Blog

The Ikigai Code: How to Find Your Sweet Spot Between Meaning and Money

For Creators, Coaches, Consultants, and Solopreneurs (By IMMachines.com — Systems for Simple, Profitable, Creative Living) 1. Introduction: The Problem with “More” We’ve all met that person grinding out 12-hour days in a business they despise — the one who trades their freedom for “success.”And then there’s the other type: the dreamer with 100 ideas, but [...]

2025-10-07T12:45:17+01:00By |

The Year in Tech, 2026 — What Creators Must Know About the Future of AI, Trust, and Innovation

Technology is moving faster than most people can adapt. But adaptation is the new creative advantage.Harvard Business Review’s The Year in Tech, 2026 reveals the key transformations shaping the next 24 months — from agentic AI and living intelligence to the ethics, transparency, and environmental balance of emerging tech. For creators and solopreneurs, this book [...]

2025-10-06T15:36:35+01:00By |

Steal Like an Artist: The Solopreneur’s Step-by-Step Playbook for Creative Success

Creativity isn’t about being original. It’s about being authentic.Austin Kleon’s classic, Steal Like an Artist, isn’t a manifesto for plagiarism — it’s a manual for reinvention. For midlife creators, coaches, consultants, and solopreneurs — the message is pure gold:You don’t need permission, perfection, or a grand plan. You just need to start — and let [...]

2025-10-05T11:57:26+01:00By |

The Idea Assembly Line: A Simple, Repeatable System for Creators

Based on James Webb Young’s A Technique for Producing Ideas — adapted for IMMachines Core premise: An idea is a new combination of old elements.The production of ideas is a definite process you can learn, run, and improve—like an assembly line. If you’ve ever thought “I’m not creative,” here’s your permission slip: creativity is less [...]

2025-10-03T13:02:15+01:00By |

Stations, Not Statues: How to Work in Chapters and Let Your Art Keep Moving

“A work of art is not an end point in itself.It’s a station on a journey.A chapter in our lives.We acknowledge these transitionsby documenting each of them.” Most creators secretly try to carve statues—perfect, permanent, unchangeable. But real creative lives look more like rail journeys: you make something, you arrive somewhere new, you look around, [...]

2025-10-03T12:19:25+01:00By |

Ordinary → Extraordinary: How to Create Great Work with What You Have (Right Now)

“Do what you canwith what you have.Nothing more is needed.” “Sometimes, it can be the most ordinary moment that creates an extraordinary piece of art.” You don’t need a bigger budget, a fancier camera, or a 90-day sabbatical to make meaningful work. You need a clear promise, a brave first move, and the humility to [...]

2025-10-03T11:53:34+01:00By |

The Work Reveals Itself as You Go

A practical, slightly mystical field guide for IMMachines creators who build by moving “The work reveals itself as you go.”Also: “We are dealing in a magic realm. Nobody knows why or how it works.” If you’ve ever taken one small step and found a door you didn’t know existed—welcome to the club. Creation isn’t a [...]

2025-10-03T11:36:37+01:00By |

Be the Conduit: How to Let Ideas Manifest Through You

A Rick-Rubin–ish field guide for IMMachines creators, coaches, consultants, and solopreneurs “Talent is the ability to let ideas manifest themselves through you.” Most of us were taught that “talent” means you push harder, think smarter, and out-grind everyone. Nice story. Also wrong. The most reliable makers I know don’t force ideas—they host them. They reduce [...]

2025-10-03T11:14:37+01:00By |

Look Deeper: How to See the Invisible Opportunity (A Rick Rubin–Inspired Guide for Creators)

“The ability to look deeply is the root of creativity.To see past the ordinary and mundaneand get to what might otherwise be invisible.” — Rick Rubin Most people skim life like it’s a terms-and-conditions page. Creators don’t. We look deeper. That’s not woo-woo; it’s a practical competitive advantage. When you learn to see what others [...]

2025-10-03T22:07:49+01:00By |
Go to Top