Infinite Loops – EP. 302
Paul Millerd & Jimmy Soni — The Creative Opportunities of a Boring Life
Release Date: February 19, 2026
Host: Jim O'Shaughnessy
Guests: Paul Millerd, Jimmy Soni
Episode Overview
This episode of Infinite Loops explores the transformative power—and creative necessity—of embracing “boring” or ordinary lives, especially for writers and creatives. Jim O'Shaughnessy welcomes author and self-publishing advocate Paul Millerd (The Pathless Path, Good: Reclaiming Your Inner Ambition) and publisher/author Jimmy Soni to discuss the state of book publishing, building a creative life outside traditional systems, and why stability and “boredom” often set the stage for the best creative opportunities.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing
Paul’s Self-Publishing Journey
- Paul self-published The Pathless Path, experimenting with grassroots marketing, and found unanticipated success (“I was making about $10,000 a month in royalties from the book at that point because it just started skyrocketing.” [02:59]).
- Penguin offered him $70k for Pathless Path and $130k for a new book—but he turned it down, realizing the offer was only about four or five months’ royalties and would require him to give up control (“They wouldn’t give me details and then relaunch it. And so I just got a bit annoyed by this and frustrated.” [02:59]).
Traditional Publishing’s Structural Issues
- Both Soni and Millerd value the individuals in publishing but highlight the system’s flaws—overworked staff, resistance to entrepreneurial authors, and rigid processes (“They’re locked in a system that is basically designed so that they can’t do their best work...” [05:30]).
- Authors with large advances get attention and results; “midlist” authors are often ignored (“If they offered me a big enough advance...they would then have internal pressure to actually deliver bold results for my book.” [08:44]).
Key Quote
“The incentives do not enable the level of caring I wanted from the industry.”
—Paul Millerd [08:50]
2. The Case for Physical Books & Beautiful Objects
- Motivated by a love for physical books, Paul invested significantly in creating an extraordinary hardcover edition (“My goal from when we started is I want to create the sexiest book people own... I had to abandon business thinking... to actually push the limit of something that is truly extraordinary, beautiful.” [30:20]).
- Emphasizes that investing in beauty and quality can be both a creative and a strategic act, even if it doesn’t offer instant commercial returns.
Key Quote
“As a writer, I don’t think about making money ever really... I care so much about the creative decisions and the delight of... the book itself.”
—Paul Millerd [35:50]
3. Publishing Myths, Authorial Energy, and Creative Longevity
- The psychological toll of traditional publishing: rejection can diminish creative energy and make ambitious authors retreat (“This cynicism at scale thing is an important thing to combat...” [14:46]).
- Many great projects languish for lack of institutional courage (“They say no to projects that have a lot of potential...” [16:18]).
Key Quote
“Creative work should inspire more creative work.”
—Paul Millerd [12:42]
- The importance of authorial energy: creative systems rarely account for an author’s long-term motivation, but this energy is small on the publisher’s balance sheets and critical for lasting creative output (“There’s no line item for the energy or capacity or desire to keep going on a path.” [39:21]).
4. Embracing the Modern Creative Path
- Current publishing mimics Industrial Era mindsets—outdated in the era of internet distribution and digital communities (“Publishing is using best practices, but the problem, they’re from 1925, not 2025.” [19:24]).
- Internet enables niching down, direct sales, sustainable marketing, and relationship-building over years (“You now have the ability to literally segment... and get that type of book in front of the people who will want to read it.” [19:24])
- Book business can be evergreen if carefully stewarded, eschewing the “spray and pray” method for ongoing, authentic engagement (“My last royalty check for The Founders was bigger than the one before that.” [23:49]).
5. Energy Management, Family & “Boring” Lives as Creative Foundations
- “Boring” or “stable” lives provide the foundation for creative output, discipline, and ambition (“My life is very boring. But then I share some of the details... and people are just shocked. But to me and my wife... it just feels normal to us.” [66:02]).
- The stability of family, routine, and moderation actually increases creative risk-taking capacity.
- Paul and Jimmy stress the value of intentionality: doing quarterly check-ins, prioritizing family, and only accepting paid work that aligns with their lifestyles ([51:01]-[53:00]).
Key Quote
“If you are going to parties every night, you’re going to be exhausted… That boredom, or that appearance of... a basic boring life, is actually what enables stuff to happen on the page that is epic and amazing.”
—Jimmy Soni [70:02]
6. Creative Networks, Friendship & Loneliness
- Creative life means prioritizing “like minds” over traditional friendships.
- The value of digital mentors and communities of fellow creatives who share “the affliction” of writing.
- Navigating family/friend expectations: traditional social circles may not understand nontraditional choices, but community can be found among other creators ([57:12]-[62:49]).
Key Quote
“I don’t have any normal friends anymore.”
—Paul Millerd [57:12]
7. Embracing Uncertainty, Probabilities, and the Taoist Approach
- Surrendering attachment to deterministic, predictable paths—accepting that creative careers are “probabilistic” and opportunity-rich if you lean toward optimism.
- Opportunities compound for those who take risks, follow their energy, and stay open to serendipity ([46:58], [49:32]).
Key Quote
“My life is very boring. We have this weird cocoon of this alternate reality, but it totally just feels normal to us.”
—Paul Millerd [66:02]
8. The Win-Win Nature of Books & Puncturing Myths
- The “zero-sum” myth of publishing is false: more good books create more total readers (“It's actually one of these rare industries where it's positive sum.” [84:30])
- The myth that creativity requires chaos or self-destruction is also false.
Key Quote
“We're competing against TikTok and Netflix. We're not competing against other books.”
—Paul Millerd [85:00]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On Traditional Publishers:
“Like, what kind of analysis are they doing where they’re just like, yeah, nah, we’re done with that one. We’re moving on?”
—Jim O'Shaughnessy [12:00] -
On Creative Longevity:
“Part of this is I want to inspire more people to actually orient around decisions that maximize their creative longevity, creative bets, and doing things like this.”
—Paul Millerd [14:46] -
On Self-Publishing and Luck:
“What if I do less? What are the interesting things that could happen?”
—Paul Millerd [81:01] -
On Books as Positive-Sum:
“It is, it makes me feel great when more people speak highly of your work and it. And vice versa. Like, it really is the case that it’s the rare industry where one person’s win is not another person’s loss.”
—Jimmy Soni [84:40] -
On Decisions for the World (Emperor Inception):
“I need to take a sabbatical in midlife, ideally in my 30s or 40s, three to six months... and I must own more beautiful books.”
—Paul Millerd [89:04]
Timestamps for Important Segments
- [02:59] — Paul’s self-publishing journey and the Penguin offer
- [05:30] — Jimmy on the publishing industry's institutional problems
- [14:46] — The toll of cynicism in the creative industries
- [19:24] — How internet changes the game for niche/evergreen books
- [30:20] — The motivation and process behind creating a beautiful hardcover
- [39:21] — The unaccounted value of authorial energy in traditional systems
- [51:01]-[53:00] — Managing family, risk, and finances as a creative
- [57:12] — On “having no normal friends” as a creative
- [66:02] — “Boring” lives as the platform for wild creative work
- [70:02] — On discipline, stability, and the creative output it enables
- [81:01] — On expanding the “surface area of luck”
- [84:30] — Books as a positive-sum industry
- [89:04] — Paul’s two “Emperor of the World” inceptions
Summary Table
| Topic | Key Points & Timestamps | |--------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Self-Publishing vs. Traditional | Paul’s decision to stay indie ([02:59]), institutional inertia ([05:30]) | | Book as Art/Beautiful Object | Creative process and investment ([30:20]) | | Publishing Myths & Energy | Impact on authors ([14:46]), energy as currency ([39:21]) | | Modern Creative Paths | Internet + evergreen + niches ([19:24], [23:49]), slow compounding | | Stability & Creativity | Family/“boring” lives enable risk and output ([51:01]-[66:02]) | | Creative Friendships/Community | Like minds, digital mentors ([57:12]) | | Daoist/Probabilistic Life | Surrender, risk-taking, compounding odds ([46:58], [49:32]) | | Win-Win Book Industry | Positive sum, killing the “zero-sum” myth ([84:30]) | | Emperor Inception | Sabbaticals and beautiful books for all ([89:04]) |
Conclusion
The conversation weaves together the practical and philosophical: how building a boring, stable life can actually generate the space and power for creative risk-taking; how the myths of creative suffering and traditional publishing harm more than they help; and how owning your path as a creative—a pathless path—opens up serendipity, community, and a deeply satisfying life.
If you want to thrive as an author or creative in the modern world, this episode is a blueprint both for mindset and for strategic action. The ultimate message: embrace the power of a boring life, create beautiful things for their own sake, and watch your opportunities multiply in unexpected ways.