Ken James  /  Now

What I'm doing
right now.

Last updated  ·  March 2026  ·  Massachusetts

Focus

I'm deep in the work of building three interconnected projects that I believe belong together — a community notebook experiment, a Saturday morning accountability meetup, and abstract artwork that funds it all. The throughline is Effort, Persistence, and Trial & Error.

I was recently accepted into the EforAll Merrimack Valley accelerator — after recording a one-minute video pitch and making the case that these three ventures are really one story. Getting in was a signal worth paying attention to. Now the real work begins.

Projects

Reading & Writing

I've been writing on Substack about the ideas behind Traveling Notebooks — why paper still matters, what it means to leave something in public for a stranger to find.

Inspired by

The thinkers and makers whose work keeps showing up in mine:

Seth Godin Taught me that marketing is about connection, not interruption — and that making something for a specific someone is always braver than making something for everyone. His idea of productive tension is baked into the E.P.T. framework.
Brené Brown Vulnerability isn't weakness — it's the entry point for real community. Everything I build asks people to show up honestly, and she showed me why that's worth asking. But here's the part most people miss: vulnerability isn't the same as oversharing. It means choosing to be open with the people who've earned the right to hear it. That distinction changes everything about how you design spaces for connection.
Simon Sinek Start with why. That's it. Three words that reorganized how I think about communicating what I do and who it's for.
Trevor Noah A reminder that humor and depth aren't opposites. He finds the human thing in hard situations — and makes you feel less alone in the process.
James Clear Systems over goals. Small actions compounded over time. His thinking on habits is quietly everywhere in how Create & Connect is structured.
Derren Brown The intersection of psychology, performance, and ethical persuasion. His work asks hard questions about influence — questions I hold with deep respect — both as a student of the artform and as someone who builds tools meant to bring people together.
Penn Jillette Radical honesty in magic. The idea that you can be completely transparent about the fact that you're fooling someone — and it still works. That's something.
Derek Sivers Do less, but mean it more. His writing on asymmetry — that the same thing can be true and its opposite can also be true — keeps me from being too certain about anything.

Organizations

Four organizations doing work I deeply respect — each one a north star for a different part of what I'm building:

Not doing

I work a part-time job to keep the lights on. Beyond that, I'm not taking on freelance work or saying yes to anything that isn't in service of these three projects or the people they're meant to reach. Saying no is part of the practice.