Daily Writing
essential but not precedential
My parents drilled a mantra into me:
First things first.
It tells the important difference between essential and precedential.
"You may have a snack, after your bed is made." Eating is essential but it's not precedential. "You may play outside, after you finish your homework." Plodding up and down the neighborhood 'ditch' was crux to my day, but it wasn't a first thing.
This repeated mentality shaped me as I grew, rehabilitating an instant gratification mindset that rules many because of technology, individualism America, and entitlement culture that has grown. It also raises awareness of a subtlety that puts the spheres of life in their proper orbit.
What precedential task needs to be done, so that you can create, do, be what is essential? While I readily support having a "drop out of college for this" moment, I am strung to a belief in education and career's merit in today's world. These become linked to a creative's journey.
There are three options for an artist needing to serve his credit alongside his art:
- Get a second job
- Find a patron supporter
- Monetize your work
Commercializing my art has never appealed to me, so I'm left with side hustles and supportive households. These become precedential to our essential work. Logs that stoke the fire. It's a balancing act, trying to do work to fuel your work..
Money is the means for making art, but it must never become the master.
Jeff Goins in his guidebook, Real Artists Don't Starve.
Our art is so essential to our being. But at the same time, every artist must fight for the margin (just enough) to create. Finding the middle ground is where long-term, fulfilled artistry thrives.
mediocrity
I was listing things that held me back. Fear of judgement, of stepping on toes, of duplicity; all valid, but not the thing I fear the most.
Becoming mediocre to the world haunts my working and pondering.
Many of us never begin what we should because of this fear. The ultimate perfectionist-paralysis that grounds important work with horribly impenetrable logic. "I'll never be as good as..." or "I can't make money from doing work like this."
Or maybe we do begin, but when we see the result, we throw down our brush and storm away in disgust. The ultimate perfectionist-pointlessness that says "I don't have the ability to do this."
From personal experience to begin and overcome perfectionist-paralysis, you only need one cheerleader, one decent painting, one free hour.
Then it begins.
Sarah Wilson addresses our perfectionist-pointlessness like this:
All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, its just not that good. Its trying to be good, it has potential, but its just not. But your taste, the thing that got you in the game, is still killer.
And your taste is why your work disappoints you.
We have the highest standards for ourselves, so we let ourselves down.
"The gap" between mediocre and good seems too far to cross, so we shut down any bridge-building that might work.
Before we learn to be good, we must shift our paradigm, so we start creating for the sake of creation itself.
the beat
Our routines are not made for when we are doing fine. We always implement new habits when we have succeeded at maintaining old habits. This is right. This is the best way to ensure momentum and commitment to our practices.
But our misconception is in the purpose of our process. Process safeguards us from our inevitable depletion of willpower. When the noise gets too loud, we need an internal rhythm to rediscover the beat.
I fail at this consistently. Time to turn up the volume...
enlist
The most essential skill we can take on is learning how to share our passion so others enlist.
When we master this skill, we also build our speaking, writing, and storytelling skills. We develop insight and gratitude for somethings in the world that the majority doesn't see like we do.
Here's the catch about "enlistment''-it doesn't require all of us becoming painters (or taking on any daily whatever). Patrons enlist with their vote, money, or network. Fellow creatives enlist with their criticism, challenging, or experiences. Your mother enlists by not only supporting your art, but seeing all art in a higher and more inspired light.
This is the primary way we want people to enlist: through showing up not just to your art display, but to the art display of artists everywhere. Change takes root and forms the desires of our culture for good.
your dream
Goals are easy. We've learned the systems needed to finish the marathon, eat the greens, or say the prayers.
Research and experience have made us confident to write the goals down and be clear about how and when we'll achieve them.
But we won't write our dreams down. At least not publicly- they stay locked in a diary stagnating as life pulls us into the habit of making money, building skills, and completing jobs, never stretching us enough to open the untapped reservoir within.
We're caught in quicksand, slowly losing sight of that sunny-bright vision we once deemed sacred.
We're waiting for dire boredom to shake us out of our dreamlessness or for a catalyst to enter and ignite the flame from our past. There is no timeline for this process so we think we are forever at the mercy of the world's dictates and systems.
Here's your new timeline:
1. Share your dream with someone- now
2. Create your daily whatever- right after now
3. Begin toiling- (you know when)
your daily whatever
Mine is writing.
Yours could be painting or dancing or making coffee or doing yoga or building computers or creating font or mixing music or planting trees.
Do it everyday. Not just to establish 10,000 hours. Not just to be ready for failure. Not just to work out exactly how it will produce down the line.
Do it because you have to. Your daily whatever is the thing that holds you together as a person. You bleed your art, and when you're done for the day, it displays your bloody fingerprints.
My advice is to not worry about its monetary or cultural worth yet- if you do it as yourself, it is enough.
triangle bathtub
I once conceived an idea to create triangle-shaped bathtubs. This was amidst a flurry of creativity and caffeine and, looking back, this may not have been my brightest idea.
Maybe there was absolutely no value in having this idea, or maybe it brought someone a sliver of joy when I shared it as a joke.
Two things:
- Failure is not terminal.
- Every idea bolsters creativity in its conception or future development. Don't let one bad idea stop you in your tracks.
the motions
Going through the motions is not always a bad thing.
We often think this mode of operation lacks authenticity or true desire- doing a thing just to get it done.
But what's the alternative? Not going to dinner with your significant other, not doing the analysis for your company, not writing your blog post for the day?
Sometimes, we genuinely want nothing to do with these things.
Why are we so afraid of being inauthentic when our "authentic selves" so often want to be inconsistent? Routine is the tried and true gutter bumpers that keep our shots inbounds and moving forward. It is the only way we will be able to fight our base instinct to not.
the question they ask
"Why did you get rid of your social media?"
A more fair question to ask back is, "why didn't you get rid of yours?" We're at a place, informationally, where the second question makes more sense.
I haven't written much about the Attention Economy, but slowly have been buying back my shares. We are the product in the Attention Economy. Tech and social media companies are paying billions for our time and attention.
And the things we lose when we sell our attention and time to the altar of the screen...
So, why haven't you gotten rid of yours, I ask, genuinely.
Some get rid of their smartphones for the same reason- "there has to be a better way", they say.
And there is.
Because how long do you think it will be before the majority begins to ask," why didn't you get rid of your smartphone..."
what square do you land on?
This question provides context to a journey we are on. I like it for the structural end, middle, and begginning it implies. It is grace for the Wanderer, and freedom for the Novice.
We aren't on anyone's timetable, which is a grace- figuring out the meat of life doesn't require being swift.
The questions we're asking take time. Time that is available, and if we remember this we are freed from the social desire to pick a side before truly considering.
But do we all land somewhere?
I think, sometimes, it's okay to not get to the final opinion on a subject. Finality in "knowing" doesn't determine our success in life (thank goodness).
And the final square is only that for as long as the game stays the same.
place
How we think about "place "can quickly become our current paradigm. Where we are in life always tries to dictate who we are.
If you're climbing the corporate ladder to provide for your family, you become a rung. If you're in school preparing yourself for a knowledge career, you become a database. If you're a contractor fixing up homes because it's natural work, you become a hammer.
The problem with this thinking is a view of "loci", internal or external, that dictates your response to the world as either passive or active.
The problem with this thinking is in its passive nature. It tells us to stay bipartisan to the issues in culture, academia, and work.
It's an unhealthy invitation to exchange purpose for work.
The real problem is that we can't see past this place to envision how our work fits into the grand scheme and helps us achieve our goals.
The more deeply a thought or action is tied to your identity, the more difficult it is to change it.
James Clear, Atomic Habits
This identity change isn't easy. We are temporal creatures, so place matters, and it effects us deeply. But we have the power of conscious choice and habit to uproot our desire to be acted upon, and begin to act.
the cure
Is technology the disease or the cure?
It's clearly a little of both right now. Literally and metaphorically, tech saves and tears down lives. Ultimately, will it be our undoing or our unchaining.
Is it a vehicle for salvation or slavery?
This is the battle the few tech ethicists today have taken up space around. The pervading belief they purport is that tech has incredible power to give us more-fulfilling lives, unless grossly misused.
It has been grossly misused.
Here's the nuance: technology is the cure, in the hands of the right people.
The CHT let us know how the wrong people have created the disease.
What we need now is a revolution of technology ethics- a reformation movement for the "cultural churches" of Apple, Google, and Facebook.
The first whistle has been blown.
Here are the 95 theses.
Here are the disciplines: tech-wise // Newport.
Spread the cure.
read // stripped
read // stg 3...
read // lp2
shower thoughts
You may remember the story of Archimedes discovering displacement and buoyancy, promptly running down the street, wet from his bath tub, shouting 'eureka' in joy.
This event kicked off the torrent of "shower ideas" people have had for millennia.
We all have ideas constantly. Our brains fuse different neural pathways together to create a surge effect of conceptual novelty. Some people think writers or "creatives" have a greater quantity of ideas than other people. This thinking requires a paradigm shift:
Writers don't have a greater quantity of ideas, they merely practice noticing them more.
Neil Gaiman
Every idea is a potential catalyst for action, and action is the first step in the change equation.
Whether it's a new productivity system in your life or a product that could create positive change, ideas start things.
Ideas are the lifeblood of change.
If we could see how vital ideas are to human growth, our relationship with these insights would change fundamentally.
Steps: Take note; take action.
start a blog
Seth Godin wrote today about how the most important blog is "yours" and the most important blog post is "the one you'll write tomorrow".
Whether you make decisions for your company, craft sales pitches everyday, or check people out in line is not as important as if you write about something you noticed in the world today.
If we're not noticing, how are we changing? And if we're not changing, how are we becoming...?
Writing isn't about sounding elegant- Hemingway was simple in his prose. Writing doesn't ask you to get it right every time- "Grammarly can help". Writing a daily blog isn't just for writers.
We write to form conclusions. To understand. To educate. To create meaning.
The question is not "did we do this well", but rather "did we do this today?"
acknowledgments
In an article titled, Against Acknowledgements, Sam Sacks critiques and disavows acknowledgements in novels and nonfiction alike, citing the solidarity in which writing transpires.
The problem with this view is that it breeds solipsism (or, self-mindedness, a philosophy that is equal parts arrogant and foolish). While I'm all for questioning conventional wisdom, I believe we are nothing without those who have surrounded us all our lives.
We cannot create in a vacuum. Even Thoreau at Walden Pond had his neighbors for inspiration- squirrels and birds, townsfolk and huntsmen.
Through a myriad of influences, we create work from and for the people who have created us. They may not have directly influenced our work in process, but they certainly influenced our thinking.
In big and small ways, our language, memories, and ideas all stem from others. Only with people are we able to write characters that reflect, places that repurpose our memories, and concepts heard in passing and staying.
Acknowledgement is proof of effort.
The intersection of learned artifacts make up our work. We have done the hard work of not looking merely inward, but seeing outward for the truth fused into the hands and eyes of people.
And so, we thank them.
imports and exports
George: He's an importer.
Jerry: Just imports, no exports?
Seinfeld, The Stakeout
You can't share if you don't listen.
That's how we train children and how we setup culture. One part respect, two parts logistic- we can't share what we don't have.
Learning reveals what we have to share. We ask of each person or circumstance life finds for us, "what do you teach", and hear (not an answer, but...) more questions about this complex thing called living.
Inversely, you can't merely listen, you must share.
Not sharing is what we call an echo chamber or selfish. The world asks something of each of us. Lending an ear is not a complete substitute for calling.
Purpose is a duality: to be called and to call.
Alcoholics Anonymous has eleven steps to bring an addict back to home plate. They then make the move of giving them a swing....
... to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Step Twelve
Not solely importing, not merely exporting.
He's an importer-exporter!
Thanks, Jerry.
the hole
There's a hole in all our souls that has captivated artists to write, spirituals to pray, and the rest to work. Somewhere along the way, we messed up the purpose of our work. We see the dropout rate from careers and education and the un-satisfaction level with jobs today- signs of an unhappy time.
When we talk about seeking purpose, we talk about doing something. Work.
When we talk about filling the hole, we talk about acquiring resources. Stuff.
The flip is not merely due to a perspective shift in our framework, but a way our culture is setup around work. Work has become a means to an end, not the end itself.
We work to buy stuff to fill the hole, instead of letting meaningful work fill it for us. Working for a paycheck is purposeful up to the point of financial security. Beyond that is selfishness that won't fill the hole, no matter the hammer's size.
We now have a chance to reframe.
Living simply, generously, and purposely. Choosing to have less and be more.
Garden City // John Mark Comer
change (no.2) choose
There are inspiring people who are making change and not looking for a paycheck or pat on the back. Ziggy Alberts, Tristan Harris, Seth Godin, John Mark Comer, Joe Hollier, Yvon Chouinard to name a few. Creators in spaces from music to clothing, all doing things different.
How do we get there?
Choose.
These people don't start that way. They choose everyday to make change. To create something and put it into the world, creating new pockets of curiosity, generosity, and connection.
They build a routine to foundationally fall back on when they step out. They are able to choose change because, to them, it's the default.
The choice to step out from this routine differentiates them. They don't commit to the practice to catch the bigger fish or make more stuff. They commit to make changes and solutions.
How do we choose everyday?
Guard Rails.
Intentionally choosing change everyday requires discipline. Discipline doesn't come naturally to each of us. We need guard rails of two kinds-
Habits and mantras.
Practice that has been conditioned to an unconscious level, and thought behind speech or action to repeatedly recenter our focus. These both keep us in line to do the work we are called to do.
How do they know what to change?
They don't.
They show up everyday trusting the process they have created, the guard rails they have setup, and the intention they have in their hearts to make change.
They know that showing up is the most important part of the work they do, and the way they engage their audience is directly informed by this- never trying to appease or pander, always trying to create the next right thing.
change (no.1) applause
There are people who are making real change and not looking for a paycheck or pat on the back. Ziggy Alberts, Tristan Harris, Seth Godin, John Mark Comer, Joe Hollier, and Yvon Chouinard to name a few. Creators in spaces from music to clothing, all doing things different. Applause is a grotesque byproduct of the generous work they do.
Seeking encouragement is a habit that's easy to pick up but hard to kick.
It's an output minded focus that detracts from our work.
Receiving validation for the work we do is dangerous.
As Seth Godin says, "reassurance is futile."
The counter-thought is the echo chamber. How can our work meaningfully effect people at their core if we aren't hearing from them? How can we know when our work stops resonating?
These thoughts come from the Resistance. I'm entirely convinced now that the creative people listed above are not caught up in asking whether they are still relevant but are entirely committed to carrying out their creative act of Defiance because it is what they do, with or without applause.
They do it because they have defined the who and what their change involves, and they know it works when they are allowed to continue creating that change.
Fantastic
Film director Wes Anderson works magic. I was captured by his imaginarium of Roald Dahl's 1970 classic children's tale years after it hit theaters in 2009 and years before I was ready to write about it.
Fantastic Mr. Fox takes you to a world familiar but different.
Talking animals- check. Humans made artless fools- check.
Anderson isn't interested in reinventing the wheel; he just wants to reveal what our society has forgotten about the spokes.
The film lives in a world we've seen countless times. That is innovation. Every animation in 2009 was about out of this world characters with a wacky, semi-complicated plot (e.g. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Up, Coraline). Anderson created something simple, grounded, and relatable to teach a more important lesson.
We're all a little different, but there's something kind of fantastic about that, isn't there?
There it is- no fluff.
With inspired visuals, a distinctive soundtrack, and a wit-filled script, this world we've seen again and again shows us how the mundane is fantastic.
I don't want to belabor why this matters or how it is shown in the film. This one is purposefully selfish-
Go watch Fantastic Mr. Fox.
inspired images // accidentally wes anderson
the film // Fantastic Mr. Fox