EDITOR’S NOTE:

Few months back, Garrett Forbes helped me create the sizzle video for VGC Plus, my membership community. 

I loved it. So when he launched Creative Shape, his own newsletter, I left him a testimonial: 

“Garrett is perhaps the most talented designer I’ve ever worked with. Flexible, kind, and ultra-creative — I gave him an abstract idea and he turned it into a striking work of art. I was blown away.”

And I was. 

“Garrett,” I said. “I can’t believe what I’m seeing.”

“Oh man,” he said, “I’m just glad you like it.” 

So I kept working with Garrett — and he kept overdelivering, on every promise and every project. So I asked him to do a Micro-Interview. And of course, he over-delivered on that too. :)

In only 542 words, Garrett shares: 

• The most important thing a creative person can do for their work…

• How “non-readers” can get the most out of a book… 

• His philosophy on failure… 

And more… 

Enjoy!

(But first check out Creative Shape, Garrett’s upcoming newsletter about branding, video content, and creativity.)

Thank you, Garrett.

Let’s get started. 

1) “What’s your work routine?”

When I’m being a real good boy, my day generally begins the night before. I like to jot down two or three things in order of priority, with the goal that these items must be completed the next day.  

Hopefully in bed before midnight. 

Next morning I’ll be up sometime before 9 AM. Definitely before 10 AM. 

Greet the dogs. 
Pour the coffee. 
Email. 
Meetings. 
It’s 11 AM. 

I like to push my first meal to 2 PM. Then I feast… usually a smoothie or Migas. 

From 3 PM to about 6 PM, I’ll juggle the remaining tasks from my list. Typically, these will be partially completed. 

Rinse. Wash. Repeat. Recycle the remaining tasks into my list for the following day. 

2) “What do you know about your work now that you wish you’d known when you first started?”

I wish I had known that there is no perfect path and that stumbling forward is still progress. 

All of our bruises and scars will serve as useful reminders. Sometimes they make damn good stories, too. 

3) “What did your biggest professional failure teach you?”

My first “big” short film was a huge failure. Sometimes we just aren’t ready. When pursuing any craft, it’s really all about putting in the time and earning it. 

It took me a while but this experience taught me how to embrace failure and to keep going. 

4) “What’s the #1 thing that has helped you shorten your craft’s learning curve?”

Working a job that is at least tangentially related to your craft is the quickest way to shorten your learning curve. 

I used to think that working in the service industry allowed me the flexibility needed to pursue a creative career. I also believed that taking my film experience into a company would suck all of my creativity. I know now that working with cameras and editing software every day is far more valuable (for me) than working with a spatula or a new Point of Sale software. 

But I do make a mean plate of Migas and Huevos Rancheros.

5) “What book has helped you the most over your career?”

I joke that I’m still learning to read. It’s difficult for me to quiet my mind long enough to finish a book.

Naval Ravikant said that we’re too focused on the starting and finishing of everything. With reading, he suggests taking only what you need. Skip the boring chapters and read only what captivates your attention. We can always come back to it later. As a person who has finished half of a bunch of books, I like this philosophy. 

That said, I have a big pile of books on my nightstand: 

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
Creative Confidence by Tom and David Kelley
Principles by Ray Dalio
Blindness by José Saramago
Letters from the Earth by Mark Twain

I’m even thinking about finishing some of them.

6) “And your parting piece of advice?”

Recently, I read that “the inescapable link between failure and innovation is a lesson you can only learn through doing.” That resonated with me. In their book, Creative Confidence, Tom and David Kelley preach that the heart of innovation is where creativity meets action. 

As creatives, we should try to take more action.