Enjoy What You Do

One day your walking along the street and someone steps in front of you offering you a million dollars. There is no catch. All you have to do is complete a double back-flip in the air. Most people can't do that, including you. Your irritated, confused even. You fail and now want to learn gymnastics, in hopes of finding that man and receiving a million dollars. You start going to a gymnastics class. Yes, your the oldest pupil there, but you begin to learn numerous things: handstands, planches, and manna's. By the time you can do a double back-flip, you forgot about the million dollars, not because it took you so long to achieve it but because you learned to enjoy gymnastics.

The point: Enjoy what you do, forget the results.

Praise and Criticism

It's nice when you hear that someone likes your work. You feel like the time and energy you put into it was worth it. But when you receive criticism, everything is different.

If your smart you say, "Let me look over those points and see if he is right. If I find out that he is right, then I have to fix this. If he is wrong, I need to figure out why he thought I was wrong and then move on."

If your an idiot you say, "I can't believe he said I did this wrong. He is mean and I feel like my work is now pointless. I will stop doing this."

The former looks at criticism as a way of improvement, the latter as an attack on their ego.

Don't fool yourself and let your ego take over. Every person who has mastered something took criticism and used it to their advantage.

Planning Like a God

Almost every god from religion lives in the skies. They can see from afar while we mortals only see our immediate field of vision. That is the problem with us mortals, we think only of their immediate problems and goals. Don't do that. Instead, think and plan years in advance. The cult of Mao Zedong, Micheal Jackson, and Elvis Presley were not created in one day. They planned ahead of time. Everyday their power, their aura magnified and it was due to the cultivation of years of hard work.

Example #1
At the moment I'm thinking about the book I'm working on, a Tolstoy novel rewritten with fantasy elements. But I have other plans for the future. I want to do a documentary, another book (non-fiction), and several screenplays. Everything is built on top of each other. I have back-up plans but I'm set for the next two-five years. What I'm doing is looking beyond the mountains and buildings for the road that stretches far ahead.

A Miscellaneous Post

-Sometimes no matter how hard you try you can't convince someone of something. Instead draw back and indirectly influence them. Give them space. Let them believe they are the one's choosing the course you want them to take.

-What's most important is sometimes the least important. You focus too much on the present, thinking about the tactics of the day. Tomorrow, think about the future. Look beyond the trivial, the emotional struggles, and plan for what happens weeks, months, and years in advance. Even if your plans or goals change, your still more prepared than the fools who focus on the present.

-Your only hurt if you want to be. No matter what happens, you always have a choice on how to respond to the situation. You can choose to be vicious and angry or you can choose to be stoic. Look at the situation in a realistic light. Fearlessly analyze it and with courage and resolution act on a decision.

-Talking about others behind their backs is pointless. You pronounce to others your feelings about someone else. Maybe one day the accused will find out what you said. They will remember that and when they rise to the top they will not forgive you. Keep your mouth shut. Never complain, never bitch, never gossip.

Television

I haven't watched t.v. in months. I don't miss it. The only thing I remember from it was Jersey Shore and CNN utilizing a Hologram deck during their news shows. What does any of that have to do with leading a productive happy life? Will Tool Academy teach me how to be a better conversationalist? Can Wolf Blitzer teach me about Freud and dream psychology? I think not. I'm sticking to reading books and interacting with others face to face. Let everyone watch t.v., I'm going to live my life with human contact and written words.

Writing

I don't consider myself a talented writer, nor a good one. No one taught me how to write. In my entire university educational experience I was given facts and tidbits. Never use "I" for history papers. Use MLA, not APA. Use APA, not MLA.

I remember when I started learning the art of writing and it was when I began to read. I read dozens and dozens of books, going from books by Tucker Max to Robert Greene. I picked up on the idea of avoiding adverbs, keeping your writing economical, etc.

If you want to write, don't listen to your professors, go the great writers of our era and the past. Read, analyze, criticize, synthesize, write, and repeat.