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WHY is thi WHY is my work comi WHY do I do the same thing over
You should pay atten and change the things When you’re in the midst of failure, are you always able to keep the long view and remember that a failure is going to lead you to greater successes later? Or have you ever felt discouraged and hopeless?
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TALK about the conditions for making discovery. The first condition is that you’re young and arrogant, and you can’t do that later because then you know too much. That’s one way you begin to grow. I make an analogy to The Verdict, a movie with Paul Newman. He plays this down-and-out lawyer who was almost disbarred because he did something shameful in his past. He’s given this case, and it’s a malpractice case. The client is morally right. There’s all these reasons he can’t win the case. Finally he gets to the point. And he says, “This is the case. There are no other cases.” This is the moment. And at that point you know he can win the thing, because the focus is so strong, the determination is there, and the opportunity is there. The ball being pitched, he’s got to hit it out of the ballpark. You are in a state of desperation, and there can be that focus. And that’s another way to change. A third way to change is to accidentally, or even by your own manipulation, put yourself into a situation or a product where you’re a complete and total neophyte. Then you’re operating on an instinctive level and you can make discovery that way. The last way to do it — and I’m looking for a new way, I’ve done this many times — is to be so bored so senseless by what you’re been doing repetitively that it forces you to strike out in a new way.
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Do you try to shield yourself against reviews or do you seek them out to try to get more feedback?
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HERE is a point where, if I read things about my work on a blog or some such thing, there’s always certain amount of value to it and there’s a certain amount of snark and mean. So I have to be able to know the difference. But I know that what’s problematic is that at a certain point when you’ve established — and lets face it, I’m just a graphic designer, there is no great thing here — but when you establish a certain level of success within your field, you’re a walking target. Because other people assume everything is easy for you, or that you don’t have to work as hard, or that you’re getting away with something. And yet, that becomes something you have to be acutely aware of so you’re not frivolous, so you continue to take the risks and prove yourself, not relying on your fame. You have to pay attention.
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