Often, planning is only a pacifier I have a bias for action. More than once in my career, I’ve taken a ready, fire, aim approach and missed my target completely. But the reason I now start before I’m ready is that for a long time, I never did anything except plan. You have dreams — big dreams. You…
At least not like that In March of 2020, Variety released a cover story on Kim Kardashian that included a clip that went viral. It was the last line that hit me. Ms. Kardashian lashed out, “It seems nobody wants to work these days.” Former interns and employees immediately began sharing their horror stories of working in the Kardashian fame…
To love means being open to heartbreak Sometimes, I feel that everything I write, draw, and say is just a remix of All You Need Is Love by The Beatles. Fundamentally, all of us want to be happy, and we understand that happiness and being loved are linked together. But often, we find happiness eludes us because we are unwilling to love first. We are taught to harden ourselves against the threat of rejection. We play it cool, never being fully vulnerable with those closest to us, and we never risk heartbreak by loving too freely. Connecting with strangers becomes a game of chicken: who will be soft and vulnerable first? Men are especially reticent to open themselves up to rejection, and too many men only know how to react to even the gentlest letdown with rage and violence. Happiness doesn’t come from…
No magical thinking required When I was working as an attorney, I threw up almost every day before work. So many mornings, I would vomit in the sink and then look at myself in the mirror. I looked awful. I was miserable. That career path was slowly killing me. That life was another lifetime ago. I closed the doors of my small law firm more than thirteen years ago. These days, I wake up excited. I sing in the shower. I annoy my teenagers with my energy getting ready for the day, and I’m not even a morning person. I have built a life I love, not through manifestation or magical thinking. I have built my current life through trial and…
Every creative act is influenced directly and subconsciously by the creative acts of thousands of other artists. As Pablo Picasso put it: Author, blackout poet, and cartoonist Austin Kleon’s best-selling book, Steal Like an Artist, explores this part of the artistic process in fascinating detail. Similarly, the writer Cormac McCarthy said, “Books are made out of books.” The key…
Did a wildfire help inspire Thoreau’s most important works? Hi, I’m Jason McBride! I’m a poet-cartoonist, and Weirdo Poetry is a reader-supported publication. You can find my books and zines over at the Weirdo Poetry Shop. Tips are always appreciated! Click here to leave a tip with PayPal Click here to leave a tip with…
The defining emotion of my early childhood was fear. My first memory is a recurring nightmare I had where a Lou Ferrigno-style Hulk burst out of my closet and terrorized me. As an adult, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. Looking back, I have probably had an anxiety disorder since I was a very young child. I was afraid…
One thing that sets great email marketing apart from average email marketing is the ability to write simultaneously for different types of readers. When sending cold email sequences or autoresponders as part of a sales funnel, especially in B2B marketing, you have to account for the fact that some people will read every email and…
What’s the purpose of marketing? It’s a simple question, right? Or maybe not. Something’s changing. You’ve felt it. And it’s not just AI — though AI is a big part of it. Once anyone can push a button and instantly write and send 10,000 emails, everyone will be sending 10,000 emails, and nobody will be…
The opening line of Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is a world-building masterpiece Hi, I’m Jason McBride! I’m a poet-cartoonist, and Weirdo Poetry is a reader-supported publication. You can find my books and zines over at the Weirdo Poetry Shop. Tips are always appreciated! Click here to leave a tip with PayPal Click here…