by Owen | Nov 10, 2019 | 2019-2020, Weekend Reflections
What I’m Reading: Everything is F*cked by Mark Manson
In true Manson fashion, this book is filled with wit and dripping with personality. In his latest book, Manson takes on our preconceptions about hope. Giving it to us straight, Manson forces the reader to challenge their approach to hope, drawing on the ideas of philosophers like Plato and Kant along the way. Though these are not necessarily “new” ideas, Manson’s skill as a writer has you turning them over long after you’ve put the book down.
What I’m Reminding Myself: Who Are You Serving?
Who is the story for? What is the culture we are trying to change or influence? These are questions we need to be asking ourselves constantly, in every decision we make. When we lose sight of the audience our story falls apart. When it’s for no one it’s for everyone (and vice versa). It becomes a land grab of selfish and misguided ideas. The walls fall and integrity goes missing. So then, we must reinforce. We must approach with intent. In everything we build we return to our integrity to ask: ”Who are you serving?”
The Quote I’m Thinking About: “The Goal is to see what happens, so there’s No way to fail” – Derek Sivers
If we approach life as a series of experiments then there can be no failure. Only learning.
by Owen | Nov 3, 2019 | 2019-2020, Weekend Reflections
What I’m (Re) Reading: The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell
I read this book 3 years ago when I was first exploring Gladwell’s work. At the time I wasn’t all that interested in the implications of the book but found it to be a good read. Now, I don’t typically re-read books. I can’t say there’s any specific reasoning, I just never find myself inclined to. But the more I dive into my recent obsessions with marketing, storytelling, and social science the more I keep coming around to Gladwell’s book. I want to see if my perspective on the book and its ideas have changed. Maybe I’ll find something new, maybe I’ll hate it, or maybe it will just be a reminder of a good read. In any case, I’m excited to find out.
What I’m Pondering: Mismatched Results
It’s really easy to derive progress from measurement. Data tells a story. Often a very clear story. But sometimes the data doesn’t reflect how you feel. When we follow the diet and exercise we expect the numbers on the scale to go down. We feel lighter. We feel more confident. But what happens when that number doesn’t go down? Or worse the number goes up? What do you do when your faith and feeling aren’t aligned with the numbers? We could change the system. Experiment for success. Or maybe redefine our goals. Perhaps we decide the feeling is more important than the scale. Or is it that we need to measure differently? Every answer is a path. But what is the path for you?
The Quote I’m Considering:
“If more information was the answer then we’d all be billionaires with perfect abs” – Derek Sivers
This is a trap I get caught in a lot. I trick myself into believing that if I just do more research or read another book then everything will change, the world will become clear. But change can only occur through motion. Learning is one of my favorite things, but what good is all of that knowledge if we don’t use it.
by Owen | Oct 27, 2019 | 2019-2020, Weekend Reflections
What I’m Reading: Freakonomics – Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
This book has been on the back burner for a while now, but I’m really glad I got around to reading it. Unlike most of my reading list, Freakonomics doesn’t focus on a central theme. Rather, Levitt and Dubner take us through some interesting questions and show us how conventional wisdom may be easily broken if we only look at the right data. The book is filled with great studies and anecdotes, It’s got me thinking a lot on how similar situations may be dealt with in our lives.
What I’m up struggling with: Free Time
It’s been a while since I’ve had so much time to myself. I’ve mostly been working back to back to back for about 8 months now. I’m now confronted with (entierly on purpose) by a ton of free time. It’s really great to be able to relax but I constantly find myself going a little bit insane. I think this time will serve as a great creative resource but also as a nice mental reset.
What I can’t get out of my head: This TED Talk
I watched this about a week ago and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Though Shirky directs most of his examples towards internet culture (that is his specialty after all) it also applies almost directly to everything we do as artists, especially in the theater. I think it’s easy to rail against the institution as collaborators but Shirky draws some interesting conclusions on the application of both.
The quote I’m thinking about: “You must respect the body you are trying to heal”
What if that body is an institution, a system, an industry?
by Owen | Oct 20, 2019 | 2019-2020, Weekend Reflections
What I Overcame: The Fear of Posting
I’ve been turning over how this blog was going to take shape for weeks now. Admittedly these weekly posts have started to feel safe. The thing I feared was putting the ideas down and lacking any authority to carry them. Yesterday’s post on initiative was ironically the thing that broke me down. It came in a burst of inspiration and for a moment felt confident about posting it. If it hadn’t happened then and there it might not have gone up at all. Hopefully, overcoming that has opened to door to exploring more of what this blog and my writing can be.
What I Didn’t Know I Needed: To Get Away
Yesterday I had a bit of extra time in my day. Usually, I spend my free time in a room somewhere, writing, reading or watching something. but I wasn’t feeling inspired to do any of these things. On my way back from my errands I happened to be walking by the Boston Public Garden and couldn’t remember the last time I had walked through them. I ended up sitting under a tree in the gardens just watching the tourists and families around me. I left an hour and a half later completely revitalized. It had been so long since I had taken that kind of time to be still and sit and listen and observe. I’m making a pact with myself to do this every so often, as often as I can. it sounds cliche but I think we often forget how important it is to stop and take it all in. And hey things are cliche for a reason.
The Leap I Took: The Freelancers Workshop
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Seth Godin. I mean that’s his quote at the bottom of the post. Outside of his books and talks, one of the things I’ve kept an eye on for a while is Godin’s training courses through his company Akimbo. He and his team have created various programs focused on different areas of business and marketing. They happen every few months throughout the year. This past week I decided to sign up for the Freelancer’s Workshop and it’s already opened my eyes to so much. The program hasn’t even officially started yet and I’ve gotten the chance to talk and learn from dozens of different people providing all kinds of art and service. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the program brings.
The Quote I’m Pondering: “Sometimes the best thing to do is to break it for the people you don’t care about and make it work for the people that you do.”
It can’t be for everyone.
by Owen | Oct 13, 2019 | 2019-2020, Weekend Reflections
The New Routine I’m Trying: MorningTED Talks
Alright if you can’t tell by now I’m a massive dork. And I’ll admit it, I secretly loved all of those TED talks the teacher would put on in high school. I never watched any in my own time, but recently I’ve become interested in public speaking as a form of storytelling. And what better place to learn about their structure then from TED. So as a little exercise I’m going to try replacing the Netflix I watch each morning with a TED talk. I’m a little excited about it.
What I’m Reading: The Person and The Situation – Lee Ross & Richard Nisbett
This might be the most eye-opening book I’ve ever read. If you are at all interested in the field of Social Psychology you MUST read this book. It can be a little dense at times but it’s worth pushing through. The authors take you through all of the major principles and findings of social psychology and the studies conducted along the way. They explore the implications of our inherent social flaws and biases while offering insights into how we can become better communicators in spite of them.
The Quote I’m Obsessed With: “Anything beyond spec is marketing”
This quote popped out at me from this blog post and I can’t get it out of my head. I’ll let you pick it apart but I think it’s worth considering.
What I’m Reminding Myself: Remember the Simple
Countless times this week I’ve caught myself overthinking a problem or understanding something. And every time the answer or the comprehension has come from something simple. I think its incredibly easy to trick ourselves into believing the problems we face are complex. As we continue to learn and grow we expect the concepts and challenges to grow accordingly. Perhaps we even wish they were, the complexity gives us a chance to prove ourselves. Sometimes our problems are that complex. But more often than not we need to remember the simple things. Start at the beginning. The true proof of growth is the ability to see the problem for what it is.
by Owen | Oct 6, 2019 | 2019-2020, Weekend Reflections
What I’m Reading: Do The Work – Steven Pressfield
The final book in The War of Art series, one of the most influential book series I’ve read. The first book explores what Pressfield refers to as “Resistance” the personification of the force opposing the act creation, The fear, and loathing we feel when we are at our most creative. The second book Turning Pro explores how we can overcome Resistance. This final installment serves well as an overview of the first two books. While there are no new concepts introduced, Pressfield does provide some interesting insights into the topics discussed in the first two books. I highly recommend the series to everyone looking to
What I’m Thinking About: Motivation: Identity and Achievement
I believe there are two main factors in how we motivate ourselves. I refer to them as the Identity factor and the achievement factor. The identity factor makes up our internal motivation. This motivation stems from how we identify ourselves. We are more likely to be motivated to do the activities and habits that we associate with that identity. For example, those that identify as athletic are more likely to work out more consistently. This factor provides more consistency but perhaps more gradual growth. Externally, we are motivated through achievement. These are the numbers, times and repetitions we use to quantify and measure our growth. When we see growth we are more likely to consistently return to that activity to try and compound on that growth. This factor can be effective for those who do not identify with that activity but are seeking new change.
What I Accomplished: 100 Days of Journaling
Last week I talked about my Morning Pages practice. Three stream of consciousness pages first thing in the morning. This week I hit a 100-day streak of my journaling practice, the complete opposite approach to the morning pages. The journal entries are limited to one page and focus on the reflection of that given day and gentle planning for the following day. The limitation forces me to be more concise with my thoughts and reflect more carefully. At the end of each entry, I rate my day between 1-5 on 7 categories: clarity, energy, necessity, productivity, influence, courage, and professionalism (Steven Pressfield’s definition).
Perhaps the best piece of advice I’ve gotten for starting to journal is “write less than you want to” This will keep you coming back day after day
The Quote I’m Thinking About:
“Hard cases make bad law”
