Creating with intention
There’s no substitute for hours put in. Good work requires commitment and emotional investment. You can try to make shortcuts, but your audience will know. More importantly, you will know.
If you don’t feel like it’s risky, it’s probably not worth doing. Don’t take shortcuts, no matter how tempting they may seem.
Do the work.
A student saw KEEP THE FLAME ALIVE on a movie poster and asked me, “What is flame and why does it need to be alive?” The movie was about a married couple inviting a stranger into their home to try to spice up their fizzling love life.
I described fire, from the moment you flick a match until the last wisps of smoke float away. “You know how happy you are when you get a new shirt?” I asked. He nodded enthusiastically. “But in time, the shirt gets old and you don’t like it as much?” More agreement. If you don’t take care of fire, it eventually burns out.
Not only fire. Energy, projects, teams, excitement, zest, flavor, curiosity. What’s new is exciting and mysterious. In time, mystique and interest become be replaced with comfort and familiarity. It’s up to you to decide which characteristics best serve you.
When you only have one chance, it matters. Your heart races, your mind scans all the outcomes — what if I fail? what if I make a mistake? what if I lose? what if I win? — and you do your best not to blow it.
Faced with twenty shots, however, you start to relax. Your breathing levels out as there isn’t as much pressure to perform. You savor the experience knowing there’s another chance. If you do screw up, it doesn’t matter. You have another shot.
Seth Godin wisely points out that with the internet, we’ve been granted not only with twenty but an unlimited number of shots. Whether buying, selling, researching, writing, connecting or dating, we have choices and options unfurling miles in front of us. We don’t have to be so afraid anymore. Just step up and take another shot.
Post modified from this Medium article, posted July 15, 2015.
It’s temping to go after the immediate. “Bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” reinforces the tangible, encouraging the pursuit of results that can be seen. But what if the best results aren’t just around the corner — instead, that payoff, that freedom, that title, that responsibility is waiting; 1 year, 3 years, 7 years down the line? Would your strategy change? Would your work ethic and your daily habits be different? Would your focus remain?
It seems most people want results that are better suited for long-term strategies. They become too easily disappointed when short-term bets fall through. Matching strategy with goals should include a [realistic] priority assessment of what you’re willing and able to give. Honest considerations of finances and resources is essential in order to thoughtfully plan tactics and timelines.
There’s no use setting yourself up for the long haul if your heart isn’t in it. Make sure the goals you set match your intended aim and the resources you can put forth.
P.S. Thanks to those who contributed to my writing residence. NY, here I come!
A few days ago I listened to this podcast with Gary Vaynerchuck and James Altucher. There are many gems packed into the hour-long segment: advice on entrepreneurship, goal setting and finding your passion. Gary encourages listeners to gear up for the long haul and keep sights focused on that seemingly distant finish line — where freedom, self worth, pride, and a life [well] enjoyed await. He says that most people give of themselves with expectation, giving in order to receive. That’s the wrong approach, he says, and encourages people that the process should be: give-give-give-ask.
Almost three years ago, I came to Nepal was a volunteer. First in a monastery and now at a learning center, I have lived alongside locals struggling to put children through school, build fires to cook, cope with natural disasters, and handle political strife. Yet they encounter personal hardships with grace and admirable resilience, and I want to tell their stories.
I have been selected to participate in the Artist in Residence program at Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild, and I will be traveling from Nepal to attend. The program lasts four weeks and “provides artists of exceptional talent with uninterrupted time and creative space to research and create new work.” I have been granted a partial fellowship and will be joined by 4 writers, 7 visual artists, 2 ceramicists and 1 musical composer.
My aim is to write a piece that is beautiful, compelling and describes both the injustices and strength I witness here in Nepal. To learn more about what I’ve done to support education and leadership locally, please visit Khata: Life and Learning House Nepal.
I’m asking now. I’d like to ask you to consider helping me participate by visiting this Generosity page. You can also share using this link: https://igg.me/at/G7dVeTfHb5o.
It’s not easy to ask. You’re putting yourself out there and your mind becomes filled with worries and doubt and insecurity. But when a community rallies behind you and supports you and your work, it opens up new experiences, creativity and joy — and opportunities you might never had expected. (For more on this topic, check out Amanda Palmer’s The Art of Asking.)
Thank you for your generosity and encouragement of my work.