Seven Things I Learned from World of Warcraft

It’s easy to confuse what you’re doing with why you’re doing it. Grinding is a means of achieving a specific goal, whereas the game itself is supposed to be entertaining. So once you level, stop grinding and start exploring.

I worked for a year as a reader, it was good money, but it was wearying. Most of the scripts were terrible. I convinced myself I was “working in the industry,” so I kept reading them.

In place of reading, I got a mindless internship in production, I didn’t use my brain once. That left me with abundant energy when I got home from work, and with it I finished two scripts.

My website is really just me running back to the newbie lands and giving away what I can. I could put my advice in a book and charge $15.95 for it, but I see it as the take-a-penny, leave-a-penny flow of information.

I regularly search the web for answers on topics in which I’m a newbie and leaving thankful that someone out there took the time to write a tutorial on exactly what I needed. So in exchange, I write up what I know about screenwriting.

If everyone took the time to build a site about the areas of their expertise, the world would be significantly cooler.

GTD enthusiasts would label these WoW quests “projects,” and each of the bullet points “next actions.” Most of life’s work consists of a bunch of little activities in the service of a larger goal. You don’t write a script; you write a scene. You don’t design a website; you tweak the CSS so the navigation looks better. No matter what the project is, you can’t finish until you get started, and you can’t get started until you figure out the steps.

one quickly learns the importance of storage: belts, bags, backpacks and chests. Unfortunately, there’s never nearly enough space, and adding more becomes ridiculously expensive. So always keep in mind the carrying costs.

Unlike World of Warcraft (or hard drives in the 90’s), digital storage is now cheap.

But while the cost of bit storage has plummeted, the cost of storing atoms is still huge.

Last year, we cleaned out our garage. Whoever wanted something could email us and take it. They got a free desk, and we got a free garage.

As you look back at any period of your life, you don’t remember what a solid plan you had. You remember what you did. You remember the adventures, the scrapes, the unanticipated detours that turned out to fascinating. So don’t plan your way out of an exciting life.