23. Ignore Everybody - Hugh McLeod (📱)

Rating 8.5/10

Reading Notes:

The more original your idea is, the less good advice other people will be able to give you.

Plus a big idea will change you. Your friends may love you, but they may not want you to change. If you change, then their dynamic with you also changes. They might prefer things the way they are, that’s how they love you—the way you are, not the way you may become.

With business colleagues it’s even worse. They’re used to dealing with you in a certain way. They’re used to having a certain level of control over the relationship. And they want whatever makes them more prosperous. Sure, they might prefer it if you prosper as well, but that’s not their top priority.

It was so liberating to be doing something that didn’t have to impress anybody, for a change. It was so liberating to be free of ambition, for a change.

You are responsible for your own experience. Nobody can tell you if what you’re doing is good, meaningful, or worthwhile. The more compelling the path, the more lonely it is.

You don’t know if you’re any good or not, but you think you could be. And the idea terrifies you.

Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb. You may never reach the summit; for that you will be forgiven. But if you don’t make at least one serious attempt to get above the snow line, years later you will find yourself lying on your deathbed, and all you will feel is emptiness.

The biggest piece of advice I could give anyone would be this: “Admit that your own private Mount Everest exists. That is half the battle.”

Don’t try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.

Question how much freedom your path affords you. Be utterly ruthless about it. It’s your freedom that will get you to where you want to go. Blind faith in an oversubscribed, vainglorious myth will only hinder you.

The most important thing a creative person can learn professionally is where to draw the red line that separates what you are willing to do from what you are not.

Knowing where to draw the red line is like knowing yourself or knowing who your real friends are. Some people find it easier to do than others. Life is unfair.

Nobody cares. Do it for yourself. Everybody is too busy with their own lives to give a damn about your book, painting, screenplay, etc., especially if you haven’t finished it yet. And the ones who aren’t too busy you don’t want in your life anyway.

MAKING A BIG DEAL OVER YOUR CREATIVE shtick to other people is the kiss of death.

The best way to get approval is not to need it. This is equally true in art and business. And love.

THE MINUTE YOU BECOME READY IS THE MINUTE you stop dreaming. Suddenly it’s no longer about “becoming.” Suddenly it’s about “doing.”

People who are “ready” give off a different vibe from people who aren’t.

Anyone can be an idealist. Anyone can be a cynic. The hard part lies somewhere in the middle—that is, being human.

“Before, this man had a job and a hobby. Now suddenly, he’s just got the job, but no hobby anymore. But a man needs both, you see. And now what does this man, who’s always had a hobby, do with his time?”

you should never turn your hobby into your job,”

Savor obscurity while it lasts.