What you see smiling at you is a Magic Making Machine.
Humans make.
We make NEW things that haven’t existed before.
IN this sense we make something from “nothing”.
Something entirely new, by combining what exists with our IDEAS.
I’ve been fascinated and enthralled by this simple idea from the moment my life changed. I was struggling to finish any music of my own, even though this was supposed to be how I made my living.
It got so bad that I had to take my one and only “day job” - making coffee in the centre of London in an office.
Coming back from that job on the Tube, stinking of burnt coffee, tired and dejected I had an epiphany.
There I was, making coffee from beans. Repeating the same process over and over. And being paid a pittance for it.
When what I could be doing was making music, with nothing other than a few bits of gear and what was in my head.
LITERALLY - making something from nothing.
And from that point on, the process of MAKING has been my obsession. First as a musician, then as a coach and entrepreneur.
So the Magic Making Machine is my opportunity to have an ongoing conversation.
On this site where I’m writing and playing with different ways of making online text more valuable.
In an email list, where I’m
In a podcast where I’ll be talking to Makers of all kinds.
Musicians (of course) - of all types.
Writers.
Thinkers.
Artists.
Scientists.
Entrepreneurs.
Software Developers.
Designers.
...because I believe that one of the great evils of our time is the silo-ing of expertise and knowledge.
But another of the great evils of our time is knowing a lot about a little.
Because one the ways humans make what’s new is through pattern recognition. And siloing is like the idea equivalent of “in-breeding”.
And another way humans make what is amazing is through practice and deep knowledge of a specific area.
But these 2 seemingly opposing ideas needn’t be in contradiction. Because we all make better work when we:
1/ Focus on making something specific
2/ By using curiosity to find knowledge and insight from ANYWHERE that excites you.
So I’ll be having these conversations in seasons. In each I’ll talk to a “category” of makers. Through this format, we’ll focus and recognise the patterns WITHIN areas, but also BETWEEN areas.
Then as the seasons continue we can start notice the differences, and apply the insights across areas.
