Fail In Search Of Something Bigger
June 17, 2008
3 CommentsSeth Godin, as usual, nails it.
The object isn’t to be perfect. The goal isn’t to hold back until you’ve created something beyond reproach. I believe the opposite is true. Our birthright is to fail and to fail often, but to fail in search of something bigger than we can imagine. To do anything else is to waste it all.
Full Post: Is it worthy?
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Loading ...“I Can Do That” Syndrome
June 2, 2008
5 CommentsYou’re listening to a piece of music and it sounds so simple and easy that you say to yourself, “I can do that.” But can you really? And if you can, how come you haven’t yet?
Taking a first person perspective of someone else’s perspective can be both good and bad. It’s good that you can step inside another person’s experience, an ability that can foster compassion and empathy. But it can be bad when you don’t differentiate between the two perspectives, yours and the other’s, resulting in an almost narcissistic view of the world.
“I Can Do That” Syndrome also shows up when someone has “book smarts” but no actual experience. When you’ve read a great book about how to write lyrics and you think the work has been done.
This applies to more than just music too. A business person reads a book about copywriting and thinks, “I can write a sales letter and make a million bucks.” But great copywriters study a long time and do something else that business person hasn’t done yet, they write… A LOT.
Great songs are written by songwriters who have written lots of songs. Great voices come from people who sing all the time. Timeless symphonies are composed by musicians who have written a lot more than one symphony.
It’s a trick of the mind to experience something remarkable and believe that we too can do that. It happens to me all the time. “I could write a funny TV show. I could direct a blockbuster movie. I could cook this restaurant meal.”
Well, maybe I could. But not the first time. Probably not the second either. It may take longer than I have patience for.
The point of the story? There’s something to be said for people who specialize—who find something they love and stick to it, gaining the wisdom only time can bring.
Maybe you could sing, dance, compose, direct, paint, cook, be a successful serial entrepreneur, get washboard abs, play in the NBA, design a hot line of clothes, write a novel, run for office, raise a happy family, be a great spouse, start a non-profit, end world hunger…
But the hardest thing to do is to commit to one thing and stick with it until the very end.
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...How To Rescue Your Time And Get Your Life Back
June 1, 2008
7 Comments
A couple weeks ago I wrote about the time required to become an expert songwriter. That advice could have been just as well for any craft, not just songwriting. And the number of hours that I referenced, 5,000, was arbitrary. There is no magic number. But if you’re not an expert yet, you can be sure that there is a number and it’s probably higher and farther than you wish… assuming you wish you were an expert right now.
While I’m clearing things up, I used the word “expert.” The research supports the correlation between practice and expertise. Just saying.
If you “get” that spending lots of time practicing your craft is a good thing, then good for you. You’ll be happy with what I have to show you. If you don’t get it, then it can only be for three reasons that I can think of right now…
- You’re resistant to, or afraid of, committing to your craft. If so, that’s a valid feeling and you’re not alone.
- You’re lazy — unwilling to work or use energy — and have deluded yourself into believing that you don’t need to work at developing and mastering your chosen craft. This too is totally common and nothing to be ashamed of.
- You just don’t want to be told what to do. If this is the case, maybe the timing just isn’t right for you. Maybe you shouldn’t commit just yet. I’m sure you have your reasons.
If any of those points describe you, heck, even if they don’t, read The War of Art. Maybe that will inspire you to break through the blocks and win your inner creative battles.
Enough said. Moving on.
Rescue Time is a free application (Mac,Win,Linux) that has become very important to my weekly GTD review. It’s helping me put some metrics to my writing goals.
Rescue Time tracks your activity at your computer. If you’re working, it logs it. If you’re slacking off, it logs it.
It uses application, category, and tag based tracking. This means you can track how you’re spending your time by the application, the tag you give to your applications and websites you visit, and by category.
You really start to understand your computer habits fast when you see the results of your time in a pretty bar graph. It can feel intimate. This is your life you’re looking at!
Here’s an example. Logic Pro is my main compositional tool. Within Rescue Time’s interface, it’s listed under the Audio/Video Tools category. I’ve also tagged Logic Pro with the keywords, composing, audio, work, mixing, music, recording, and creative.
When I look at Rescue Time’s data, I can see how much time I’ve spent using Logic Pro, or how much time I’ve spent in the Audio/Video Tools category, or how much time I’ve spent composing.
When you see how much time you’ve spent at something relative to something else — like composing vs. surfing the internet — you really get much needed perspective on how your actions line up with your goals.
So I’ve set up a goal to compose at least one hour a day. Every time I reach my goal, that is, when I’ve used Logic Pro an hour or more, Rescue Time sends me an alert.
I’ve even set up some negative goals. I’d like to spend less than an hour on Twitter each day. (a goal I’ve met ever since I started it, knock on wood.) If I were to go over my alloted time, Rescue Time would either email me or text message me, depending on how I set it up.
As you can see, if you would like to reach an hourly songwriting goal, tag the applications that you use to write songs and set it up in Rescue Time. It’s simple.
Back to the expert practice advice.
To reach 5,000 logged hours of songwriting, starting now (June 2, 2008) at 10 hours a week, you’ll get there on Thursday, December 28, 2017.
Looks like I’d better get back to writing now.
(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...GTD: Integrating Remind, iCal, GCal, Quicksilver
April 13, 2008
0 Comments
A Unix program called Remind is one of the greatest tools for keeping your goals and projects on track. Where calendars like iCal and Google Calendar come up short, Remind fills in the gaps.
For example, iCal alarms can remind you of an event minutes, hours, or days before it occurs, but it won’t count down to a goal with date-based math. Say you’re trying to lose 10 pounds by the first of June. No calendar application that I know of will tell you that you have 49 days to reach 170 pounds. This is where Remind rules.
Here’s how I have my system set up. Remind pulls all of my custom reminders from a few text files. It outputs them to my desktop using Geek Tool. I have a couple scripts that convert my iCal events to Remind format and Remind events to iCal. This way everything is synced up. I get Remind events in iCal and on my iPhone and I get iCal events on my desktop with Geek Tool. Using Spanning Sync, I can publish all of my iCal and Remind events to Google Calendar for sharing with family or colleagues. And if you don’t want to pay for Spanning Sync, you can publish your iCal to .Mac and then subscribe to it with Google Calendar. It’s not two-way syncing, but it works.
The final trick is to use Quicksilver to get reminders into Remind fast. For this, I have a simple Quicksilver action that appends my Remind text file.
I use Remind to help me finish songs, save money, remember birthdays, take the garbage out, and just about everything. Where it shines the most is in events that can benefit from date-based math, like I mentioned above. Everything you need to get started is on my wiki.
(2 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5) Loading ...The Zen Of Attraction
September 19, 2007
114 Comments
If Less Is More, Then Nothing Is Everything
I’ve been responding to the idea of attraction put out by the less than scientific Secret folks and found a really cool spin on it by the more practical Coachville community. I’ve abridged the principles and expanded the message.
Ten Principles To The Zen Of Attraction
- Promise Nothing
Just do what you most enjoy doing.
Hidden benefit: You will always over-deliver. - Offer Nothing
Just share what you have with those who express an interest in it.
Hidden benefit: Takes the pressure off of wanting other people to see you as valuable or important. - Expect Nothing
Just enjoy what you already have. It’s plenty.
Hidden benefit: You will realize how complete your life is already. - Need Nothing
Just build up your reserves and your needs will disappear.
Hidden benefit: You boundaries will be extended and filled with space. - Create Nothing
Just respond well to what comes to you.
Hidden benefit: Openness. - Hype Nothing
Just let quality sell by itself.
Hidden benefit: Trustability. - Plan Nothing
Just take the path of least resistance.
Hidden benefit: Achievement will become effortless. - Learn Nothing
Just let your body absorb it all on your behalf.
Hidden benefit: You will become more receptive to what you need to know in the moment. - Become No One
Just be more of yourself.
Hidden benefit: Authenticity. - Change Nothing
Just tell the truth and things will change by themselves.
Hidden benefit: Acceptance.
(14 votes, average: 3.86 out of 5) Loading ...