WORK LESS WEDNESDAY
WLW #121
đź“ş 1. Documentary I Enjoyed This Week – Shangri-La
For the last 30 days, I did Julia Cameron’s “Morning Pages.”
One revelation I had was that I keep a long list of “miscellaneous self-care” stuff I want to get around to… at some point.
I’m late to the party here, but I watched Showtime’s 4 part documentary on Rick Rubin’s historic studio space Shangri-La on my flight this week.
Loved it.
A quick summary: “Legendary music producer Rick Rubin and director Jeff Malmberg collaborate by focusing on creative conversation and the emotional side of music-making.”
It’s clear from watching it that Rick’s #1 goal as a producer is to simply help artists be themselves and free any blockages to their expression.
And his studio is an extension of that philosophy, a place to create space.
Totally worth a watch.
📡 2. We’re In The Future, It’s Really F*cking Boring – Article by Patrick Ryan​
Maybe you’ve seen this image before:
This graphic shows the effect of the “quantitative revolution” on the sport of basketball.
Does this make the game less interesting to watch?
I’m not sure.
But it definitely seems boring to me.
But if you pay attention, it’s not just sports that are being affected by this relentless focus on data-driven optimization:
- Movies: “In 2022, the 10 most popular films in the world included eight franchise sequels (Top Gun, Jurassic Park, Avatar, Minions, a Shrek spinout, three Marvel movies), and a rehash of Batman.
- Music: “Studies indicate pop hits are getting more similar over time.”
- Social Media: “Thanks to short form video on TikTok, Youtube and Instagram, you are now fed a constant, frustratingly addictive stream of the-same-but-slightly-different video clips whenever you open your phone.”
So, what should we do about it?
​Well, read on in the article to find out.
đź“• 3. Book I’m Reading – The 6 Pillars Of Self-Esteem​
Over the past 5 months, I’ve been working closely with a group of high level creative entrepreneurs as clients.
I’ve learned so much from our work together (I’ll discuss more soon), but in the meantime, here’s one revelation from our work…
I’ve noticed that self-esteem dramatically ones our ability to charge higher rates.
This seems to the pattern:
- People say they want to grow their business.
- They are creating more than enough value.
- They have clients willing to pay for it.
- And yet, despite these facts, they still don’t raise their prices.
Why?
“Self-esteem – high or low – tends to be a generator of self-fulfilling prophesies.”
If you don’t believe at a deep level that you’re worthy of happiness, success, or security, you’re going to self-sabotage.
For many entrepreneurs, this means staying stuck a price that “feels” comfortable and safe.
I want to explore how to solve this problem.
To that end, I’m digging into Nathaniel Branden’s 1995 book, The 6 Pillars of Self-Esteem.
More to come on this idea soon.
🎵 4. Album I’m Listening To This Week – Diamond Jubilee by Cindy Lee
This album is not on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, or in a store.
You can only buy this (awesome) album from going to this Geocities site.
​This review said, “The sprawling and spectacular Cindy Lee album is an essential trove of music. Each song is like a foggy transmission from a rock’n’roll netherworld with its own ghostly canon of beloved hits.”
Check it out on YouTube and then buy it here.
📸 5. IG Reel I Loved This Week – My Little Critic by Lucas Guzman
This reel was created by my client (and HTWL grad) Lucas Guzman, who is an incredible 3d artist and creative visionary.
​This short IG reel is about his little voice in his head.
He describes it: “this is the little critic that takes away from my creative energy.”
Not only is it great 3d art, it’s hilarious.