Ordinary rate log seadate 13 June 2023.

Time. The final frontier. Today marks the possibility-bright page of a new voyage. Having set sail from Zone One, Comfortland, two weeks ago, the unorthodoxy of mind-altering graft lies ahead. There are crafts to apply, tools to instruct in and sharpen. And beyond that – further still, beyond ten seamonths of time and space – Adland. I can’t help but think of it as something of a misnomer. A name that attempts to cordon off creative advertising from the world in which it abides and operates. So why creative advertising? Because it’s the beam of attention turned toward a problem. And, as Simone Weil insisted, “attention, taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer”. Which is a way of saying perhaps that this experience of flow is immensely rewarding, both in-the-moment and upon looking back. So why copywriting? Because copywriting – language and communication, brand building, psychology and economics – is endlessly fascinating and revealing. It requires dogged learning, unlearning, discovering and reinventing oneself over the course of a single lifetime. So why now? Because I fell in love late with clear, clever thinking on the page (hat tip to David Abbott and Tim Riley). And getting started changes everything. Perhaps a life coheres only in looking back and endures only in looking forward. I am reminded of Steve Jobs’ 2005 commencement address at Stanford. I am reminded that this is it. Courage.

LI JLLouis

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HOMEWORK*

1. Three books – DONE
2. Six podcasts – DONE
3. Adobe CC:
   a. Photoshop Essentials – IN PROGRESS
   b. Illustrator Essentials
   c. Premier Pro Essentials
   d. After Effects Essentials
4. Code game
5. Upload video

*To hold myself accountable

James Louis
@JamesLouisInc