Category: Philosophy & Musings

Quite often, I’ve turned my nose up at an opportunity that I found too “low.”  One that would require me to work hard for no immediate reward, or was seemingly undignified.  Now, I realize that was pure ego; when you’re low, you take what you can get, and then you leverage your improved position into…

In my opinion, the best sacrifices I could offer up in pursuit of a goal are:  time, effort, and the most honest assessment of obstacles/methodology I’m capable of mustering.   If you do all that knowing that success isn’t guaranteed, I’d argue that you’ve demonstrated the vaunted quality known as “detachment.” 

In my mind, beating myself up is vastly different from effectively criticizing myself.  If I choose the first option, I wallow in ineffective thought patterns.  If I choose the second option, I’ve taken a step toward addressing a deficiency.  The first option is harmful, while the second is, IMHO, necessary.   Neither is pleasant.

Many luminaries (Buddha and Musashi, for example) eschewed etiquette/tradition/The Rules, and focused instead on evidence-based function.   And yet most people I’ve met who love to reference these luminaries seem to do the exact opposite:  they eschew evidence-based function, refuse to question/update their methodology, and stay wedded to etiquette/tradition/The Rules.  

From an immediate, sense-and-comfort driven perspective, there are countless reasons to not apply myself.  From a grander perspective, not so many.  I don’t make myself work through a noble romanticization of willpower and grit, but rather a simple, honest assessment:  I want to get certain things done, so that requires me to demonstrate a certain…

Writing is only lonely if I refuse to acknowledge the multitude of personas—from heroic to villainous and everything in between—that live in the nooks and crannies of my unexplored mind.

To me, the label “badass” is a function of the capability to produce results.  And for those who can produce quality results time and again, I suspect that “badass” is a trivial label—people are either effective or ineffective.  

I used to collect reams of evidence to motivate myself into “FEELING LIKE” executing…but now I just execute; whether I’m motivated or not, whether I feel like it or not.  (Honestly, I get tired of waiting until I feel like doing stuff; ironically it feels much better to just go ahead and get it done.)

The opportunity to conduct myself the way I want to could be taken away in the blink of an eye.  So that means every chance I get, I should strive to act the way I’d like to. This makes things very simple.  Not easy—but simple.