Thanks to David Quigg for forwarding

Gladwell opens his article with the story of Ben Fountain, an attorney who decided in his late twenties that he wanted to write fiction.

He began his new life on a February morning—a Monday. He sat down at his kitchen table at 7:30A.M. He made a plan. Every day, he would write until lunchtime. Then he would lie down on the floor for twenty minutes to rest his mind. Then he would return to work for a few more hours. He was a lawyer. He had discipline.

Fountain had some immediate success, and continued to write – eventually gaining critical acclaim for a collection of short stories. But lest you think this was an overnight success story, the article continues:

Ben Fountain’s rise sounds like a familiar story: the young man from the provinces suddenly takes the literary world by storm. But Ben Fountain’s success was far from sudden. He quit his job at Akin, Gump in 1988. For every story he published in those early years, he had at least thirty rejections. The novel that he put away in a drawer took him four years. The dark period lasted for the entire second half of the nineteen-nineties. His breakthrough with “Brief Encounters” came in 2006, eighteen years after he first sat down to write at his kitchen table. The “young” writer from the provinces took the literary world by storm at the age of forty-eight.

It was through disciplined, regular creating and supportive relationships that Fountain was able to engage in his work in a meaningful way. For those of us questioning the value of our creative disciplines or who are still on the fence about establishing unnecessary creating time in our lives, please read this article.

LINK: Late Bloomers (NewYorker.com – Article) | Late Bloomers (NewYorker.com – Podcast)

Memory retention is important to the ability to make connections and discover new ideas. I’m intrigued by the games and tools mentioned in the article and I’m curious whether anyone here has tried them?

THE MUSIC:
So…what is that music featured at the beginning and end of AC podcasts? Well… I’m glad you asked. And…it depends on which episode you happen to listening to.

The most “iconic” AC music (that we’ve been using since episode 20) is called “My City in Healing” and it’s by a friend (and fellow Cincinnatian) Joshua Seurkamp. Josh is one of the more brilliant and prolific artists I know and his music has been used and featured in more places than you can shake a stick at. (Even a really big stick.) Check out both of his recent albums on iTunes. They’re great environmental music for relaxing and creating.

Recently we’ve begun using some custom-crafted music by another friend (and also a fellow Cincinnatian) Neil Smith. Neil is also an amazing and prolific artist working primarily in the field of motion graphics and post production, but rooted in graphic design. His work can be heard (and seen) on the intros to AC Whiteboard Sessions and the intros to the Improv series. Check out Neil at his personal website.

THE ART:
Want a little AC on your desktop? Here are a few desktops based on our recent series:

Jerry Seinfeld’s Productivity Secret [LifeHacker]

Tim has a blog that I follow called Sanders Says . In his latest post, he is encouraging organizations to stop "grinding" on people and allow a healthier pace of work to emerge. This hearkens to my repeated theme of "rhythmic" productivity that is so important to effective creativity and long-term viability. While you’re over at Tim’s blog, make sure to browse some of his other posts – there’s gold in them there hills! (That’s old-time speak for "it’s good stuff!")

Don’t Wear Out Your People [Sanders Says]

He creates art the size of a dust particle with amazing detail. He describes his creative process as "miserable" and "painstaking".

You must see this. It is both amazing and bewildering.

Small World: Man Sculpts Microart (warning: you must endure the ads to get to the real video…)

Well…not exactly. But those of us with our eye on the ball are always looking for ways to cultivate our creative rhythm and personal productivity. LifeHack.org has posted its 50 Ways To Increase Your Productivity. (I think they forgot one – STOP READING LONG LISTS ON THE WEB. Oh well.)

50 Ways To Increase Your Productivity [via LifeHack.org ]

How a project develops (really.)

Well duh!?!?

Via LifeHacker

The article explains that this upswell of (largely futile) activity in the diamond trade has resulted in ruined farmland, polluted rivers and a decimated fishing trade.

I think it’s easy to draw parallels to the way many artists approach the creative process.

Many of us, over time, gradually start to see the creative process as a means to a practical end. We see it as a way to fulfill our ambitions and to accomplish our dreams. We may even compare ourselves to those who have achievd some degree of success and fame in our field. We use our creativity for our own purposes and, over time, we strip away the very foundation we need to sustain ourselves over the long-term.

To use an old cliche, we’re killing to goose to grab a few eggs.

We must maintain a proper perspective and be careful not to strip away our creative foundation in order to mine a few creative gems.
The goal is long-term viability, not momentary impact. The goal is to make something great, not make a few people happy.

Take care of yourself.