reminders to trust the process

you got this

The mathematical genius Alexander Grothendieck once had a metaphor for solving problems. He suggested that instead of forcing open an impossibly hard kernel with a hammer and chisel, one should simply let it sit in water and wait. Over time, the shell softens and opens with ease. This is also true in writing; time is the only non-substitutable... See more

Epiphanies Come From Waiting

George Leonard on how mastery is nothing but a series of plateaus with brief spurts of progress:

“The most important lessons here — especially for young people — is that even if you’re shooting for the stars, you’re going to spend most of your time on a plateau. That’s where the deepest, most lasting learning takes place, so you might as well enjoy... See more

a lot of times ideas and projects are formed out of a more ambient kind of thinking and talking and doing. Research is not always this thing of sitting down and concentratedly looking through archives or something.

An Interview with Spencer Chang | Are.na Editorial

the real success goes to those who obsess

If I look at things that have turned out well in my life (my marriage, some of my essays, my current career) the “design process” has been the same in each case. It has been what Christopher Alexander called an unfolding .1 Put simply:

I paid attention to things I liked to do, and found ways to do more of that. I made it easy for interesting people

Henrik Karlsson • Everything That Turned Out Well in My Life Followed the Same Design Process

i LOVE this concept of ‘unfolding’

“There is no such thing as a quantum leap. There is only dogged persistence – and in the end, you make it look like a quantum leap.”

James Dyson

Slowly is the fastest way to get where you want to be

From ‘The Dip’ by Seth Godin

Poet Marianne Moore offers a simple life strategy: "I've made it a principle not to be over-influenced by minor disappointments."