Hey guys,
This week’s notes are on Neil Gaiman’s commencement speech at Philadelphia's University of the Arts. Gaiman is an established author and his works include the comic book series The Sandman and the famous novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book.
Takeaways
If you don't know something is impossible, it becomes easier to do
If you have an idea of what you want to make, just do it
Imagine where you want to be as a far mountain, and make sure all your decisions bring you closer to the peak
Learn that not every project will survive
Problems of success
Imposter Syndrome
Learning how to say no
The world conspires to stop you from doing the things you did to become successful by drowning you with distractions
Make interesting mistakes
Through the good times and the bad times, make good art
Do what only you do best
There is no fun in making something you know is going to work
To be a successful freelancer you only need two of these three things: do good work, be easy to get along with, and deliver on time
People will tolerate how unpleasant you are if your work is good and you deliver on time
They will forgive the lateness of the work if its good and if they like you
And you don't have to be as god as the others if you're on time and it's always a pleasure to hear from you
Enjoy the ride, because it takes you to remarkable and unexpected places
The harder and wiser you work, the luckier you get
The old rules have crumbled and nobody knows what the new rules are so make your own
Be wise, because the world needs more wisdom, but if you don't know how, pretend to be someone who is, and just behave like they would
Leave the world a more interesting place than you left it
