SIX at 6: The Boiler Room, 20 Years of Not Writing, Nightmares of Failure, Expectations of Success, Chair Upholstery, and The Delusion of Perfection - Billy Oppenheimer
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SIX at 6: The Boiler Room, 20 Years of Not Writing, Nightmares of Failure, Expectations of Success, Chair Upholstery, and The Delusion of Perfection - Billy Oppenheimer
The mental states where new ideas can be born are hard to open up. And they are continually collapsing. The things you have to do to keep them from caving in will make people frown upon you—your tendency for isolation, working deep in the night, breaking norms. The zone is a place at the margin of society. But strangely enough, this fragile margin ... See more
Cultivating a State of Mind Where New Ideas Are Born
Ride the Cycle/Retreat to the Cave If you have ADHD, the cycle of disruption never entirely disappears. Just because you get your life crystalized and organized doesn’t mean the cycle has permanently ended. That’s not how a cycle works. Instead, it spins through its highs and lows and eventually comes back to a place of equilibrium. Remember this w
... See moreJames M. Ochoa • Focused Forward
These pre-dawn hours are my core work. On the days when I don’t go into the art gallery, I usually write for another few hours during the day. But that feels more like preparing the ground for the morning. It is the morning hours that keep me inside the work. There is something hermetic and sealed off about the pre-dawn hours that appeals to me—the
... See moreWhatever else happens, stay busy. (I always lean on this wise advice, from the seventeenth-century English scholar Robert Burton, on how to survive melancholy: “Be not solitary, be not idle.”) Find something to do—anything, even a different sort of creative work altogether—just to take your mind off your anxiety and pressure. Once, when I was strug
... See moreElizabeth Gilbert • Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
"I split problems into two groups: muddy puddles and leaky ceilings.
Some problems are like muddy puddles. The way to clear a muddy puddle is to leave it alone. The more you mess with it, the muddier it becomes. Many of the problems I dream up when I'm overthinking or worrying or ruminating fall into this category. Is life really falling apart or a... See more
Some problems are like muddy puddles. The way to clear a muddy puddle is to leave it alone. The more you mess with it, the muddier it becomes. Many of the problems I dream up when I'm overthinking or worrying or ruminating fall into this category. Is life really falling apart or a... See more
3-2-1: On muddy puddles and leaky ceilings, the secret to productivity, and how to spoil a great relationship
Creative work is hard. And we constantly beat ourselves up for not producing high quantities of high-quality stuff. It’s easy to forget that we’re trying to make this work at a time when we’re oversaturated with connections, and constant, flashing demands. Boring old boundaries have never been more vital. Going into the cave will feel a little cold... See more
The ease of technology has given us unrealistic expectations for our real lives. And in real life, someone or something will always come knocking on your door. You can let it drive you absolutely mad, or you can fling the door open and tell them how happy you are to see them.
By all means, do your work and decorate your room. You’ve been afforded t... See more
By all means, do your work and decorate your room. You’ve been afforded t... See more