Creative: Beginning and the End

It tickles me that the YouTube crowd has now discovered journaling. Sure, they turned it into a style guide more than true journaling, but as I always say, “baby steps.” I feel at least partly responsible for their discovery, and this makes me happy because, as I’ve said many times before, the notebook is the centerpiece of my entire creative life. If you commit daily for two weeks, you will never stop. The journal is the antithesis of the average YouTuber’s life. It’s not performance art- well, it still is for them now, but at some point this will exhaust them, the analytics will taper off, and they will be left with reality once again. Some will stick with it; others, like locusts, will move on to the next shiny object.

I like atypical people.

In fact, these types are the ONLY types I want to spend time with. I’m over average. I’m over structured and precise. I’m over data and AI. Soulless, vapid, cold, and data-driven people ignore the most important item on the inventory list: emotion. Data doesn’t factor in emotion, which ultimately comes back to bite spreadsheet people in the ass. (One reason they tend to change jobs regularly.) When I create something like a notebook, emotion is attached. This is what makes me and my products unpredictable and atypical. We are one-offs, not robots. I just completed my 302nd book with Blurb. My very first interaction with the company was a call from the founder who asked, “Your books look weird, who are you?”

Atypical people have the best ideas. They are fearless, have no time for established protocols, and aren’t afraid to take chances that may or may not make them look like fools. Atypical people don’t call meetings to discuss other meetings. In fact, they don’t like meetings when a simple phone call will achieve the same result a fraction of the time. Atypical people don’t use social media. Please. It was never even a choice. Social, to them, is about conformity and built for “Sheeple.” The cowed masses making bold proclamations from the digital pulpit. Embarrassing.

The notebook at the top is my latest finished notebook, the sixth with this particular BaronFig trim size. This book took five weeks and two pens, one black, one blue, which I rotate day to day. I write a lot. I have zero difficulty writing because I’ve been doing it every day for twenty-four years. (Some of these YouTube types weren’t born yet.) When I explain this, I’m often met with blank looks. Doing ANYTHING for twenty-four years seems implausible, impossible to many. They always immediately ask about “payoff.” Again, this is a byproduct of brainwashing, of feeble minds who have been led to believe everything in life comes with accolades or attention. Poor bastards. Imagine living THAT life.

These questions get the person added to the “non-essential” list. This might sound harsh, but getting older gives me the advantage of knowing as much about what I do NOT want as what I do. There is no time to entertain pretenders. There is no time to entertain people who do not ask questions. There is no time to entertain those who live online. Atypical people can spot fellow atypical people easily. Atypical people tend NOT to draw attention to themselves. They tend to be fit, organized, simple, devoted, and wildly unpredictable.

Atypical people have a wide range of knowledge, and not Google knowledge, but real, in-depth understanding. They are not afraid to say, “I don’t know.” They don’t look the part. They might not wear cool, hipster clothes, or be up to date on the latest in pop culture, music, or fashion. They rarely have tattoos, fancy cars, or extravagant houses. (Things that bring attention.) They have the money for all these items, but don’t find value in them. (One of the richest guys I know drives a 1985 Mercedes, the same car he had when I graduated high school.)

Atypical people disappear. Just gone for weeks, months, or years at a time. They do this when they need to go deep. No distractions. When they return, they bring things that change the world. This might mean changing a small segment of the world, or a small aspect of how we do things or see things, but sometimes they come with heavy equipment that alters the Earth on its axis. When they do something, they do it. Like Chef/Willard in Apocalypse Now. “Never get out of the boat.” “Absolutely goddamn right, unless you were going all the way.”

Atypical people don’t label themselves atypical. It just happens. It’s who they are. They know early on the mainstream isn’t worth paddling. They know Elvis is dead. They know who won the 2020 election. Lies and hate don’t penetrate their perimeter defense system. There are selfish atypical people, but they are this way because they don’t have the mental bandwidth to pretend. They make no apologies, but they don’t flaunt their selfishness. There are others who exude kindness. Your emotion and success become their fuel. Underlings can feel mistreated under their command, but there is no animosity. It’s up to us to adapt, not the other way around.

I would never put myself in this catagory. That’s not for me to say. What I will say is that I have zero time for bullshit, and we now live in a world serving it up in all you can eat proportions. Look at the immediate proliferation of AI in the creative industry. You lazy a-holes. Sorry, but that’s how I feel. Take one look at YouTube and you will see a blizzard of bad AI, but that’s not the real issue. That’s to be expected. What’s shocking is the number of people consuming this stuff. None of those are atypical people. Atypical people know about AI, typically more than you and I, and they may have even used it. But to them, it’s a sideshow, a distraction, because they know at the heart of things that matter are the ideas. The imperfect, intangible ideas with flaws and impossible dots to connect. Atypical people know what it means to be human, warts and all.

So, yes. The notebook. Will a notebook make you an atypical person? No. Will it provide a runway for you to explore things you don’t explore anywhere else? Yes. Will this opportunity set you on a new path? Maybe. You have to give yourself a chance. You have to first admit where you are, how you’ve been shaped by culture, society, family, presssures at work. And then you have to find a way to break free. It might first be a mental break, and if you are fortunate, this might be followed with a physical break. Expect heavy weather, doubt, insecurity, and a tidal wave of advice from people who still don’t know they live in the Matrix.

PS: These images and spreads are from my recent trip to Albania, my third visit to this fascinating place. We had an incredible workshop class, with some truly talented people making solid work. Albania is in transition. Like America, they are fed up with entrenched corruption, greed, lies, and illegitamate status quo. Americans, to their credit, just expressed their frustration in the midterm elections, voting out the losers, liars and sycophants who enabled the worst president in American history. We are still not out of the woods, and neither is Albania.

PSS: Every single image made over the course of this trip, which took me to four countries, was made with the GFX RF100, loaned to me by the kind folks at Fujifilm. When this camera came out, the online dorks attacked it for not having IBIS or for being an f/4 lens. Most of these people were never in the market for this camera. None of these people are atypical people because atypical people would never watch camera reviews or take the time to comment. In my opinion, this camera is incredible, and could only come from Fujifilm, a company with a unique twist on innovation. Do I always need 100+ megapixels? No. Is this the perfect camera for every scenario? No. But if you can’t make pictures with this camera, it’s not Fuji’s fault.