Tag: Buddha

For a writer, the willingness to write a bad first draft is one of the most devastating weapons against procrastination.

The willingness to be a fool—without ego, and as part of a greater strategy—allows for the possibility of greatness.

From what I understand, the true hero’s journey is not to bang one’s chest and bleat platitudes; the true hero’s journey is to venture into personal darkness, and face that lurking dragon deep in your soul, the one made of convenient lies and unacknowledged truths.  If one can stare that dragon deep in the eye…

Editing is a chance to become a scholar of your own work, and refine its messages and themes to a razor-sharp edge, but the entire process—drafting, editing, publishing, interacting—that’s a fully realized dynamic, one that allows you to see the entire breadth and maneuverability of your artistic expression.   Which allows you to become a scholar…

I understand why people don’t want to examine the evidence and be honest about their failings—it hurts.  But if that behavior propagates, it’s one of the surest ways to remain weak. (Which, ironically, devalues their original intent behind not admitting failure, which is to feel/appear strong).

There are some [profession]s who can do any job in the world, and some [profession]s who can’t do anything but be a [profession].   Personally, I think the first possibility is cooler.

Success doesn’t guarantee fulfillment, as you can clearly see in multiple anecdotes concerning celebrity and power.  Work hard, aim to produce, hold yourself accountable by being strategic/effectiveness-oriented, and take joy in the struggle.  This is a hard thing to accept, as it doesn’t fit into the transactional, tit-for-tat paradigm most of us have been inundated…

I think being able to have fun (or at least laugh) in whatever circumstance you find yourself in—whether it’s one of suffering, mundanity, excitement, ambiguity—is the ultimate super power.   When you can pull this off, the tricky part is hiding it from others; they get bent out of shape when they don’t think you’re…

Writing requires a strange mix of sensitivity (to detect possibility, and to be able to honestly critique your own material) and brutishness (to sit down day after day and plink out words, and to not get hung up on every obstacle/criticism).  Perhaps there’s some deep metaphor/analogue in there, but I’m simply grateful that I can…

Fighting is cool—everyone should be able to do it—but it’s really only a sub-set of a greater strategy/skill:  problem-solving.