Sticky Notes - Cow vs. Lion

June 05, 2023 | Read Online

Cow vs. Lion

The two ways creatives work

Cole Schafer
June 05, 2023

Naval Ravikant, the philosopher-entrepreneur who founded AngelList, uses an interesting metaphor to describe the differences in the way we work.

In his book,The Almanack, Ravikant likens our working preferences to that of cows and lions.

Cows graze all day long, working steadily and constantly to keep themselves well-fed and nourished. Lions, on the other hand, rest all day long, until they see an opportunity to pounce.

While Ravikant argues that we’re far better off working like lions––resting, reflecting, reading and ultimately reserving our energy until we see an opportunity worth pursuing––I’m not so sure there is a one-size-fits-all approach to work (especially not creative work).

I think what’s important is that you know whether you’re a cow or a lion and that you hold yourself accountable to working like a cow or a lion.

From my experience working and collaborating with creatives, folks seem to get themselves in trouble when they’re either a cow trying to be a lion or a lion trying to be a cow.

Vincent van Gogh worked like a cow. He painted 900 paintings over the course of his lifetime (which averaged out to a new painting every 36 hours).

Jean Michel-Basquiat was another cow. His professional painting career ran the span of just nine years where in this time he painted 600 paintings and 1,500 drawings.

On the contrary, singer-songwriter Nick Moon worked like a lion. He recorded his iconic album Pink Moon in two days. Jack Kerouac wrote On The Road in 3-weeks. Paul McCartney claims to have written Yesterday in less than 5-minutes, “I have no idea how I wrote that. I just woke up one morning, and it was in my head. I didn’t believe it for about two weeks.”

And so this is my point…

How slowly or quickly or steadily or irregularly you do your creative work does not matter. All that matters is that you do your creative work.

By Cole Schafer.

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Vincent Van Gogh professional painting career singersongwriter Nick Moon two ways creatives

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