On creativity:

…folks think we need inspiration to be creative. I don’t believe that this is true. No one gets plumber’s block. They simply do plumbing. Creativity is work, it’s not the muse, or lightning or the result of burning incense. I write daily because I’m a professional, and this is what I do.

On social media:

I spend zero time wondering if I should be spending time on social networks instead of doing my work.

On worrying about what people think:

Worrying is the key word. I haven’t stopped building trust, haven’t stopped contributing, haven’t stopped trying to push the envelope. I simply stopped worry, measuring and checking. My work got better instantly. So did my life.

On marketing:

Empathy and humility are at the heart of successful marketing. We ignore that our peril.

On making a living as a writer:

Can you make money writing articles or books? Not easily, not out on the long tail. The opportunity is to build yourself a niche, a place where you and you alone are the one to copy.

How to help people give up their guns

I think one of the reasons gun control struggles to get traction in the US is that guns are viewed at worst as neutral objects, probably as good objects, and for many, they are sacred, holy objects.

This is not reflective of reality. Unlike the knives, cars, baseball bats, toasters and kittens that guns are compared to in gun control arguments, guns have no purpose other than killing. With the exception of hunting rifles, guns are for killing people.

An object that exists only to kill people is not a neutral object. It is an evil object. (Ignore gnashing of teeth and howling about why some people need to be killed. Ignore high-minded arguments about the necessity of evil. These are not what I’m writing about.) There are more of these evil objects than people in the United States. The number of guns in America needs to be massively reduced. For that to happen, the way people think about guns must change.

This can happen.

When I was a kid, parents who didn’t put their toddlers in car seats were seen as normal. Because they were normal. Today, parents who don’t put their toddlers in car seats are seen as potential murderers. Because they are.

The way society thinks can change. It can change relatively quickly.

I have a proposal to help things along: Let’s call guns something other than guns. I have three ideas.

1. Every gun that isn’t a hunting rifle should be called a child killer.

As in, ‘Wow, you’ve got an AR-15 Child Killer. Have you got one of the 30-round magazines? I bet you can kill a lot of kids with that. I mean, you’ll have a few misses, but still, five to ten kids per magazine. That’s a lot of kids you’re set to kill.’

Or, ‘Geez, a Desert Eagle Child Killer. I bet shooting watermelons really helps you imagine a child’s exploding head.’

2. I suggest a different approach for ‘open carry’ people Let’s call their guns erections.

‘Whoa! Look at that guy walking around with an erection!’

‘Hey, dude, I bet you feel really secure with your giant erection on display. I know I’m not gonna touch you.’

‘You’re really manly, bro. I wasn’t sure how manly you were at first but then I saw your enormous strap-on erection and then I knew you were the manliest.’

‘Excuse me, sir. There are a lot of children around. I’d be really grateful if you make sure your big ol’ erection doesn’t ejaculate all over the playground.’

3. If you’re talking with the ‘blue lives matter crowd’, call the guns cop killers.

‘I had no idea you had a cop killer. And it’s an MP5. Ironic. So you gonna go kill some cops later with your cop killer? … What? … Oh, it’s not a Cop Killer? Sorry. My mistake. You’re off to the local kindergarten then? You’ve got enough rounds there to take out the whole school. … Whoa! Dude! Don’t get angry. It was an honest mistake. I didn’t realise it was just your giant erection.’

Let’s replace ‘gun’ and all its synonyms with ‘child killer’, ‘cop killer’ and ‘erection’. Once those terms get into circulation, people might start feeling a better about getting rid of their child killers.

YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO FOLLOW THE MUSE.

Yesterday, I was taking a walk. I intended to think of ideas for this week’s The Misprints comics. Instead I felt a story idea wanting to happen, so I went with it. Sure enough, after a little time tumbling thoughts around my head, a really nice story idea showed up.

When I have a number of projects on the go, I find it works best to go with the one that feels most interesting and promising because there is an idea that wants to happen. If I force myself to think about something else, I become doubly unproductive. I squish the idea that wants to happen and I’m not in the right mindset to receive the idea that I’m trying force into my head.

—Jeff Gill · · Like, share, spread the love! Share your own note by visiting permissionnotes.com/submit or sending us a message.

THE REASON WHY THE BACK OF JANE’S CAR SMELLS LIKE VOMIT

A poem for Christmas by Jeff Gill

The dog was not quiet.
The house was not still.
The bread was all mouldy.
The children were ill.
The uneaten icing
on the corpse’s grey tongue
was the same shade of puce
as a chain-smoker’s lung.
The cat joined the dog –
a cacophonous wail –
while the ill children’s parents
were dragged off to jail.
The young social worker,
Jane was her name,
swallowed a swear
and sighed, ‘What a shame!’
She said to the children,
their faces grey-green,
‘I do not suppose you’ll
forget what you’ve seen.
But courage, dear kids,
on this dark Christmas Eve!
Your old murdered gran
left a treat, I believe.
There’s most of a cake
right there on the tray.
Let’s all eat a slice,
then I’ll take you away
to your new foster parents
Bill and Alice McBode,
who live at the end of
a lurch-bumping road.

Seth Godin talking about stuff

How to help people give up their guns

1. Every gun that isn’t a hunting rifle should be called a child killer.

2. I suggest a different approach for ‘open carry’ people Let’s call their guns erections.

3. If you’re talking with the ‘blue lives matter crowd’, call the guns cop killers.

YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO FOLLOW THE MUSE.

Salute The Pig 🐖 🔪 🥓 🥪 on Twitter

THE ADVENTURES OF NEARLY SQUID BY MR DAVIES AND ADAM, PART 1

THE REASON WHY THE BACK OF JANE’S CAR SMELLS LIKE VOMIT

See, that’s what the app is perfect for.

Seth Godin talking about stuff

How to help people give up their guns

1. Every gun that isn’t a hunting rifle should be called a child killer.

2. I suggest a different approach for ‘open carry’ people Let’s call their guns erections.

3. If you’re talking with the ‘blue lives matter crowd’, call the guns cop killers.

YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO FOLLOW THE MUSE.

Salute The Pig 🐖 🔪 🥓 🥪 on Twitter

THE ADVENTURES OF NEARLY SQUID BY MR DAVIES AND ADAM, PART 1

THE REASON WHY THE BACK OF JANE’S CAR SMELLS LIKE VOMIT