No End in Sight

The editor's note, by Matt McCue (@MattMcCueWriter) in this quarter's edition of 99U Magazine focused on an interview with architect Peter Marino and grabbed my attention. In a past interview, McCue discussed how Marino spoke about generating ideas:

When he first started out, he said it took him all week to come up with an idea, but now he thinks up 10 a day, easily. They just come to him. Impossible, I thought. It took all my effort to squeeze out a half-baked idea once every seven days.

However, years later I'm realizing there is truth to Marino's statement. Once you've pushed your brain to come up with hundreds of ideas, you do something to your mind. You unknowingly switch it to the "always on" mode and you can't help but observe everyday life through your creative lens...In the process the barrier between work and play disintegrates, because work becomes play.

McCue then refers to multiple creatives in their prime who are 65 years old and still pushing ahead with their creative endeavors, and I see the same in the music world.

It was a pleasant reminder that having more ideas to tackle than one can ever pursue in a lifetime is a privilege, and should not be a point of stress or pressure. I'm fortunate to live in a world with no punch-clock.