Linds Redding, a late advertising art director, who wrote about his terminal cancer and what it showed him about his career.
Commenters recommend the essay for its perspective on work and passion, calling it better written than most media articles, and link it in discussions of corporate culture.
As with the other article from 1922 [1], this article is just so much better written and conveys a far more widely useful point than the articles you see in the media today. Feels a bit like journalism in general has gone backwards enormously.
I think this because journalism is now ranked by 'page views', when in 1922, journalism was ranked by professional editors. For journalism, page views = ad views = revenue, so optimizing for anything else is folly. A short article with eye catching headlines and sensationalism is always going to outdo a great article like the OP. Any way to reverse this trend? Even pay-for journalism today is still plagued by 'page views', as no follow up article is going to be written if the views are low. Back in 1922, nobody really knew the page views and they could only be badly estimated with a reader's survey.
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4969041
EDIT: I've actually changed my mind - journalism of this standard is definitely alive and well, you just have to look to lesser known bloggers now instead of big media. This is probably the true death-knell of big media if I ever saw it - loss of quality content. I present the following blog post from this year as evidence:
http://www.lindsredding.com/2012/03/11/a-overdue-lesson-in-perspective/
The way writing styles have changed in general in 100 years is also interesting!
Excellent article; at 3,860 words, it's a bit long, but recommended.
Here's a much shorter response, with more pathos:
"Oh. And if your reading this while sitting in some darkened studio or edit suite agonizing over whether housewife A should pick up the soap powder with her left hand or her right, do yourself a favour. Power down. Lock up and go home and kiss your wife and kids."
-- Linds Redding, "A Short Lesson in Perspective"
Read the whole thing:
http://www.lindsredding.com/2012/03/11/a-overdue-lesson-in-perspective/
Yeah definitely. I actually work in academia (I guess I wasn't very qualified to speak about SV). But it's the same shtick everywhere. Passion has become an euphemism for soft corporate brain-washing.
I am reminded of this blog article by an ad executive before his death where he raised similar points about his industry:
http://www.lindsredding.com/2012/03/11/a-overdue-lesson-in-perspective/
A direct attack on a creative soul is quite daunting. I'm talking about stuff like http://shitryandahlsays.tumblr.com/
"Creative people are on the whole fragile beings, and letting each other down gently and quietly was the unwritten rule."
- http://www.lindsredding.com/2012/03/11/a-overdue-lesson-in-perspective/
Relevant: I think you’re all fucking mad. Deranged. From "A Short Lesson in Perspective. http://www.lindsredding.com/2012/03/11/a-overdue-lesson-in-perspective/
Your perspective is just that: a perspective. When his body changes (for the worse) so does his perspective.
The context:
http://www.businessinsider.com/its-not-worth-it-linds-reddings-short-lesson-in-perspective-2012-11?IR=T
Also:
http://www.lindsredding.com/2011/10/12/my-shits-fucked-up/