“I don't think about art when I'm working. I think about life."
— Jean-Michel Basquiat —
Hello and my very best to you and yours.
For obvious reasons, today's message will be pretty lightweight. But I wanted to wish you a happy holiday and share a few things I've been thinking about as we wrap up this year and enter a new one (3-minute read).
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on chasing your curiosity
The year was 2001. The place was Las Vegas, Nevada. Brandon Flowers, the lead singer of a newly formed band called The Killers, was flicking through the classifieds and found an advert from a guitarist named Dave Neuning who was looking for musicians to play with.
After liking the influences and bands that Neuning had listed, Flowers gave him a ring. A few days later, the two men linked up and as they were parting ways, Neuning handed Flowers a cassette with five ideas on it.
Flowers then got back into his 1992 GEO Metro and hit play.
The first thing he heard was the guitar intro for the song Mr. Brightside — which would go on to become the bands breakthrough hit and would remain on the charts for over a decade.
In this coming year, treat your curiosity as your primary responsibility.
Send messages to the people you’re attracted to.
Pick up the phone.
Meet for a delicious strawberry milkshake.
Interesting lives are lived by those who make the effort to meet interesting people.
The worst thing that can happen is they say no.
And if I’ve learned anything in my 46 years it’s that rejection hurts a lot more than not knowing.
***
on my favorite storytelling tip
A writer I recently discovered that I can’t get enough of named Ilan Lampl shared a glorious piece of storytelling advice a few weeks ago from author and screenwriter Richard Price.
“The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid’s burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest manageable part of the big thing, and you work off the resonance.”
I realize the example Price gives isn’t exactly holiday-spirit-like, but the lesson is too good to not share. Write small. Speak to the senses. Paint a picture we can all feel and latch onto.
When you do this, you not only make people visualize the world you’ve created but you allow them to inhibit it. And when you accomplish that, you’ve got something.
The best stories are felt.
***
on maybe not setting goals in 2025
Austin Kleon, author of Steal Like an Artist, shared the quote below from the late Steve Albini (musician and sound engineer on albums for bands like the Pixies, PJ Harvey, and Nirvana) after his passing in May. I've revisited Albini's words a few times this year, and each time I do, I find myself nodding along.
“I’ve lived my whole life without having goals, and I think that’s very valuable, because then I never am in a state of anxiety or dissatisfaction. I never feel I haven’t achieved something. I never feel there is something yet to be accomplished.
I feel like goals are quite counterproductive.
They give you a target, and until the moment you reach that target, you are stressed and unsatisfied, and at the moment you reach that specific target you are aimless and have lost the lodestar of your existence.
I’ve always tried to see everything as a process.
I want to do things in a certain way that I can be proud of, that is sustainable and is fair and equitable to everybody that I interact with.
If I can do that, then that’s a success, and success means that I get to do it again tomorrow.”
I don't know about you, but Albini's words make a lot of sense to me. Refreshing even. Everywhere we turn, we're encouraged to set goals and to do everything in our power to crush them.
It's exhausting.
Maybe it's because I'm getting older, but my only "goal" today is to be as present as I can with the people I care about and try to make or do something I'm proud of each day. If I do that, the rest takes care of itself.
Actually, I'm lying.
I do have a goal for 2025.
I want to write and publish a kids' book as I have more than a few ideas that I think could make a bunch of little ones smile or maybe even laugh a little.
***
I've been asked a few times recently about self-promotion tips for people who hate self-promotion (aka, my people), so I wrote a post about how I managed to survive my book launch without losing too much of my sanity.
How to Self-Promote When You Hate Self-Promotion
That's it for today.
Keep your eyes peeled for a message next week (maybe Monday, could be Tuesday — with the kids home, who knows). I'll be sharing a complete list of my favorite things from 2024 (music, quotes, books, new writers, etc.).
Onwards.
—Michael
PS: The best way to help me keep the lights on and to keep newsletters like this one free is to grab a copy of my book and leave an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads.
Shy by Design: 12 Timeless Principles to Quietly Stand Out
“In a world that lionizes loudness, it’s actually the quiet and shy among us who are best set up to thrive. Thompson provides an important new way of understanding what it really takes to stand out!”
— Cal Newport, NYTimes bestselling author of Deep Work and Slow Productivity
It makes for a great gift for any of your shy or reserved friends, colleagues, and family members who have something to say but struggle to bet on themselves.