Dear Friends,

These are ideas that I’ve read, heard, seen, found, thought up or stole.

Some have helped me get out of creative ruts and moments of self-doubt – like when I feel that my work isn’t good enough or isn’t contributing anything significant. Others have helped me say “why the fuck not?” when faced with making a safe versus unsafe decision. A few keep me in the realm of possibility.

All serve as fuel for the fire.

So fill up!

16. “WE DON’T PLAY, EVEN WHEN WE BE PLAYIN’”

Outkast making the case for serious play. Seriously.

15. THE ONLY TIME YOU LIVE IS NOW

You don’t live 2 minutes from now, 2 hours from now, 2 days from now or 2 years from now. You’re only alive at this moment, so why not make that time the best time possible?

14. IT’S NOT ABOUT HOW GOOD YOU ARE, IT’S ABOUT HOW GOOD YOU WANT TO BE

So how good do you want to be? (This was the great Paul Arden’s way of saying don’t talk about it if you don’t live it.)

13. JUST ASK

Really, what’s the worst that could happen? Besides, there are worse things in life than hearing someone tell you no.

12. “IF YOU’RE NOT PREPARED TO BE WRONG, YOU’LL NEVER COME UP WITH ANYTHING ORIGINAL”

Words of wisdom from Sir Ken Robinson, someone who understands that failure is only one attempt preceding success.

11. GET HIGH

For real. You might see some next shit that you’d miss otherwise. Take Bob Marley, who doesn’t seem to miss anything:

“Herb is a plant… herbs are good for everything. Why these people who want to do so much ‘good’ for everyone – who call themselves governments and this and that – why them say you must not use the herb? … We see them just say ‘You must not use it, you must not use it ‘cause it make you rebel.’ Against what?”

10. “THE SPIRIT OF YOUR DESIGN MUST MATCH THE SPIRIT OF YOUR CONTENT”

The designer of “No Logo” telling Naomi Klein that basically, all of the pieces matter. This line is one of the best ways to see if your work really “represents”.

9. “GOOD DESIGNERS (AND ARTISTS AND WRITERS) ARE TROUBLEMAKERS”

The troublemakers understand that the most dangerous things about our society are the very things that we take for granted. The quote above is from the perverse optimist himself, Tibor Kalman.

8. “WHEN EVERYBODY ZIGS, WE ZAG”

One of the dudes who designed the Air Jordan’s said that if they do something that everyone likes, they scrap the idea. If they do something that makes people feel uncomfortable, than it means that they’re doing some next shit.

7. ALLOW YOUR FUTURE TO CONTROL YOUR PRESENT

I’ve seen many lives in ruin as a result of the past dictating the present. The only way the past has any bearing on your present is if you allow it to. Switch up your mentality from PAST-PRESENT-FUTURE to FUTURE-PRESENT-PAST.

6. DON’T ASK SOMEONE WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT YOUR WORK – ASK THEM HOW YOU CAN MAKE IT BETTER

More often than not, you’ll get an honest answer.

5. SHARE

Your time. Your ideas. Your work. Your energy. Share everything you have and more will come back to you.

4. “IT’S NOT WHERE YOU TAKE THINGS FROM – IT’S WHERE YOU TAKE THEM TO”

Jean-Luc Godard co-signs stealing – but only stealing that which speaks to your soul. (I stole this from Paul Arden, who stole it from Jim Jarmusch.)

3. GOD IS IN THE DETAILS

No really, she is. Take a good look. Right there, do you see her? She’s right in that space that separates the best in your field from the best in the world.

2. ROLL THE DICE

Because it’s better to regret what you have done than what you haven’t.

1. DO WHAT YOU LOVE

A wise man once asked me, “what do you love to do?” After I answered, he asked me, “then why aren’t you doing it?” Doing what you love will make it easier to get up in the morning and it’s more rewarding than any material object will ever be. I really can’t stress this one enough.

(((Respect to Paul Arden, Bruce Mau, J. Sakiya Sandifer, Karim Rashid and others for the inspiration information. *Before I forget, this is the snack like version of my original Incomplete Humanifesto. The original includes ideas about life and love and relationships – but you don’t wanna read about that…)))