Author: Craig Constantine

Challenge →

Published October 25, 2023  ·  All posts on Oct 25  ·  ,

Setting a challenge for myself seems simple enough. Pick a goal and then work to reach it. But there needs to be more than the goal, and the process. There also needs to be some sacrifice; What will it be necessary for me to give up in order to attempt the challenge? There also needs to be some risk; Risk of physical loss, injury or monetary cost are obvious options, but a good challenge has mental, even spiritual, risk attached. Who will I be after this challenge? What about success itself? I think a good challenge must seem achievable (it mustn’t fly in the face of reality) but must actually be uncertain. It takes a special person to set and truly attempt a challenge that they aren’t certain they can achieve.

I am going to try to convince you to spend the next 4 days watching a YouTube live stream of people running round a 4.1 mile loop in Tennessee, all day and all night.

~ Matt Webb from, Why you should watch Big’s Backyard Ultra, which starts tomorrow (Interconnected)

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I’m not sure what to say about this “backyard ultra”. Fortunately for you, the race will be over by the time this post appears. You don’t risk being sucked into the live stream by reading Webb’s article. While I’m not the least bit attracted to attempting something like this, I read the article slowly. The challenge that lies at the heart of this race is something I understand. I’m not suggesting you go try to run one of these races, but I do hope you have experienced true self-set challenge.

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Leave a trail →

Published October 25, 2023  ·  All posts on Oct 25  ·  ,

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Exerting yourself →

Published October 24, 2023  ·  All posts on Oct 24  ·  , ,

Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest. If you’re going to while away the years, it’s far better to live them with clear goals and fully alive than in a fog, and I believe running helps you do that. Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: That’s the essence of running, and a metaphor for life—and for me, for writing as well. I believe many runners would agree.

~ Haruki Murakami

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60 Seconds with Mandell Conway →

Published October 23, 2023  ·  All posts on Oct 23

60 Seconds – with Mandell Conway

What role does storytelling play in driving creativity and engagement in personal projects like podcasting and daily writing?

Mandell Conway and Craig Constantine discuss the art of generosity in podcasting, daily writing challenges, and the power of pushing through creative discomfort.

I’m building the material up. I’m building the reps. I’m getting better and then I can go and say, ‘okay this is the part that I want to keep.’ I’ll share this today. I’ll share this tomorrow. …or I’ll share this next year. But just get in that habit of doing the emotional labor. I think I want to be able to push through that. Versus just saying I would spend 20 minutes and that drained me— [then] ‘yeah, I’m out of here.’ What would happen if I just sat in it for a little longer.

~ Mandell Conway 24:55

Mandell Conway and Craig Constantine explore the concepts of giving and generosity. Mandell speaks about the importance of daily writing, acknowledging the emotional labor involved and discussing the benefits of creating a content backlog for challenging days. They emphasize that the primary goal should be writing, with publishing (in whatever medium) as a natural outcome of this consistent practice. Mandell also offers some perspective on the creative process, emphasizing the commitment required to share impactful stories with the world.

Takeaways

Daily Commitments — the importance of a daily writing or podcasting habit, consistency is key.

Emotional Challenges — writing can be emotionally taxing, but rather than avoiding it, sitting with the discomfort can lead to profound and emotional content. By accepting difficult moments in writing, individuals can develop resilience and produce better work.

Importance of Conversations — the value of discussions between like-minded individuals. Sharing ideas and experiences can spark new insights and innovative approaches to content creation and creative work.

Resources

Giving is Like — Mandell Conway’s web site with his daily email, The Daily Tithe.

Mandell Conway: Giving Within Community — Mandell Conway with Anne Roche on Roche’s podcast, How I Live Through This.

@mandellconway — Mandell Conway on Instagram.

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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Cogito →

Published October 23, 2023  ·  All posts on Oct 23  ·  ,

I don’t think ego is good or bad, it simply is. What matters (to me) is what I do, and what I do with my ego. Do I project my ego out onto the world (the way one can project a film onto a live scene in daylight: You can see the original people and things, but the film adds color and shape and, possibly, changes one’s perceptions) and examine and evaluate others colored by my own ego? …or do I try to go deeper and imagine what others might actually be experiencing, what their ego might be like?

Foremost, you must make a decision about your ego.

~ Paul Niquette from, Recommendations: Packing for Ego-Trips

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That insanely deep dive by Niquette is a refreshingly self-aware attempt at proving who should be given credit for inventing the word “software”. The part I’ve linked, isn’t even the last part. I found myself reading and knowing there was a time when I could easily have fed my ego in such a protracted journey— but I don’t think I would have been able (back at that time) to do the self-aware zoom-out that Niquette attempts. Possibly interesting to you; Definitely the sort of thing I find myself mulling over these days.

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Silence →

Published October 23, 2023  ·  All posts on Oct 23  ·  ,

Drawing on my fine command of language, I said nothing.

~ Mark Twain

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October 22, 2023 — #55 →

Published October 22, 2023  ·  All posts on Oct 22  ·  

Reading time: About 6 minutes, 1200 words
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This issue is https://7forsunday.com/55

I should take a break →

Published October 22, 2023  ·  All posts on Oct 22  ·  , ,

Taking a break is really difficult. A short break is often easy enough if you’re comfortable simply ignoring everything… for 10 minutes. But if you really want to take a real break, the difficulty escalates rapidly. I recently spent a long weekend camping a short, walkable distance from the beach. Each of the three full beach sitting days I tried to lengthen the stretches of time I literally sat in a beach chair without getting up. By the third day I was feigning agitated exasperation, and making jokes like, “That’s it! Today I’m getting serious about holding my chain down in the sand. No more standing up for me!” But in reality, I was bumping up against bodily functions, sun exposure (even under a magnificent umbrella), and peer pressure from my beach pals warning me of deep vein thrombosis. (I hope you never know what that is.)

I’m only half kidding. Everyone talks about taking a day off from work, and about looking forward to the holidays (for family and experiences, sure— but we all mean for the break we pretend we’ll get, but never do.) We even have a dedicated word, staycation (a word so legit it even passes my spell–checker) for suggesting some days we’re taking but not even going anywhere, just because we need a break. Our phones ring, our apps go bee-BOOP! and it’s ping! notification this, and ding! notification that. And an email arrives, and the dog needs walking, and the children need this, and the housemate that…

The hard work is actually prioritizing, pruning and putting one’s life in order. The impossible work is getting sufficient duration, and premium quality, sleep.

Taking a break isn’t lazy – learning to recharge is a skill that will allow you to enjoy a more creative, sustainable life.

~ Alex Soojung-Kim Pang from, How to rest well | Psyche Guides

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What’s that? How long did I manage to sit in the chair? On day three I managed a transcendental 5-and-one-half hours of literal sitting, toes in the sand. And I was on a roll, no where near needing to arise, having perfectly judged my fluid consumption, sweating, and kidney function up to then. I was foiled by my beach mates forcing me out of the chair (and at least part way into the ocean.) Which, all things considered, was very nice of them.

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Youthful exuberance →

Published October 22, 2023  ·  All posts on Oct 22  ·  ,

You are only young once. After that you have to think up some other excuse.

~ Billy Arthur

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Creative work →

Published October 21, 2023  ·  All posts on Oct 21  ·  , ,

The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time.

~ Mary Oliver

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