What’s Your Ideal Work?

March 26, 2015

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I am going to do something that could be considered embarrassing:

I want to capture what I consider to be my ideal work.

Perhaps you’re wondering why that would be a sensitive thing to write about. Let me give you two reasons:

  1. If you’re being honest work you describe could make you look bad. It could be that you honestly want to be something that isn’t respected by others.

  2. It may be uncomfortable to show how distant your current work is from what you now admit you’d rather be doing. Maybe you are an accountant but want to be a painter, and the disconnect doesn’t reflect well on you.

So those are two reasons this is a bad idea. Let’s proceed then.

The creation and sharing of ideas

  • Making short videos that explain things

  • Writing short books that explain things

  • Giving talks about those explanations

  • Giving analysis on current events

  • Helping the world secure our infrastructure

  • Modeling why things are happening, and explaining them

  • Helping people be happier

  • Helping people secure their personal lives / data

  • Thinking about, predicting, and modeling the future, and then talking about those predictions

  • Helping people prepare for that future

  • Designing educational curricula

The mediums

I’d like to do this via:

  • Creating videos

  • Writing books

  • Giving talks

  • Doing panels

Some examples

Here are some people have done something similar.

  • Sam Harris

  • Scott Adams

  • Randall Munroe

  • Christopher Hitchens

  • TED

  • RSA Animate

  • Humans Need Not Apply

I put this out there as a form intention, transparency, and honesty. It’s a reminder to myself that while I’m immensely happy doing what I’m doing, there is more work to be done.

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