← back reading
essay35 min
How to Do Great Work — Paul Graham

The clearest thing written about making work that matters. Required reading before you start anything new.

essay12 min
1,000 True Fans — Kevin Kelly

Still the best framework for thinking about audience and sustainability as a creator.

essay14 min
Childhoods of Exceptional People — Henrik Karlsson

Changed how I think about environment and what conditions produce people who make real things.

profile35 min
Frank Sinatra Has a Cold — Gay Talese

The best profile ever written. A masterclass in observational writing and restraint.

watching
youtube1hr 5min
Everything is a Remix

Made me understand that originality is always synthesis. Extremely replayable — different things land each time.

youtube1 min
David Bowie on why you should never play to the gallery

90 seconds. Watched it probably 40 times. Bookmark and come back every few months.

film1hr 22min
Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Not about sushi. About what it looks like to dedicate your life completely to craft.

documentary1hr 30min
Dogtown and Z-Boys

Origin story of skateboarding as visual culture. Referenced constantly when building the (p)OLY world.

books
book
The Creative Act — Rick Rubin

Less about music, more about what it means to be in a creative relationship with work over a lifetime.

book
Dieter Rams: The Complete Works

The reference. Every principle of good design illustrated in one career.

book
Let My People Go Surfing — Yvon Chouinard

On building a company around values that feel out of step with everything else.

book
The War of Art — Steven Pressfield

Short and brutal. The best description of Resistance I've read. Re-read it when stuck.