One Last Time in 2024
Fixed Cranes, Creative Spaces, and that Phil Collins Autobiography
It’s hitting me this morning that we’re almost at the end of another year. It was a big one for me. I started a new job, one that feels important and rewarding. I traveled to the Dolomites, went to my first Aspen Ideas Festival, visited Berlin and Charleston, saw Sturgill and the boys, embraced reels, and got started on a big creative project I’ve wanted to take on for years.
Somehow, I think it was the first year I may have finally found something like balance in doing the work that pays, the work that rewards, and the work that creatively fulfills.
I still don’t have my dream creative space/studio in the woods, but as I’ve learned making “space” for creative work doesn’t need to include the physical as much as it does the time and the dedication. It’s the mental space, not the physical that matters the most. It also needs to include patience and that’s something I’ve found more of this year as well.
The Best Books I Read This Year
I clocked in a good year of reading. My best since before becoming a father. Here are my favorite books.
Butcher’s Crossing: The epic story of the last of the buffalo hunters. The whole time I’m reading it, I’m thinking: This should be a movie. Turns out it is, with Nicolas Cage. Can’t imagine it’s better than the book though.
Friday Afternoon Club. Just a beautiful sad well-written story that will help you appreciate Griffin Dunne even more than you already (hopefully) do.
The Pigeon Tunnel: A spy turned-fiction writer's autobiography can only mean amazing stories, which you never really know are true, or not. That's just fine with me.
Not Dead Yet: The Phil Collins autobiography you didn't know you needed to read.
Watching
I appreciate that we have thinkers like Sam Harris on the planet right now and people like Rich Roll to help amplify his thoughts, not that Harris needs much help there. It’s easy to get lost in the chaos and disinformation of our digital lives, but there are a few calm reasoned places and minds that almost make it all worth it. Sam Harris is one of those.
Another one of those minds is Todd Breyfogle. This is a video from the new In Session series we’re publishing at Aspen Institute. If you find you need space to think about how to be a better leader, I’d point you to Todd’s video and his work leading Executive Leadership Seminars. I’ve been lucky enough to be in the room for a few of Todd’s seminars and always leave feeling a bit more connected to the work, my colleagues, and myself.
Listening
Jeff Parker just dropped this new album and I’ve been spending a lot of time with it.
Content Coverage Submissions
Worked on an interesting project? Seen a good video or have a photo project to suggest? Share your favorite pieces of content here and I’ll include the best in this newsletter.