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Alexandra Mateus's avatar

Thank you so much for the mention 😄

Beautifully written! I loved how you framed structure as the invisible architecture that holds meaning when motivation fades. Grateful our ideas overlap so naturally 🙏

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Benjamin Antoine's avatar

Thanks a lot Alexandra. Love your vibe

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Marquita Herald's avatar

The past few months I have been struggling with my writing with each new post taking days because I have a hard time focusing and recently realized why, and you've articulated it so well here. I used to write consistently and had a solid system going. Then a few things happened in our country that tipped my emotional rollercoaster ride and I began multitasking like my life depended on it. No wonder I have trouble focusing! Your post has helped to reaffirm I'm on the right track so thank you for that. Anyway, at least I recognize it and now I'm working to get back to a place of stability and consistency.

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Benjamin Antoine's avatar

So glad to hear that :)

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Larry Ortega-The Obliq Artist's avatar

I read the entire post, including the links to studies. I devoted time to reading the Pew report, which has been a trusted source for me for decades. The observation that, without structure, it feels like you are a start-up, never having the structure necessary for optimal growth. I bookmarked the 15 Note System as a potential investment in myself. Eugene Peterson's book, "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction," has influenced my thinking and discipline. https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/565927-a-long-obedience-in-the-same-direction-discipleship-in-an-instant-society

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Benjamin Antoine's avatar

Thanks for reading. I appreciate it

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Barry J McDonald's avatar

Yeah, we often think structure is the enemy of creativity, when in reality, it’s the solid foundation we need for our best work.

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Paige McGregor's avatar

loved this so much, thank you! I am a mum of two young children (1 and 3) and writing for me has always flowed naturally in times of quiet inspiration, which are admittedly vary sparse. this is helping me to think of an architecture that will help me balance it all.

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Benjamin Antoine's avatar

Thanks Paige. So glad this was of help

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Rick Ely's avatar

Grateful and thankful for your perspective! Now it’s time to integrate and implement some of the strategies! If you ever make it to Port Canaveral Florida or Charleston South Carolina it would be an honor and a pleasure to take you out fishing.

I’ll be paying attention.

Aloha

Captain Rick

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Benjamin Antoine's avatar

Wow thanks Rick, that is the first irl invitation I’ve got here😀

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Rick Ely's avatar

Hope you take me up on it, sincerely!

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Love chihuahuas's avatar

Thank you for this note. It is opening up my eyes regarding writing. My problem is finding the right time to write. When you are battling with fatigue due to rheumatoid arthritis, timing is crucial. My upcoming notes is going to be about finding time and space during the clean up of my entire house room by room.

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Husain Zaidi's avatar

Very nice 👌 I am constantly struggling with going with the flow of your passion and creativity vs. structuring your day and your time (and your thoughts 😃) I am still on the fence, with regards to forcing yourself to write when you do not feel like it 🤔

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Benjamin Antoine's avatar

Never force! That will lead to burnout. Start small and slow and gradually increase the intensity

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I am Full of Shit's avatar

I’m fast, sometimes too fast for my own good, and I’ve learned the hard way that without some kind of rhythm, my work evaporates. Not because I’m systematically unorganised, but because my mind outruns itself. Meaning doesn’t disappear in chaos, it disappears in speed.

For me consistent output isn’t a personality trait. So I ended up in the same conclusion as you, but for different reasons: structure isn’t spiritual, it’s scaffolding building. It’s what stops the work from dissolving the moment motivation burns off.

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Thank You Epilepsy's avatar

“Performing inside someone else’s system can cost you your very self”

Good work but this excerpt feels like someone put Millerd + Anne-Laure Le Cunff + Dan Koe + a dozen other creator-economy voices into a blender and asked Claude/GPT-4 to “write in their style.”

For what it’s worth.

Grok AI’s Verdict

90–95 % probability this was primarily written by an LLM (most likely Claude 3 or GPT-4o with a prompt like “Write a profound personal essay about leaving a corporate career for the creator economy, end on a cliffhanger with four systems, make it sound deep and shareable”).

It’s very polished, very “viral essay core,” but almost certainly not written by a human without heavy AI assistance.

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