad, eh?

Turns out that many people have recently been googling those terms and, as luck would have it, I seem to be near the top of Google’s search results. Rarefied air, I know.

Also, recently a friend of mine asked me for the secret sauce of social media. My response: There is none.

Simon Says

Sometimes, serendipity just happens. Posts I’ve thought were gold fell on ostensibly deaf ears. Other times, marginal posts attracted significant views and comments. I honestly have no idea about future results when I hit the publish button.

Don’t believe anyone who tells you that they know “the” secret to all of this stuff. Follow a bunch of best practices and keep plugging away. Luck favors the bold.

• His latest book, Poke the Box.
• His publishing venture, The Domino Project.
• Changes being caused right now at the hands of technology.

Click below to watch 15 minute video. For just the audio, click here.

I thought about that post lately as reviews have begin to trickle in for The New Small. The same tenet applies. For the most part, people have had largely positive things to say. I couldn’t help but chuckle, however, when two very smart people with whom I have personally spoken conveyed antithetical criticisms, literally on the same day. To paraphrase these two:

• Person A: The book has too much information. I can’t digest it.
• Person B: The book has too little information. I was looking for more.

Valid criticisms? I suppose. To each his own, right?

But does this give me pause? No, and it shouldn’t stop you from doing something creative either, whether it’s writing a book, making an album, or creating art.

Simon Says

Be creative for yourself. Be proud of what you have accomplished. Don’t look for reasons not to do something. Use your passion and the tools and technologies available today to make your individual statement, critics be damned. Be true to yourself and your vision and different to others. Hell, it worked for Rush.

And if you’re afraid of negative reviews or press, with all due respect to Chris Brogan, grow smaller ears.

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