Superpowers

These times we live in remind me that my pen is a pistola, a microphone, a beacon, an opportunity, a way of being, a light, and a superpower I must rededicate myself to beyond these pages.

I'm not saying this to toot my own horn - it's about being honest with myself and all of you as to how I can best contribute.

How do you gleam? How do you serve best?

What way of being do you possess that is especially needed right now?

Ask your friends, ask your mentors, ask the people that you feel see you as you truly are. We all need each others superpowers more than ever.

The learning economy

We should always be pushing out to make ourselves the obvious option once an opportunity arises. The thing is, standing pat never gets us there. Even though it's less than obvious, the least risky option is to try something, develop skills, and get to the point where we can make great websites, sales letters, or marketing strategies for the people who want a beautiful, functional solution.

This includes making some bad stuff as we hone our craft. We gotta get good before we get great, and as someone with a patience deficiency, this is something I'm always trying to internalize.

The learning economy rewards people who are constantly expanding their scope of knowledge, iterating, reassessing, and staying relevant. To that end, Udemy is one great way to add skills to our toolboxes.

We can rage against outside forces, demand that the clocks get turned back, and go kicking and screaming into a future with less options... or we can saddle up and get our learn on.

23 to 1

What is often called corruption in equatorial nations is referred to as "lobbying" in the United States. Leave it to us to whitewash something that is explicitly about purchasing the favor of government officials thus circumventing the electorate. "For every member of Congress in 2011, there were 23 registered Washington lobbyists. 535 senators and representatives; 12,719 lobbyists."

That's 23 to 1. Twenty three men and women buying dinners and writing checks for every ONE elected government official.

If you're interested in the growth in lobbyist spending, top spending corporations, top lobbying firms, top spending industries, and more, you can view that here.

I'd ask a rhetorical question now but that feels facile. You know what the problem is.

We is everyone

It's a lot easier to blame someone when we don't relate to them. It's just cleaner. No need to question ourselves or those in our camp. Even though we always should.

No need to wonder how we could show up more fully next time. Even though it's worthwhile.

The thing is, the flames of division have been fanned, making it hard to look at our own shortcomings. When we feel attacked or our equality undermined, we rarely give in to logic or reason.

We is everyone, it's just hard to see sometimes.

Please, vote

Our democracy is certainly flawed, but it's imperfections do not justify apathy. There has been a lot of false equivalence floating around this election, and as a progressive neither mainstream candidate truly suits me. The thing is, it's not just about me.

It's about all of us. It's about how one of the options will affect everyone.

You don't have to love either option, but you do need to be discerning about the actual policies, and how scary one of these options truly is.

I certainly have my own opinion (I voted for Hillary Clinton) but I'm not here to convince you how to vote. That said, I do think that standing on the sidelines is the best way to make sure none of the problems you care about are solved. And sometimes, it means things get worse.

In this case that means.... please, vote.

The struggle is real

The other day Lindsey (my wife and best friend) and I were driving somewhere, and I told her about a conversation I recently had with a few friends about business, entrepreneurship, and captaining your own ship. Positivity is my common default, but I also feel that I try to be forward facing about the pain points that create stress, tension, and anxiety in me.

I now realize I might just gloss over them.

In short, Lindsey said I should share more of those pain points. She basically intimated that I make the struggle sound good and that I should let a few more eyes and ears come into contact with the process of negotiating doubt.

To that end... I'm in a really tense place these days as I wait to hear about a deal for IPMM that would be a huge win for various reasons. Managing my own expectations while putting all the work in can spin me up sometimes.

As good as I feel about things, feelings don't put food on the table or pay bills, so I had better be turning them all into momentum.

Some days I'm down and some days I'm flush, but between loving the process of doing the work and learning, I'm able to feel good most of the time.

Even so, the struggle is real, and there are certainly moments when I wonder what the fuck I'm doing.

No wish will achieve my goals for me, so I better combine all this doubt, optimism, grit, limbo, hustle, seeking, service, and delight ... and do this.

Screw it up

"Scream it, screech it, yell it, screw it up, whatever, but do it." - Alicia Keyes

Thank you + cleaning house

Hey everyone! I want to take this opportunity to thank you for being a part of these ideas. For those of you who read these writings regularly, it really means a lot to me. I wanted you to know that.

I also want to thank the folks who check it out once in a while, and the people who have barely opened it at all, lol.

That said, I want to get into the annual habit of cleaning up this list. The last thing I want to do is be a nuisance, and I like the idea of an engaged readership and only sending these writings to people who want them.

I don't want to be part of junk in your inbox.

Because of that, I'm going to unsubscribe any email addresses that have opened these less than 20% of the time. Email inboxes can get out of hand without me adding to the problem, so I'm gonna tidy up and make sure that these questions, ideas, strategies, and reflections aren't adding to the noise.

I'm glad you're a part of this, and please feel free to respond if any of these pieces are particularly valuable, helpful, or fun for you. I'd love to hear why.

Thanks again for joining me.

Side 21, Track 103

A body of work is a timeline that amasses ideas turned into reality. It's composed of many points on a line. Thinking about it as a mosaic works too. In either case, we have a lot coming together to create the whole.

The thing about Side 21, Track 103 is that it's just another point on the line. It has a great guitar riff, thoughtful lyrics, and Questlove's iconic piccolo snare, but the weight we give it is about us, how it lands, and what we hear.

The Roots released 102 songs first. What they created throughout those tracks made 103 what it came to be.

When it comes to ourselves, we should forgive the songs we're critical of, celebrate the hit singles, and think about how the next track we make can most benefit from who we've been.

Democracy of tools

Don't let people tell you that democracy of tools is a bad thing. More people having access to the resources that allow them to create is unequivocally good. This applies to agriculture, websites, and everything in between. Whether a machine supplants a plow or Squarespace supplants coding, anyone who says that democracy of tools is a bad thing is merely protecting what they perceive as their real estate.

They don't want more of us to be able to make things with better, more democratic tools, because it erodes their status & price point.

Don't get salty that a 12 year old with an internet connection in Bangladesh can build his own website, celebrate the next flattening of the earth through access.

More access means we're closer to better solutions, and that fact should help us all continue to learn and diversify our skills.

The future is decidedly against protectionism. Deride the future at your own peril.

In the way of good

In looking back, revelations that have improved the way I work were always the result of having tested something inferior before that. Rarely do we jump into the game (whatever game it is) and hit a crescendo from the outset. People who can do that are the .0001 percent, and we should probably be more forgiving with ourselves when it comes finding better, more efficient ways of doing the work we do.

Good is how we get closer to perfect, and we won't know what should be tweaked unless we run experiments. Impact, productivity, and enjoyment are the direct result of solving, launching, & iterating.

Let's not be overly precious about the things we're building.

Let's not let perfect get in the way of good... because perfect isn't the goal. Better, is.

Half of our population lives in 146 counties

It's incredible how much social dynamics help to create perceptions of reality. And social dynamics are informed by everything from coincidence to geography. In Europe at present, everyone lives way too close to one another to build up false and irrational views of their neighbors. Sure there are slums outside Paris and stark divisions between ethnic groups in countries like Spain or Greece, but in the United States, half of our population lives in 146 counties tightly clustered together around America's largest cities.

Those numbers prove that the red state v blue state divide is much starker than we might have ever realized.

It shows us that half of all U.S. citizens almost never experience people outside their racial, ethnic, or cultural perspective, and when we do, it's rarely socially.

I've always thought that access to different people, places, & experiences was the most direct route to understanding.

This information makes that undeniable.

Pole position (a reminder)

The one thing in which we have utter pole position is being ourselves. No one else is Evan La Ruffa, just like no one else is you. So why not fully embrace our greatest differentiator?

As someone managing a nonprofit & working on various other projects, there are always a lot of variables.

Things changing shape and size, shooting star projects that end quickly, waiting for approvals or funding, artists to wrangle, and all sorts of varying timelines, quantities, & plans.

Within that, I often experience utter confidence and extreme doubt. Sometimes in the same day.

The question at the top of this piece isn't about an open platitude, it's about processing the day to day in a way that hopefully yields insight and camaraderie for all of us.

Managing the uncertainty is about knowing that betting on ourselves makes a lot more sense when we're showing our true colors & thinking strategically.

Pole position + working smarter = what's up.

(a reminder)

Time saved multipled by the number of times we save it

Every time we create a better system for doing what we do, we save time exponentially. It's not just about the one hack that saved 20 minutes when we didn't have a second to spare, it's about what systems can do for future efficiency. All of a sudden, one solution multiplies time saved by the number of times you save it.

Ts = time saved, TsF = time saved in future.

The equation is... Ts x # of TsF = X (total efficiency)

Now we're talking about total efficiency continuously expanding because of one solution or system.

If we've solved a problem once, why put ourselves in a position to have to solve it again? Whether email templates, chrome extensions, lists, workflows, calendars, or anything else, we have a lot to gain by eliminating wasted movement.

If you've come across any systems, solutions, apps, or anything else that has limited the need to solve for an issue again, please, hit reply and let me know about it!

I'll get us started with one...

Over the past few years I've become a huge fan of Boomerang for Gmail. It allows you to schedule emails as well as have them 'boomerang' back to your inbox after a designated period of time. Instead of juggling who you need to follow up with in your head, Boomerang does it for you.

Biggie Stardust

I love when ideas, people, or art bounce out of their category and co-mingle with something just as timeless & beautiful from a completely different category. When I was walking around at the Renegade Craft Fair a few weeks ago, I saw Biggie Stardust and had to have it. (Is that freakin' awesome or what?!)

Both comforted by a palette that would put these two geniuses together and impressed by the illustration itself, I've been thinking more about the energy of curating differences as opposed to similarities. The subject or style might not be the same but perhaps there's a philosophy, approach, or vibe that aligns seemingly odd pairs.

Maybe we should be looking for similarities beneath the surface.

Maybe you'll help me find them.

7 people doing cool shit

These people are all charting new territory. They show their colors, differentiate, embrace their unique perspective, and build cool shit that satisfies their thirst for life while making incredibly important contributions to the world.

You should know who these people are. Ev-approved.

AJ & Melissa Leon - these two are the badass couple behind Misfit Inc., the 'professional troublemakers.' I was familiar with their work before meeting them a year or so ago, and am constantly inspired by their ambition, dedication, and focus on social issues, equal access, and creative models for everything from community development to software. They do it all... at an incredibly high level.

Levi Baer - this guy is a dynamo. An educator, a speaker, a game maker & a dude who keeps your entire orbit more positive & potent. I'm lucky to collaborate with him regularly and am so thrilled about the ways he engages his students, friends, and colleagues in raising our collective game by communicating & building more collaboratively & openly.

Kamilah Rashied - she's a quadruple threat. A curator, community builder, a SHero, and an activist, it's been my pleasure to get to know this incredibly talented woman over the past few months. She's helping the Art Institute evolve their Community Outreach in the most incredible of ways, and her dedication to art, Chicago, and the way we collectively weave the two together is truly inspiring.

Chad Little & Leonard Hollander  - the dudes behind Arbor Projects, the restaurant, cafe, and bar located next to IPaintMyMind Gallery in the Green Exchange building. Their creativity and love for all things culinary keeps their space and offerings continually full of experimentation, innovation, and most importantly, amazing flavors.

Jeffrey Davis - a poet, a creative businessman and the head honcho of Tracking Wonder which helps authors brand & launch their books, Jeffrey is one of the most heart-centered, gracious, creative, and intelligent people I have ever known. I've known him for 3 years now after meeting at Camp GLP and it's always a blast to see him every summer & pick up a bit of his juju.

If you're ever in touch, let them know that I think they're awesome.

I'll live forever now

Directions:

1. Click this link and press play in the Youtube video that appears.
2. Then, come back to this page and read the first paragraph of lyrics while listening to the song.

'Miss Nina Simone, Jimmy Jones Missy Elliot musically were my relatives Never forget my Andre Papi mi casa es su casa Baby I made an entrée Maybe I make your moms plate Maybe we not gon' sleep tonight In the night you and I laugh about how you Gemini Already fried the chicken But leftovers was my inner thigh Nah I'm lying, I'm just playing You can read this book with me I'm trying to re-imagine abracadabra for poverty Like poof I made it disappear Proof I'm made of happiness Everything is everything But I still haven't paid my rent Ugly is ugly So molly makes me joyful now When I get down, I'm already up Molly the water, I keep the drink in the cup My druggy is druggy we just some kids out of luck Ooooh they ain't tryna' see me shine my shine A bullet on my time, my time Fuck it, I'll live forever now'

As a society, what experiences do we inherently validate? Even more importantly, what experiences do we inherently invalidate?

Should we be judging the experience or the context that produced it?

Let's disagree

It's easy to curate consent in the digital age. Algorithms that batch & feed, the ability to unfollow "friends" on Facebook, and demographic grabbing advertisements that are all about how we label ourselves, and what we do or do not want to hear.

That goes from our latest purchase on Amazon to whatever political candidate currently causes us the most stress.

If we want to avoid anything contrary to our current belief, it's a fairly simple exercise. What's more, if we're looking for proof of something, we can surely find it.

I'm probably guilty of it as much as the next person, but it's given rise to a question about how to access information outside that which will merely confirm our biases. (It's also made me think of a digital property that could be the solution, but I better keep that to myself for now.)

One media outlet that helps me check myself is The Economist. It's always full of great information, supports a global citizen worldview, and gives plenty of insight into macroeconomic trends.

It's also hilariously biased in favor of free markets, is borderline unethical in their manipulation of graphs & tables, and can't help but lavishly romanticize capitalism of years past.

They've taken a stance and they're out to prove it.

All in, I know they're going to help me learn because I know how to decode the real info from the bullshit. I subscribe every other year, inevitably, because I need a break from the machinations of it all.

That said, I propose a resolution: when someone advocates for an idea contrary to our own (outside of racism, sexism, or any other -ism we have no lack of moral clarity on) lets invite them to tell us more, and ask them why, without condescension or sarcasm.

I don't expect us to do it every time we hear something that seems far out, but it's a good reminder for the certain, jaded, lummox in us all.

Even if that person doesn't satisfy our curiosity, it'll at least it give us a chance to listen and something new to research.

Let's gain more perspective. Let's disagree.

Getting data quickly

Recently I've thought a lot about getting data quickly and the massive advantage in doing that. It's about reducing the possible options to a more manageable number, and then being able to clearly discern a new way forward based on distilled information. I recently drove around Chicago to potential locations for IPaintMyMind's Shared Walls™ loaned art program. Instead of sending 4 emails to 6 locations over the course of 4 weeks, I was able to immediately eliminate three options in a single afternoon.

I reduced the time it took to figure out what locations were viable options from 4 weeks to 3 hrs.

Getting data quickly allows us to exponentially save time by efficiently discerning what we shouldn't be working on.

This article talks about getting big data quickly, so it's focused on the insights analytics provide us about our web traffic, but the same logic applies to any data set that helps us build or provide better solutions for our communities & customers.

How much more strategic impact can we affect if we're obtaining vital data 2x, 5x, or 10x faster?

That said, let's get our data fast, and soon.

Back at it + a question for you

You might have been surprised to get a newsletter from me recently after a two month hiatus. I've been pushing on a few projects that I'm excited to have made progress on (which I'll tell you about soon), but I'm also stoked to get back to sharing and exploring with all of you.

I've been writing despite the slow publishing, so I've got plenty of nuggets to share & questions to ask.

In the meantime, I have a question for you and I'd love it if you took a second to reply... but no sweat if nothing comes to mind.

What's the coolest, most edifying, or interesting article, story, or book you've read this summer? It can be about anything, from self-driving cars to a feature on synchronized swimming at the Rio Olympics! 

I'll get back to you soon and enjoy the end of summer!

Be kind, stay curious...

- Ev

P.s. If you like art, photography, travel, great coffee, insane food & smiles, I'd love it if you'd follow me on Instagram. I just got back from New York and a camping trip at Chain O Lakes near Antioch, IL, so there's plenty of street art and sunsets to peruse.