← Adam Savage
Adam Savage’s Tested
When You're a Big Picture Thinker in a Small Thinker Job
⏱ 15 min video · 2 min read6 Jun 2026Worth watching
TL;DR
Adam Savage answers two listener questions: one about being a big-picture thinker stuck in a task-focused job, and one about coping with a known upcoming layoff. He draws on his own career path through ILM and Mythbusters to offer career and philosophical guidance about liminal transitions.
Key points
1
Big-picture thinking is a management skill set, not just a personality quirk — if your boss undervalues it, consider moving toward a management role where it is rewarded
2
Adam advises against creating guidance documents for colleagues on your own unpaid time, unless you are consciously treating it as skill-building investment
3
For those facing a known job ending, Rilke's concept of remaining 'lonely and attentive' in liminal spaces is offered as a framework for meaningful reflection rather than rushing toward the next thing
4
Adam recommends meditating on how you want your future job to feel — not just what it should look like — because when the right opportunity arrives, you will recognize it
5
Patton Oswalt's co-star Paget Brewster warned Adam after 14 years on Mythbusters that job endings cause a kind of temporary insanity — the advice 'go easy on yourself' is the core takeaway for Phil Redbeard
Actionable insights
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If you naturally think about process improvement, documentation, and systemic efficiency, treat that as a signal you are suited for management — start considering what that role would look like and what compensation you would want
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When facing a job ending, spend time auditing what you liked and disliked about your current role, what colleague dynamics worked for you, and how the work felt to execute versus how you want it to feel — this meditation sharpens your ability to recognise the right next opportunity
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Do not rush through transitional periods — Rilke advises staying present in the discomfort of liminal spaces because that is when the anchors for a real future take hold
Notable quotes
“The past has left you, but the future has not yet taken hold.”
“We are not smart enough to know how our future is going to slot into us. We are not smart enough to game that. But we are smart enough to look for what we want in broader terms.”
“Go easy on yourself. I have rarely been given a better bit of advice in my life.”
Worth watching?
✅
Worth watching the full video?
Watch if you want the full warmth and storytelling — Adam weaves in his ILM career, Mythbusters ending, and Rilke poetry in ways that land harder in the spoken version — but the core advice is all captured here.
Saved you some time? The creator still deserves a like.
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