The Tao of Keith
June 30, 2004 | 
27 Comments
…or the secrets of my success.
Yeah, I know…corny, pretentious, self-congratulatory, etc…
But, I do consider myself successful.� If nothing else, I’m a happy, well adjusted person with lots of friends, a great job and a passion for what I do.� If that’s not success, then I don’t know what is!
Anyway, one of the things I’m asked most often is some variation of “how do you do it?”� People seem want to know how I come up with ideas for posts,� how I design, how I learned to do what I do, how I managed to have time for everything and a host of other things.� It’s funny because my first instinct is to respond with something like, “I dunno, I just do.”
But that’s not really an answer and it’s not really true either.� It’s just that these things aren’t something I consciously think about.� There is are better answers to these questions, but in a general, everyday sense, “just doing it” is pretty accurate.�
As many of you know I’ve been trying (as best I can) to document my creative process (and more) with my Designing The Band series.� This has got me to think pretty hard about how I do what I do — how I live and work — and how I came to be where I am today.
I’d thought about putting some of these answers into those posts, but they seemed to warrant a bit more depth and I thought this stuff might be of interest to a wider audience.� Even for those folks who live and work outside of our Web professional clique.
(Which we really need to expand, but that is another post.)
Anyway, since you want to know! ;)� Let me tell you.
I Discover and Cultivate My Passions
I’m a strong believer in making something you love to do your job. I also know, first hand, how hard this can be.� I spent many, many years searching before I discovered what I loved to do.� I consider myself very, very lucky that Web design (etc.) was something I had an opportunity to get into fairly easily with next to no experience. My how times have changed, eh? ;)
This is something I think about all the time now and one of the reasons why I try to help people along when they are just getting started.� I really think this is an area where the Web community in general could do a better job. We tend to leave lots of folks behind.
In any case, I’m always looking for ways to grow, learn, and share my passions.� Yeah I said passions. Plural.� Life would be pretty boring if people had only one passion! Combining passions can work well also.
For example, I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was very young, I just never knew how to go about it.� Now I write about my other passions (the Web, music…) and in that way cultivate a few at once!
If you’ve not discovered a passion you can turn into a job, don’t worry, just keep looking and keep trying.� It may take awhile, but I trust it can be done. In the mean time, don’t let go of your passions, whatever they may be.
I Work Hard…But Not Too Hard
Having a passion to work on makes this much easier, but I’ve found to really succeed you need to work hard at whatever you do.� In fact, I find good things happen when I put lots of hard work into those things I’m either not good at or don’t like doing.
Let’s take visual design.� I’m no Doug Bowman, Ryan Sims or Cameron Moll (or a host of other great designers out there) but I do my best.�
I think my best is pretty good, and you might be surprised how hard I have to work at it.� It can be very frustrating at times, because I know this is something I have to work extra hard at and that I can’t rely on education and talent alone.
Now I’m sure those folks I mentioned work hard as well.� When coupling hard work with talent and know-how really great things can be done!
I Practice Lifelong Learning
Speaking of know-how, I feel it’s important in any endeavor to practice lifelong learning.� No matter how much I know (or more likely think I know) there is always more to I can learn.� If I ever get to the point where I think I “know it all” or think there is nothing left to learn, I can bet I’m clueless.
I’ve noticed that with any learning process there are peaks and plateaus.� What I do when I feel like I’m not making progress is concentrate on another area or subject and leave the one that’s peaked alone for awhile.� Invariably when I come back to it I find that there is much more to learn and I now have the motivation to get back to it.
I Make Mistakes
..or, sometimes I know when to say “what the fuck?”
Anything worth succeeding at involves risk.� You absolutely must take risks if you want to be the best you can be at anything.� There have been so many times when I’ve looked at a potential blog post, had a wacky idea in a meeting, or created an unconventional design and asked myself, “should I?”�
The answer almost every time has been “YES!”
(Or more often “What the Fuck?” — just like in Risky Business! You can learn a lot from that dude who played “bugger” in Revenge of The Nerds.)
As you may have guessed, these chances have resulted in varying levels of success, but in each case I can say I’m glad I did it.� Even when it makes me feel like a total jackass. At the very least I’ve probably learned something (like what not to do and any time you can learn something is a good time.
It’s important to not let failure get you down and put your mistakes into perspective.� Use failure to grow and learn.
I Try (sometimes really hard!) To Trust Others
In any group dynamic micro-management can be one of the biggest hurdles to overcome.� Trust is a hard thing to come by, even among people who know each other well, and an absence of trust can bring even the most successful people or teams down.
I find it’s important to find, understand and appreciate the passions of others.� Everyone has them, and even though they might not mesh perfectly with your own, if you try hard enough you’ll find a way to leverage those passions to the benefit of all concerned.
I Maintain A Work/Life Balance
Burnout is always a concern with any creative endeavor.
Hard work, creativity and embracing your passions can take quite a bit out of you.� There are times when I find I need to blow off steam and there are times when I need to get away from work, or a project.� I may have made my passion into a job, but even if at times I feel I live to work (I feel this is bad, and I’m trying to change this) there are times when you need to step away and just live.
I Break The Rules
I cheat. I miss a deadlines.� Yep, I buck the system — take an extra break, play hooky for a round of golf when I should be working, jet the office early every now and again — things like that.� It’s a good feeling to let life take precedence over work once in awhile!�
In my whole life this has never once created a problem.� It’s about balance, you could over do it, but every once in awhile some orchistrated disobedience is a very good thing.
I Take Advantage Of Creative “Ups”
This is one that is very important to me.� I consider myself a very creative person, but there is only so much creative fuel in the tank!� When my creative energy is high, I take advantage of it.� There are times when the ideas just come rolling in and when that happens I do whatever it takes to capture them, even if it means stopping working on something important for a minute.
I Never Lose An Idea
I do my best to capture and keep any idea, no matter how small or silly seeming.� I’m constantly sketching things out, writing things down and sending myself e-mails filled with ideas for designs, solutions to problems and outlines for blog posts.� I also try to keep everything I create, even the bombs.� It’s harder than you might think.� When the creative process gets going ideas can be abandoned and forgotten as easy as they come.� I have to make a conscious effort to capture them and be ready for those floods of creativity at all times.
I Stay Positive
Probably the most important thing in life to me is maintaining a positive attitude.� Not to get all Zen on you ass, but I’m a pretty big believer in personal energy.� Have you ever known someone whose presence could bring a whole room down?� I have and it’s not a pretty sight.
The good news is that a positive attitude will breed positive energy which in turn attracts and grows even more positive energy.� Now I’m not going to get into all the ways you can stay positive, that would fill a book, but the general idea is to try to look on the bright side of everything and choose to be positive wherever possible.
It’s not something you can do all the time, and you really have to work at it.� I know, I get pissed off all the time!� But, I’ve learned (yep learned) that it’s better to look at things positively and I try and do that!
A Few Smaller Things
- I realize I’ve got a long way to go
- I’m ok with imperfection
- I say please and thank you
- I ask questions
- I smile and laugh
- I know my spelling sucks and I work at it!
- I try and go somewhere new at least once a year
- I keep in touch with friends and family
- I buy a round for my friends quite often
- I sometimes make no sense
- I stay active
- I take naps
- I ask for help
- I try and keep my surroundings clean
- I eat healthy
- I open the door for people
- I try and respond to every e-mail I get
- I’m on time most of the time
- I try to see both sides of issues
- I move on when it’s time
- I know that I don’t know shit (so take all this with a grain of salt!)
Filed under: Life and Such
Comments
1. patrick said:
i’m always amazed at how you have this ability to post so frequently and still keep your content fresh and relevant.
this latest post was a great read, many points that i agree with and hold close to my own heart. “I know that I don’t know shit” being one of the more prevalent.
Posted on June 30, 2004 04:19 PM | #
2. Joel LaTondress said:
I often find this is more productive than not. In fact, the thought of two rounds on the weekend makes me want to work my ass off during the week to be “re-energized” on the course. You said it well; it’s “cultivating my passions”.
Posted on June 30, 2004 04:37 PM | #
3. Mike D. said:
The key to optimal golf hooky is to turn it into a “business meeting”. Take a client out to Washington National, ask them on hole one if they are happy with your services, and boom… it’s a business trip.
Also, speaking of the Tao of Keith, have you seen the movie “The Tao of Steve”? Great flick…
Posted on June 30, 2004 04:42 PM | #
4. Ketih said:
Mike – On the golf tip – I’m still learning, so it’s less “business meeting” and more “watch the f*ck out!” But I’m beginning to really enjoy it…
I have seen The Tao of Steve and it’s is a great flick…thus the title for this post.
Posted on June 30, 2004 04:55 PM | #
5. Erica said:
Well said!!! You have certainly hit the nail on the head when it comes to true wisdom. As Socrates said, “One thing only I know, and that is that I know nothing”.
As a budding web designer, I can relate perfectly to much of what you have said. If I could choose to be or do anything in the world, I would do what I am doing right now. The trouble with the world (and what causes so many people lifetime frustrastion), is that they do not ask themselves the right questions. Or, maybe it’s that they don’t know what questions to ask.
You should definitely count yourself among the lucky, for discovering your passions early in life. I look forward to reading more about your creative process.
Posted on June 30, 2004 05:58 PM | #
6. -b- said:
I’ve been meaning to ask about that designing the band thing, I understand your documenting your process for your readers, and the value in that, but I wonder if you have time to do that, and others to contribute, why not do something for charity? Give it away for a cause when you’re done or volunteer your time. I’ll note on that, if I’m to question the project, that it may just be my business sense. I worry about making a profit and everyday decide how much time I spend working will be billable or not. Running a small business will do that, as I noted in my Work Less. Bicycle more post, I need to force myself to work less and limit the amount of free work I do. I don’t want this to sound like, “It must be great to be Keith.” I’m cool with it, and your site is a great service to the web design community, but I do wonder how much time us bloggers spend doing work for free. Maybe we should all spend less. I know I need to.
Posted on June 30, 2004 06:03 PM | #
7. Harley said:
Formula for success:
1. Rise early
2. Work hard
3. Srike oil
- J. Paul Getty
;-)
Posted on June 30, 2004 06:08 PM | #
8. Matt said:
Really excellent write-up.
Posted on June 30, 2004 06:09 PM | #
9. Keith said:
Byron (-b-) – Well, I sure am glad you’re “cool with it”, I’d hate to not have your blessing on how I donate my time! ;)
Anyway – It’s much easier to do a project when there is no client. That’s pretty much the gist of where I’m coming from with the Designing The Band project. In a sense I feel it is for charity, as I’m sharing my process and lessons learned with a whole bunch of people for free. Plus it’s has a very specific goal that doesn’t really lend itself to charity…Rock band and all that.
If you look at with your “business sense” you might see that there are benefits there as well. I don’t have the risk, effort and expectations that would be involved with a “real” customer. At the same time, by documenting this stuff for folks I have a case study to show if I ever need it, something to add to my portfolio and on a different note, if people value it and I ever decided to write a book, or want to speak at a conference or try and land a consulting gig – I’ve got people who can speak to the value I may bring.
But it’s not all about the money. Maybe that should be one of my “secrets.”
Posted on June 30, 2004 06:19 PM | #
10. -b- said:
So you see your site and that project as your time donation? That makes sense. I’ve certainly done my share with all the net.art Texturadesign used to do. The reason I shifted the site away from that, was all time I spent working, instead of creating art. I think having kids changes the perspective as well. Throw a ball with my son or write a rant on Konfabulator v. Gadgets? True on the documentation, especially with Google, one of the best uses for a blog, is finding things again. I can capture a thought, idea, whatever, and know it’s indexed.
Posted on June 30, 2004 06:41 PM | #
11. Keith said:
Byron – Umm, yeah…something like that, I guess. Anyway, it’s a bit off topic, so…
Matt – Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
Posted on June 30, 2004 06:54 PM | #
12. Michael Watts said:
*confused look*
You sometimes make no sense???
The rest of the article - which did make sense was quite insightful.
:)
Posted on June 30, 2004 09:40 PM | #
13. Keith said:
Michael – Ok, that’s pretty damn funny. I have no clue how that got in there. It was supposed to read “I buy a round for my friends quite often.”
???
I’m blaming Movable Type gremlins:
Damn Movable Type gremlins!
Posted on July 1, 2004 12:23 AM | #
14. Jonathan Hollin said:
While reading your post, I remembered a question my grandfather once asked me:
“What would you do today if you knew that you absolutely could not fail?”
I don’t remember how I answered - I was just a child at the time. But I was intrigued by the possibilities the question suggested and it just stuck with me.
Today, I consider that question often. I find that when I am faced with a difficult decision, or a seemingly impossible task, asking myself that question is very liberating.
My grandfather planted a seed. He inadvertantly (or perhaps deliberately) established a mind-set in me that has helped me through my career and my personal life. I have found that some wonderful doors have opened to me as a result of my considering that question and saying to myself, “what the hell… let’s try it anyway.”
So I ask you all - what would you do today if you knew that you absolutely could not fail?
Posted on July 1, 2004 03:03 AM | #
15. Nick Ryberg said:
Very cool post.
I’ve been struggling with the “happiness with life” question over the past couple of weeks, and in the odd synchronicity of the universe, I read an article in the daily paper this morning about it, and then when I popped open your blog - here it is again!
Posted on July 1, 2004 07:18 AM | #
16. Seth Thomas Rasmussen said:
Nice post. :thumbsup:
Posted on July 1, 2004 08:37 AM | #
17. Kevin Tamura said:
What a great post. I especially enjoy the life long learning section. It’s something I totally agree with. For me the last six months have been a lot about relearning web design with web standards. I spent nearly 3 years at the evil empire and completely lost touch with what’s going on.
Me too.
Cheers
Posted on July 1, 2004 09:21 AM | #
18. NateL said:
Great post.
The understanding that work is not life is something that a lot of people miss. Work is part of life, an expression of who you are, but as soon as it becomes everything, I think the passion behind it necessarily disappears.
Anyway, thanks for the great read.
Posted on July 1, 2004 11:35 AM | #
19. CoryR said:
Same here! It was in the Variety section of the daily paper.
Is there anything more powerful than easy-to-remember, simple phrases on how to live and work?
Suggestion: a must read,
It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be by Paul Arden. Not your average self-help book, but more of a pocket sized guide to being successful. You can finish it in 30 minutes, or flip to any page for a dosage of wisdom.
This little book really opened my eyes, and if you follow its wisdom along with Keith’s personal Tao, anything is possible.
Posted on July 1, 2004 12:01 PM | #
20. Neil said:
Hey Keith,
Loving your work man.
Please write a book, my bookshelves demand your wisdom & experience.
I mean it. I have money.
Regards, Neil:)
Posted on July 1, 2004 01:45 PM | #
21. Stacy said:
We’ve all got a long way to go, but I’m glad you realized it :)
Posted on July 1, 2004 03:38 PM | #
22. Rob Mientjes said:
I love it you’re being so honest. And about creative rushes, I know the feeling. But it sucks when you have to make something and you’re empty. So I have half a gigabyte of websites and designs as a back-up :P Sometimes it can really save you. But for the time being, I don’t need it that much.
One incredibly important tip really is to exploit your creativity rushes. And not only on design. Play guitar, write stuff (I’m an absurdist, it does come in handy) and don’t spill it.
Posted on July 2, 2004 03:15 AM | #
23. Adam Bramwell said:
Writing can be both informative for the reader and therapeutic for the writer. I find your reflective self affirmation a necessary and welcome diversion from technical web discussion. Cheers.
Posted on July 2, 2004 06:02 AM | #
24. Francis said:
Keith, what a great post! I must say that you hit the nail right on the head.
I remember not so long ago that that my sister wanted to get into graphic design and I tried to persuade her because “there was no future” in it. To make a long story short, here we are 6 years later, I’m in the design profession and she’s in the banking industry. How ironic, since I’m the one with the business degree.
Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that I’d be doing what I do now. Took me a while, but I finally found “my passion”…by accident, I might add. For years I just wandered around aimlessly looking for that “thing that I wanted to do.” Its never too late folks!
On the topic of that Live/Work balance…it is a constant battle. I really have to make a conscious effort to separate them.
I also find that it helps tremendously if the person that you’re with is understanding and supportive.
Anyway, this is like one big run-on sentence. What I was trying to say was I enjoyed reading this post.
Best,
/ff.
Posted on July 2, 2004 07:00 AM | #
25. Chad said:
“I try and respond to every e-mail I get”
It’s true! I remember emailing you a couple times and while writing it I thought to myself, “the chances of him responding or even responding while answering my question is probably slim. But what the hell.”
Next day I got a response and some really good help. I keep coming back here to visit your site not only because you write a lot of good posts, but mainly because you actually care about your readers too.
This post was just awesome too. I felt the exact same way, but just couldn’t put it into words. Thanks again Keith.
Posted on July 2, 2004 11:46 PM | #
26. Mario T. Lanza said:
Flocking with eagles (passionate, positive individuals who inspire energy rather than drain it) is important to me. I try to be one. Your life philosophies paint a picture of being an eagle. I believe you are one.
Above every maxim is learn to “stay positive.” Too few people these days are able to manage their own emotional state let alone pursue the things that juice them. Not a lot of people have even one passion, let alone many. The great thing about people with passions is that it is in their nature to be happy. To me there is no success in anything, if at the end of the day you’re not happy.
The problem is the philosophy of being happy and making every effort to extracting pleasure from life is called hedonism. I too often pursue the things I enjoy most and sometimes fear my own hedonistic ways. Our American culture has become a self-absorbed one. One thing I would add to the Tao is Giving Generously To Others. At the end of life no one will be fulfilled for all his checked off to-dos. Our relationships to others, the degree to which we made other people’s live better, richer, happier will have been the greatest reward. Some of your philosophies allude to this, but I wanted to elevate it to a major point.
Overall, I like people like you. Your thinking and philosophies remind me of me, of the person I am always trying to become. When you spoke of practicing lifelong learning I was reminded of an acronym I learned from Tony Robbins: CANI (pronounced “kah-nie”). Constant And Never-ending Improvement. Lifelong learning is one very important facet of CANI.
Being of a similar mindset to myself, I am particularly amazed at your ability to balance life. I experience “Create Ups” often, I try to capture every idea (I have a digital voice recorder and custom software to aid in this), I read to learn voraciously, I have more passions than I could ever hope to fully develop… all of this leads to one particular feeling: the feeling of being overwhelmed.
I jump online to read a few interesting articles, and a dozen clicks later have filled the Windows task bar with more articles than I have time to read. I’m always bookmarking them and returning to them later. How do you think I even ended up on your site? And why do you think my reply appears so far down the list? Are you catching my drift?
Like my Windows task bar, my own personal to-do list grows like Jack’s beanstalk. Problem is: I’m not a very fast climber!
I admit being a creative is a wonderful experience, but being an ambitious creative can be exhausting. I ultimately know that balance requires a strong emphasis on prioritizing. Still, I find it difficult to crumple up a paper listing half my goals and toss it into the wastebasket of “things I will never do.”
An engaging read. More on this topic of balance… perhaps in a future post.
Posted on July 3, 2004 09:30 AM | #
27. Keith said:
Chad – Thank you buddy! ;)
Mario – I like the “flying with eagles” thing. Evokes a pretty sweet image. Anyway, thanks for the comment.
You talk about feeling overwhelmed by all the information out here on the Web.
You are not alone in this. I too feel overwhelmed quite often. If you read between the line on my posts I imagine you can see that.
Here is a tip to help with all the interesting articles (and I’ll write more on this later I promise) – learn how to skim. I usually don’t read a full article or post anymore. I skim them, reading bits here and there and if I’m really interested I go back and read the whole thing.
I think this behavior on the Web is pretty common and I’m just now learning how to structure content for it as a designer and a writer.
I’ll leave you with this question: Would you rather be overwhelmed with creativity and information or underwhelmed???
I can guess the answer to that one! ;)
Posted on July 3, 2004 11:02 AM | #
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