“Be a part of your age, but do not be its creature.”
In short: Douglas Murray is a British author, journalist and associate editor of The Spectator. In this short 2019 clip from his London Real interview with Brian Rose, he talks about the advice he would give his 20-year-old self, the career lesson he learned from an editor, and what he would tell young people today.
Brian asks the question he puts to many guests: if you could call your 20-year-old self on a magic phone, what would you say? Douglas answers with relationships and not worrying so much, then moves to the best career advice he received as a young writer.
That advice came from the then editor of The Spectator, who took the time to explain why a first submission did not work. Douglas also shares the Schiller quote he turns to when asked what young people should do in a world he did not grow up in.
Key takeaways
- Don’t worry about meeting the right person. At 20 you think it will never happen, Douglas says, and his advice to himself would be that it will come.
- Relationships take time to learn. He says it takes a long time to navigate meaningful personal relationships and know what you are doing.
- Write for readers who pay to read. The editor told him university professors are paid to hear your essay, whereas readers choose whether to read, so the piece has to be enjoyable.
- Encouragement matters. Douglas says people need to be shown what to do, rather than being told they must be perfect the first time.
- Keep something back. He tells young people not to put everything out there and not to cheapen themselves.
- Be a part of your age, not its creature. Quoting Schiller, he says to engage fully with your era but not let it define you.
Advice for the 20-year-old Douglas
Asked what he would tell himself at university, Douglas says it would be personal advice. Relationships take a long time to work out, and he would have told himself not to worry so much about whether the right person would turn up. In his words, it will come.
The best career advice Douglas Murray received
Douglas had written his first book on literature and was writing reviews for The Spectator when he submitted an article on politics on spec. The editor, Boris Johnson at the time, phoned to explain what was wrong with it so that the next piece would be better. Douglas says he has always been grateful for that, particularly because journalism can be a harsh place for newcomers.
The lesson was that he had written an essay, and the magazine does not run essays. At university he had been used to reading essays to professors who are paid to hear them, whereas Spectator readers pay to read, so the piece has to be good and enjoyable. Nobody had told him that before.
Boris Johnson, politics and telling the truth
Brian asks what Boris Johnson is really like. Douglas says he does not know him well, but that what you see is what you get, flaws and virtues alike, and that for a politician he had the unusual trait of making people feel better when his name came up.
Asked whether he would ever go into politics himself, Douglas says it has rarely been possible to be a politician and tell the truth, and that even if he got in, the whip would be drawn the moment he said too much.
Advice to young people: part of your age, not its creature
For a 20-year-old born into a world with social media, Douglas says first not to do things that will demoralise you or that you will be ashamed of, and to hold your head higher than the era tells you to. Don’t put everything out there, and keep something of yourself back.
He closes with a line from Schiller about being a part of your age without being its creature, which he reads as an instruction to immerse yourself in your time while refusing the parts of it you do not want.
Who is Douglas Murray?
Douglas Murray is a British author, journalist and associate editor of The Spectator. He began his writing career with a book on literature and reviews for The Spectator, and he talks about learning to write for readers rather than professors. This Success Secrets clip is taken from his full London Real interview with Brian Rose.
Frequently asked questions
He said it would be personal advice about relationships: they take a long time to learn, and he would tell himself not to worry so much about meeting the right person.
An editor of The Spectator told him he had written an essay, and that readers pay to read, so a piece has to be good and enjoyable rather than aimed at a professor.
He recommends the line “be a part of your age but do not be its creature”, meaning engage fully with your time without letting it define you.
This page carries the Success Secrets clip, which comes from his full London Real interview with Brian Rose. The video and transcript are on this page.
