This was really funny and relatable (the moments of smugly judging all the zombies, then getting pulled into some phone activity, and realizing the irony!).
Tom has a point: our consumption/creation ratios are collectively out of proportion. Non-work creativity can feel really rewarding.
But consumption has value too, and not all consumption is equal (Tom seems to disagree with this). Creating more is one worthy goal, improving consumption habits is another. Maybe you need to switch off your brain sometimes in the bus, and that's just fine. What's the best way to do that? Is scrolling a feed really? Or, you may want to learn something. In that case, the quality of the material you consume, and the way you consume it or interact with it matters. I found the "Learning Pyramid" mentioned in a Medium essay with almost the exact same title a helpful concept: "Create more than you consume" - Mikael Cho
But consumption has value too, and not all consumption is equal (Tom seems to disagree with this).
I'm with you on this. Some consumption definitely has value, if it teaches us new skills or useful knowledge for example, or just if it helps us relax to keep our sanity in stressful times.
He mostly mentions reading, but I wonder if he feels the same about things like music, cinema, theatre. From a certain perspective, I can see how going to a concert or a play could be considered wasted time, that could be spent creating instead.
A large part of my job is creating computer code, and I find it a lot easier to focus on my job if I have music playing on my headphones. So that's consumption that actively helps creation, which is a bit of an edge case I suppose.
Here on Readup, I try to write more comments, but they often end up deleted, because I often realise I am writing garbage. There are times I have something I really want to say about something I've read, but I can't quite seem to find the right words.
He mostly mentions reading, but I wonder if he feels the same about things like music, cinema, theatre. From a certain perspective, I can see how going to a concert or a play could be considered wasted time, that could be spent creating instead.
Theatre and concerts sound almost like "noble" consumption cases to me! I don't really know why. They're limited in time, they can't easily be an incessant time drain. I think and hope that Tom was mostly writing as a reaction to people watching S6E13 of some show on the bus or while eating, or scrolling the numerous feeds at our disposal today every 10 minutes. Consumption as a drug that numbs away reality.
Here on Readup, I try to write more comments, but they often end up deleted, because I often realise I am writing garbage. There are times I have something I really want to say about something I've read, but I can't quite seem to find the right words.
Been there! And I don't think it's a bad thing! Sometimes I also feel strongly about something I read, start to write about it, but then while doing so and trying to phrase and rephrase those thoughts, I see that my arguments aren’t as strong as I thought. Re-reading parts of the text I'm commenting on might make me realize that I might be making wrong assumptions, or something else is off. Whether I post or not, it’s OK, because I actually had to think about the text, and interact with it on a deeper level. Really consider some else's viewpoints, rather than just superficially saying the first thing that comes to my mind.
At the same time: comments don't need to be perfect :) We're all human here.
I’ve never done sales, but I know a little bit about the “sales funnel.” You hire college grads to make 500 cold calls in a week. Of those 500 calls, maybe 5% agree to watch a demo of the product. Then some slightly-more-senior sales people do this demo, and perhaps 20% of those demos end up in contract negotiation. And 60% of those end up as actual sales. That means you need 500 cold calls to make three sales.
I think that’s what creating is like. You need to write 500 words to get three good ones. Or 500 sketches, business ideas, or recipes. If you’re really really good, you can increase your overall conversion rate from 0.6% to 1%—but the most reliable way to get better results is to just produce more crap.
It's a golden truth. If you want something, you need to be willing to fight for it. Often, “fight” isn't remotely glamorous. It just means keep trying, harder, and keep failing, more. Stack the odds in your favor by giving yourself as many chances to "get lucky” as possible. If it wasn't emotionally exhausting, it wouldn't be considered “work.”
Most knowledge worth having comes from practice. It comes from doing. It comes from creating. Reading about the trade war with China doesn’t make you smarter—it gives you something to say at dinner parties. It gives you the illusion that you have the vaguest idea what is happening in our enormously complex world.
Smartphones, I’ve decided, are not evil. This entire essay was composed on an iPhone. What’s evil is passive consumption, in all its forms.
This was really funny and relatable (the moments of smugly judging all the zombies, then getting pulled into some phone activity, and realizing the irony!).
Tom has a point: our consumption/creation ratios are collectively out of proportion. Non-work creativity can feel really rewarding.
But consumption has value too, and not all consumption is equal (Tom seems to disagree with this). Creating more is one worthy goal, improving consumption habits is another. Maybe you need to switch off your brain sometimes in the bus, and that's just fine. What's the best way to do that? Is scrolling a feed really? Or, you may want to learn something. In that case, the quality of the material you consume, and the way you consume it or interact with it matters. I found the "Learning Pyramid" mentioned in a Medium essay with almost the exact same title a helpful concept: "Create more than you consume" - Mikael Cho
I'm with you on this. Some consumption definitely has value, if it teaches us new skills or useful knowledge for example, or just if it helps us relax to keep our sanity in stressful times.
He mostly mentions reading, but I wonder if he feels the same about things like music, cinema, theatre. From a certain perspective, I can see how going to a concert or a play could be considered wasted time, that could be spent creating instead.
A large part of my job is creating computer code, and I find it a lot easier to focus on my job if I have music playing on my headphones. So that's consumption that actively helps creation, which is a bit of an edge case I suppose.
Here on Readup, I try to write more comments, but they often end up deleted, because I often realise I am writing garbage. There are times I have something I really want to say about something I've read, but I can't quite seem to find the right words.
Exactly!
Theatre and concerts sound almost like "noble" consumption cases to me! I don't really know why. They're limited in time, they can't easily be an incessant time drain. I think and hope that Tom was mostly writing as a reaction to people watching S6E13 of some show on the bus or while eating, or scrolling the numerous feeds at our disposal today every 10 minutes. Consumption as a drug that numbs away reality.
Been there! And I don't think it's a bad thing! Sometimes I also feel strongly about something I read, start to write about it, but then while doing so and trying to phrase and rephrase those thoughts, I see that my arguments aren’t as strong as I thought. Re-reading parts of the text I'm commenting on might make me realize that I might be making wrong assumptions, or something else is off. Whether I post or not, it’s OK, because I actually had to think about the text, and interact with it on a deeper level. Really consider some else's viewpoints, rather than just superficially saying the first thing that comes to my mind.
At the same time: comments don't need to be perfect :) We're all human here.
The author piles on the self-deprecation a bit thick, but the point is bang on. Creation and growth are essential.
Love this …
Very funny.
I can’t get away from this concept:
It's a golden truth. If you want something, you need to be willing to fight for it. Often, “fight” isn't remotely glamorous. It just means keep trying, harder, and keep failing, more. Stack the odds in your favor by giving yourself as many chances to "get lucky” as possible. If it wasn't emotionally exhausting, it wouldn't be considered “work.”
Per usual, @deephdave, you took my highlight:
Great stuff!