We aren’t changing the world.

It’s okay to admit you’re just doing a thing.

I exist mainly in the tech industry (don’t we all, at this point.) And I don’t like it very much. Or, rather, I like what it could be, and sometimes is, but not what it pretends to be. It’s been unnaturally molded by expectations and mirroring — like a sweet kid after years of being peer pressured into a cool-guy act.

Kiddo, it’s okay to enjoy things just because they make sense to you. You don’t have to tell everyone how it'll change lives. Changing yours is plenty.

Not everything is ground-breaking. Not everyone is a genius. And that’s okay.

When you build a business on big words, you’re left with something loud and empty. Especially when you’re surrounded by voices shouting the same message.

I think most of us respect things that are powerful in their simplicity.

When that simplicity is strong enough to be seen, heard and felt… without forcing itself onto you. Give us truth and leave the conclusions up to us.

Of course, sometimes you need to sound mighty because that’s what you really are. It’s your thing. Great. If you’re sure… really sure… then great.

It just has to be you. And if you want to be you, really big time truly you —

Find the honest core first. Then and only then can you drizzle some creativity over it, to give it life. Drizzle, drizzle. Not a thick sauce of buzzwords. Please.

And a big ol’ tip: Don’t tackle creativity if it’s not your thing.

A creative process isn’t taking this one claim you saw somewhere and really liked, so you squeeze your product into it, like a luxurious but ill-fitting tux you’re never gonna rock because it’s just not you.

The process should start from the inside out. Never the other way around.

You might not be able to spend days racking your brain over a sentence. Many aren’t made for it. But!! If you can’t do it — don’t discard its value.

Find someone who will help. Who loves the empty staring, trying and failing, scribbling and deleting, exploring a whole world of B even if it leads back to A.

That person will help you really be you, in the best, realest, least douchey way. And that’s a top-shelf way to be.