Apr 2, 2022

Keep Calm & Create On - Issue #58

By Adam Fairhead • Issue #58 • View online

Happy Saturday!

Last week we accidentally skipped the weekly newsletter. I thought I had pushed Send, but I hadn’t. So it didn’t. 😆

This is the downside of being close to your work. Human-error shows up. The process/documentation is there, the task reminders are there, but sometimes, things still go wrong.

This has also reminded me of how thankful I am to be close to my work. Of being able to write these messages for you. Of having my hands on the keyboard, communicating with you all, in this format, helping you be your best self, bringing your genius to bare.

There’s a small downside in every upside, and a small upside in every downside.

I’m thankful for the upside of being connected with you.

This week’s email has more posts in it than usual, a double-decker!

Enjoy,

– Adam

Effort

Effort.

We all think we’re putting it in.

But are we as much as we think we are?

Take applying for a job for example:

Is effort applying for the job?

Or is effort applying for the job with a good cover letter?

Or is effort applying for the job with a whole web page dedicated to the position, what you can bring to the role, covering ideas you’ve already explored ahead of time to show outsized commitment?

It depends on what you consider effort, I suppose.

But of the examples above, one interpretation of effort is going to produce far better results than the others.

Effort… are you putting it in?

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Understanding vs facts

Do you know a lot about your industry… or do you UNDERSTAND your industry?

What’s the difference?

Let’s look at that… and why the difference is more important for your work than you might think:

Example 1: The general theory of relativity lets us understanding how planets move.

Facts about a particular planet may help us forecast its particular movement, but those facts don’t change our understanding. Nor could those facts supplant understanding.

Example 2: Counting lets us understand quantities of things.

Facts about hash marks or Roman numerals may help us express counting in other formats, but those facts don’t change our understanding, either.

Now let’s bring it back to YOUR work.

Which sounds more important:

Understanding what makes a client feel confident, safe, and happy under your care, or
Knowing the latest closing hack or popular CRM follow-up technique?

How about these, which is more important:

Knowing how to use Figma, XD, Sketch and Photoshop like the back of your hand, or
Understanding how to use visuals to ethically guide attention while invoking the right emotional state?

Seek understanding above facts.

And remember the difference.

Your work will thank you greatly for it.

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Your birth year and your work

What does your birth year have to do with your work?

More than we think:

If I was born 10 years earlier, I’d have learned to draw with an all-physical skillset.

If I was born 10 years later, I’d have learned to draw with an all-digital skillset.

I was born when I was born, and so I learned to draw with a hybrid skillset… part before we had computers and internet, part after.

And so I get to enjoy the confidence that comes from the permanence of ink… with the freedom that comes from the non-destructive editing of digital.

Some younger artists may not have to learn the confidence born of such permanence, and produce sheepish line work.

Some older artists may scoff at my affinity toward ‘undo’ as I make my final lines up “just right”.

My birth year affects my work.

And your birth year affects yours.

And in it, you’ll find more unique advantage that you may not have thought about before.

Harness it!

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“Success is one of the possible outcomes”

This is one of my new favourite quotes:

“Success is one of the possible outcomes.”

It’s from Elon Musk, while discussing SpaceX’s Starship challenges.

I’ve often thought that the tempered Stoic ‘ambition’ is misunderstood.

The idea of aiming for the stars while expecting a good chance of failure seems counter-intuitive. We hear the ‘burn the boats’ motivational speeches often enough to deem such pragmatism to be for those of weaker spirit.

But that’s simply untrue.

Rather, a “Heads I win, tails I still win” mind is far more inclined to find steady progress than one that must pause to lick its wounds each time things don’t go its way.

If “success is one of the possible outcomes”, you’ll be quite happy to try again if and when things don’t necessary turn out the way you’re aiming for.

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LOL = Love Our Lurkers

“We need more engagement”

“We need more likes”

Nope, we need more love for our lurkers.

Social media tools lull you into the feeling that nobody cares.

And it’s true, maybe they don’t…

…but it’s more likely that there are a whole bunch of people who are watching you, and cheering you on… but who simply don’t click on the heart icon.

Or don’t feel confident enough to contribute to the conversation.

Or don’t think what they have to say is valuable.

Or maybe they just don’t like clicking ‘Like’ for reasons unknown even to themselves.

Love your lurkers anyway.

The relationship is more important than the click.

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Virtual clothes

In 2008, I ran a virtual clothing store.

As in, virtual clothes, sold in the thousands, every day.

Today, I don’t run a virtual clothing store.

But I have launched a capsule drop with the Mortiverse project, and it’s launching at the first ever Metaverse Fashion Week alongside physical brands like DKNY and Forever21, and web3 brands like Fang Gang and DeadFellaz.

Here’s what the media coverage has to say:

Mortiverse is building the #1 web3-native personal development brand to help us stress less and feel happier every day – and they’re using virtual fashion as another unique way of doing just that.

Adam Fairhead, Co-founder and Lead designer, told us more about ethos of the brand and the thinking behind their first Decentraland drop:

“We should be able to wear our beliefs wherever we are. The LKRV line of ‘wearable philosophy’ lets us us literally ‘clothe ourselves in a better mindset’ — a fashion choice that would never have existed without the metaverse.”

The Mortiverse’s mission is to provide a learning platform to help people make web3 free from fear, uncertainty and doubt. Adam says: “We do that by sharing timeless Stoic insights in a way that’s both fun and culturally accessible.”

“Web3 is making new ways for us all to express our personality & beliefs. The future of fashion – a medium designed to paint identity on a canvas of human form — will leverage this to discover new depths of self-expression in the metaverse on forms not limited by science.”

The alpha drop for Mortiverse is a design called “Sphere of Choice”. It’s focused on expressing the most fundamental insight underpinning the Stoic philosophy, visualising the concept in an urban-casual style.

The outfit itself is mostly dark, but there’s almost a glow as you move up the body. The hood is bright and illuminating, reminding us that the head is the area that’s important.

“The pants feature an illustrated scene that demonstrates what happens when we let fear, uncertainty and doubt take hold. You can sense the freneticism – it’s a good expression of the state of things when we lose control of our minds, when we let the signals around us overwhelm us and take control of us.”

The Mortiverse are excited to leverage digital fashion in the future of learning, personal development, and self-expression.

The event starts tomorrow and runs through the weekend. Check it out in Decentraland if you can!

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Good opportunities need good examples

Day 1 of Metaverse Fashion Week is complete.

And as friend white-house.eth https://twitter.com/adamfairhead/status/1507120913569009674, the experience has been a little underwhelming.

Not because the technology isn’t there. Second Life made metaverse possible over a decade ago. The tech’s there.

Not because fashion brands aren’t interested. Our entry was listed alongside the likes of DKNY and Tommy Hilfiger. They’re interested.

But because we need more good examples.

In this case, inclusivity and accessibility should have been hallmarks of a red carpet moment for the decentralised metaverse concept.

Instead, exclusivity and elite flexing have been hallmarks of an exhibition of ultra-luxury.

Not many can justify $18,000 on a virtual necklace. And prior to broader adoption of virtual goods, that number is fewer still.

Our entry had a price and inventory each designed to be accessible and inclusive, because that’s what that space needs.

Good opportunities need good examples.

That’s how great opportunities are born.

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Exclusively inclusive

Exclusive things are cool.

Inclusive things are important.

Can we combine the two?

Exclusive = when only a chosen few can participate.

Inclusive = is when everyone can participate.

Exclusively inclusive = specialising when everyone else is trying to be all things to all people.

Being exclusively inclusive means saying no to a thousand things, so that you can focus on what you do best, and bring your best in an inclusive way.

Being exclusively inclusive means leaving space for others to focus on their area of genius, elevating them in their efforts, so that the sum is worth more than the parts.

Being exclusively inclusive means trading the owning of market share for the sharing of market reach (which just so happens to result in greater market share… for what you do best).

Consider being exclusively inclusive.

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Get The Team Right First

The right team is 1st priority.

Great ideas with bad teams executing them become wasted opportunities.

Great products with bad teams executing them become bad products.

A great team is one that knows quality, grit, courage, wisdom, cause, temperance, adaptability, manners.

Having a team that is great comes 1st, even if the team is just you.

Everything else is 3rd.

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JOMO

Not enjoying the “Fear of missing out” (FOMO)?

Give the “Joy of missing out” a try (JOMO).

JOMO means seeing an opportunity, and letting it ride on by, because you want to.

JOMO means passing a small project to go for a long walk or read a book instead.

JOMO means external forces — even good, positive ones — aren’t in the driving seat.

You are.

You get to choose.

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Success Formula Hidden In Plain Sight

Succeeding at our work requires:

The Courage to do…

The Wisdom to know what to do…

The Temperance to know when to do it…

And the Justice to know why to do it…

Courage. Wisdom. Temperance. Justice. These are the 4 core Stoic virtues!

Turns out the formula has been around for thousands of years. Hidden in plain sight.

Will you choose to use it?

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System Good, System Bad

Systems helps some businesses thrive, and others stagnate.

What’s the difference?

System Bad: The people aren’t good, so the system becomes great at making them less not-good. The result is average conduct.

System Good: The people are good, so the system becomes great at making them even greater. The result is better-than-great conduct.

It turns out the system isn’t the problem.

The system simply helped make sure the job got done.

Are you enhancing good work with process, or merely compensating for average work?

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Tribe Change

We belong to tribes.

They affect our thinking way more than we realise.

Your country has a tribe. I’ve lived in multiple countries, and have felt the influence of their cultures on my mind. It’s a thing, whether or not it can be seen.

Your industry has a tribe. I’ve operated in multiple industries, and have seen the affinities and disdains for different business models, marketing strategies and corporate cultures.

Your philosophy or theology has a tribe. I was raised in religion and discovered truly independent thinking in adulthood. There’s a world of difference between finding peace from faith in the conjectural vs a reverence of reason.

Your family has a tribe. The inner battles of our parents become our own base code, the culture of our families our norm, upon which we patch new understanding.

Your social media have tribes. Groupthink exists in Twitter circles, Discord servers and subreddits.

How do we notice when our thinking is driven by tribes?

By seeing the alternative so that contrasts become clearer.

The colour ‘blue’ is just ‘blue’ until we put it on a colour wheel, then we can see if it’s a deep blue, or a greeny-blue, or perhaps even purple.

By opening our minds — reading a gardening magazine when you hate gardening, or making friends with someone with hugely different political orientations for instance — and forgoing our inclination to disagree for just long enough that we might learn something about ourselves.

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Underdo it

What’s better than overdoing something?

Sometimes, the answer is… Underdoing it:

Underdo the max number of projects we take on: if we can do 10 OK, or 5 so extraordinarily well that people tell others, isn’t the ‘underdo’ option better?

Underdo the number of features your work has: if we can build lots of features - bloating our codebase and diluting our skillset - or we can commit to making the best version of a stripped back body of work that thoroughly accommodates our choice of market… isn’t the ‘underdo’ option better?

Underdo the amount of stuff we focus on: make 20 OK dishes or 5 amazing signature dishes… buy 4 okay-quality teas or 1 great-quality tea… learn 8 skills at once or master one at a time… aren’t these ‘underdo’ options usually better?

Sometimes the best way to maximise is to minimise.

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By Adam Fairhead

A thoughtful weekly newsletter at the intersection of art, tech and philosophy to help you build resilient work and a resilient life.

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