Took this photo recently and when I called it up on the computer, the title popped into my head and I saw a parallel with folks in the midst of creating.
Tag Archives: Inspiration
5 Twitter Gems
Developing a powerful #writing habit buff.ly/2ra5I7g w/ @Honoree
“Be ruthless about protecting writing days…”
http://www.advicetowriters.com/home/2014/8/6/be-ruthless-about-protecting-writing-days.html
7 Free Windows Apps for Exploring Your Creative Side muo.co/2taPMAL
Serious writers write, inspired or not. Over time they discover that routine is a better friend than inspiration.
–RALPH KEYES
Has your stream of creative ideas dried up? Here’s the Answer! hubs.ly/H07C6xZ0
More takeaways from Austin Kleon’s Show Your Work
Opening comment: I hope readers gain even half the value as I do from writing this down freehand and rehashing/posting it.
But feel free to throw money, coffee, good pastries, or an ‘I adopted a shelter pet!’ certificate my way. [I’m a pretty simple guy, really.]
So, more takeaways from one of my daily go-to books for changing/reinforcing my thinking: Austin Kleon’s Show Your Work: **
Become a Documentarian of What You Do.
“Whether you share it or not, documenting and recording
your process as you go alon
g has its own rewards. You’ll start to see the work you’re doing more clearly and feel like you’re making progress.” [It’s what I’m trying to do at jrmays.com.]
Be an Amateur
“Because they have little to lose, amateurs are willing to try anything and share the results. They take chances, experiment, and follow their whims.” [I have a poster on my wall: If not now, when? Works for me.]
“The world is changing at such a rapid rate, it’s turning us all into amateurs. Even for professionals, the best way to flourish is to retain an amateur’s spirit and embrace uncertainty and the unknown.”
Read Obituaries.
“Reading about people who are dead now and did things with their lives makes me want to get up and do something decent with mine.” [In his case, be a good dad and husband, create, curate, and share art and experience.]
He continues, “Take inspiration from the people who muddled through life before you–they all started out as amateurs, and they got where they were going by making do with what they were given and having the guts to put themselves out there. Follow their example.”
** Not aiming for anything –no commission, no pats on the back, no genuflections–other than to share good work by others.
Curation Station, May 18th
A few favorites I’ve come across recently:
- http://www.mykitaab.in/ I’ve enjoyed these instructive podcasts on writing/publishing. Episodes have included a number of Indian authors, but also Joanna Penn and Paul Brodie, who churns out a number of well-targeted ebooks.
- Though the title is a little deceptive, Consistency Will Make You Feel Like a Loser should give you a quick jolt of inspiration to hang in there.
- Daily sub-ten minute podcasts from https://sidehustleschool.com/ are not only interesting, but they are thought-provoking and inevitably spur a fair amount of ‘Gee, I wonder if…’ kind of thinking. This is one of Chris Guillebeau’s latest ventures. He’s currently in Amsterdam, but will soon be back at work on the 2017 World Domination Summit in Portland, OR this July.
The stuff of inspiration [corkboard material]
15-Minute Intervals of Work
Today I’m using the 15-minute work intervals approach.
I’m in the middle of my 15-minute blog posting interval. Kind of obvious, I guess…
- Posted author comments to jrmays.com .
- And now this post…I have a minute left. [Confession–I ran overtime on this. Still, it does get me focused to generate and finish.]
Other 15-minute work intervals completed today:
- Job search cover letter revisions
- Review of editor’s comments on a piece of fiction. She and I connected through Reedsy. She’s right on the mark. Money well-spent. I have a lot of work to do on this project.
- Check in with authormarketingclub.com [Video on exploding your word count with dictation software]
- Generated list of activities for an ebook I’m writing
- First 200 words at-a-sitting [turned out to be 280, handwritten]
- Read James Altucher’s What to Do When You’re Rejected . Good food for thought.
- 200 words at-a-sitting [session 2] on my Chromebook. Turned out to be 550 words. Writing via keyboard never ‘feels’ as good to me as writing in a notebook, but it’s darned sure more productive.
***
My 15-minute email-check interval: Good to impose a limit here.
Listening to Steep Canyon Rangers [a group often often accompanied by banjoist/funny guy Steve Martin]
Bought The Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau. Currently $1.99.
A blogger ‘liked’ my post yesterday so I followed a link to that person’s work.
http://bit.ly/2raHB6y [Gardening4Gains]
Here was my comment to the post:
One resonating line: Do you let life control you or do you take the reins? Your point about exercise as privilege vs. chore really hit home. I stared at the 10 cubic yards of soil to shovel, wheelbarrow into backyard from front driveway and thought, “yick.” Then I remembered two friends who have had/will have surgery for back and neck stuff and thought, “Geez, T, what a weaselly wimp you are for groaning at the thought of good honest mindless grunt work.”
***
Still with the email session…
–Memorable line from Seth Godin’s daily email:
What if we take the responsibility instead of waiting for it to be offered?
–Unsubscribed from Hilton Honors Club. [Can’t say as I remember signing up for that one. I sure as heck don’t quality as a titanium club member or whatever their special designation is.
Am up to 65 unsubscribes. It feels like there might be 10 more around the corner…
Thanks for reading!
—
Rearranging your sock drawer. It’s actually therapeutic…
I subscribe to Srini Rao’s Unmistakable Media weekly emails.
Today’s topic:
How Making Micro Changes Can Help You Start a New Chapter of Your Life
My apologies to those who previously visited and got a bad link.
This one really resonated with me and I have a feeling may well do the same for some of you.
His main point: “We struggle to change our behavior because our environments are designed to be a constant reminder of who we once were, as opposed to who we want to be.”
photo courtesy of Pixabay, though my garage? Not much different.
And now, for me, it’s time for a little digital decluttering.
I’ll save my sock drawer for a slow Saturday night.
Five takeaways from Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss
This book was also overdue at the library and I was darn tired of checking out and not gleaning at least something from each item. (Plus, this is one honkin’ big book and while I got a good workout from carrying it around, I wanted something more. ;->] )
Tons more wisdom and knowledge in this book.
- “It doesn’t matter how many people don’t get it. What matters is how many people do.” Tim Ferriss, Rule #1 for dealing with haters.
- “When 99% of people doubt you, you’re either gravely wrong or about to make history.” Quote from Scott Belsky, founder of Behance. [Noted by Peter Diamandis, author of Bold and Abundance.]
- “Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.” Benjamin Disraeli, former British Prime Minister.
- “The big question I ask is, ‘When I had the opportunity, did I choose courage over comfort?’” Brené Brown, author of Daring Greatly, The Gifts of Imperfection, and Rising Strong.
- “Free education is abundant, all over the Internet. It’s the desire to learn that’s scarce.” Tweet from Naval Ravikant, CEO and founder of AngelList. Co-founder of Vast.com and Epinions.
Five takeaways from ‘What To Do When It’s Your Turn’ by Seth Godin
This book was overdue and I figured if I created a post from its collective wisdom, it would force me to read it before I returned it.
Tons more wisdom and knowledge in this book, and with Tools of Titans [my next post].
Page 84 “Write until you are not afraid to write….How about this: Write until you are able to write words you are proud enough to share.”
Page 84 “…trying to will away our anxiety or to wait until we’re in the mood to do our best is an invitation to frustration.”
Page 63 “In just a few generations, we’ve gone from ‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself’ to ‘The fear we feel is the fear of freedom.’”
Page 43 “What what about getting in the mood? What about the motivation you’ll need to engage in this life? Our need for motivation is due to our need for reassurance. We are paralyzed by our fear that it might not work, and we let the fear demotivate us, giving us the perfect excuse to not create.”
Page 38 “The rule is simple: the person who fails the most will win. If I fail more than you do, I will win. Because in order to keep failing, you’ve got to be good enough to keep playing. So, if you fail cataclysmically and never play again, you only fail once. But if you are always there shipping, putting your work into the world, creating and starting things, you will learn endless things.”
My take: Yep…I’ve currently failed, period. Why? Because I’m not completing the multitude of products I want to put in my store. [That isn’t built yet either…shocker, right?]
Word Inventions 