Art works!
Art is Jealous , she will not allow illness to take precedence of her
Vincent Van Gogh
And I give in to her;
In order to attain real art
one must both work hard and long;
The thing I have set my mind upon as the goal
of all my efforts is devilish difficult;;
and yet I do not think that I am aiming too high
I will make drawings that will amaze some people;
In short, I will bring it to such a pitch
that they will say of my work:
"The man feels deeply and he is subtle withal"
In spite of my so-called coarseness.
do you understand?
May be precisely on that account.
At present, it sounds presumptuous- to speak in this way
but it is for this very reason I wish to put vigor into my work;
For what I am in the eyes of most people?
a non-entity or an oddity or a disagreeable man
someone who neither has nor ever will have any place in society
In short something less than the least;
Well, granting this is so, I should like to show, by my work
what the heart of such a non-entity of such insignificant man conceals;
This is my ambition which for all that is the outcome,
more of love than that of resentment
more of a feeling of peaceful serenity
than of passion
And even though I often have to content with
all these difficulties, yet I feel within me
Calm, Pure harmony, and Music!
I prefer a piece of work that is a failure to Inactivity
We shall not have to wait so very long
before what we are producing will have become important!
Authors
Vincent van Gogh
Scientific Method
A scientific method consists of 4 essential steps:
Formulate hypothesis
Deduce the testable consequences of the Hypothesis
Perform an experiment and collect evidence
Update your belief in the Hypothesis
Richard Feynman talks about the scientific methods approach in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MJl6EeqAMM
According to which : Scientists take
Guess: Form a hypothesis
Compute: Predict the consequences of the hypothesis
Compare: Compare the predictions to observations or experiments
Accept or reject: If the predictions disagree with the observations or experiments, reject the hypothesis
Feynman also says this:
No matter how beautiful your theory is , if its not matching the experiments - It is wrong! Its plain wrong!
There is a lesson from above for us here who are not scientists to apply scientific thought to daily life:
Form an opinion that is equivalent of guess!
Collect data aligned to the opinion - supporting or against it
Analyze the data to check if it corresponds to the opinion
Accept or reject your opinion!
We can all be scientific even if we are not scientists!
Authors
Joshua Pearl
Plants
Without plants, we don't exist
When plants climbed out of the ocean
some 500 million years ago
they arrived in a terrestrial barren
enveloped in an inhospitable - fog of Co2 and H2
Inhospitable that is - everything but plants
they had already learned to unlock Oxygen
from Co2 dissolved in the Ocean
They adapted the technology to their new world
In a way, they brought up the ocean with them
by incessantly breathing out,
those legions of early land plants tipped
the balance of gases towards oxygenation
They created the atmosphere we now enjoy
It is not a stretch to say they birthed the habitable world!
My note:Chlorophyll is the crowning molecular miracle of the Nature : in that the plants mastered to convert light and air into Sugar! The function of the reaction center of chlorophyll is to absorb light energy and transfer it to other parts of the photosystem. The absorbed energy of the photon is transferred to an electron in a process called charge separation. The removal of the electron from the chlorophyll is an oxidation reaction.
The process of photosynthesis is commonly written as:
6CO2 + 6H2O → C6H12O6 + 6O2.
This means that the reactants, six carbon dioxide molecules and six water molecules, are converted by light energy captured by chlorophyll (implied by the arrow) into a sugar molecule and six oxygen molecules, the products! That are fundamental food constituents of Humans and Animals!
Nature is a chemist of an highest order!
Without plants, we don't exist as they produce the starch and the Oxygenated atmosphere!
So essentially plants eat Light and Carbon-di-oxide in Air and produce Food and Air
Let's show more gratitude towards the plants!
Gamification of work!
Eknath Eswaran says this:
It is only after we de-hypnotized ourselves from the enticements of money and
blandishments of pleasure that we find how good it is to Work!
when there is no paycheck coming !
It is so soothing to work hard for the welfare of those around us
without a mercenary motive atached,
that we forget all our tensions and frustrations
For some of us , it may be our Time, for others Energy, Skills,
Material possessions or Expert advice
But it is incumbent upon everyone to devote his/her resources to
the welfare of others
without any thought of personal profit or prestige!
Tom Sterner in his book "The Practicing Mind" - tells this:
Work = Play + Pay ;
Then to make work as Play,eliminate the element of Pay !!!
at least momentarily;
Pay ; rewards ; results ; eliminate them;
all these lead to future;
and Distraction into future causes issues of
Staying in the Present!
So try this exercise :
Take your work activity;
and for the next 30 minutes or so ,
just play it as if its recreational activity,
Pay ; rewards ; results ; eliminate them;
all these lead to future;
and Distraction into future causes issues of
Staying in the Present!
So try this exercise :
Take your work activity;
and for the next 30 minutes or so ,
just play it as if its recreational activity,
Without results tagged to activity!
Just the task in front of you.
I call this "Gamification of Work"
I call this "Gamification of Work"
Artful Life
We could say that Human Race is a great co-authorship
in which we are collaborating with God and Naturein the making of ourself and one another!
The Art of the Commonplance
Authors
Wendell Berry
A day!
By Henry David Thoreau
I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of wo/man to elevate her life by a conscious endeavor;
To affect the quality of the day,
that is the highest of Arts!
Our life is frittered away by detail
Simplicity! Simplicity! Simplicity!
The Nation ruined by Luxury and heedless expense
and the only cure for it -
a stern and more than spartan simplicity of life
and elevation of purpose!
Why should we live in such a hurry and waste our life?
we are determined to be starved before we are hungry!
Authors
Henry David Thoreau
The Practicing Mind
When you shift your "Goal" from the product you are trying to achieve, to the process of achieving it , a wonderful phenomenon occurs - All pressure goes away!
I call this a "Distraction into the Future"
because the product that you want to reach is pulling you of the present and into the Future!
Say are a seed: You want to get to "Full bloom" and you think you can skip the rest of it!
Try this out the next time you are faced with doing something you define as unenjoyable or as Work . it doesn't matter if it's mowing the lawn or cleaning up the dinner dishes -
if the activity will take a long time,
tell yourself. - you will work on staying in the present-moment and
process-oriented for just the first half-hour
Lessons from The Practicing Mind
Keep yourself process-oriented
Stay in the Present
Make the process the Goal - and use the Goal (Outcome) as a Rudder to steer your efforts
My Note:
Outcome must be used as a Rudder - to steer- to keep direction - as North Star - rather than as an propeller to speed up the pace !
Authors
Thomas Sterner
Agency
Agency is the technical term. for the feeling of being in Charge
Of your life:
knowing where you stand
knowing that you have a say in what happens to you.
knowing that you have some ability in
Shaping your Circumstances.
Agency Starts with What Scientists Call -
Interoception - Our Awareness of Subtle Sensory, Body-based feelings -
The greater the awareness, the greater the potential
to control our lives.
knowing what we feel - is the first step to knowing why we feel this way
If we are aware of the constant Changes in our
Inner and outer environment, we can mobilize to manage them .
But we can't do that Unless our Watchtower (medial pre-frontal cortex)
Learns to observe what is going on inside us!
This is why mindfulness practice which strengthens the MPFC
is a cornerstone of recovery from trauma!
Become a value creator
Become a value creator
Value creator is someone who has intention behind their inputs and outputs.
They treat their life like a science project.
They identify their own problems.
They educate themselves with the infinite resources available to them on the internet.
They test the solution on themselves and distribute their experiences with writing.
They package up the most helpful and streamlined solutions in the form of a product or service.
That is how they make a living by living with purpose
Becoming a creator is the cure for overconsumption.
Writing is the vessel for distributing value.
I write on all platforms. I don’t care to compete with images of my fancy car or lifestyle.
I gain a deep sense of fulfillment by using the internet as not only a place to curate good thoughts, but to organize them and share them with others with the ultimate upside of doing what I enjoy for a living. Something that’s in my control.
This isn’t about becoming famous.
This isn’t about building a massive following.
This is about distributing the value you have to offer in a place that can reach anyone with the opportunities that will change your life and career.
Art and Spirit
Art and Spirit
The letters of a Post-impressionist
The fact remains that we painters are
Living in the midst of reality.
And that we should breathe our spirit into
Our creations as long as we ourselves
Continue to breathe!
On Creativity
On Creativity
The letters of a Post-impressionist
I really don't know how I paint.
Armed with a white panel
I take ip a position in front of the Nature
that interests me
Contemplate what lies before me
And say to myself
That white panel must be turned into something
Dissatisfied with my work i return home
Put my panel out of sight,
And after taking a little rest
Go back to my work
Almost with qualms to see what it looks like
But even then I am not satisfied
For glorious nature is still , Too vividly stamped on my mind
Nevertheless, I find in my work a certain reverberations
of that which fascinated me
I know that Nature told me something
That she spoke to me
And thay I took down her message in a shorthand
Perhaps my stenographic script contains words that are undecipherable
Be like there are faults and omissions in it too
Still i may possess something that the wood,
the beach or the figure said;
And this is never in a tame or conventional language
that did not spring from Nature herself!
Busyness
The letters of a Post-impressionist
I prefer a piece of work that is a failure to inactivity
We shall not have to wait very long
Before that we are producing will have become important!
Artwork
Artwork :
The ability to produce artwork is
nothing but the ability to go through the “Pain”
To produce a “painting” out of “White Canvas”
While being sufficiently excited to carry on relentlessly
despite the disappointing outcomes of the Artwork produced!
Jerry Seinfeld on Humor
My notes from Success without Stress:
Interview of Jerry Seinfeld with Bob Roth
“ A lot of stand-up is analogies”
“If you are fatigued, you look for cookies! Cookies attack you!
“You are two personalities in one! The night guy in you wants to enjoy!
Morning guy in you wants you to work! “
Hardest laugh to get is the first one .
so you need to ensure it is 100% success .
And put all the rest of jokes later
I do Transcendental Meditation before every stand-up act.
Because you have to be relaxed and
you have to have energy
You need to look confident, smooth -
“and seem to know what you are doing”
Stand-up is a physical act : Physical challenge -
I have to push this “mass of meat” - 4000 people
to make them laugh!
Every successful joke has one element - a surprise -
Line of logic going one-way and suddenly logic falls -
It doesn't make any sense - but it does!
Stand-up is scientific in a way -
you put 500 jokes in a hopper -
25 come out as great jokes;
All sales require energy; Stand-up is sales;
Stand-up is martial arts! I have to break you up;
Like breaking the bricks -
by using: Voice, Gesture, and Concentration of energy -
to elicit laughs -
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation
My notes from Success without Stress:
Interview of Jerry Seinfeld with Bob Roth
Practice transcendental meditation twice a day for 20 minutes
J.S: “You have a cell phone and somebody gives you a charger;
TM is like that
you can get to 100% whenever you want!”
Life is exhausting
People say Mind and Body - I dont seperate both!
Have you looked at your bed in the morning!
It’s not sleep ! its war!
so do a TM session in the morning right after waking up!
I like writing! but writing is exhausting!
You are on the road - you stop for gas - The car and yourself need a break!
Why don't I just stop for 15 minutes or so
you just want to recharge yourself, your car!
but most people keep going despite being Tired!
Tired is not something I tolerate!
So I do TM twice a day - once in the morning and once around 1:00 PM
"I love Energy - more than anything!
Thats why I am so enthusiastic about TM
Putting in a phenomenal day's work is way better than getting a chunk of money you didn't expect"
“TM is free subscription to "Limitless Energy" within!”
"I am 60 years old (at the time of the interview). I am in ShowBiz and running a family of 3 Kids - Homework, going out!
I should really be running out of gas! "
TM gives access to "Infinite Energy" within!
TM allows like : waves of surface of Ocean to quieten it : like in the depth of the Ocean
Authors
Jerry Seinfeld
Love!
Brian Doyle : in his Book " One long river of song"
"What do you think Success is ?" asked the Boy
"To Love" said the Mole
Brian tells us: "Love is our greatest and hardest work"
Dear Reader,
I have struggled with Love given the touch-feely stuff that it involves!
until i read the true definition of Love below:
by C S Lewis
Love is not affectionate feeling,
but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good
as far as it can be obtained!
If we go by the above definition of Love,
Success then is not about us - Self-Selfish-
but about others-
"WE"llness - ultimate good of others!
And that is what makes Love - our greatest and hardest work!
Steven Pressfield calls this : To Elevate our game aesthetically to moral and spiritual plane!
Our job as souls in this mortal journey is to shift the seat of identity
from the lower realm to the upper realm
from the Ego - to the - True Self!
Be a teacher
Even if you are not a teacher
be a teacherShare your ideas
Do not take for granted your education
Rejoice in what you learn and spray it
Over the World!
Dont rob the world of your Intellect!
Authors
Tim Minchin
Respect People
I have in the past made important decisions
about people I work with
agents and producers!
agents and producers!
Big decisions are based largely on How they treat the wait staff in the restaurant that we are meeting!
I don't care, if you are the most powerful
cat in the room
I will judge you on how you treat the least powerful!
Success
Success and Fame are by-products
Fame is nothing but the clapping of Hands and clacking of tongues
Marcus Aurelius
Fame is the excrement of creativity - Bruce Dickinson
Its the shit that comes out in the backend
Its a by-product of it!
so chasing fame is not only recally worth it
but you dont get to by chasing it either
An audience, a reputation ,fame
these are lagging indicators of years of making stuff
that people like and ge to know throoug
its the by-product of Doing the Work!
Authors
Ryan Holiday
Focus on whats in your control
Lead Singer
Iron Maiden
We have our field
and we've got to plough it
and thats it!
What's going on in the next field is
of no interest to us
We can only plough one field at a time -
Ryan Holiday-
You've have your own ceiling and its own floor
You should be comfortable with that!
Iron Maiden
We have our field
and we've got to plough it
and thats it!
What's going on in the next field is
of no interest to us
We can only plough one field at a time -
Ryan Holiday-
You've have your own ceiling and its own floor
You should be comfortable with that!
Authors
Bruce Dickinson
Ryan Holiday
How to live your day!
How to live your day!
Jonathan Clements ,Humble dollar.com
I am determined to make the most of
Everyday,
It's an attitude I recommend to readers
One- I'd encourage to embrace now-
Rather than wait for the end !!!
Over Prepared!
When Kobe Bryant said his insane level of confidence came from knowing he’d done all he could to prepare, it taught me that anytime I’m nervous it means I didn’t prepare enough.
@readswithravi
Over prepare : by @danmurrayserter
I've noticed a pattern among all
the succesful people I've met
They're always overprepared !
It' doesn't matter what they're doing -
A presentation ,a negotiation,
even a Casual conversation-
they've thought it through .
Planned it ahead and
Anticipated potential challenges .
Now don't get me wrong
They don't always make it look like
they've put in the work-
But this is the beauty of being prepared!
Behind the Scenes they have done their research
practiced their lives
And considered every possible scenario -
It's that extra effort!
It's that attention to details!
What A DAY! Ah!
What A DAY! Ah!
Henry David Thoreau
If the day and Night are such that,
you greet them with Joy,
and life emits fragrance like flowers and Scented herbs,
Is more elastic ! More Starry! More immortal !
That is your success!
Writing Habit!
The most powerful habit you can develop is writing every day for 90 minutes.
It helps me think clearly. My morning writing time is a “container” to process whatever is happening in my life. Business, health, relationships, everything—I can only fully understand what’s going on once I’ve distilled it into writing. So my goal is to do some kind of distillation every morning—whether it’s journaling, writing up plans for me & my team, or talking about ideas I’m interested in (that readers would find interesting as well). Another huge upside to writing every day.
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