THINK.

Paul Hoffman has had a variety of jobs from ghostwriting essays for Nobel prize winners to running Discover magazine to opening up a restaurant in Brooklyn to being asked by Michael Douglas to make a character “smarter”.

Some points I liked in this interview:

Do you think someone could follow a path similar to yours now?

In the dot-com world there’s no predetermined path of how you achieve success. Many more doors are open. If you’re going to become a lawyer, you still need to go to law school, but there is no tried and true path [for other types of jobs]. On the other hand, I know a lot of people in their 20s and their self-imposed pressure is even higher. They look at people who are multi-millionaires by the age of 30, and they assume that’s what you have to do. I think there’s more opportunity for people who are in creative professions to succeed. I saw the other day that 65,000 people make a living as a designer in New York. Some don’t make a great living, of course, but that’s pretty fabulous. It certainly wasn’t like that 20 years ago.

What would you tell a 22-year-old kid?

First of all, I would say, don’t sweat it. It’s really easy to say that in retrospect, but I really do mean that. You can make mistakes. You can take a job and six months later you can decide that it’s hell. “It’s not for me. I’m not interested in this.” That’s totally okay. In fact, that’s easier now because the paths are not so well defined. People that present their careers as entirely successful from the age of 15 and on, most of it’s fiction. Okay, maybe that’s true in a couple people, but that’s a couple people. There are several billion people on the planet who have managed to make their careers in other ways. You can’t be afraid of failure. Even if you look at these incredible successes—people who were multimillionaires by the age of 30—often they did something that wasn’t a success at first. Passion is so important. You have plenty of opportunities to bounce back if something doesn’t work. If you see something out there that you really want to do, just go for it.

youmightfindyourself:

By: Ricky Gervais
Posted: 7/12/11 09:46 PM ET, Huffington Post 

So it’s 10 years since The Office launched into the world.

And 50 since I did.

How the fuck did that happen?

The 20 year-old on the left is thinking, “I hope I don’t live long enough to look like that grizzled old bugger on the right.”

But luckily, the grizzled old bugger on the right is thinking, “at least I don’t look like that poncey little prat on the left.”

I don’t know whether that suggests that everything changes or nothing changes.

But I love what Muhammed Ali said on the subject…

“The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.”

I certainly don’t view the world the same. It’s slightly more blurry.

My body is crumbling but not my passion. I work harder than I ever did and enjoy it more than I ever did too. I’m probably the fittest I’ve ever been. Which proves that it’s never too late. Or it proves that I was so out of shape that it was easy to beat. Doesn’t matter. And I think I’m more chilled out about things.

And fucking angrier about other things. I’m still very angry. When I’m not anymore, there’s a problem.

I don’t know what happiness is but it’s definitely NOT just going with the flow. Going with the flow, for Christ sake? Don’t ever go with the flow. Stop the flow, go against the flow, start the flow, but don’t under any circumstance just go with the flow.

It may ruffle a few feathers, but some people’s feathers need a little ruffling.

And remember: just because someone is offended doesn’t mean they’re in the right.

You have the right to be offended, and I have the right to offend you. But no one has the right to never be offended.

And never just try to offend either. That’s churlish, pointless and frankly too easy. But always say what you mean. Be honest. No one should ever be offended by truth. That way you’ll never have to apologise. I hate when a comedian says “Sorry for what I said.” You shouldn’t have said it. You shouldn’t say it if you didn’t mean it and you should never regret anything you meant to do. As a comedian I think my job isn’t just to make people laugh but also make them think. As a famous comedian I also want a strict door policy on my club. Not everyone will like what I say or find it funny. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. There’s enough comedians who try to please everyone as it is. Good luck to them, but that’s not my game I’m afraid.

This is not a democracy. No art form is. I love the creative process and I love being a complete dictator when it comes to my work. It’s my way or no way at all.

I’m quite Darwinian about it. I do my thing and I survive or I don’t. I’m here now though.

Enjoying life. While it lasts. Because that’s all, folks. Make the most of it.

Hilarious article featuring 3 active and retired Yakuza members reviewing Sega’s latest installment in their Yakuza series.

Yakuza like to use politically correct xenophobic slurs:

S:What’s with all the fucking gaijin (foreigners) in the area anyway? It used to be just Japanese, Koreans and Chinese.

M: Don’t say gaijin. Say Gaikokujin. It’s more polite. Jake’s a gaijin.

Yakuza value tax scams that help the unfortunate:

S: I don’t know any ex-yakuza running orphanages.

K: There was one a few years ago. A good guy.

M: You sure it wasn’t just a tax shelter?

K: Sure it was a tax shelter but he ran it like a legitimate thing. You know.

Dame talks about Biggie rolling 60 blunts and smoking them all during the recording session for “Brooklyn’s Finest”.  All before recording a single vocal hahaha.