Tag: Thoughts

Talent simplifies an activity.  Training simplifies it even further.  Critical thinking and honest assessment make sure it STAYS simple. It is not simplicity I seek, per se, but the capability to render complexity into simplicity, and the humility to keep it that way.

As a writer, I have to grind it out day to day—draft and edit, draft and edit—until I’ve done the best I can (at that specific juncture in my writing journey) with my manuscript. A manuscript which, ironically, romanticizes (or omits) the day to day, and is an attempt to funnel any “grind” into a…

When I see life as a game, I can account for the futility imposed on me by the vastness of time and space, and I can adjust my tempo in a fulfilling manner across all ranges of activity and intensity. When I see life as an idealized quest, I become stuck in a quagmire of…

There are valid excuses for consistent failure.  But consistent failure to learn from the same kind of mistakes?  Not really.

I’m a sucker for happy endings.  I’ll write the darkest stuff I think my audience will accept into the middle of my story, all so I can elicit a mile-wide grin out of them at the conclusion.

Writing for others is a lot like fishing.  You cast your lures—the opening line, the cover, the synopsis, and everything in between—before your reader’s attention, drawing them into the same wondrous vision you had all those months (years?) ago, the one that inspired you to set pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). When you…

Every [philosophy/aphorism/religion/teaching/etc] seems to function as a causal map—an attempt to chart a pattern of consequence that steers me towards fulfillment and cautions me against undesirable pitfalls. Ironically, all the worthwhile ones seem to be saying the exact same thing:  it’s fine to use them as guides (especially in the beginning) but in the end,…

As we have finite time, it behooves us to be careful about which endeavors we choose to pursue.  This requires a clear understanding of one’s proclivities and limitations, and how our personal inclinations manifest into desires. So one of the most useful practices we could ever engage in is to turn our awareness inward, and…

At a certain point, if someone doesn’t break away from their [the guru/holy book/tradition/etc.] and find their own way, then the best turn of events would be to become bitterly disappointed with what they’ve chosen to venerate, because that would be the only way to move beyond fawning adoration toward actual transcendence.

Despite the frustration, the start-and-stop hitches of any endeavor in its initial stages are incredibly valuable. Those fitful experiences are real-life lessons in how to execute faster, more efficiently, and with greater skill.