The magic when discipline meets motivation

Plan Your Next #131

👋 Good morning from Los Angeles! I'm Nate Kadlac, and this is #131 of Plan Your Next. A Sunday newsletter that connects design, creativity, and how you prepare for your next thing.

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It’s just a lamp. What’s the big deal?

There’s a reason people get obsessed with Canvas. Several actually. The circle lamp is well made, stable, nice to look at, and easy to use with your phone. Want perfect lighting in every video?

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The magic when discipline meets motivation

Writing a weekly newsletter does not always bring out the best ideas for me. Much of the time, I’m sitting on my thumbs until the very last minute, hoping for an idea to turtle head its way out of the swamp.

And sometimes that turtle is an ugly mfer.

I constantly battle whether quantity or quality is a better strategy, but neither can happen without discipline and motivation.

Because I write daily—and therefore publish weekly—I’ve had a couple of essays that scored some traction. But many resemble the characteristics like that ugly turtle head.

But then there are the moments that bring an immeasurable amount of energy that I can’t wait to capture.

The moments where I’m laughing when I’m writing, retelling past embarrassing moments, or at the ridiculousness of life.

Both discipline and motivation matter in creating quality work. Capturing that motivation of the moment, and pushing it forward with discipline.

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On Friday, I was on a group call with the pseudonymous Twitter account, The Cultural Tutor. As recently as April of this year, he worked at McDonald’s.

When he left, he decided he would write a Twitter thread daily. Six months later, he has grown his account to over half a million followers.

The motivation to write came from a personal head nod to himself that no one was going to come to him with an opportunity. He had to create something for himself out of thin air. But the discipline to write every day had been ongoing for ten years.

His motivation came from writing answers to the questions that had been itching his brain. Why did Vincent van Gogh love the color yellow? Why is the world filled with buildings shaped like boxes and square windows?

The discipline to write a daily thread and the motivation to dig into his own curiosity sparked a collaboration of ideas that has paid off immensely.

•••

To build things I truly love requires both discipline and motivation. The discipline to write a newsletter every week wouldn’t sustain itself without the motivation—or the desire—to challenge myself.

The discipline of being on time every day at a 9-5 job won’t ultimately sustain you without the motivation that you’re building something bigger than yourself.

While each has its place, combining the two can change your life.

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⚡️ Two creative hits for you to check out next

📕 The process of designing a book cover
Yowza! I’m in love with this mood board by Tree Abraham and how she details her fascinating process of designing her book cover.

“I was hyper aware of the interior aesthetic: like a xeroxed zine or old textbook with black and white diagrams and scrap photography. I believed for a cohesive experience, the cover needed to align with the illustrative and typographic style inside, without overwhelming it. I wanted the cover to feel like a shell.”—Tree Abraham

🎨 Squarespace gets a refresh
I’m a Webflow fanatic, but I’m always impressed with Squarespace’s ability to command intrigue with its unique visual aesthetic and marketing.

My favorite part? Bio Sites.

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👋 See you next Sunday

My calendar is always open to chat about your next adventure, crazy idea, or if you’re feeling creatively stuck.

My goal is to help more people give a damn about what they’re creating next, through my writing, teaching, and design. If you want to support my journey, the best ways are to make better design decisions more easily, communicate stories with better slide decks, or discover your visual style in my live workshops.

Or, if you want to sponsor this newsletter, sign up here.

Have a great week,

p.s. Words are just words, but if these words made you feel something, would you let me know by tapping on the heart below?