Rob Tourtelot
@rtourtelot
Rob Tourtelot
Much as working with a piano teacher is not, fundamentally, about learning songs, but about using songs to push yourself; I now think of our projects, not as ends in themselves, but as means to help us improve the underlying process and ourselves. This helps put me in the right frame of mind. I want this essay to turn out well, of course. But the... See more
On limitations that hide in your blindspot
“3 tips for getting started as a writer:
1. Publish on a schedule. Consistency develops ability.
2. Share your writing publicly. Writing is a magnet. It attracts like-minded people.
3. Write about what fascinates you. You don't need to be an expert. Curiosity leads to expertise.”
1. Publish on a schedule. Consistency develops ability.
2. Share your writing publicly. Writing is a magnet. It attracts like-minded people.
3. Write about what fascinates you. You don't need to be an expert. Curiosity leads to expertise.”
James Clear • 3 Ideas, 2 Quotes, 1 Question (January 16, 2020) | James Clear
Question: How can I judge myself less harshly and appreciate myself more?
Ram Dass on self-judgment:
I think that part of it is observing oneself more impersonally. I often use this image, which I think I have used already, but let me say it again. That when you go out into the woods and you look at trees, you see all these different trees. And some... See more
Ram Dass on self-judgment:
I think that part of it is observing oneself more impersonally. I often use this image, which I think I have used already, but let me say it again. That when you go out into the woods and you look at trees, you see all these different trees. And some... See more
No matter how seriously sick one may be, for example, one’s life is still 100% life. Even if we are dying, our life is still 100% life. Even if we are in prison, our life is still 100% life. There is no such thing as a 50% life or a 70% life. Each moment is all of our life.
The Imperfectionist: Living two hours in the future
-Zen priest Shohaku Okamura
“I am in my nightgown for days, not thinking about anyone else. It takes a couple of days just thrashing through the brambles to get to any type of clearing, and it’s very painful. It’s frustrating, you see all your limitations, but a lot of what is happening is the unconscious is just waiting to see if you mean it. I like it once I settle in, but
... See moreWhat’s working, and how can we do more of it?” Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Yet, in the real world, this obvious question is almost never asked. Instead, the question we ask is more problem focused: “What’s broken, and how do we fix it?
Dan Heath • Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
Oftentimes I will load a portion of a story with superfluous information simply to hide the one important bit of information that I need the audience to know but not yet recognize as important. I clutter the landscape so that the audience can’t tell what is important and what is not.
Dan Kennedy • Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling
Yet the fundamental loss remains—it doesn’t just dissipate—and, in a strange way, I think it can become a magnet for other losses. We come to see we are all simply creatures carrying around our ever-deepening loss. Small griefs seem to collect around the bigger primary grief. I think this realization allows us to become a true human being.
Amanda Petrusich • Nick Cave on the Fragility of Life
An enlightened being sees their agony without diminishing its reality. In other words, it doesn’t just turn away from it—but, on the other hand, simultaneously sees everything, including that agony [and] including hell, actually, as bubbles of bliss in an ocean of bliss. That’s the kind of cognitive dissonance that the ordinary mind cannot get... See more