Despair is easy. Hope is much harder, but also more rewarding. I find the best way to hope is to look down at where I’m standing, then look up at the sky. I try to savor the now of it all, although I’m not always great at this. (I suppose that’s why they call itContinue reading “a tiny reminder”
Category Archives: creativity
farmers, pirates, and Anthony Bourdain
I went to see Morgan Neville’s Roadrunner: A Film about Anthony Bourdain this weekend. Twice. Perhaps it’s the season of life in which I find myself, but Bourdain’s story resonated with me on a level that summoned a deep discomfort. The film paints a portrait of Bourdain as a contradictory soul–a man in search ofContinue reading “farmers, pirates, and Anthony Bourdain”
let it be awful
I’ve been playing around with paint recently. I’m not good at painting, but that’s the whole point. Allowing the work to be terrible to a joyful kind of letting go. Without the pressure of trying to meet anyone expectations (including my own), there’s a freedom to play, to wonder, to explore. And isn’t this whyContinue reading “let it be awful”
“Take Your Time”
Art is theft. Sometimes, we quote other people because they put an idea into words better than we ever could. Such is the case with Seth Godin’s recent reflection on taking your time: [Taking your time] means two very different things. When a person or a marketer takes your time, they’re stealing. Something irretrievable isContinue reading ““Take Your Time””
back to the well
I’ve always been fascinated with the art of playing politics. I’m not talking the madness going on in Washington at the moment so much as the shrewd tactics used to maneuver against competitio; things like the classic Mad Men episode, “The Chrysanthemum and The Sword.” This of course had led me to read a varietyContinue reading “back to the well”
“when did life get so real?”
Some of the defining moments of my life took place almost exactly ten years ago. It’s amazing how this both feels like yesterday and a million years ago at once. I was nineteen and was stupid, but had no idea how stupid I was. I knew so little and was so confident as a result.Continue reading ““when did life get so real?””
you are not replaceable
You are not a cog and this is not a machine. If you’re doing the work in a meaningful way, in a way that’s of service, there’s not anyone else who can do what you do, the way you do it.
ditching the paywall
I recently removed my fiction on Medium from behind the paywall. When I posted these stories originally, I thought, “Amazing! I can get paid for my writing!” In two years, I’ve made $4.44. Not exactly a windfall. Seth Godin defines art as “a human act, a generous contribution, something that might not work, and itContinue reading “ditching the paywall”
standing out
The easiest way to stand out in a crowd? Don’t stand in the crowd.
for sale
In a recent interview on The Hollywood Report’s Awards Chatter, Fran Lebowitz has a few things to say about the idea of “selling out” as a writer: “No one pays you for no reason. They’re buying something…What do you think “sell” means? Sell means you don’t own it anymore. It’s like, you sell your house,Continue reading “for sale”
