When we try to do it all and have it all, we find ourselves making trade-offs at the margins that we would never take on as our intentional strategy. When we don’t purposefully and deliberately choose where to focus our energies and time, other people—our bosses, our colleagues, our clients, and even our families—will choose for us, and before long we’ll have lost sight of everything that is meaningful and important.
~ Greg McKeown
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When we try to do it all and have it all, we find ourselves making trade-offs at the margins that we would never take on as our intentional strategy. When we don’t purposefully and deliberately choose where to focus our energies and time, other people—our bosses, our colleagues, our clients, and even our families—will choose for us, and before long we’ll have lost sight of everything that is meaningful and important.
~ Greg McKeown
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In the last year, I’ve been regularly returning to my personal mission. It’s a blazing beacon on the horizon. Every time I am aware that I should make a choice, I can honestly say this choice right here is in service of my mission. (The corollary of course is that those times when I’m not aware that I’m making a choice, my mission doesn’t help me at all.)
And I do literally mean all the things are in service of my mission. My choices about my commitments to people, family responsibilities, taxes, friendships, volunteer work, rest, relaxation, food, and many more things are all intentional choices now made in service of my mission. All those things, which others might say seem to be off-mission, are in fact making me a functioning, decent person who is then able to pursue a mission. There’s a whole suite of things that people incorrectly talk about as “home” life, (or “personal” life, or sometimes just “life”,) which they need to balance against “work” life. No. No no. No no no. I tried splitting my universe into work and life and that’s simply not reality.
There’s only “life” time. Stare unflinching at those choices that seem to be on the margins, for they too are just as much important choices about your life.
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I had no choice but to let my guard down and be vulnerable for the first time. Shockingly, rather than drive my employees away, it drew them closer. Young team members actually pulled me aside and confessed that they used to think I was “superhuman,” meaning I was unrelatable [sic]. Now that I was showing my vulnerability, they said, they would follow me anywhere. The lesson: Rather than striving to be superhuman, I would aspire to be less “super” and more “human.”
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In a few hundred years, when the history of our time will be written from a long-term perspective, it is likely that the most important event historians will see is not technology, not the Internet, not e-commerce. It is an unprecedented change in the human condition. For the first time—literally—substantial and rapidly growing numbers of people have choices. For the first time, they will have to manage themselves. And society is totally unprepared for it.
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Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom; Indeed they create our courage and wisdom. It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually. When we desire to encourage the growth of the human spirit, we challenge and encourage the human capacity to solve problems, just as in school we deliberately set problems for our children to solve. It is through the pain of confronting and resolving problems that we learn.
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I’ve written a lot about sleep. But when I found this “article” about sleep from 2016— well, at 361 pages, it’s definitely not an “article.” Now that I found this article, I feel comfortable that in recent years I’ve not been writing about sleep. This topic is already well-covered.
And you really should go look at the PDF. Eight-hours a day? —wrong. Same time to-bed/to-rise each day? Wrong. Single-phase, biphase, … it’s all so complicated!
I hope that this article compiles all the basic ingredients of knowledge that are helpful in accomplishing refreshing sleep. As for the sacrifice, it is important to begin with the understanding that one cannot eat one’s cake and have it too. Healthy sleep may be incompatible with some modern habits, some cravings, or some lifestyle choices. At worst, refreshing sleep may be incompatible with one’s job or even long-term goals.
~ Dr Piotr Wozniak, May 2012 from, «https://www.supermemo.com/en/archives1990-2015/articles/sleep»
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I think we often get distracted by, well, life, or social media, or whatever. At the end of the day, we can see that we haven’t really moved the needle on what we truly care about. Women out there in particular know this is true. How do you keep the main thing the main thing?
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But the nature of man is sufficiently revealed for him to know something of himself and sufficiently veiled to leave much impenetrable darkness, a darkness in which he ever gropes, forever in vain, trying to understand himself.
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Humility engenders learning because it beats back the arrogance that puts blinders on. It leaves you open for truths to reveal themselves. You don’t stand in your own way. […] Do you know how you can tell when someone is truly humble? I believe there’s one simple test: Because they consistently observe and listen, the humble improve. They don’t assume, ‘I know the way.’
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TK is an all-around mover, a dancer, rock climber, traceusse and earned her degree in athletic training. In addition to her movement practices, TK is a certified authentic Tantra instructor, teaching holistic healing of body, mind, spirit and sex. TK considers herself a sex activist and is the founder of LoveCraft, a sexual coaching and empowerment collective.
Tantra was the obvious place to begin since we were surely going to end up talking about tantric sex. My fear was that most people’s—myself included—knowledge of Tantra would be something to do with the artist, Sting. We immediately agreed that leaving the world only knowing about “men in linen pants” would be a disservice. “Tantra means, literally, to weave light and sound with form, the light being visualizations of your chakras in your body, sound being chants that you’re making, and then the form being your body, your physical body. That’s it, in a nutshell. The way that often looks is meditating. The way a lot of people do that is they’ll meditate and then have sex; they’ll meditate during sex; they’ll meditate on their own without any sex. Yeah, that’s kind of that, which means nothing, right? It’s like a, ‘Cool, and then what?’ which is what got me into having a coach.” — ~ TK from, ~4’40”
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time.
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How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time.
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Annie Dillard is right. Also useful for defending against chaos: Principles. Morals. Visualization. To be clear: My first word, “also,” is critical. I’m completely onboard with a schedule. But for me, since I’ve got schedule (and process and optimization and organization) dialed in, I’ve moved inward to more difficult topics of consideration. I find I’m asking myself—continuing Dillard’s metaphor—did I put the scaffolding in the right place?
And even more chin-scratchingly interesting: Am I done with this labor? And should I take the scaffolding down, so that I can set it up somewhere else?
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Somewhere behind the athlete you’ve become, and the hours of practice, and the coaches who have pushed you, is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back… play for her.
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How can individuals overcome barriers to starting and continuing creative projects?
A 12-minute train ride sparks the idea for a method that helps people overcome procrastination.
The creative hell of having something that you know you want to do and haven’t done, is much worse than having done it and it gone wrong.
~ Robbie Swale (2:26)
The conversation explores the challenges and processes involved in creative work, starting with the guest’s ambitious goal to appear on 100 podcasts within a year. This goal is tied to promoting a book and sharing a method designed to help people overcome procrastination. The “12-minute method,” inspired by quick train commutes, emphasizes short, focused creative sessions followed by immediate sharing, reducing the barriers to starting and completing creative projects. The discussion includes reflections on the emotional struggles associated with creative paralysis and the relief of simply beginning, regardless of the outcome.
Another topic discussed is personal branding, as Robbie shares how his identity has evolved across multiple roles—author, coach, and podcaster. He discusses the difficulty of balancing different audiences and platforms while maintaining a cohesive brand. This is paired with insights into the art of having meaningful conversations, whether in podcasts or personal interactions, and the transformative power of stripping away non-essential elements in both creative and conversational practices.
Takeaways
Overcoming procrastination — A structured, time-bound approach like the 12-minute method can break the inertia of creative blocks.
Sharing ideas without perfection — The act of publishing or sharing unfinished work can be more valuable than over-refining it.
Personal branding evolution — Presenting multiple facets of oneself requires careful thought to maintain coherence and accessibility.
The power of focused work — Even a short, focused effort repeated consistently can result in substantial achievements.
The value of conversations — Generative discussions can lead to new insights and deeper understanding, often surpassing solo reflection.
Balancing roles — Managing separate but overlapping audiences demands strategic decisions about branding and communication.
The impact of challenges — Setting ambitious goals can drive growth and learning, even if the goal itself is not fully achieved.
Resources
Robbie Swale’s website — Includes information on coaching and personal projects.
The 12-Minute Method — A series of books focused on creativity and overcoming procrastination, based on the guest’s personal writing journey.
The Coach’s Journey Podcast — A podcast created by the guest to support and inspire coaches in their professional journeys.
(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)
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Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.
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We all have so much power that we don’t use. And I think it’s because of cynicism, which is a toxic spiritual state. Cynicism is a refuge for cowards.
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We all have so much power that we don’t use. And I think it’s because of cynicism, which is a toxic spiritual state. Cynicism is a refuge for cowards.
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I’m not sure what to think about the “spiritual” bit. I’d need to hear Booker explain what he means by that. This week, it seems, I’m on a language bender. And here’s something that really freakin’ matters…
Does Booker mean “Cynicism”, as in the proper noun, the state of being a Cynic…
For the [ancient] Cynics, the purpose of life is to live in virtue, in agreement with nature. As reasoning creatures, people can gain happiness by rigorous training and by living in a way which is natural for themselves, rejecting all conventional desires for wealth, power, and fame, and even flouting conventions openly and derisively in public. Instead, they were to lead a simple life free from all possessions.
~ Wikipedia from, Cynicism (philosophy)
…which isn’t my cup of tea, but doesn’t sound that bad. Or does Booker mean the contemporary adjective “cynicism”, simply capitalized because it’s starting a sentence…
Cynicism is an attitude characterized by a general distrust of others’ motives. A cynic may have a general lack of faith or hope in people motivated by ambition, desire, greed, gratification, materialism, goals, and opinions that a cynic perceives as vain, unobtainable, or ultimately meaningless and therefore deserving of ridicule or admonishment.
~ Wikipedia from, Cynicism (contemporary)
…also not my preferred cup of tea, although I do sometimes partake.
When I first read that quote I wondered if he was referring to Cynicism, before deciding he clearly meant cynicism. I’d wager you read that quote and didn’t wonder at any time which he meant. (I’m not criticizing, only pointing at the marvelous process of understanding language.) My question for myself today is:
While I see the nuance around that word in this quote, where am I not seeing nuance that I should be?
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Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.
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… there are two ways to go through life, as a thermometer or a thermostat. Don’t be a thermometer, just reflecting what’s aound you, going up or down with your surroundings. Be a thermostat and set the temperature.
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Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception.
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