by Owen | Dec 8, 2019 | 2019-2020, Weekend Reflections
What I’m Reading: What Makes Sammy Run? by Budd Schulberg
I’m enjoying this book. I rarely read a work of fiction these days, but this book has quickly become one of my favorites. The story follows the ever-ambitious writer Sammy Glick, squirming, betraying, and weaseling his way up the ranks of Hollywood. The central question of the book “What Makes Sammy Run?” is asked by our narrator, Al Manheim, as he follows Sammy along his journey, studying his egotism from the perspective of a slightly jealous, slightly curious, and slightly obsessed “best friend.” The commentary on the relationship between hollow pursuits and the ever-hungry machine of commercial entertainment has struck home in multiple ways for me. I will be thinking about this book for a long, long time.
What I’m Reminding Myself: It’s Rarely Important
If there is one thing, artists need reminders of its that it (whatever the current issue is) is seldom as important as we think it is. That’s not to discourage the work or the value of the art. I want to be very clear about that. But sometimes we artists get a little too caught up in our world. It’s not life or death. Sometimes it may feel like that, but that doesn’t mean it is. In reality, it only takes a toll on our stress levels and anxieties. One of the best things we can do for ourselves is to step back and try and see the situation for what it is. Not only can this help us find a solution, but it can also give us the perspective we need to put some distance between us and the martyrdom that lurks in every artistic endeavor.
A Quote I’m Thinking About: “There’s no glory in being a rich, 50 year old boy; the same child at the end of the journey as the beginning, only with a fatter wallet.” – Ryan Holiday
by Owen | Dec 1, 2019 | 2019-2020, Weekend Reflections
What I’m Reading: The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek
Sinek’s most recent book brings an application to James P. Carse’s ideas on life as a series of games, both finite and infinite. We are accustomed to the former; they have clear sets of rules, consistent strategies, and clear winners and losers. The infinite game, on the other hand, is not played to win, but to keep playing, with no clear winners and inconsistent, if any, rules at all. Using these ideas, Sinek argues that the prevailing structure and strategies of today’s businesses are playing the wrong game, favoring finite and arbitrary metrics over the values and developmental incentive of a game that is endless.
What I’m Becoming Obsessed With: Documentaries
One of the biggest challenges I face is attempting to limit media consumption as a distraction. While I don’t think I’ll ever be able to break up with Netflix entirely, I’m always looking for things that can make that time more valuable without sacrificing entertainment or creativity. So when I stumbled onto The Imagineering Story and Free Solo on Disney+, I quickly became hungry for more.
What I’m Challenging Myself With: More Writing
As the new year approaches, I’m starting to think about what I am beginning to think of new challenges or “resolutions” for myself. Of all of the projects and practices I have developed this last year, writing has been the most rewarding and creatively challenging. Motivation, however, has been missing, and not for lack of inspiration. It seems then that I need some accountability. Therefore, I am going to challenge myself to put out at least one new post or article a week in addition to the weekly roundups. A small and straightforward start. Who knows what more might come after this small step?
What I Want to Try: The Notecard Method
A significant flaw of mine has always been my inability to capture and process ideas or inspiration. In my recent exploration of the works of the author, Ryan Holiday, I discovered his way of doing just this. The basic idea is that when you are struck by an idea or by something intriguing, you write it on an index card and file it away, categorized by project, concept, or use. Then, when you return to that project or idea, you can return to the cards for inspiration and organize them into a structure and story. I have absolutely no idea if this will work for me, but of all of the systems I’ve come across, this seems the most promising. Perhaps an update on this method in the future.
The Quote I’m Pondering: “The pretense of knowledge is our most dangerous vice because it prevents us from getting any better.” – Ryan Holiday
by Owen | Nov 24, 2019 | 2019-2020, Weekend Reflections
What I’m Reading: Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
Holiday’s book fell into my lap via a recommendation during the freelancer’s workshop I’ve spent the last month or so working on. This book will force you to make some hard confrontations with yourself. Approach with ease, Holiday’s insights and methods can be brutal and overwhelming at times. That all said every time I put the book down, I walk away considering myself and how I can better rid ego from my interactions. If you are interested in the ideas of stoicism and enjoy books like The War of Art, I can’t recommend this book enough.
What I’m Re-discovering: Bouldering
I’ve never been any good at it, but something about the act of climbing rocks and solving “problems” is an endless source of enjoyment. Not to mention the extreme sense of accomplishment that comes with discovering a level of fitness or flexibility you never knew you had. This love of mine started about two and a half years ago, just at the end of my freshman year. For lots of reasons not worth going over I took about a year off. But now coming back to it, I find myself obsessed all over again. In some ways, I’m better at it now, in other ways worse.
A Quote I Love: “Most people are just too self-absorbed, well-meaning, and lazy to bother orchestrating Machiavellian plans to slight or insult us. It’s more often a boring, complicated story of wrong assumptions, miscommunication, bad administration, and cover-ups—people trying, and mostly failing, to do the right thing, hurting each other not because that’s their intention but because it’s impossible to avoid.” – Tim Kreider
I’ve recently fallen in love with Kreider’s work. I’ve just finished his collection of essays We Learn Nothing. He has quickly become my favorite writer (a reckoning I’m still considering the implications of).
The quote speaks for itself, but there’s something beautiful in the way Kreider reminds us that people genuinely aren’t out to get us.
by Owen | Nov 17, 2019 | 2019-2020, Weekend Reflections
What I’m Reading: Stumbling on Happiness – Daniel Gilbert
It took me a long time to come around to reading this book. Eventually, so many people I respect and look up to recommend it that I had to give it a shot. I’m glad I did. One you forgive the self-help-y title, this book is a fascinating dive into the psychology of happiness. A lot of Gilbert’s arguments have wormed their way into how I think about my everyday life. I’m interested to see how they play out in the long term,
What I’m Struggling With: Health vs. Habits
I’ve been on a roll lately. I’ve been healthy, mindful, and have spent a lot of time on my intellectual and artistic pursuits. But this week, for the first time in a long time, I got sick. The things I’d been doing every day for the last six months ground to a halt. Priority one for me was to try and maintain as much of my day to day life as I could. But the hardest part is putting your health against your habits. It’s hard not to feel guilty when you need to take a step back. At some point, we need to remind ourselves that we are playing the long game. A break when we need can be even more important than the work we put in.
The Quote I’m Thinking About: “In an infinite sea of possible beliefs, evidence is the only life preserver we’ve got.” – Mark Manson
I love two things about this quote. The first is the acknowledgment that the conflicts we deal with are wholly based on belief, not facts. This perspective is something that often gets overlooked and forgotten in the shoot-from-the-hip arguments on social media. Secondly, that those facts are not tools for our discussions, but something substantial to hold onto in the rush of those beliefs. Too often, we jump to using facts and data as our weapon of choice. But today’s conflicts are that of belief, and no armor is more equipped to dull facts than belief. The importance of evidence lies not in its lethal potential, but in how we use it to tell a story. When told in the right way, a story can encapsulate any belief, turning that evidence into a movement and an epidemic of change.
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.
