Hey friend,
Lovely to talk to you again.
One way to play the game of life in professional mode — so to speak — is to have the right people on who to rely upon for the right tip, at the right time.
I was planning a short notice day trip this week and was wondering where to get lunch in a place with delicious local cuisine. A friend I know loves the area, and has friends there, so after a few text messages I already had a plan A, B and C for lunch that day.
It turns out Wednesday is the town's official closing day for restaurants, so a little improvisation was called upon.
(The recommended places did look awesome from the outside though, so a visit will be performed at some time in the future.)
It’s hard to overestimate how much can be gained from being able to rely on insight from knowledgeable folks. Whenever I’m diving into a new project or subject I rummage around my network for the right people to chat about it and clear my early, newbie doubts. Pros are the best.
Signing up for a course or workshop on the topic can also prove invaluable, especially if the teacher(s) are talented, passionate and good at sharing their know-how. My recent video explorations have gained so much from this one course on documentary filmmaking.
When no pros are around to ask you can always fall back on the Great Library of the Interwebs. I am a fan of Skillshare (referral link!) for creative stuff in general, the course selection in there comes in high numbers and in high quality. I’ve done Susan Orlean’s course on creative non-fiction, as well as Roxane Gay’s. The videography stuff is great as well.
Take a dive in case you’re interested in disciplines such as graphic design, typography (hi Jessica Hische!), animation, photography, painting, etc.
Masterclass.com will also let you learn from a rather impressive set of artists such as Werner Herzog, David Lynch, Salman Rushdie, Martin Scorsese or Neil deGrasse Tyson. The yearly subscription is a little steeper, though. Even if totally worth it.
Take the shortcut, talk to the pros. On or offline.
Until next time!
Fred