Alec

McNayr

Put your hot tea down and go read Hugh MacLeod’s blog post fat dumb happy.

Speaking about a friend’s relative who had to drop out of college, Hugh says…

But even though the situa­tion clip­ped his wings con­si­de­rably, he still ended up having a nice life in the end, with a home, a big yard, two cars, a steady paycheck, wee­kends fishing or hun­ting deer, and vaca­tions in Hawaii every year or so. “The days where a blue collar guy like my uncle could have a nice life without doing much,” my friend said, “those days are gone. Gone forever.”

I’ve spent 10 years cobbling together a hodge-podge of skills that are now paying off in a way I never had expected.  Web design. Acting.  Comedy.  Photography.  Writing.  Late nights.  Little pretense.   It doesn’t feel like the kind of career/life/path my University degree led me to believe I’d get, and I bet it makes my parents worried.

But it’s the kind of life that can give me a shot at living the kind of life Hugh describes: a normal, middle-class life.  And then the thought hits me: The lifestyle my parents thought was normal will be thought of as exceptional to my generation.

My generation may have to work harder to get less.

That’s scary.  And incentivizing.  Get back to work.

BBC America shows reruns of Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares, and if you haven’t seen any episodes, it’s worth a watch.  Before he made it big with Hell’s Kitchen, Gordon traveled around the world walking into the emptiest, dirtiest, and shoddiest restaurants, and shaping them up in less than a week.

It’s the best type of reality TV; every owner is on the brink of bankruptcy, suffering from a tragic balance of professional ego and personal shame.  And by the end of an hour, they have a fresh new start.

After watching about seven episodes now, I see a bit of a formula of what it takes, in Gordon’s mind, to run a successful restaurant.  And — big surprise — they’re lessons I can apply to my own creative work.

• Never send out crap. Often, the chef is running behind and sends out sub-par food to “get ahead” in his or her orders.  Never a good idea.  The only reason people come to your restaurant is to get a good meal.  If they don’t get that, then the core value of your business is wasted.  As a creative, I’m continually challenged to never settle on sub-par work, in favor of appeasing the client or getting it out the door.
• Put a sign up. On the show, many restaurants don’t have a well-lit sign in front of their business.  They’re hoping that customers will.  In my world, it means that you should have a business name, a pitch, a business card, a web site worth spending more than 8 seconds on.
• Make it simple in order to stand out. Often the menu is crazy complicated.  Mixes, sauces, meats, etc.  Never one single direction, but the owner’s “unique take on food,” which they believe will propel them to notoriety and success.  Gordon always makes over the menu, and normally cuts it in half.  And they balk at being good at simple things like “steaks.”  But “steaks” are what the people want!  How many items are on your creative menu?  Are you sacrificing quality for quantity?  Are you claiming to specialize in something that no one wants?
• Change the scenery. Gordon’s unseen “design team” always makes over the restaurant.  For the show, it’s a big reveal, but I’m consistently underwhelmed by what they do.  But it always makes a huge difference to the people working there.  Like to the point of tears.  Maybe just a little sprucing up can make a big difference.  If you’re stuck in a rut, change your view.  Your desk.  Your office.  People resist change, but they embrace investment.

Just some lessons I’m hearing and applying to my own life.  Any of these strike a chord for you?

[A part of my continued Pursuing Creativity series.]

Brittany Curran of Work it, Berk emailed me the other day, asking about the origins and strategy of Historical Tweets.  I was proud of my answers below, and thought I’d share.  Work it, Berk, by the way, is a very clever niche concept… photos of hipster students on the streets of Cal Berkeley.

1. How did you come up with this idea? Did it just develop out of your studies in history and interest in social media, or is there more to it?

We came up with the idea after seeing Mad Men characters Twittering in mid-2008. People were signing up as the characters from the AMC show, and the juxtaposition of fake 1960s characters using 21st century technology was interesting. Thinking as a marketer and comedy writer, I called my friend (and former boss) about the idea of Twittering as all the previous U.S. presidents — and having them comment on the then-current presidential election. Luckily for us, that idea sounded like too much work (plus, how many times can Taft be funny?), so we settled on single tweets from lots of historical figures.

2. I started a street-fashion blog a few months ago called Work It, Berk. Although I’m starting to get a bit more traffic, I’m interested in knowing how your site was able to jump to 4.5 million page views in a year. What methods did you use? Word of mouth, other sites, Twitter, Facebook?

We launched the site in October 2008 with 50 tweets in queue, and we probably made 100 more blog posts total during the next 8 months. Around June/July 2009, we were featured on Time.com and CNN.com — and even Ashton Kutcher tweeted about us — and we got 2.5 million page views over a weekend. Crazy.

Honestly, we didn’t do any extensive marketing, nor do we continue to do so. It’s kind of a lesson plan on what not to do. Our Twitter account is not very active. We don’t have a Facebook fan page worth looking at. We don’t really reach out to other bloggers.  As the book looms closer, we’ll probably do more of that; talking to history and education bloggers.

The thing that we do successfully, though, is that we keep the content coming. The sheer amount matters. 10 tweets would never have taken off. We needed a critical mass of at least 100 posts to really get noticed. I don’t know why that’s a rule, but I think it is. Totally unscientific, and with no real numeric basis.  When it comes to online content, it pays to be prolific.

The other positive thing is that we let others participate. From day 1, we put the Photoshop template on the site. The complexity of Photoshop keeps most fans from contributing, but it’s been a nice way to reward our true fans who want to do the extra work.

In the end, however, we just struck gold.  Our idea was right and the timing was right.  I’ve jotted down and created tons of sites in the past few years.  None of them have hit like this.  It was just my time.

And I’m not going to lie; every time I see someone tweet “I’m kicking myself for not thinking of this sooner,” the little malicious boy inside me grins and does a backflip.

3. What did you do before this site?

I’m a self-taught web designer with 10 years experience building web sites, leading marketing strategy. I also have a lot of experience acting and doing improv comedy — which has led me to write a lot of comedy TV scripts. Somehow, all those skills have contributed to this site happening the way it has…. but I never saw it coming.

4. Is this site for mere entertainment or do you do “corporate social media” for your day job?

The site, originally, was for entertainment. But now that we’ve gotten some traction and a book deal, we see it as a way to promote ourselves as creative thinkers and creators — people that can make something memorable and viral out of something as “boring” as history. We’re hoping the site can continue to entertain fans, but also bring corporate marketing clients our way. It’s already working… we’re close to working with a couple of big, international clients to do social media for them.  We’re really excited.

Thanks for your email, Brittany.  Best of luck to you as you push forward (keep pushing, btw… it will come…. you just don’t know what “it” will be).

[Spoiler Alert: Light spoilers.  Don't read if you don't want to know what happens at the end of Season 3.]

What do you expect?

Unfulfilled expectations are the death of any creative-type, or anyone, for that matter.

At the end of Season 3 of Mad Men (one of my favorite shows on TV, hands down), Don Draper, the world’s best ad man (in his own mind… but then again, no one does anything great without first thinking that he is worthy or capable of undertaking it… right?), is starting off on a new adventure…

As Roger Sterling and Don Draper look at their old offices for what could be the last time, Roger asks, “How long do you think it will take us to be in a place like this again?” Don replies, “I never saw myself working in a place like this.”

Work as if you’ll never get glory or wealth (or pay, for that matter), and you’ll find a jagged stone of some original, creative idea.  Ugly, but yours.  Polish that stone for a while, and you’ll have a diamond.  Maybe.  But if you did it for the love, and not for the money, it will be worthwhile.

It’s one thing to BE thankful… it’s another to actually SAY “Thank You.”

My friend Sam Parmelee is composing some original music cues for a series of Generosity Water videos I’m producing, and he just sent me his invoice.

He’s doing me a favor and is getting paid very little compared to his normal rate, but he included this in his invoice: “Thank you for your business!” (I don’t think I’m a special dame — I bet he writes that for all the producers he works with.)

He might have said, “Thank you for believing in my talent,” or “Thank you for trusting me with this project,” or “Thank you for keeping food on my family’s table.”  It doesn’t matter.  He expressed his thanks for the business opportunity — that he, as a creative type, isn’t so precious about his artistry to not realize that I could go anywhere to get it, but I chose to work with him.  Thankfulness means a lot.

Expressing gratitude means you have to suck up your pride.  Be selfless.  Be humble.

And then, be crafty to use the tools you have — like an INVOICE! — to express it.

He probably sleeps, or hangs with his family.  Who knows.  I’m just saying he probably takes a well-deserved break.

But it’s a short break.  One or two days later, he starts the process over again.  Working out.  Training.  Lifting weights.

Similarly, a lot of people have asked me what I’m doing now that I’ve sold a book.

I’m writing it.  Working it out.  Doing the heavy lifting.  Thinking about promotion.

Remember this.  When you’ve “made it,” you’ve only just started.

Got an email with the subject line “Will the beautiful women of the world please stand up” the other day. It was from the innovate non-profit charity:water and thought it was an excellent use of storytelling.

View the story here.

I work with the non-profit Generosity Water (we’re friendly with charity:water), and we often talk about the value of turning negative causes into positive proclamations.  I just think this is a great step in creating media that brings value and dignity to a situation, and doesn’t ask us to dwell deeply on the ugly issue.

Now, if I were in charge of social media at charity:water, I’d make a parody video of Single Ladies
called “Beautiful Women,” but that’s just me….

Unless it’s funny.

Internet funnymen Rhett & Link made this commercial for Cullman Liquidation, and I think that, even though it’s fraught with stereotypes and humor, it’s a real commercial for a real local company.

Rhett & Link created a site called I Love Local Commercials, as a platform for them to create low-budget videos for small town businesses that normally don’t consider video as a marketing device.

It’s a smart move for two guys who got some street cred from Hollywood, but famously live in North Carolina, where buying a house is cheaper.

It’s a good example of making your skills work for you no matter where you live.  That you don’t have to live in Los Angeles to make good entertainment (but it helps).

I just asked my wife what I should write about, and without a thought, she answered, “Maybe you can write about Jack.”

By “Jack,” she means Jack Skelington from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Some backstory: when October 1st comes around every year, our house gets transformed into a scare palace, and the 1993 Tim Burton masterpiece goes into our DVD player.  And it doesn’t leave for 31 days.  I had no idea this would happen when I said “I do,” but it’s a pleasant surprise.

In the movie, Jack is very successful at his job: scaring people.  His whole world is wrapped around his innate talent.  Everyone pats Jack on the back for doing his job so well.  But he’s frustrated with the monotony.

What does he do?  He changes his world.  He goes to “Christmasland,” where his talents are so unique that they’re shocking to people.  They literally change the world, in a Guy Kawasaki-type way.

As I try to apply this to the business of creativity, I consider my own hodge-podge of skills.  Writing and comedy.  Graphic design, Photoshop, and photography. Presentations and public speaking.  I’m always trying to apply them in a better way than others, but what about applying them to a new world?

I’m pursuing a career in TV screenwriting, and I’ve been thinking about how my skills beyond screenwriting will make me stand out there.  Coming from the worlds of marketing and online media, my skills may be shocking in a world that seems so rigidly defined.  I’m hoping it will make me stand out…

My tagline for myself: “A new breed of TV showrunner, a writer with an eye for digital media and marketing.” Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but it’s a start.

What are you good at?  Is it the same thing as 1,000 other people?  That level of competition makes you irrelevant; the line is too long to compete head-to-head.  So put yourself in a new world… one that makes you unique.  Stand out!

[Posted in the Pursuing Creativity series]

A few years ago, I found myself with all kinds of angst about my career trajectory.  I was fully employed at a good job, doing creative projects on the side, but always stressed out about “what I was doing with my life.”  Maybe you have that problem, too.  I call it “your 20s.”

What helps me now?  A saying.

Do the work.  Do the work.

It’s a mantra I picked up while doing an interview for Script Magazine (“Big Names Change the Online Game”).  I was talking to Justine Bateman, Jill Kushner, and Wizards of Waverly Place EP Peter Murrieta, and during the interview, Peter took a call from what must have been a stressed-out, unsure understudy of his.  Like an AA sponsor to an addict about to take a sip, he said, “I don’t care if you’re tired, do the work.  If you’re frustrated, do the work.  If you’re sick, do the work.  No matter what, just do the work.”

It was probably the most poignant thing I personally received from the interview, and it happened in the background while trying to listen and take notes from Justine and Jill.

There’s some calming wisdom in those words.  That inborn talent matters little in the face of time.

When it comes to “honing your craft” or “getting good-er” or “putting in your “10,000 hours,” it’s all about getting better, step by step, at something that is really hard (like screenwriting, photography, lawyering, painting, negotiating, or anything that takes artistry).

Unfortunately, the AA analogy holds up.  We’re all a little addicted to ‘Not Doing the Work.’

It’s just too easy to get distracted.  To go to bed early.  To have “weekends.”

However, the people that succeed in anything worthwhile find a way to overcome that addiction and do a little bit of work every day.  Find that nanometer of improvement.  Over time, it adds up.

As for me, I’m not too worried any longer.  I’m on a journey to improvement, and I don’t expect the fast results I did a few years back.  I can’t stress about it.  I’m too busy doing the work.

Further reading on this subject: Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity by Hugh MacLeod, The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) by Seth Godin, Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell (“10,000 hours”), and Stephen King’s On Writing (“Get a closet and write there everyday.”).

[This is will be part of a series of posts under the Pursuing Creativity banner.]