MegaFishbein is a collection of lessons, life-hacks, and lifestyle: A journey of a creative hell-bent on perfecting his process.
Pathologically curious and never satisfied with the "norms".
All in Lessons
"If only there was a way to ensure with perfect certainty that I should never forget an important task..." I once wondered.
"Pick me!" - Asana, Trello, BaseCamp, Evernote, and all their cousins hollered back in harmony.
The last video I produced blew my total view record out of the water.
I was particularly pleased when I submitted the final edit for approval, but my hope was equally matched with the doubt and fear that all we creative freelancers know too well.
...what if they don't like it...
Many of us pursue self-employment because we're sick and tired building businesses for other people. We want to make something, build something, birth something that we're "proud" of.
Pride is a fickle mistress however.
I'm Romeo & Juliet. I'm David & Goliath. I'm Harold & Maude. I'm also John Cusack and all 9 other characters from the film Identity.
I've always found it fascinating how almost every character driven story seeks to only develop a single character to the point of relatability. There can be fantastic depth of character given to supporting players, but you don't see yourself in them do you? You see yourself in the hero.
Or at least you're supposed to...
Rude Awakening
noun
Def: "A sudden and often unwelcome realization."
I can think of no better way to blanket my day-to-day experience: I am constantly riddled with rude awakenings.
I am the kind of person that frequently gets lost in work. Hours fly happily by without notice. I am also the kind of person that positively loathes distraction, but can't seems to be completely and consistently rid of it.
After the time that was once upon the boy, he asked himself "what now?"
SO! Now what...right?
Now (then) I needed a different model. I needed to shed the old belief that "to make it in this world you need an esteemed degree, and a job with advancement opportunities."
Once upon a time there was a boy. He had an intelligent and versatile mother, and a boisterous and eccentric father. As he grew, he was exposed to alternative education, charter education, and public education. He dropped out of university, taught himself skills, took some community college classes, and engaged in apprenticeships. He learned and learned and learned, and to this day still tries to learn.
But what is he learning?
If you are like me, you cringe when someone uses the term "life-hack". And to make things worse, the folks who beat it to death are typically those douchey, over-amped, keynote-speaker types who claim that theirbundle of hacks "will hands down revolutionize the entirety of your existence as you now live it!".
I've come to learn a chunk about people like these. I've also come to learn a thing or two about perspective, specifically the kind of inspired and optimistic perspective that begets action. These motivational-speed-freaks are obviously doing something right, because they're as rich as a buttered tit, but are their hacks really the keys to their kingdom? Have they really stumbled upon a truth or framework for success that was previously completely unknown?
I was having a conversation with a dear friend recently about the age-old “being a sell-out” concept. During the course of this chit chat I “think” I may have stumbled onto something. This thing is not only a new personal philosophy, but also a point of worthwhile consideration for ANY and ALL creatives: how does one make art, not “sell-out”, and remain well-fed physically and emotionally?
Indulge me as I answer this question in as round-about a way as possible. First, allow me to illustrate an evolution that I see all the time with creatives:
