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    #90 Envision, want, choose

    First I envision a future me. Who do I want to be?

    Then every single day, every single moment, I choose to take actions that turn me into that person I want to be.

    If I don’t consciously choose my actions in the present moment that contribute to my vision, and I’m led by old unconscious patterns, beliefs, and habits instead, my visions will remain imaginary.

    And if I never take the time to envision who I want to be, how do I know which actions to choose?

    First envision what you want. Then choose to make it happen.

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    #108 The Unexpected Complement

    Unique value often lies in seemingly strange combinations.

    The beekeeping lawyer.

    The pro soccer player with an astrophysics degree.

    The theologist waking up early every morning to go surfing.

    The public servant spending their evenings performing at the local stand-up comedy bar.

    The motorcycle repair shop owner writing philosophy books.

    The chess champion with a Brazilian Ju-Jitsu black belt.

    Societal pressure and expectations make such combinations unlikely. Out of the ordinary. Maybe even undesirable: an obstacle to conformity.

    And if it’s undesirable, it becomes rare.

    And here’s the twist: what’s rare usually becomes valuable.

    Because there’s nothing incompatible about these combinations – in fact, the skills you practice may well complement each other in unique and valuable ways.

    What could be an unexpected complement for your life?

    Something you’re secretly interested in, but – according to society – doesn’t fit who you are (or who you’re supposed to be)?

  • #345 Why being good isn’t relevant

    People can think you’re not good at writing, and you can still write – and love it.

    You can think you’re not good at writing, and you can still write – and love it.

    You can think you’ll never be good at writing, and you can still write – and love it.

    Because whether you’re good at something or not is nowhere nearly as relevant as how fulfilled it makes you feel.

  • #9 Admiring early work

    Admiring (flawed) early work is easy when we already know the late work is going to be great.

    Everyone forgives Picasso or Da Vinci for a lousy early sketch. In fact, people pay good money to hang one in their living room.

    Maybe the early work, showing that even the greats are mere mortals on a journey towards excellence, is the most valuable?

    And yet, it’s much harder to be gentle on a beginning artist for shipping mediocre creative work – not in the least for the beginning artist themselves – when their path to excellence hasn’t unfolded yet.

    After all, something that one day will be “my early work” is still “my current best work” today.

    The road to excellence is invisible from the trenches.

    But that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

    Which makes me wonder…

    When I know that through persistence and daily practice, one day, I’ll look back on today’s creation, smiling, thinking: “Oh how far I’ve come… How much I’ve learned… And some of this was actually pretty good…”

    Can I admire my creative work less for what it looks, feels, or sounds like, and more for who I’m becoming through making it?

    Can I do the same for the creative projects of others?

    With that mindset… How much easier and forgiving would the daily creative journey be?

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