*Typing*

Hemingway wrote standing up.

Woolf wrote aloud to herself.

Angelou wrote from a hotel room.

Morrison wrote just before dawn.

Kerouac wrote on a 120-foot scroll.

Dostoevsky wrote to cover his debts.

It doesn’t matter how you write.

It doesn’t matter where you write.

It does matter when you write.

All that matters, is that you write.

Don’t find your passion. Find your genius. Your genius is something that feels easy to you but challenging to others. This contrast creates instant demand around your genius. Those who find your genius to be difficult to embody, will pay you to embody your genius for them. With time, you will grow to appreciate your genius as it gains you respect, pays the bills and allows you the freedom to follow your passion.

When the Carthaginian General Hannibal Barca was crossing the Alps to launch a surprise attack on Rome, his path was cut off by an enormous landslide. Instead of turning back, he had his troops pile wood around the large boulders and then set them ablaze. Once the boulders were red-hot, Hannibal asked his men to dowse them in vinegar. This rapid heating and then sudden cooling caused the rocks to crack, making them much easier to clear.

This brilliant maneuver not only earned him respect from his team but reinvigorated them for the journey ahead. They were, in many ways, stronger after the unfortunate setback. There was a study done years ago that found customers who had a problem that was resolved rated their satisfaction with a brand higher than customers who had no problem at all. Problems aren’t problems. They’re opportunities to build trust, win loyalty and flex your creativity.

Don’t get comfortable with being uncomfortable. That advice is bullshit.

Most of the people telling others to ‘get comfortable with being uncomfortable’ haven’t felt discomfort in years. The most discomfort these people have felt in the last decade is their steak arriving at the table a bit undercooked. Don’t get comfortable with being uncomfortable. You get comfortable with uncomfortability and you might ended up lingering in the discomfort for too long.

Instead, remind yourself to expect the discomfort. As soon as you learn to expect the discomfort, you aren’t surprised by it. I think the ‘surprise’ is what makes the discomfort so goddamn painful. Not the discomfort itself.

A couple years back, I took a bite out of a heap of coleslaw and was surprised to bite down on several pieces of glass. I will never forget the sensation. It was as if I had picked a fight with a dentist that moonlighted as a glassblower. If I ever have to chew on glass again, I’d like to be warned ahead of time. At least then, I’ll know the hellstorm that’s coming.

That being said, it’s ridiculous to think I could ever get comfortable chewing glass.

I’m rambling but you get the idea.

Steve Jobs sold his first Apple product barefoot. Ray Kroc plotted the expansion of McDonald’s on the back of a napkin. Jeff Bezos started Amazon from his garage as a online bookstore (and shipped many of the books himself). Coco Chanel opened her first shop in Paris selling not world-renowned perfumes like Chanel No. 5 but hats. Daymond John took a page out of Chanel’s book and built FUBU in his mother’s basement sewing hats. Kendra Scott founded Kendra Scott Jewelry with $500 and no formal training. Build the plane as you fly it. If you’re inspired, just begin. Experience will come as a by-product of the turbulence you encounter along the way.