Work Archives - Riding the Dragon

The Means of Production: An Interview with Evan Baden Changing the equation on book publishing with DIY

"Having all the equipment means there's nothing that's farmed out—I do everything. That makes it quite financially feasible."—Evan Baden, on his DIY book press.

Capitalizing on Connection A Review of Work Pray Code by Carolyn Chen

Carolyn Chen argues in her new book Work Pray Code that Silicon Valley, one of the most vocally secular places in the world, has made their work into religion.

Not Working: An Interview with Josh Cohen

"When you give yourself over to the inactive state, you’re also giving yourself over to an internal roaming. Without that, there really isn’t a capacity for surprise, for discovery, for actually learning something new about yourself or the world."—Josh Cohen, in our interview about his new book Not Working.

Why Be Something When You Can Be Everything? A review of How to Be Everything by Emilie Wapnick

Does the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" feel too limiting? In Emilie Wapnick's book How to Be Everything, she lays out models for a sustainable life and career for those who don't want to have to choose.

Wisdom at Work: An Interview with Parneet Pal

"What I love about compassion, what makes it so cool, is that when you give back to others, the person who benefits the most is actually you."—Parneet Pal, in our interview about her work at Wisdom Labs.

Bullshit Jobs: David Graeber’s Theory on the Open Secret of Work

In his new book Bullshit Jobs, David Graeber pulls apart the open secret of modern-day work and wages: many of us know that our jobs are completely made up.

Now Available: Creativity as a Career: The Field Guide for Artists

Creativity as a Career: The Field Guide for Artists is now available for free as a downloadable booklet and deck of cards. I'm so proud to have edited this project, which is designed to help artists-to-be develop their skills as creative entrepreneurs.

Brilliant Failures and Second Chances

Failure is one of the top human fears, as explained by Paul Louis Iske at the Lean Startup Summit Europe 2018. Yet, if we can learn to position failure as a learning opportunity, we have a much better chance of creating a "brilliant failure" and to earn second chances.

Now Hiring: Artists and Intellectuals

This is the job opportunity you've been waiting for. Now, let me be clear: I am personally not hiring anybody. You're going to hire yourself.

The Independent’s Dilemma

I work for myself, which means my boss is a real bitch. She makes me work long hours, never likes anything I produce until I’ve revised it a thousand times (and maybe not even then) and, after all that, she’ll hardly ever pay me a compliment or let me relax on vacation. Is this what I signed up for?