Myrmidons! My brothers of the sword! I would rather fight beside you than any army of thousands! Let no man forget how menacing we are, we are lions! Do you know what's waiting beyond that beach? Immortality! Take it! It's yours!

Troy

Creators have a dilemma.

We want the freedom to create whatever, whenever we want...

But the market will only compensate us for what IT wants.

This leaves your average creator (whether entrepreneur, writer, or artist) in a particularly uncomfortable position, with only two real options.

Option 1: Create what you want, ignore the market…

Many creators do just that.  They build for themselves and completely ignore the rest of the world.

There’s only one problem with this: it rarely pays off.

Yes, there are outliers.  But that’s exactly the point: they’re outliers.

If the market doesn’t like what you create, you bear the burden.

‘Do what you love’ sounds fun and sexy, until you realize you’ve been living on your mom’s couch for 3 years.

Option 2: Create for the market, ignore what you want…

Many other creators (probably the vast majority) choose this route.

They ignore their curiosities, inspirations, and passions, and build widgets instead.

There’s only one problem with this: it comes at a cost.

How long can we supply the demand for something we don’t care about?  How long can we commit to creating something personally valueless?  How long until the money’s not worth being a robot in the robot factory?

A False Dichotomy

Of course, this is a false dichotomy.

It doesn’t take a human geographer to realize there are other options besides ‘starving artist’ and ‘miserable cog’ when it comes to the life we choose for ourselves.

Just look at how many starving cogs and miserable artists there are in the world…

I kid (sort of…).

So why do we do it?

Simple:

We create this dichotomy, first and foremost, because it’s easier to process the world this way.  The brain can only process so many things at one time, so simplifying things makes the brain happy (we avoid sensory overload).

Second – and much more insidiously – we create this dichotomy to create an out

The Enemy wants to keep us stagnate.  An ‘either / or’ dichotomy with seemingly brutal consequences is the perfect weapon to make this happen.

If the world is a zero-sum game, if it’s either win or lose, if it’s either me or him…well, better reason to just stay put, keep your heads down, and blend into the rest of the tribe

Now that we have a good, rational reason to sit still, we are off the hook for not taking action.  We have our out.

The Real Creator's Dilemma

But of course, this out isn’t really an out.

It’s submitting for comfort and safety (or so we think…).

The real dilemma isn’t: do I do what I love, or do I do what makes me money?

This dichotomy doesn’t exist – it never did.

The real dilemma is: do we acquiesce to a life and lifestyle undesired because it’s comfortable and safe?

Or…

Or do we take the uncomfortable, uncertain, and difficult path…the one we know won’t be easy, clear, or guranteed…the one fraught with hardship, setbacks and failure…

Because we know it will be worth it?

Take it. It’s yours.

You can do important work and make money from it.

It’s possible, I promise you this.

I meet new people doing it every day.

More importantly, they’re doing it their way:  they’re picking the route, choosing their packing list, and drawing the map as they go along.  No, it’s not easy - but it was never supposed to be.

The same reality can be yours.

It’s waiting for you, just beyond that beach…

The question is: will you take it?

p.s. interested in taking the beach, but rather do it with an army?  I'm writing a new book that will teach you how to assemble and lead a team to take the beach (and own your market). Sign up here.

Start, finished, and shipped in Cape Town, S. Africa (after hanging out with penguins!)

Total writing time: 5:30 hrs

Today I want to talk about why the articles you read, the people you hang out with, and the media you consume directly shapes your life, for better or worse (and how you organize your environment to create your best life possible).

In 5th Grade, I knew exactly what I wanted.

It was Fall of 1997, and my oldest brother was finishing up applications to a couple colleges.

I didn’t know much about them, except that they were military schools.  I knew even less what that meant, but I was curious like a cat. So when my brother was invited to spend a couple days at West Point, NY, I tagged along.

So my dad, my oldest brother and I took a plane (my first plane ride ever!) to New York.

I spent a couple days walking around the most bizarre place I’d ever been to in my life: everyone dressed up like they were in a perpetual state of groundhogs day from 1850; students were always in a hurry, running from barracks room to classroom to everywhere in between (and they’d get yelled at if they weren’t doing it fast enough); and after classes, they’d have to walk in formations with their rifles for hours, or play some kind of sport (intramural or core/club squad sports were mandatory for all cadets).

It looked demanding. It looked uncompromising. It looked hard as hell.

I was hooked. I wanted in.

And so it happened that a rotund 11 year old set his sights on gaining acceptance into the United States Military Academy at West Point.

7 years later, I got accepted.

In my freshmen year at West Point, I took boxing boxing class.

All freshmen had to – it was mandatory.

While most people looked at it like a haze (and it certainly was that), I loved it.

There was something about the adrenaline I got from entering the ring, the surge of excitement I got from standing toe to toe with a competitor with nothing but my fists to protect me, and the raw intensity of dishing out (or the threat of receiving receiving) a beating…I couldn’t shake it.  I had to get better; I had to keep fighting; I had to make the team.

So a scrawny 18 year old set his sights on competing for a spot on a nationally ranked boxing team.

A year later, I made the team.

When I deployed to Iraq, I didn’t know what to expect.

As a logistics guy, I figured I’d do some “Fobbit” job (forward operating base + hobbit…get it?).

Maybe I’d coordinate some transportation movements.  I’d probably do a lot of paperwork.  I’m sure there would be some danger, but mostly I’d be safe.

At the end of the day, I figured it would be a really long, hot, boring experience.

When I got on ground, our Battalion was responsible for not only the logistics of the Brigade, but making sure those supplies got where they needed to go safely.  This meant securing the convoys that went out every night.

I immediately volunteered to stand up and lead the convoy security platoon.

Over a hundred missions later, and after getting called a “cowboy” more than once, my gun truck platoon of cooks, drivers and warehouse workers returned home without a single combat related casualty (for the record, I think this had more to do with luck / Divine Providence / the Soldiers I worked with than my own skills).

The Reality behind the Stories…

I share these stories to point out that it's easy to make any story into a story of "success."

But the reality is, these events weren't successes. They were just moments in time where I took responsibility, and then I did the work.

I spent thousands of hours hustling academics, sports and extracurricular leadership activities to get into the Academy (not to mention another 4 years hustling to survive and graduate the Academy on time).  I got battered and bruised competing for a spot on the boxing team (and took my fare share of blows trying to keep my position on the team). In Iraq, I rode outside the wire almost every night of the week. My brain was in a perpetual state of alert, practicing in my mind what would happen if one (or many) of my vehicles got hit by IEDs, and how I and the rest of my crew would respond.  It was exhausting.

This is the reality of victory.  It’s also the reality of failure.  And it’s most certainly the reality of life.

Life is hard.

We all experience our fair share of bruises, setbacks and failures.

The question isn’t: how do we avoid these trials and tribulations – how do we avoid the pain?  That’s foolish and naïve (not to mention impossible).

The question is: how do you overcome the struggles you will inevitably face?  How do you push through fear, pain and uncertainty?  How do you conquer your wolf?

But most importantly, how do we do all of these things in order to create and live the life we want to live.

2 Techniques for Goal Setting and Achieving

There are 2 techniques I personally used (and continue to use) that helped me get through the darkest, most painful parts of my life.

They may or may not apply to you, but for what it’s worth, here they are:

1) Unreasonable commitment.

When I set a goal, I etch it into my brain (a lot like Edmond Dantes etched words of encouragement into his cell wall).  There is no other option than achieving what I set out to achieve (or die trying).

No, this is not always pleasant.  Yes, sometimes I commit to the wrong things and regret the decision.

Inevitably, however, I make it to the end (bruised and battered, maybe, but still standing).

It’s not a technique for everyone, but if you must achieve something, I highly recommend it…

2) Immersion into the goal.

This is essentially an extension of the first technique, but it’s so important it deserves individual attention.

The person who sets a goal but doesn’t change his behavior is done before he starts.

Setting a goal, by its nature, REQUIRES change.  And it requires the right sort of change if we hope to find success.  But to create the right kind of change, we need to immerse ourselves into the subject/topic/activity we hope to achieve success in.

Just like the fastest way to learn a new language is through immersion into the environment and culture of the language you want to learn, the fastest way to achieve a goal is through immersing yourself into the goal itself.

I immersed myself in the application process for West Point by reading books, strategically creating my resume, and learning from cadets who had recently been accepted.  I immersed myself in the boxing world by jump-roping every morning, hitting the heavy-bag every night, and by watching “Gladiator” way too many times.  When I became the Battalion’s Convoy Security Platoon Leader, I immersed myself in small unit tactics, mobilized and dismounted infantry strategies, and enemy techniques.

At the end of the day, immersion, more than anything else, helped me achieve my goals by forcing me to live and act as the person I hoped to become.

Immersing Yourself in Success

“You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.” - James Allen

If you’re hoping to find success in any endeavor, the right mindset will be your greatest ally.

Conversely, the wrong mindset will be your greatest enemy.

Changing your mindset takes unreasonable commitment and immersion into the philosophy you want to live.

Which is why it’s essential you:

  1. Surround yourself with people that inspire you and make you better
  2. Constantly feed your brain the knowledge you want to become

For the former: this isn’t something I can help you with directly.  You decide the people you let into (and keep out of) your life.  If you’re not sure who to keep in your life and who to avoid, my best advice: examine their character.

As for the latter, well, that’s the point of this blog, my books and my podcast: to immerse you in a mindset that could change your life for the better.

A Tool to Help Immerse You

A few weeks ago someone expressed interest in having other ways to consume the material I create, in particular, by recording audio versions of my articles.  I

figured I’d give it a shot, so here it is.

Life Improving Audio for Your BrainBelow (or by clicking the image to the left) you’ll find my first ever Resistance Broadcast Audio Session’s CD.  I took 8 of my favorite articles and recorded them into high quality MP3’s you can listen to on your phone, MP3 player, computer, or burn to disk and listen to them in your car or on your boombox at the beach.

Grab Your Copy of The Resistance Broadcast Audio Session CD 1 Today By Clicking Here

What's the point of it all?

Simple: to provide you an additional resource to immerse yourself into the right mindset to fight and win your inner creative battles and create your life's work.

Will this single CD change your life?

I doubt it - doing something once rarely changes everything...

But could listening to this CD (and others like it) more than once, reading this blog (and others like it) consistently, and earnestly putting into practice the philosophy you learn in this material change your life?

Without a doubt.

So I hope you enjoy today's article and I sincerely hope The Resistance Broadcast Audio Session CD 1 inspires you to keep going, even when things get difficult.

And things will get difficult...

Good luck and keep fighting.

p.s. the CD is free, so you can't lose 🙂

Great Work (part 3 of 3)

Photo credit: DTL from morguefile.com

This is the final post in a short series on great work.

To be honest, I originally wrote a short book’s worth of content on this topic.

But right before I hit publish, I decided to scrap everything and get to the heart of what I wanted to say: what great work means at the most fundamental level.

Great work is all about impact. 

And sometimes, the best way to make an impact is with fewer words.

In the follow up post, I wanted to dive deeper into this concept of impact – why do some things impact us so powerfully and others don’t? 

Love it or hate it, the messages, people, and things we remember are those that draw the line, that take a stand, that never compromise.

Easily said. 

Not easily done.

In this final post in the series, I want to talk about a common misunderstanding of great work – the biggest mistake we make in life, actually – and leave you with a final thought on how to create your own great work – this instant if you want.

But first, the misunderstanding…

The Biggest Mistake We Make…

Is confusing doing great work with getting RECOGNIZED for the great work we do.

These are not the same.

When we set out to do great work, we put our heads down and create.  Every now and then we share what we produce: 99% creation, 1% selling.

When we set out to get recognized, we stop creating and start plugging: 1% creation, 99% selling.

As long as we’re doing great work (truly great work), there’s no time to worry about recognition.  It may come, it may not.  That’s not for you to decide, nor for your great work to dictate.

But isn’t there some way to bridge the gap?  Isn’t it possible to create great work that WILL get recognized?  Surely, there must be a secret formula out there...

There isn’t one.

There is no 100% guaranteed 10-step model for creating great work that gets recognized.  It doesn’t exist.

And anyone who says otherwise is probably selling you something.

The truth is there is no secret formula because it's not a secret and you already know the formula.  You’ve known it your entire life, in fact.

It’s just hard to admit you know the formula because once you do it changes everything.

Owning Action / Reaction

So why isn’t it possible to guarantee your work will be recognized?

Simple:

You don’t own the reaction to your work. 

You can’t control the crowd’s opinion.  You can’t dictate the feedback of the audience.  You can’t determine the response of the client.

These aren’t for you to control – and trying to force it is either malicious or naïve.  In either case, it detracts from your great work.

The reaction shouldn’t concern you because it doesn’t concern you.

You don’t own the reaction to you work, but you do own something much more important:

You own the actions that create your work.

You control the words you put down on paper; you dictate the effort you put into your art; you determine the love, generosity and humility with which you embrace each day and every person you meet.

Your actions are for you to control.

And your actions SHOULD concern you.

The Best Words

In all these empty plans / The ink stains on my hands.

And everyone saves / The best words for the grave.

Are these weary morning tones / I’ll probably save mine too.

[The Airborne Toxic Event]

In every minute of every day is the opportunity to put your mind, body and spirit into doing something worthwhile.

Every action is an opportunity to do something bold.

In every passing moment is the opportunity to change everything.

Want to do great work?

Serve the people closest to you, regardless of their rank, title or following.  Put it all on the line for those who need you most, not those you think you need to impress.  Speak to those who want to hear from you – ignore the rest.

This is generosity. It doesn’t scale.  And it's what really counts, regardless of applause.

The recognition you think you want?  It doesn’t matter nearly as much.

Stop saving your best words.

Spend them today on the people who count.


Would love to hear your thoughts...leave a comment below!

New to the blog?  Join the Resistance.

Dreams and Building Empires

Dreams

We all have them.

Not just the kind when we sleep, but the more important ones – the ones we have when we’re awake.

They come to us when we’re driving home from work, when we go for a long run, when we reminisce over war stories with an old friend.

These dreams usually spark something deep within us.  They excite something dormant; something we didn’t know existed…at least for a moment.

In most cases, as quickly as they come, they go; they pass through us unscathingly, with us no worse (or better) for wear.

But sometimes…

Epiphanies Happen

Sometimes they come and hit us like a ton of bricks.

That feint twinge of excitement in our gut becomes a blinding vision of what could be…

The image is crystalline; the emotion is palpable; we see everything as if for the first time, with brilliant clarity and gratitude.

The dream isn’t a dream any longer – it becomes something tangible, something that physically moves us.

It scathes us and leaves a mark, for better (or worse).

What Happens Next…

But even the exhilaration, the rush of an epiphany fades.

And we’re left stuck in traffic, or struggling with an incline, or realizing our stories are mostly embellishment now…

All people experience something like this at some point in their lives.  It might not happen with quite the same intensity, but every person experiences moments of understanding, appreciation, and possibility followed by a fall back into reality.

And the majority will go back to work the same way as they did before the dream.  They will lay bricks for a day’s wage.

It’s the reasonable thing to do.

It’s the realistic thing to do.

Dreams are silly anyway - real life matters more...

The majority will, but not everyone.

Some Choose a Different Course

A few will go back to work differently.

Their actions will take on the power of purpose, their goals the strength of intention.  They won’t lay bricks for a day’s wage, but to build their own castle.

It’s the unreasonable thing to do.

It’s the unrealistic thing to do.

But dreams matter – sometimes more than real life…

“Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones.” [The Silver Chair]

What will you do with your dreams?

 


p.s. let us know in the comments what you're working on - and more importantly, why you're working on it.  We want to hear!

p.p.s. Subscribe to The Resistance Broadcast and get the help you need to complete your worthwhile project, build your empire, and create your life's work.

 

 

Winning the Creative War

The Pain of Creation

Every act of artistic creation (business, blog, book or otherwise) begins in the mind.

They begin as acts of love (we care about our ideas) and defiance (challenging what is with what could be).

But being inside your own mind isn’t a pretty thing.  It’s nasty in there; what is right seems wrong; up is down; and every course of action can be rationalized (adding to the frustration).

Struggling with a creative puzzle or wrestling with a conceptual problem is brutal.

It challenges your skill; do you have the ability to bring this vision to life?

It challenges your character; do you have the fortitude – the grit – to take it all the way?

It challenges your belief in yourself; can you keep working toward an elusive goal, even when nothing pans out for weeks, months or years?

Do you really have what it takes to fight these creative battles, day in and day out?

And if the answer is YES to all of those questions, are you sure you’re not just lying to yourself?

The Inner Creative War

These are the internal battles of someone trying to do something new, of someone building something from scratch, of the person creating something unique, not because he was told, but because he chose.

It’s not reserved just for writers (experienced as writers block) or entrepreneurs (experienced as failure to launch), but for every single person who stands up and challenges the group; who leaves the tribal boundaries; who demands self-determination, regardless of the consequences.

It’s a battle waged by artists and inventors; by builders and breakers; by warriors and leaders.

It’s a war fought by those brave enough to question, challenge, and try.

And like any war, there will be casualties: your dreams may not become reality, your goals might not pan out, and your projects might fail.

It’s difficult, it’s unforgiving, and it’s (often) unfair.

When I characterize creation as an act of war, I mean it.

Winning the War

And yet some of us still feel compelled to create, even with this guarantee of discomfort.

Perhaps it’s because we expect the discomfort will fade when we “make it.”  And it might.

Or perhaps it’s because we believe the reward at the end will outweigh the pain of the process.  And this might be true.

Or perhaps we have no other option because the discomfort of not creating is more painful and terrifying than the possibility of trying and failing.  And this is probably the case.

Regardless the reason, the fact that some still want to create, still need to create, is what matters; because these are the people who will create.

Winning the creative war isn’t a matter of how.  For the creator, it’s a matter of when.

Oddly enough, that is exactly how you win.

It ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much can you take and keep moving forward? That's how winning is done. [Rocky Balboa]


p.s. are you fighting the creative war right now?  Share with us in the comments below what you're creating and where you've found success (or how you've dealt with failure).

 

In the Trenches: Episode 3Goins Writer

This is the 3rd episode of “In the Trenches: The Resistance Broadcast Interview Series” and today I had the honor of interviewing Jeff Goins.

[Listen to the Interview by clicking this link]

 

Jeff is a successful bloggerpublished author, and a self declared writer.

Jeff Started his blog in 2010.  In less than 2 years time he grew his readership to an impressive 100,000 people a month.

Jeff has been featured in RELAVANT magazine, Problogger, Copyblogger, Zenhabits.net, and many other publications.

You can find his most recent book Wrecked: When a Broken World Slams into your Comfortable Life online and in bookstores around the world.

This interview is a MUST listen.  Jeff gives so much great information and has such an amazing perspective on writing, publishing, business and life in general.

If you're a writer (or anything you do involves writing of any sort) you NEED to listen - I promise you won't be disappointed.


In the Trenches: an Interview with Jeff Goins - How to Build a Crazy Successful Blog in Less Than One Year, Get Published, and Become the Artist You Were Meant to Become


In this interview, we cover:

You can read more about Jeff Goins at GoinsWriter.com.

I highly suggest you subscribe to his newsletter - it's really great content.

If you liked this interview, share it with everyone you know and reach out to Jeff and thank him!

***

Previous episodes:

In the Trenches: Episode 1 With Al Pittampalli

In the Trenches: Episode 2 With Clay Hebert

 


p.s. leave a comment below and let us know what you're struggling with or where you're having success (writing, business, blog or life related - anything goes).

p.p.s. subscribe to The Resistance Broadcast and never miss a broadcast.  Plus, receive exclusive content just for members (100% free).  Never fight alone.  Join The Resistance.

 

Building Empires

Things Break

The project you’re working on; the goals you set this year; the strategy you spent months planning – all of it will break.

This goes for everything tangible in this life:

The factory you built: at some point in the future, time and the elements will collapse it - another will come and take its place.

The product you crafted: someday the hardware will degrade and stop working correctly; the software will become buggy and obsolete; your brilliance will be a used trinket in the back of a storage space.

Those relationships you developed when you were in middle school: people change; you and your friends will move apart, or, if you do stay connected, your relationship will alter and morph.

People, places, projects: they all eventually break.

Heroes and Champions

This shouldn't come as a shock – it’s simply restating a simple principle of life, one that we all intrinsically understand: nothing stays the same.

But – and here is the thing that might shock you – this is a good thing.

Life is good because things can break.

What would be the point of setting a goal with 100% certainty of its attainment?  With the steps all laid out?  With a guarantee that there will be no hiccups, setbacks or failures along the path?  That everything you see before you is precisely how it will be when you get there - perfect, safe and everlasting?

If this were the case, if uncertainty (and thus the possibility of things breaking) were taken out of the equation, you would be left with exactly what you see, no more, no less.

There would be no struggle.  There would be no dragons to slay.  There would be no risk.

And if there were no risk there would be no need for courage or boldness.

In a world without dragons, there would be no heroes or champions.

Slaying Dragons

In a world with no breaking, no uncertainty, no possibility of failure, there would be no struggle, no need to try (it would already be a guarantee), and ultimately no need for virtue.

We don't read the story of St. George because we know he wins.

We read the story of St. George because he might lose - things might break - and because of this his actions are courageous and bold.

If there were no chance of breaking, there would be no dragons to slay; just imitations easily ignored.

Building Empires

We don't build empires because we expect them to turn out exactly how we planned.

We don't build empires because they are guaranteed to work.

We don't build empires because we expect them to last forever.

We build empires because deep down in our hearts there is something goading us, something compelling us, something pushing us...

We build empires because deep down we must build...

We build empires because deep down we were made to be heroes and champions.

there is something in the universe more mystical than darkness, and stronger than strong fear. [G.K. Chesterton]

This something might just be our ability to struggle for something worthwhile, to fight and  slay our dragons while they try to destroy us, and to build our empires even if they might break.

What empire are you building?


Subscribe to The Resistance Broadcast and get updates like this 3 days a week - Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and receive a free copy of my book The Art of Instigating.

Never fight alone.  Join The Resistance.

 

 

One Habit

When my thoughts beckon my tired body homeward I will resist the temptation to depart. I will try again.  I will make one more attempt to close with victory, and if that fails I will make another.  Never will I allow any day to end with a failure...I will persist until I succeed. [The Greatest Secret in the World]

If you could create one habit this new year, what would it be?

How powerful would it be if you created the habit of ending your day with a victory?

How many pages would you write this year?

How many sales would you close?

How much weight would you lose?

Daily Victory

Whether in business, family, spiritual, or creative life, ending the day in victory has great power.

Forgot to write today?  Finish one sentence before you go to sleep.

Was your day unusually busy and you missed your workout?  Do a 3 minute workout of the day  before you head to bed.

Were you unable to close a sale?  Send off one more email or make one more call before you call it a day.

It's as simple as that:

Don't end the day in failure.  End in victory.

Don't go to sleep until you have succeeded in completing the thing you promised yourself you would finish.

Keep your promises: especially the ones made to yourself.

Persistance

And if you think one sentence, a simple 3 minute workout, or a single call won’t make a difference - it does.

Remember, it’s the small, tiny actions we take every day that create our empires.

Nothing is trivial when it comes to creating your life’s work – the greatest novel is composed of thousands of single words; the greatest athlete is the product of individual repetitions; the greatest salesman is nothing more than the accumulation of thousands of calls.

Never end the day with failure.

End the day in victory.

Persist until you succeed.


Never fight alone:  Join the Resistance.

Life is paradoxicalOpposites

We think pain and pleasure or love and hate are opposites of one another.

We think of these emotions as opposite ends of the spectrum, as if each lies on either side of a single line.

pain --------------------------------- pleasure

love --------------------------------- hate

This couldn't be further from the truth.  

In either case, they are simply variations of one another; unique but related; two sides of the same coin.

But they are not opposites.

In both cases, we are experiencing some kind of emotion.  Whether you experience pain or pleasure, love or hate, you are still experiencing something.  So the opposite of pain isn't pleasure, nor is the opposite of pleasure pain.

The opposite of both is numbness – it is indifference – it is nothing.

When a project breaks, we might experience anger at ourselves because we failed, fear that this case isn't unique and that we might never succeed, or jealousy of others for effortlessly accomplishing that which we suffer for daily to create.

When a goal comes to fruition, we might experience joy in its realization, pride that we have accomplished so much, or gratitude that we were given such an unlikely opportunity, with such an unlikely skill set, in such an unlikely environment, to make our dreams reality.

In either case, we are experiencing the emotions of someone who cares.

If you want to experience the latter, you must be willing to experience the former; that's the price you pay when you care, when you're invested in the outcome, when you're committed.  But if you'd prefer to never feel the anger, fear, or jealousy of failure – the pain of failure – then you only have one option: become indifferent.

Stop caring.

Avoid commitment.

Indulge in the emotional morphine of indifference and all the pain goes away; and so does all the pleasure, all the happiness, all the joy.

You can't have one without the other.

That's the paradox; that's the battlefield; that's the choice.

"The opposite of love's indifference." [The Lumineers]


Never fight alone.  Join the Resistance:

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Sandbox

Every person reading this has an opportunity.

As humans, we’ve each been gifted several extraordinary things:

  1. Life. Obvious, but worth restating.  What are the chances that you are here right now?  What are the chances that you exist with the particular genetic makeup that you have, which is the result of hundreds of generations of your family tree surviving, growing, and expanding?  The point is: you’re not likely.  That’s a pretty extraordinary gift.
  2. A Sandbox.  Look around.  What is this world’s most basic and fundamental characteristic?  In a lot of ways, it’s a (seemingly) more complex Lego set.  Put a block here, or don’t – put another block on top of that, or don’t.  Every day you have the chance to put your blocks where you choose; to build (or not build) what you want.
  3. Talent.  Every person is different and not everyone’s is of equal ability, but every person has a disposition of traits that combine to create their unique ability (aka talent).  No one has the same perspective that you do.  No one thinks of the problem the same way you do (nor of the solution).  No one grew up in the neighborhood you did, with the teachers and friends you did, exposed to the same art that you were.  Most importantly, nobody experienced the same heartaches, pains, and failures that you have.  It is these experiences – beautiful, painful, unique – that develop and define your talent.

Your job is simple: to use these extraordinary gifts. 

Your purpose is to take your life, and using your talents, to build in the sandbox the only way you can.

It’s the uniqueness of your journey that makes it special.

It’s the uniqueness of your journey that means only you can decide how, when and why.

If you’re scared, unsure, or confused, that’s normal.  The point is to do your creative, unique work anyway; to create something worthwhile, to instigate your life’s work, and to build your empire, even when things are scary, uncertain, and confusing.

If you’d like to, but you’re waiting on someone to give you more instruction, direction, or a map to follow, you’ve missed the point entirely.

So go make something.

Every person has a gift, and in their gift, lies their destiny. [Mighty Max]


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