motivation
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To the moon
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1 min read
So little it’s immeasurable — that’s how improvement works. Effort is compounding. To remain elastic means to remain wide awake. The template for true consistency emerges changed, not validated. Baby steps create a sense of dimension of age-related invincibility. Like the Puya Raimondii, we grow for years and shed it all in an instant. In…
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Expecting the least expected
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1 min read
Taking a stand, gradually and then suddenly. The forever longs and forever hopes of doing something urge an itch. It’s the experience that radically transforms your life. The bold are there to tell the unmotivated and scared what it’s like to trade away comfort for a bundle of qualities centered around risk. It’s the pause…
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The burn of discontent
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1 min read
Everything starts and ends from the burn of discontent. We all have an inkling for something, a dormant enthusiasm, waiting to erupt so we can pour our hearts into it. But the wait is killer. Toiling in anonymity while practicing in mediocrity needs a special kind of patience. The resistance can only win at our own…
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If you’re struggling to get started, do it badly
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2 min read
“Work finally begins when the fear of doing nothing exceeds the fear of doing it badly,” advises the author Alain de Botton. Perfection is the antithesis of inspiration — it prevents you from getting started. The trick to getting going is to do it badly. To do that, one must be intentionally messy. The art of…
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A panoply of tools
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2 min read
What’s the primary device that unlocks your creativity — the camera, a pen, or the paintbrush? These tools are our passport to freedom. So photographers speak through photos, writers communicate in text, cartoonists draw, etc. “We become what we behold,” Marshall McLuhan said, “We shape our tools and then our tools shape us.” Our vocation shapes our…
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Mind over matter, what’s the matter with your mind?
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1 min read
Sí, se puede. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Trying is a passport to freedom. You can do it, contrary to your negative internal dialogue. Mindset is everything. As is practice. Showing up consistently matters, and reflects in the quality of the work. Discipline equals freedom — now that’s a bumper sticker! Guess, what?…
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Underseen, often overlooked
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1 min read
Height, skin color, your shoes — People are always trying to prejudge each other’s possibilities in the context of their surroundings. But the old adage rings true: Never judge a book by its cover. The good news for the last pick in the draft is that there’s only upside. For one, underdog status builds up…
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Inspiration is a myth
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1 min read
All the inspiration exists and is equally distributed. But the ubiquity of motivational quotes and rags to riches biographies can be sheer fodder. Instead of doing the work, we get caught in the cycle of disattention. The role of the artist is the create a reality for themselves. We can’t expect to copy and paste…
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Growing one block of reality at a time
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1 min read
We take one step forward and two steps back. Effort never guarantees success but it always ensures learning. All great things happen because of discomfort. If we can persist through the pain and develop patience, there’s usually a rainbow waiting for us at the other end. But whatever we’re chasing needs to give us purpose.…
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A still inchoate creator
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1 min read
The blank page doesn’t write itself. It stares at you, pleading for you to quit and move on to something else. Those who persist pace themselves into unfamiliar territory. A big bang does no artist any good. What matters is not the end result, but pushing through in a gradual approach. Slow and steady wins…
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The big picture view
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1 min read
Everything is a work in progress. From your health to relationships, to making art, the finish line remains elusive because we’re always preserving the status quo or making things better. Even democracy is a work in progress. En Media Res — That’s Latin for being in the middle of the action. If inertia is the…
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Give yourself permission to build
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1 min read
Motivation ebbs and flows. It is fickle and short-lasting. So we can’t wait for the muse to compel us to work. As Chuck Close said, “inspiration is for amateurs.” However, what we can do is develop a passion for something and use it to solidify our grit. Having a little excitement helps us push through…