I agree with rollertrain’s below critique, but I think it applies only to those who don’t need to have the fire lit under their ass by such a manifesto
The Cult of Done Manifesto [via (and sorry) rileydog]
These Bre Pettis/Kio Stark commands have been spreading around the internet like warts on a frat dick. Every time someone sends me this link or reblogs this manifesto, thinking “YEA, dude! This is awesome and correct!” I want to draw a question mark on her face with my old red editing pen.
This interweb trend-of-the-month has some good points: Failure can be a good thing, and I like the line about the point of being done is to start a new project. And the destruction line is interesting. But the rest of this crap needs some editing.
If you don’t have an editing stage, your shit is going to suck unless you’ve been doing the same kind of thing for 20 years. Also, “the engine of more” makes me want to vomit and cancel Matt’s MAKE magazine subscription, then mouth-rape the cult of BoingBoing with my fist as an exclamation point.
And laughing at perfection? Why? And whose? Perfection doesn’t even exist. But it’s a pretty tough goal to aim for, so why would you encourage people to laugh at it? So they can make even more sloppy crap that the world totally needs right now?
The most irritating line is “BANISH PROCRASTINATION.” Really. I would love to meet someone who has succeeded in banishing procrastination, though I probably have a better chance of having sex with that ghost I dream about.
Everyone procrastinates, and lines like this just make them feel even worse. Procrastination is fear and apprehension. If you ignore it completely, it’ll figure out how to get out of your denial cage and bite your ass. Best to deal with it on realistic terms.
And commanding your Pettisheads to trash their ideas if they haven’t started working on them after a week of thinking them up is dumb, arrogant and cruel. A week is nothing. Even on your internet.
I don’t know this dude, but I don’t trust anyone who writes their own manifestos or encourages fangeeks to literally or figuratively throw away their hard work. Maybe MAKE’s next issue will include instructions on how to build a long-distance heat-seeking ball-gag missile.
