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 tagged freelance
"She'll sob for hours staring at the wall. Nothing I say helps."
I happened to overhear this as I sat outside of El Cortez in Brooklyn last week preparing for a night of Karaoke with an old friend. There were two guys, perhaps late 20's early 30's, having a conversation. They were just drunk enough to be perfectly articulate yet entirely oblivious to my being within earshot.
"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 wanted to begin this article with a hook like, "Freelancers are like sharks, if we stop moving we die". I also wanted to reap some backlink relevance by citing The Discovery Channel's post on this topic...but in reading the article I was shocked to find this frequently used expression a well publicized myth rather than an old truth.
Bummer right? What a stellar intro that would've been...
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.
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:
I am now become Tinkerer. Each day a tweak, each day a discovery. There was no good method vs. bad method, only an experience and a lesson. I look back at August of 2014 and can see the shift.
That is not to say...
