This episode is short and direct: most creators don't struggle because they lack talent — they struggle because they quit at 95%. They get the work to "pretty good," ship it, and move on. And for a lot of things in life, that's fine. The 80–20 rule works. But when it comes to your core creative craft — the thing you want to be known for — good enough is the trap.
The last 5% is where the details live. It's uncomfortable, slow, and often invisible. Which is exactly why most people stop before they get there.
Here's the core idea:
80–20 works for most things — but mastery lives in the final 5%. If you keep shipping at 95%, you're training yourself to miss the point.
When I worked with Apple to help create the foundation for Today at Apple, the first draft came together fast. In less than a week, we were 95% there. But Apple doesn't hire creators for "pretty good." Pushing through that final 5% took nearly ten times as long — and it set the standard for creative education across hundreds of stores worldwide.
Two common mistakes I see:

• Misusing the 80–20 rule: applying it to the work that defines you.
• Confusing shipping with finishing: stopping because it's hard, not because it's done.

This isn't about perfectionism. It's about discernment — knowing when the work actually matters and being willing to go all the way when it does.
In today's episode I cover:

• Why the last 5% takes as much effort as the first 95%
• How mastery separates pros from amateurs
• A simple way to decide when to go all in

Most people quit too early on the wrong things. When it matters, don't ship at 95%.

This episode is short and honest: if you don't love the work you're making, don't ship it — or better yet, figure out how to love the work before you ship it. I know that sounds blunt, but the market — and more importantly, your audience — can smell half-hearted work a mile away. You can't fake the stuff that matters. Loving the work isn't about perfection. It's about clarity, curiosity, and being willing to do the uncomfortable thing: choose a direction, commit to it, and then grind the craft until you actually love the result. That's the difference between noise and meaning.

Here's the core idea:
If you're not excited to promote what you made, you probably didn't make what you love. Shipping is great — but shipping love is better.

Two common traps I see:

• Approval chasing: You try to design for everyone and end up designing for no one.
• Activity without affection: You're busy making lots of stuff, but it never lights you up. That work will struggle to find real fans.

So what do you do about it? Make the work you can't not make — and build a tiny system to ship it.

In today's episode I cover:

• Why loving what you make makes promotion natural instead of gross
• Three practical moves to fall back in love with your craft: pick one obsessive idea, do the research that excites you, and iterate publicly
• How to find the small group (10–50 people) who will sustain you — and why that's all you really need

A quick playbook to ship work you love:

• Choose one thing: narrow the focus until you feel a pull, not a push.
• Make it daily: small consistent steps beat sporadic heroics.
• Share early: get feedback from the right 10 people, not the loud crowd.
• Listen, then iterate: love grows when you respond to the craft (not the vanity metrics).

If you want to make a living doing what lights you up, stop designing for a mythical "everyone." Build for the people who get it — and love the work enough to tell others.
Thanks for listening. Tag me with what you're shipping next — I read as many replies as I can. And remember: ship less stuff, but love the stuff you ship.

This time of year, I get a lot of messages from folks ready for change — they've declared an intention, they want the next chapter, but something's holding them back. Some have the ideas and energy but no system to ship. Others have the systems but aren't listening to the quiet that tells them what to build next. Different gaps, same problem: without space to reflect and a mindful plan to act, momentum stalls.

Here's the truth most people ignore:
Intentions are the spark — but they won't transform your life without quiet, synthesis, and daily practices that turn ideas into meaningful work.

You can declare you're "a creator" all you want, but without adventures that feed your curiosity, habits that produce work, and a practice of listening and asking questions, your intentions stay inspirational notes instead of real projects.

If you only scribble ideas and never synthesize, they evaporate. If you only measure outcomes and never give yourself quiet, you miss the intuition that points to what's worth doing.

In today's episode:

• Why setting an intention matters — and how to approach it mindfully instead of rushing into action
• The seven practical steps to turn end-of-year reflection into real momentum: adventures, consuming culture, making, scribbling, sharing, asking, and listening
• A simple way to track your work so progress becomes inevitable, not accidental

Enjoy — and remember: this season of reflection is not for doing nothing; it's for slowing down just enough to do the right, often uncomfortable, work that actually moves you forward.