Procrastination is the most common manifestation of Resistance because it’s the easiest to rationalize. We don’t tell ourselves, “I’m never going to write my symphony.” Instead we say, “I’m going to write my symphony; I’m just going to start tomorrow.”
~ Steven Pressfield
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Solitude bears the same relation to the mind that sleep does to the body. It affords it the necessary opportunities for repose and recovery.
~ William G. Simms
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Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.
~ Pablo Picasso
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Creativity is harnessing universality and making it flow through your eyes.
~ Peter Koestenbaum
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“Do you have any ideas in mind?”
I was talking with someone recently, and they asked me what ideas I had in mind. I described a visual that had recently come to mind for me, and I then, as a followup to that visual, I added a few ideas as single words.
(I’m very intentionally, not being specific here…)
When I finished—it all took but a few moments—it struck me…
Dude, those single words really are the ideas I want to convey…
But that imagery? It’s exactly the opposite of those ideas. That visual is a terrible idea…
Let’s set aside the confusion I may have caused to my friend. (Although, I did point out that I saw the contradiction.)
It seems to me it’s really rare to have a moment of such clarity around something important: If I hadn’t been explaining it to another person, I might have hung onto that visual imagery.
Where are you hanging on to the wrong details?
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Because it’s elitist, an initiation into arcana. Because it’s nostalgic, rowing being a skill not much in demand in the industrial world. Because it’s fragile: The boat club is run on a shoestring, and the beat-up old boats held together by spit. Because it’s dangerous, and exercises the wits against the wind and the water. Because it’s a ritual. Because it’s redemption.
~ Barry Strauss
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[…] fear doesn’t go away. The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day.
~ Steven Pressfield
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Where is the space where you hang out with other people doing whatever it is you do? I’ve mentioned this idea before, for example, Setting and scene. This is something I come back to often because it is really important to me.
And by “space” I mean a physical space, like the proverbial 19th century café with writers talking and drinking coffee. Third places are clear candidates for our scene.
What about virtual third places? All of us know each other virtually, including through various video calls over the years. But a virtual space has to be very special to be a true “scene.” In fact, I’m not sure just how special, and I’m not sure what exactly the features it needs to have…
That’s what I’m thinking about this morning:
What are the special feature of a virtual space that make it into a scene?
Here’s a few I’ve come up with so far…
:) obviously. We need to know others are there (I see “likes” or a head-count in the video call).What else comes to mind?
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Silence is the absolute poise or balance of body, mind, and spirit. The man who preserves his selfhood ever calm and unshaken by the storms of existence—not a leaf, as it were, astir on the tree; Not a ripple upon the surface of shining pool—his, in the mind of the unlettered sage, is the ideal attitude and conduct of life.
~ Charles Eastman
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But when I do, it usually because of some deeply nerdy, cutting snark. Like this:
As someone who has read thousands of academic papers, I’ll answer those questions as calmly as possible.
NO.
~ “dynomight“, from https://dynomight.net/digits/
…and then it goes on, CAPSLOCKed, for several paragraphs. The only thing better than math-nerds, is when a math-nerd who is also a reason-nerd stomps on the vanilla-variety math-nerds. This stuff? This stuff makes the world a better place.
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Clearly the sun is up in the east already. But from here, we’re always in the shadow of this very old, very low “mountain” for at least another hour.
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Songs arise out of suffering, by which I mean they are predicated upon the complex, internal human struggle of creation and, well, as far as I know, algorithms don’t feel. Data doesn’t suffer. ChatGPT has no inner being, it has been nowhere, it has endured nothing, it has not had the audacity to reach beyond its limitations, and hence it doesn’t have the capacity for a shared transcendent experience, as it has no limitations from which to transcend.
~ Nick Cave, from https://www.theredhandfiles.com/chat-gpt-what-do-you-think/
Sometimes I read things which are so clear, and right, that I nearly weep on my keyboard. (Yes, oldster, keyboard.) And then… I realize, enduring, suffering, audacity to reach beyond limitations— hey, that’s me! And then, still weeping, but I’m doing it right!
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Man’s unhappiness, as I construe, comes of his greatness; It is because there is an infinite in him, which with all his cunning he cannot quite bury under the Finite.
~ Thomas Carlyle
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So let’s go on a journey in which I will examine the validity of six common claims we hear about homelessness and the solution to our homelessness crisis: housing, housing, and more housing.
~ Noah Smith, from https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/everything-you-think-you-know-about
“But wait,” I hear you protest, “it’s more nuanced than that!”
Yes, yes, okay, fine. Again, this time with more nuance:
It’s the lack of affordable housing.
And how might we solve that root cause?
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The silence that is in the starry sky.
~ William Wordsworth
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Seth Godin posted a selection of strategy questions a few weeks back, to coincide with his latest book’s release. I’ve found myself referring to these questions a few times, and wanted to post about it here to be sure everyone had a chance to notice them…
Where will I cause tension? What resistance should I anticipate from others (and myself)?
~ Seth Godin, from Strategy Questions
…just to pick one to quote, to give you a taste.
I’ve been using this list as a primer when I want to think about some project. I’ve found it works in my own head, as well as with other people.
As always, his asking really good questions is a gift; A tremendously empowering gift.
Is there a question in that list which scares you?
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What I understand today is that when the Stoics said that there was an opportunity in every obstacle, what they meant was the opportunity to practice virtue. To be a good person despite the bad things that have happened. To do good in the world despite the bad that has befallen you. They were speaking of the idea of arete. Excellence—in all forms.
~ Ryan Holiday
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For a while, the Movers Mindset podcast’s episodes had opening segments recorded in post-production. They were as you’d expect: Here’s who’s on the show, this is who they are, here are a few things we talk about. This (as you surely know) is a bit of work. In later years—particularly once I was working entirely alone—I simply stopped doing this because, taking the time to do it, stopped me from actually getting the episodes out the door.
LISTENERS CAN’T “SEE” (OR HEAR) WHAT’S AHEAD. When you read a story in a newspaper, your peripheral vision gives you an idea of the stories that surround it. […] On the radio, someone needs to tell you explicitly what’s coming up.
~ Jonathan Kern, from Sound Reporting, p6
NPR has a concept called “billboards” which are short segments, up-front (“58 seconds long, at the top of the hour”) telling you what’s coming.
How do you (if you do) decide what you put on your “billboard” at the front of the show? Do you have goals; list three things, list something for every major turn in the conversation, etc.? Do you use any tools to help you?
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Jokes are fine. But not every reply chain or comment thread needs to become a place to try new bits for a never-to-be-performed standup routine.
~ Nick Heer, from https://pxlnv.com/linklog/sincerity-on-the-web/
Go read! Also, this reminds of another insight about sarcasm: You don’t say.
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Resistance cannot be seen, touched, heard, or smelled. But it can be felt. We experience it as an energy field radiating from a work-in-potential. It’s a repelling force. It’s negative. Its aim is to shove us away, distract us, prevent us from doing our work.
~ Steven Pressfield
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