DAY 034 – DESIGNING DANGEROUSLY

Go Deeper

I have a deep belief in hard work. I have made a lot of non-savvy, i.e. stupid, bumbly decisions in my career trajectory thus far, and I really think the only way I’ve made it as far as I have is due to hard work and luck. The luck part I can’t control for myself or anyone else, but as Neil Gaiman points out in “Make Good Art,” you can invite luck, you can make a place for it. I have often had that luck channeled by good people who have created opportunities for me. I try to invite that “luck” for others whose work I believe in. Working like a dog can’t overcome everything, but it can make up for an awful lot. Similarly, working like a dog isn’t sustainable always, as I have found in my 30’s, hahaha, but if you know your limits, if they’ve been battle tested, that grit will be there when you need to tap into it. It will enable you to dig deeper, to mine the ideas and results you need out of the hardscrabble earth, to chip out what others cannot or will not.