Creative Wayfinding For Ambitious Optimists.
Blog
On this page, you can scroll back through the archives and view every post I’ve ever written.
I won’t lie, there are a lot. Many of them likely won’t be relevant to you.
But my hope is that by poking around and reading through a few of them, you’ll come across an idea that sparks something for you, makes you think about a problem in a new light.
Or, if you’d rather browse through a curated selection, feel free to start with one of the lists below.
Happy reading 🙂
Best Of The Blog
Complete Archive
Pull the Thread
The clue to your next step is almost always in front of you already. The tiniest, shimmering thread of an idea, Waiting for the light to catch it just right and attract your gaze. When it does, you realize that you've looked past it, around it, over it, and straight...
Creative Conditioning
It’s not uncommon for elite athletes to travel to high-altitude locations to train. The idea is that if they’re able to train their bodies to perform in a difficult, low-oxygen environment, where the conditions for peak performance are not ideal, they’ll be able to...
Wrong Type of Door
We often approach our creative work as if the impact and success we seek is behind a motion-activated door. That if we show up within sight of our target, the doors will simply slide open and we’ll be ushered in. When the doors fail to open, we wave our arms around...
Dispel Preciousness
There's a phase at the start of every expedition where even the seasoned traveler does everything within their power to keep their hands clean, their feet dry, and their knees unscraped. Compare that with the creature that emerges after a week in the wilderness,...
The Big Secret
The big secret is that no one knows anything. That no one knows for sure that this will work and that won't. That even the most accomplished among us are still shooting in the dark with each new endeavor. That the only proven path to success is to simply keep creating...
Eliminate Excuses
I would but... I don’t have the time. I don’t have the right tools. I don’t know the right people. I don’t have any ideas. I’m not talented enough. I don’t have the budget. I don’t know enough. I’m scared. We all have a long list of excuses we call on to keep us from...
Logging Miles vs. Making Progress
It’s easy to think they’re one and the same. In reality, our mileage count rarely squares with the progress we’ve made toward our goal. We spend most of our time running in circles–or in place. We make small bits of forward progress only during rare flashes of...
What Do You Want To Be Known For?
It’s a question worth asking yourself. Too often, however, we skip it and let our reputations write themselves. Rarely, we end up with a reputation equal to or better than we deserve. More often, we end up with one that sells us and our work short. Most often,...
Better Problems
Progress is often measured not by eliminating all your problems but by working yourself out of one problem and into another one. If you're lucky, the new problem will be a better problem than the one you just solved. More fun. More rewarding. More interesting. More...
Don’t Get Ahead of Yourself
Your default reaction to a new idea is to jump right in. To get to work on the fun stuff, immediately start building, without first laying the groundwork. Without deciding who and what the idea is even for. Chances are, it's not just about you. Maybe it's not about...
Claw Back What’s Yours
Your time. Your creativity. Your inspiration. God, sometimes even your hope, Your faith in humanity Your belief in yourself. The world will twist and bend and monopolize every part of you if you let it. So don't. Fight and kick and bite and tear and claw it back. It's...
Give Me a Break
No one gets far without one. More likely a healthy dose. No matter how hard you work, how much you know, how great your skill, It's all but impossible to make it on your own, Regardless of how noble the ideal might seem. Sooner or later you need a leg up. A helping...
Failing Your Way Forward
Except, it’s not really about the failure itself. You can fail a hundred times and stay stuck where you are, after all.
75 Things That Made My Year (2020)
Inspired by Austin Kleon's list (who's name, not-coincidentally pops up a couple times in this list), here's my list of 75 things that made my year in 2020. Kicking off the year with New Years fireworks and outdoor concert along the river in Riga, Latvia with my mom...
Another Chance
A new year. Another chance to choose. What's worth pursuing And how to pursue it. The guides you'll follow And those you'll avoid. The problems worthy of your unique skills, knowledge and perspective And those best left to someone else. While these choices can be made...
14 Lessons On Business, Creativity & Life From 2020
The 14 lessons from 2020 that I feel will have the greatest impact on my life and work going forward.
A-Players Make All The Difference
It’s possible to get by without them, but it’s hard to thrive. There are certainly many others who can perform the same core job function, but it’s not just about the job description on paper. A-Players bring a whole other list of skills, mindsets, and perspectives...
Balancing Excitement with Discipline
The start of a new project is often defined by an abundance of excitement, energy, and ideas. It’s easy to sit down and do the work, and in fact, may even be difficult to focus on anything other than the project. But that level of energy and enthusiasm rarely lasts....
Start Before You Know Where You’re Going
Photo by Andrew Neel on UnsplashToo often we don’t allow ourselves to start because we don’t know where we’re going.Without a defined destination and strategy for how our efforts will help move us toward it, we worry that any effort we do exert might be wasted.“Until...
Look the Problem in the Face
Photo by Vince Fleming on UnsplashWhen you’re faced with an uncomfortable problem to be solved or a decision to be made, it’s tempting to look around it.You can avert your gaze, avoid taking in new information, and push it to the back of your mind until the last...
Subscribe
Hi, I'm Jeremy, I'm glad you're here.
No matter what you create, I'm guessing you spend a good amount of time feeling lost, hopeless, and unsure about how to get from where you are to where you want to be.
So do I. And so does everyone doing creative work.
This is the Creative Wilderness.
Every week, I publish a new article in my Creative Wayfinding newsletter about how we as creators and marketers can navigate it with more clarity and confidence.
If you're building something that matters, but aren't quite sure how to take the next step forward, I'd be honoured to have you join us.