We are influenced by the people around us. Even if we don’t know them. Even if they are separated by 2-3 degrees of separation. Although this is a new area of research, intuitively I can feel these findings to be true. Good news: there is a way to protect yourself against social contagion.

I’d rather be a hummingbird. A generalist. (Or a dilettante - depending who is asking.)

"Hummingbirds spend their lives doing it very differently. They move from tree to tree, from flower to flower, to field to field... Trying this, trying that. They create incredibly rich, complex lives for themselves and they also end up cross-pollinating. That is the service you do if you are a hummingbird person,"

Being a good "noticer" comes hand in hand with being a good writer.

I write this confidently after layering insightful bits of advice on top of each other over the years. The first bit that stuck with me was Hemingway's advice about being a better writer, that I read often.

Photo by Jeff Sheldon on Unsplash

Start a project today that will take you 20 years to finish. We focus too much on instant success, and this is a post that reminds us of the greatness that can be achieved long term.

But that social media bubble isn't an indication of the real world. It is an arbitrary jumble of relationships that i've collected over the years. Some that I adore with all my heart and some that I briefly met once or twice.

This is not the group of people that I bear my creative soul to.