Category: life
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self-expertise
We let other people tell us about ourselves, then wonder, “Are they right? Am I like that?” We often let other people tell us what we want, how we should behave, and who we are. But we know our desires, our intentions, our values, more than anyone else. We’re the…
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dream canon
I’ve always had vivid dreams. But during my time in college, my dreams took on a life of their own. In our waking lives, we’re able to recall memories and pinpoint our location geographically. If you’re in your home, you can recall where you are in relation to the nearest…
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one man’s opportunity is another man’s trap
If James Murphy hadn’t turned down a job on the Seinfeld writing staff, he wouldn’t have started LCD Soundsystem.
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“It’s a trap!”
Not every opportunity leads somewhere. Some opportunities promote growth, foster collaboration, and bring you closer to your goals. Others prey upon your fears to entrap you. They offer comfort, stability, or worst of all, offer the hollow promise of further opportunity. “Take this job now and you’ll be a VP…
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do what you do
Earlier this year, I was working an event. At one point, I stopped to talk with my supervisor and the head of the company. “Josh has been the MVP for the weekend,” my supervisor said. “Well…either Josh or this other guy.” She pointed to one of the other employees who…
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input, output
What do we do when we run out of ideas? The hack runs around in circle, seized by the fear inspiration will never strike again. The pro realizes there are seasons to the work, periods of expansion and contraction. You spend time creating and therefore must recharge. You’ve generated a…
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later
For many years, I would save ideas. Sometimes a line of dialogue, a snippet of prose, or a character’s backstory. I’d convince myself these things weren’t right for whatever project I was working on. But in order for creative work to be truly successful, you must use everything you’re given.…
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the two nostalgias
I recently watched Doctor Sleep, the film sequel to The Shining. Much of our entertainment these days relies on nostalgia, the recreation of stories experiences we’ve previously encountered. Hence the expansion of franchising and endless barrage of sequels. However, the implementing of this nostalgia can work in one of two…
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sounding like yourself
A few years back, I finished a draft of a novel. I sent it to a few of my old college professors for feedback. They were not encouraging and rightfully so. “You don’t have a voice,” was the first thing one of them said. “You sound like Jack Kerouac doing…
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single tasking
I was talking to a friend of mine recently and he used the phrase, “single-tasking.” This term is meant to be the opposite of multi-taking. In a world where so many things are vying for our attention, the most rebellious, courageous, and human thing we can do is focus our…
joshua chamberlain 