Top chefs wouldn’t be caught dead with salted butter.

In a world with Maldon Salt, Sel Gris, and even Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, why on Earth would a chef leave something as vital as the amount and quality of salt to chance?

Amateurs will always prefer salted butter for its ease and instant utility.

Experts will always prefer the control that comes with choice.

Even the smallest inconvenience can stop us from creating.

A camera in the closet is less likely to film us being creative.

A podcast rig that takes an extra five minutes to set up might prevent us from recording that day.

A guitar in its case is less likely to be played.

Creating anything is an enormous hurdle.

Anything you can do to remove friction will help.

Alt title: You don’t need to outrun the bear.

While much the world is stuck debating what happens when AGI takes over the human race, others are amassing tidy fortunes teaching folks how to use the AI tools that are currently available today.

To be one step ahead right now: Learn the intersection of AI, automation, and design.

Alt title: Why the best writers still think writing is hard.

You’d think that people who write for a living would feel that writing is easy.

But they don’t.

Even though writing (especially for live performance) is essentially a playground—a blank canvas on which to create anything—getting into the craft requires discipline and patience.

The hardest thing (for everyone) is staring a blank page.

That’s why writers are some of the most vocal critics of AI at the moment. 1) AI makes writing too easy. and 2) The outputs of AI aren’t your own, so you shouldn’t be proud of what the algorithm produces and say “Look what I made, ma!”

For those that feel writing is a craft, an art form, and a deeply important part of human expression, use AI judiciously, if at all.

For those who hate writing and just want to sell more tickets to your car wash? Go nuts!

This was the advice given to me before my largest keynote ever.

“No one will notice, no one will care.”

The downward pressure on us to do less than our best is ever-present.

No one will spot the typo. No one will begrudge you for using cue cards. No one’s going to be paying that close attention. Why kill yourself for no reason?

These arguments are dangerous because they are valid. No one will care.

But you.

I memorized every word. Because that’s who I am.

Either you care or you don’t. It’s not about them. It’s about the standard you hold yourself to.