Hillman Curtis was one of my strongest sources of inspiration early on in my career as a ‘new media designer’, and as he reinvented himself from a web designer to film maker it was encouragement for me to take huge risks in my career.
“It’s one of those things that I should always remember, to try and take the courageous route.”
—Hillman Curtis: On Reinvention and Taking the Courageous Path
Life is far too short to not take the courageous route.
“With disappointment comes clarity, conviction and true originality.”
I find that most people take on new jobs, projects and hobbies for three reasons:
- To learn something new
- To pay the bills
- Because they love doing it
If you have a terrible job, come up with new ways to learn something out of it. If you have a hobby you’re super-excited about, try to turn it into a business. If you’re just starting a new gig, instill it with something you’re passionate about.
Read the entire post on Maxing out Your Triangle by writer and designer Jack Cheng
Via The 99 Percent
Recent research in the area of economics, sociology, and physiology have uncovered surprising findings into what motivates our actions. Businesses, schools, and even parents have primarily relied on a system of rewards and punishments to trigger behavioral motives—reward good behavior and punish bad behavior. The research has found that although rewards and punishments work well for mechanical tasks it fails miserably for cognitive (critical thinking) tasks actually producing opposite behavioral results.
The three key findings in Daniel Pinks book Drive (and covered in this illustrated talk) focus on the intrinsic motivations vs. the extrinsic reward/punishment motivators.
Earlier this year I read Drive, and I highly recommend the book… especially if you find the illustrated talk above interesting.
Right now is the time to invest in yourself and push ahead the others. In this new era only the hungry and passionate will succeed.
