“Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.”
— Mark Twain —
Hello, and my very best to you and yours.
Here are 3 things I've been thinking about over the last few days that I'm excited to share with you.
***
on the importance of sinking into your work
Daniel Day-Lewis isn’t just one of my favorite actors, but he’s also one of my favorite thinkers. His takes on doing work that matters are gold. This is especially true of the following passage:
“As actors, we’re encouraged to see ourselves as commodities. But I think you only survive as an artist if you keep reminding yourself that the world doesn’t need you — you need it.
You need it to find out what you care about.
You need it to return to yourself.”
I’ve thought about Day-Lewis's words at least 41 times over the last few days. And they don't just apply to acting. It’s for all of us who design things, teach things, and build things.
Many of us constantly ask ourselves how we can stand out. Lord knows I do. Hell, I even wrote a book about how shy people can carve their own lane in our loud world without sacrificing their nature.
But Day-Lewis is asking a deeper question (which has a direct correlation to standing out in a way that no one else can replicate):
“What am I allowing myself to sink into?”
When the work is honest and truly important to you, you stop performing and vanish into it. But this isn’t to escape, but rather to remember. To return to that deeper part of yourself that doesn’t care about likes or metrics — just meaning, motion, and the incredible thrill of doing work that matters.
Maybe Day-Lewis is right. Maybe the world doesn't need your song, story, or sketch right now. But maybe you do. Not to impress, but to slow down, reconnect to yourself, and remember what it feels like to follow an idea or creation all the way home.
The next time your brain is spinning and your soul's a little noisy, instead of shouting louder, go back to the thing you love and quietly sink into it for a while.
You may find that by doing the work you need, the world begins to need it too.
***
on withholding judgment
When my wife and I were looking to buy a new car, we went around to different dealerships to see what they had to offer. Despite showing up in a beat-up 1999 Nissan 4x4 and me rocking jorts with a stained t-shirt, we were prepared to put half the money down that day.
First, we walked into Subaru. The salesman didn’t like me very much. Pushed me out the door faster than I can say blueberry-pancakes. Who knows, maybe the pasta stain on my shirt made the guy hungry, and it was close to lunchtime. Or maybe he thought I was kidding when I said, “But I want to give you money!” Either way, he wasn’t very hospitable-like.
Next, we went to Renault. I made it very clear that we were prepared to splash out the cash and simply wanted their best terms for a 3-year payment plan, and the deal was theirs. 30 minutes later, the salesman came back and told us the payment would be over 800€ a month. Considering the price of the car was 28,000€, the math didn’t add up. “So you expect us to fork over 14,000€ today and then pay you close to 30,000€ over the next 36 months?” I wanted to tell him that even though his interest rate was high, my IQ was higher. My wife pushed me out the door before I could make a scene. She does that.
Finally, we headed over to Nissan. They had a Kilometer 0 Qashqai (which is American for a basically new Nissan Rogue Sport) parked out front for the exact amount we were looking to spend.
And wouldn’t you believe it, the salesperson was both friendly and fair. He gave us a quote that made a whole lotta sense, and we signed on the dotted line that day.
Of course, things like this happen everywhere. And there are far worse things in the world than being judged for driving a beat-up truck and rocking jorts.
But let this story serve as a reminder that the next time you see someone rocking jorts with pesto on his shirt, they could be a C+/B- writer who has saved up his money for a few years to buy his growing family a C+/B- car to scoot them around in.
***
on the point of comedy
Normally, I share takeaways about something I came across. But recently, I watched Conan O’Brien’s acceptance speech when receiving the Mark Twain Award and found myself thinking, “I have nothing to add to that. The guy is glorious.”
Here’s Conan:
“...Accepting an award named after Mark Twain is a responsibility. One cannot invoke Twain without understanding who he was and what he stood for.
Now don't be distracted by the white suit and the cigar and the riverboat — Twain is alive, vibrant, and vitally relevant today.
Yes, he is America's greatest humorist, but his enduring power springs from his core principles — principles that shaped his comedy and made him one of our greatest Americans.
First and foremost, Twain hated bullies. He punched up, not down, and he deeply empathized with the weak.
Twain was allergic to hypocrisy, and he loathed racism. Twain wrote, 'There are many humorous things in the world, among them the white man's notion that he is less savage than the other savages.'
Twain empathized with the powerless in America, former slaves struggling in Reconstruction, immigrant Chinese laborers in California, and European Jews fleeing anti-semitism.
Twain's remedy for ignorance about the world around us was to travel at a time when travel was very long and very difficult. He circled the globe and he wrote, 'Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.'
Twain was suspicious of populism, jingoism, imperialism, and the money-obsessed mania of the Gilded Age, and any expression of mindless American might or self-importance.
Above all, Twain was a patriot in the best sense of the word. He loved America but knew it was deeply flawed. Twain wrote, 'Patriotism is supporting your country all of the time and your government when it deserves it.'
Now, some of you might be thinking, "What does this have to do with comedy?"
It has everything to do with comedy.
Everything.
The comedy I have loved all my life. Comedy that is self-critical and dedicated to the proposition that we are all flawed, absurd, and wallowing in the mud together.
Twain is funny and important today because his comedy is a hilarious celebration of our fears, our ineptitude, and the glorious mess of being human.
When we celebrate Twain — truly see him for who he was — we acknowledge our commonality and we move just a little closer together.
So I accept this award in the spirit of humility, stupidity, inanity, irrelevance, fear, self-doubt, and profound unceasing silliness.”
***
That's it for today.
Keep your eyes peeled for a message next week. And until then, sink into your work, withhold judgment, and watch more stand-up.
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.
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.
PS2: If you're new here and like what you read, you can cruise over all past installments by clicking the link below.
Complete 'Memorable' Catalog