37 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
37 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Rules of a Creator's Life
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date: 2021-07-19T16:01:00+02:00
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categories:
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- learning
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tags:
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- jobs
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---
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I initially wrote down these rules in my second notebook on the 23th of April in 2012. I came across them a second time in a more recent notebook. To me, these rules must somehow be more than simply appealing.
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1. Do more than you're told to.
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2. Try new things.
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3. Teach others about what you know.
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4. Make work into play.
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5. Take breaks.
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6. Work when others are resting.
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7. Always be creating.
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8. Make your own inspiration.
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9. Love what you do, or leave.
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My journal tells me they were originally published on [creativesomething.net](https://creativesomething.net), although I can't find the exact location anymore. Although that site confuses _creating_ with _creativity_, it's still a nice source of inspirational texts and book reviews on the subject.
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Number Nine especially resonates with me lately. Po Bronson writes in his book [What Should I Do With My Life?](https://www.pobronson.com/index_what_should_I_do_with_my_life.htm) about what he calls **Artistic Authenticity**:
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> Do not betray yours by doing something not close to your heart.
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Still, rushing to quit the job and yelling _"On to the next one!"_ won't make things better. Po notes in [The top 15 mistakes people make](https://www.pobronson.com/WSIDWML_Author_Notes.htm) the following:
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> It's not what you do, it's what you are working towards. Work satisfaction rarely comes from a perfect fit of the skills you have to the skills your job requires. All jobs have unpleasant elements---don't look for a job without unpleasant elements, but rather, look for a job that is worth doing such that the unpleasant elements are worth putting up with. Gain satisfaction from being able to do your work in a moral fashion.
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Doing your work in a moral fashion entails not being stuck in [a bullshit job](/post/2020/12/thoughts-on-bullshit-jobs/), as David Graeber likes to call it.
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Well, would you look at the time.
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Rule Number Five is calling. I'm off to take a break from today!
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