WORK LESS WEDNESDAY
WLW #163
👋 Hey Reader!
This is issue #163 of Work Less Wednesday, where I share with you 5 things you should know about, in 5 minutes or less. That leaves you with 10,075 other minutes this week.
📽️ 1. This Week’s Video – Why “Work-Life Balance” Is Killing Your Business
On May 18th, my good friend Zander Howard-Scott invited me to come speak to a group of artists and entrepreneurs at his Creative Sovereignty event in Montreal.
Today I’m excited to share the replay of one of two of my talks. In it we discuss:
- How “Work-Life Integration” leveled up my business (and life)
- Exactly how my $500k/year design business worked
- Why I kept my recovery journey a secret for 14 years
- The 4 things I needed to do in order to Integrate my Life + Business
- The difference between using 0% and 1% of your brain
- The 3 tools I use to maintain awareness in my business
The whole event was great and I hope you enjoy the talk as much as I enjoyed giving it.
Some more info about the event & my buddy Zander:
Zander is a pro musician and entrepreneur. His company Creative Sovereignty helps artists and creative pros know the worth of their work and act accordingly. He hosts a free zoom call for artists and creative pros every Thursday at 12 pm EST within his Skool community, which you can join here.
I’ll be sharing my 2nd talk from the event, on the topic of “The Success Thermostat” in the coming weeks.
You can watch the full talk on YouTube here.
🕳️ 2. Two Brands I’ve Been Going Down The Rabbit Hole On – Now-Time & Inventory Press
Every once and a while Instagram serves me up something good.
In the past few months, it’s been the design brand “Now-Time.”
They describe themselves as “A research and publishing project coordinating a multiplicity of historical lines oriented towards present activity.”
Basically, they sell t-shirts and books that link historical ideas, design, and critical awareness to help people to rethink the present, bridge private and public life, and discover new possibilities for the future.
It’s worth checking out their website.
But be warned – it’s very hard to get your hands on their work.
It drops in limited quantities and seems to sell out in hours.
The last time I made an order, they also made some copies of another book available: Seeing <—> Making | Room for Thought, published by Inventory Press.
Which send me down another rabbit hole.
Inventory Press was founded by a design studio called in-fo.co – who seem to do a lot of work with art museums (and also big names like Jordan Peele).
Seeing <—> Making | Room for Thought (which I’m reading now) – is a 3 person collaboration featuring the writings of a philosopher, the work of a designer, and the layout of a publisher.
Some more info here:
“Realized through an intergenerational collaboration of three cultural producers committed to making theory visible, a transformative anthology of critical essays by Susan Buck-Morss anchors this kaleidoscopic project. Images and ideas sync with Buck-Morss’ perceptive texts on visual culture, history, politics, and aesthetics, fusing criticism with visual play and linking collective imagination and social action.”
🏦3. Cool Agency Business Breakdown – Gardener’s 2024 Perennial Report
For the last 5 years, Ian Gardener has been publishing a “Perennial Report,” which is a yearly review of how his business is doing, and what he learned while doing it.
I love seeing behind the scenes of people’s businesses – I can’t get enough of it (it’s one of the reasons I spend most of my time working closely with entrepreneurs).
Despite doing nearly $400k in profit the last year, Ian’s approach resonates with me: “We should be creating businesses that reciprocate health and create space for life’s other rich delights.”
You can read the full report here.
🎥 4. Video Editor I Can’t Recommend Enough – Increditors
I get asked for recommendations for video editors all the time.
Well, here you go.
Increditors is literally what shows up when you google “Video Editing Agency.”
If you’re looking for:
- YouTube video edits
- Short form edits
- Explainer videos
- Or complex brand projects
This is the spot.
They can even embed an entire video team in your business.
Their founder, Mo, is a client of mine, and a great dude.
We’re working on some video projects together now, and you’ll see that soon.
🖐 5. More Things I’m Into This Week…
🍿David Cronenberg Movie I Watched Last Night – The Shrouds
📘 Book I’m Reading – Seeing <—> Making | Room for Thought
🔗 Short Podcast From My Friend Jon – Exactly How I Use AI To Get Paying Clients On LinkedIn
🧠I’m Going On Tour Next Week – I’ll be at 4 Phish Shows In 6 Days
💬 Quote I’m Pondering…
“For a firm to be truly innovative, it must not only do new things, it must stop doing old things. It is not possible to create tomorrow unless one first disposes of yesterday. Maintaining yesterday is always expensive.” – Implementing Value Pricing: A Radical Business Model for Professional Firms