Things to remind myself about

Now I’m trying really hard to slow down. Pay complete attention. Lately I’ve internalized there’s something so sacred about focus, rather than constantly deliberating between monitor screens and plans and side hustles. Depth rather than breadth. In a world that is increasingly accelerating — social media eyeballs and immediate gratification and a... See more

Lack of patience derails more ambitions than a lack of ability — talent gets you noticed; patience gets you through the third draft, the tenth rejection, the year no one claps. In an age drunk on speed, same-day shipping, instant fame, viral everything, we forget that most masterpieces were once mistaken for messes. Genius isn’t a spark; it’s... See more

“People aren't longing to be impressed; they're longing to feel like they're home. If you create a space full of love and character and creativity and soul, they'll take off their shoes and curl up with gratitude and rest, no matter how small, no matter how undone, no matter how odd.” ― Shauna Niequist

My countervailing advice to people trying to understand something is: go slow. Read slowly, think slowly, really spend time pondering the thing. Start by thinking about the question yourself before reading a bunch of stuff about it. A week or a month of continuous pondering about a question will get you surprisingly far.

The thing about patience is that you need to practice deliberately by slowing yourself down, taking a break, and not following the crowd.

By slowing down, you might not get to the finish line first. You might get an average result. But you are also more likely to stay in the game longer because you avoid burning yourself out over the short run.

I worried about the next deadline, the next idea, the next story. There wasn't a moment for the next fourteen or fifteen years that I wasn't writing something in my head, or wondering about it. And I didn't stop and look around and go, this is really fun. I wish I'd enjoyed it more. It's been an amazing ride. But there were parts of the ride I... See more