*Typing*

I don’t allow my writers to use Artificial Intelligence at Honey Copy. Why? Because I see my writers as more than just writers. They are creative problem solvers who happen to write.

Writers who become overly reliant on AI have the advantage of producing more work at a much lower cost, yes. However, with time they will notice their ability to think creatively begin to atrophy. When we fully immerse ourselves in the writing process, we develop a deeper understanding of the subject we are writing about. This deeper understanding is why writers are indispensable to an agency or enterprise (not simply their ability to write a knee-buckling line).

When writers hire out their writing to AI, they also hire out their thinking. With time, this will cause the writer to not only be a weak writer but a weak thinker, a weak creative and a weak problem solver. If an advertising agency is anything, it’s an outfit of thinkers, creatives and problem solvers.This is why it’s so goddamn important to do your own writing. It’s about so much more than just writing.

Quit in private. Succeed in public.

Quitting projects is a natural part of the creative process (both as an individual and an enterprise). It can also be a deterrent to the sunk cost fallacy, where you continue to foolishly pour time, resources and money into a project that has become a dud.

However, getting in the habit of quitting projects in public can be dangerous to your reputation. It gives the impression that you lack focus and resilience.

Because of this, it’s wise to begin the vast majority of your projects in private. Work on these projects in the dark, far from the influence of the outside world and the constant dopamine drip of online applause.

If after a few months, you still find that you are inspired by the project, then open up the doors to the public. This is a simple way to differentiate between the projects you are truly interested in and the ones you are doing because you *think* others will be interested in them.

It will also keep you from looking like a quitter.

You think you want success to come easy. You don’t. Not really. You want to work for it. You want to work for it like you’ve never worked for anything in your life.

Social media platforms are brimming with asshats schlepping hacks, secrets and get-rich-quick schemes. They will try and convince you there is an easier path to get wherever it is you’re going. You might be tempted to believe them—don’t.

You can’t dodge the work.

You can’t cheat the work.

You can’t buy your way out of the work.

Not without costing yourself the process; the beautiful, gut-wrenching process. There is a spiritual transformation that happens during the process. With each pass of the brush or pen or plane, you nudge closer to some truth buried deep within yourself.

The forces that dictate this Earth will collect around you. They might not strike in a single flash of lightning. However, with time, your work will find the appreciation it deserves.

And when it does, it will not matter. It will not matter because the work itself will have become enough.

Holidays are difficult for those of us who measure our self-worth through our work. We become so used to proving our value day in and day out. Then, suddenly, we’re faced with two weeks of wide-open space on the calendar. Like a train stalled atop the rails, life creeps to a halt and work along with it. This slowness gives way to restlessness.

It’s very important to sit still amid this restlessness. We will be tempted to keep busy, to do more and to prepare for the year to come. Instead, we should be present. We should be present with our family. We should be present with our friends. We should be present with ourselves. Through this presence we will see that we are more than our work, our output, our following, our salary, our title or our latest achievement. We will see that we are friends, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, spouses, fathers, mothers, lovers, thinkers, bakers, artists, readers, storytellers and citizens of the world.

Once the train starts moving again, perhaps we will find a renewed sense of energy as our relationship with our work has changed for the better. We will be less reliant on our work to prove our worth, which might allow us the space to enjoy our work for the sake of the work itself. Or, find work that we enjoy elsewhere. This shift can only happen by staying still amidst the restlessness; by being present during the quiet without looking towards distraction.

In the words of the composer Leonard Bernstein…

“Stillness is our most intense mode of action. It is in our moments of deep quiet that is born every idea, emotion, and drive which we eventually honor with the name of action. We reach highest in meditation, and farthest in prayer. In stillness every human being is great.”

I adore that last line. It’s one I’m holding close to my chest as we collectively inch towards the end of another year. In stillness every human is great. So, let’s be still. Let’s be great.

Don’t seek to be known by many people but instead trusted by the right people.

For the past decade, doing good business has been about building followings. In the next decade, it will be about building relationships. Fortunately, this doesn’t require producing mind-numbing content, dancing for an algorithm nor playing the viral slot machine.

You just have to be the kind of person who:

1. Provides tremendous value
2. Follows through

You do these two things and you will likely never be “internet famous”. However, you will attract the “right people”. Together, you all will do extraordinary work, create change and make an honest living.

It’s not flashy. It’s not easy. It’s not vogue. But, it works.