“If you are afraid of loneliness, don’t marry.”
Anton Chekhov, via Sunbeams (Page 73)
“Trust, but verify.”
Russian Proverb, via The Daily Stoic (Page 107)
“When we experience success, we must make sure that it doesn’t change us—that we continue to maintain our character despite the temptation not to. Reason must lead the way no matter what good fortune comes along.”
Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic (Page 106)
“How much harder is it to do the right thing when you’re surrounded by people with low standards? How much harder is it to be positive and empathetic inside the negativity bubble of television chatter? How much harder is it to focus on your own issues when you’re distracted with other people’s drama and conflict? We’ll inevitably be exposed to these influences at some point, no matter how much we try to avoid them. But when we are, there is nothing that says we have to allow those influences to penetrate our minds. We have the ability to put our guard up and decide what we actually allow in.”
Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic (Page 104)
“A dog that’s allowed to chase cars will chase cars. A child who is never given any boundaries will become spoiled. An investor without discipline is not an investor—he’s a gambler. A mind that isn’t in control of itself, that doesn’t understand its power to regulate itself, will be jerked around by external events and unquestioned impulses.”
Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic (Page 101)
The Practice: Shipping Creative Work [Book]
Book Overview: Creative work doesn’t come with a guarantee. But there is a pattern to who succeeds and who doesn’t. And engaging in the consistent practice of its pursuit is the best way forward. Based on the breakthrough Akimbo workshop pioneered by legendary author Seth Godin, The Practice will help you get unstuck and find the courage to make and share creative work. Godin insists that writer’s block is a myth, that consistency is far more important than authenticity, and that experiencing the imposter syndrome is a sign that you’re a well-adjusted human. Most of all, he shows you what it takes to turn your passion from a private distraction to a productive contribution, the one you’ve been seeking to share all along. With this book as your guide, you’ll learn to dance with your fear. To take the risks worth taking. And to embrace the empathy required to make work that contributes with authenticity and joy.
Post(s) Inspired by This Book:
“While I generally find that great myths are great precisely because they represent and embody great universal truths, the myth of romantic love is a dreadful lie. Perhaps it is a necessary lie in that it ensures the survival of the falling-in-love experience that traps us into marriage. But as a psychiatrist I weep in my heart almost daily for the ghastly confusion and suffering that this myth fosters. Millions of people waste vast amounts of energy desperately and futilely attempting to make the reality of their lives conform to the unreality of the myth.”
M. Scott Peck, via Sunbeams (Page 72)
“All that we do
Is touched with ocean, yet we remain
On the shore of what we know.”
Richard Wilbur, via Sunbeams (Page 72)
“Our minds want clothes as much as our bodies.”
Samuel Butler, via Sunbeams (Page 71) (Read Matt’s Blog On This Quote)
“Tell me to what you pay attention and I will tell you who you are.”
José Ortega y Gasset, via Sunbeams (Page 70)
