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”
by Owen | Sep 29, 2019 | 2019-2020, Weekend Reflections
What I Accomplished: 100 Days of Morning Pages
This week I hit a 100-day streak of Morning Pages. If you haven’t heard of the morning pages they are the daily practice introduced by Julia Cameron in her book The Artists Way. The idea is that first thing every morning you sit down and stream-of-consciousness write 3 pages. It doesn’t matter what they are or what comes from them. It could be absolute nonsense. The goal is to clear your head and start the day off in the right headspace. It’s a practice I highly recommend to everyone. I can point to it as one of the most important parts of my daily routine.
What I’m Reminding Myself: Your Art Can’t be for Everyone
And it shouldn’t be. I think it’s easy to get lost in wanting your art to affect people. But the issue is that we think too globally. “People” is too vague. We need to be clear about who our art and who are change is for. It can’t be everyone. When we talk about “great art” we have to remember the context of that statement: it’s great art to someone. There’s no such thing as bad art, just wrong art for you. So before we go trying to mass market out ideas and stories lets start by considering who we want to change.
What I’m Pondering: The Fundamental concepts
Maybe it’s just me but the more I read the more I’ve started to wonder if there exists a single set of fundamental topics or ideas that every other area of learning or passion can be broken down into in one way or another. I don’t think I have a clear answer yet. Now to be clear I don’t mean topics like science or math. Those to me are a different kind of fundamental. I’m looking for the things that we can point to as a source for the way we talk about business, marketing, art, philosophy, belief, sociology, etc. The conceptual fundamental.
What I’m Reading: Purple Cow – Seth Godin
I’ve been burning through Godin’s books these past few months (he’s written 23!) and with each one, I gain some new insight into how marketing (storytelling) is one of the most influential things we have at our disposal. Purple Cow is Godin’s dive into the product side of marketing. He argues (quite convincingly) that today’s society has no tolerance for the mild. The days of mediocre products backed by stellar marketing have passed. The products themselves (and our ideas) must now be as remarkable as the marketing that drives them. These are our purple cows.
by Owen | Sep 22, 2019 | 2019-2020, Weekend Reflections
What I’m Reading: Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
Gladwell’s most recent book has been dominating my free time. I mentioned last week how huge a fan I am of his work. I’m willing to say that this is his most intriguing book yet. His exploration of human interaction and the assumptions we make about others is perhaps his most urgent dive yet. True to fashion, Gladwell strings his readers through story after story showing us how our assumptions and our biases about others play against us.
What I’m Pondering: Thresholds
This week I’ve noticed myself crossing a lot of thresholds, or at the very least become aware that they are behind me. It has me thinking a lot about how we look at change. The changes don’t come day by day. They stack up until suddenly we notice how far we’ve come. We cross a threshold. The thing about instituting change is that the results aren’t linear, and they never will be. But the consistency compounds and sooner or later you’ll find yourself in a completely new place. The important thing then is to balance how we treat the small and putting faith in their ability to collect and push us forward.
What I’m finding passion in: Writing
Through this blog and my daily journaling, i’ve discovered how much I love to write. Or maybe re-discovered. To be clear I don’t mean the act of having written. That distinction hangs on the idea of completion or publishing. What I enjoy is the process. Sitting down and putting words on a page. It’s taught me a lot about the traps of perfectionism and the value of focusing on the act of creating rather than the end product.
