Individuals who are realized in their own lives almost never criticize others. If they speak at all, it is to offer encouragement. Watch yourself. Of all the manifestations of Resistance, most only harm ourselves. Criticism and cruelty harm others as well.
~ Steven Pressfield
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Picturesque. But the mosquitos… professional mosquitos!
Literally for writing, but metaphorically in general. Discipline is the only way. Discipline does not mean one has to be austere; It implies clarity and fidelity about one’s goals. Discipline is deeply tied to affecting real change within oneself and to personal integrity.
Discipline, primarily, is our capacity to make a commitment in time.
~ Robert Fripp from, The meaning of discipline
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Motivation will get you out the door, but it fades over time. A good book or podcast might give you the momentary impulse to take your first steps along a path, but when the road gets tough only discipline will keep you moving forward.
~ Dan Edwardes from, Motivation is Temporary
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Without discipline I’m the pinball in the pachinko machine: I’m clearly directed (me by my goal, the pinball by gravity) but buffeted randomly (me by everything, the pinball by the pins) ending up in an uncontrolled final position. The critical thing to combine with discipline is ease. Not bashing, not self-loathing and certainly not self-violence. Ease within training.
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If culture is sufficient to establish what we eat, how we speak, and ten thousand other societal norms, why isn’t it able to teach us a process to make art? Isn’t it possible for the culture to normalize goal setting and passion and curiosity and the ability to persuade? It can. And you don’t have to wait for it to happen. You can begin now.
~ Seth Godin
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I write to dream; to connect with other human beings; to record; to clarify; to visit the dead. I have a kind of primitive need to leave a mark on the world. Also, I have a need for money.
~ Mary Karr
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One of the most important factors, are we to be happy and whole human beings, is our ability to see opportunities in adversities. That is one of the most powerful lessons in Parkour and ADD: Learning, whenever needed, to thrive on obstacles. Our discipline indeed tells us of the fundamental difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. The former believes, “I am bad at this,” the latter proposes, “I am better than this; I can learn something.”
~ Vincent Thibault
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The aim was to detect the possible presence of ancient bacteria encapsulated inside fluid and solid inclusions present in the calcium sulfate matrix from its formation. […] At the 2017 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, researchers, including Dr. Boston, announced the discovery of bacteria found in inclusions embedded in some of the crystals. Using sterile methods, the researchers were able to extract and reanimate these organisms, which are not closely related to anything in the known genetic databases.
~ Wikipedia from, Cave of the Crystals
That sounds like the first paragraph from a newspaper article appearing about three days before the world ends. It’s been four years though, so I guess it’s okay?
How did I stumble on that… I found Podcast: The Naica cave in one of my RSS feeds. I didn’t listen, but I did quickly find the Wikipedia page for the Naica Mine. And from there it’s just one click to the Cave of Crystals.
This all reads like something the Dwarves would do, leading to their eventually having to abandon Khazad-dûm. Or the beginning of The Andromeda Strain.
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I was once a fortunate man but at some point fortune abandoned me. But true good fortune is what you make for yourself. Good fortune: good character, good intentions, and good actions.
~ Marcus Aurelius
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I like paying for my software when I’m buying it from a company that’s responsive, fast and focused. I like being the customer (as opposed to a social network, where I’m the product). I spend most of my day working with tools that weren’t even in science fiction novels twenty-five years ago, and the money I spend on software is a bargain–doing this work without it is impossible.
~ Seth Godin from, On paying for software
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Tis the season… to talk about paying for the things we get value from. Last year Seth wrote that great gem about software and I whole-heartedly agree.
Here’s a short list of a few pieces of software which I gleefully pay for, without which everything I do would be vastly more difficult or outright impossible: Hover, BBEdit, Hindenburg, Overcast, Reeder, Feedbin, Tower, Transmit, OmniFocus, OmniOutliner, iaWriter, Discourse, Basecamp and Front.
As a bonus round, here’s a short list of a few online services or publications which I also gleefully contribute to, because they provide me with magnificent information that makes my world a better place: Brain Pickings, Müvmag, PodNews, Once is Never, and WikiPedia.
My challenge to you for the holiday season: Post your own lists somewhere public, and share the love for the software and services that make your life better throughout the year!
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How to Say “No” Gracefully and Uncommit (#328)
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This is a two-chapter excerpt from a book, The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, by Greg McKeown, a book about being an essentialist.
At the beginning of 2018 I latched onto the idea that by saying, “yes,” to something I am cutting off a nearly infinite number of opportunities. Whereas by saying, “no,” I am cutting off just one opportunity and leaving space for a nearly infinite number of other opportunities. That makes, “no,” the obviously better default answer, yes?
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Sneak peek at something I’m writing up from a year-long experiment. This is a graph of weight and waist measurements (plotted on the left in non-obvious units), and the ratio of those numbers (plotted on the right, x1000; so “2000” is a 2:1 ratio in the weird units of course) The measurements jump all over the place, but when I measure every day, a polynomial curve fit shows what’s going on over this three month window. Much much more to write about this…
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The less you care about what others think, the better your life will become.
~ unknown
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