“I wrote for twelve years and collected 250 rejection slips before getting any fiction published, so I guess outside reinforcement isn’t all that important to me.“Â – Lisa Alther “Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely essential.” – Jessamyn West “Oh, great reviews are the worst. They mislead you more than the bad […]
Why Most Feedback Sucks
Getting better at anything requires feedback, that’s obvious. But what is often more important is selectively ignoring most of the feedback you receive. If you’re basing your decisions entirely on a comment by one person, you’re probably going to make a mistake. Although it may seem like arrogance, I think following your own intuition and […]
How to Improve Your Social Skills
Most advice I’ve heard for improving social skills falls into one of a few categories. First, there are trite suggestions like, “be yourself”, which are at best feel-good platitudes and at worst, gross simplifications. Although this advice may be correct, it isn’t practical. Next, there is the advice to improving your character. Be honest, loyal […]
Social Independence
Two weeks ago I wrote about the value of independence. The article was a bit longer than my normal writing, but I felt the topic deserved the extra length. A number of readers here must have agreed with me, because it was one of the most commented on articles in the last few months. In […]
I'm a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, podcast host, computer programmer and an avid reader. Since 2006, I've published weekly essays on this website to help people like you learn and think better. My work has been featured in The New York Times, BBC, TEDx, Pocket, Business Insider and more. I don't promise I have all the answers, just a place to start.