I was sitting here on this patio editing my latest chapter, and feeling my energy sizzle and fade when my mind began to wander. It wandered off to where it's been so prone to as of late: this land called Appreciation.
Is that cheesy? I don't really care because it is so true. This year has been the best yet and while, of course, many factors contribute to that, a lot of it boils down to coming upon these life-changing articles/books below, and therafter coming upon the people behind them, and their bodies of work.
(Truth: they all walk the walk.)
So, while I haven't been blogging too much as of late (trying to save that writing energy for the novel, you know?) I realized I could easily share these treasures with you, with so little of my own energy required.
Derek Sivers, Start Now
"Watch out when anyone (including you) says they want to do something big, but can’t until they raise money.
It usually means they’re more in love with the idea of being big big big than with actually doing something useful. For an idea to get big big big, it has to be useful. And being useful doesn’t need funding.
If you want to be useful, you can always start now, with only 1% of what you have in your grand vision. It’ll be a humble prototype version of your grand vision, but you’ll be in the game. You’ll be ahead of the rest, because you actually started, while others are waiting for the finish line to magically appear at the starting line."
-Derek Sivers, Start Now
Chase Jarvis, The Other 50%
"If you are just starting, put yourself in a position to win. Go to conferences, visit online communities, follow people who are active in the industry and add your voice. The word networking is overrated. It’s just people and relationships. If you strive to build meaningful and valuable relationships –online and offline–you’ll be well on your way. There are no shortcuts. Want me to say that again? There are no shortcuts. Might as well start today, eh?"
-Chase Jarvis, The Other 50%
Jeff Goins, Real Artists Don't Starve
"We all need our work to resonate with someone; our art needs an audience. The way the Starving Artist attempts this is by working in private, secretly hoping to be discovered some day. She spurns the need for an audience and chooses to suffer for her work instead, holding out for that lucky moment when someone stumbles upon her genius. The Thriving Artist, on the other hand, chooses a different path: she shares her work by practicing in public. Not by being sleazy or self-promotional, but by letting people simply watch her work."
-Jeff Goins, Real Artists Don't Starve
More than likely, you've already heard of these wonderful creators, but have you ingested these particular pieces? If not, carve out some time and give yourself the gift of doing so.
Ever grateful to you Derek, Chase, and Jeff. You're all real-life heroes.
