There’s a lot going on in your life. Mine too.
But we don’t have to live every week the same way. Two things that I’m trying:
This leaves very little room for squandered weeks if I’m at all serious about reclaiming those “lost” hours.
Momentum is a concept we’re all familiar with in the context of science, but it has some important personal and professional applications as well.
I’m a creature of habit. Reflecting on the past few years of my life, it’s easy to see how the decisions I make impact what I’m likely to be doing in 6, 12, and 24 months down the line.
This is neither good nor bad, but it’s an important observation.
In order to balance out this trait, I have committed to periodic change and calculated risk. This is most evident when you look at my last three mailing addresses (two different states, two different countries). Getting out of my comfort zone and routine helps keep me sharp.
Many of us spend the best years of our lives making other people rich. That’s the reality of the working world. And while many make up from the madness and disengage from the Matrix through freelancing and entrepreneurship and passion projects, it’s common to see people actually creating jobs (that feel like coffins) for themselves instead of the freedom businesses that they once envisioned.
As I caution many aspiring job-quitters, quitting is the easy part. Perhaps not emotionally (that’s the hardest part), but certainly in execution.
But then what?
Instead of working with management to help turn an unfulfilling role into an important and valuable one, some jump ship without a second thought. When you’re young and single and smart and ambitious and have 6 months of savings in the bank, you can “afford” to do things like that. I’m all for sticking it to the man. Really.
But in my 29 months of being in the real world, I’ve seen enough to understand the importance of planning, timing, and strategy. This doesn’t mean that I’m opposed to taking flight, of course. As a matter of fact, a measured approach sometimes entails making even riskier moves (with outsized rewards).
But I’m very careful about the story I tell and the flames I fan with my story. Doing what matters is important, but so is rent. And finding an excuse to buy the next iPhone.
Maybe I’m getting old.
I moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina almost two months ago.
I don’t know Spanish, so learning it has been a goal of mine, despite being able to get along here with a remarkably small amount of it at your disposal. I’m passionate about the written and spoken word, so it’s been a fascinating and gratifying adventure.
The adventure hasn’t unfolded in the way that I expected, though. Instead of just learning Spanish, I’ve been learning about accents, dialects, the peculiarities of the language, and the language (vocabulary, for example) itself.
It’s natural to want to learn how you say certain phrases in Spanish and think that you can call it a day, but I’m seeing that this will lead to a very poor mastery of the language.
Put another way, I’m not able to “trade” my English words and phrases for Spanish ones.
After so many of my questions were met with, “it doesn’t work like that in Spanish” (paraphrased), I started thinking more deeply about what I was missing. I also started to “relax” and get a feel for the texture and idiosyncrasies.
With enough of the right practice and simply noticing things, I’m able to teach myself a bit of Spanish along the way because of the mental framework that I’m developing. I’m now able to — very quickly — determine that someone didn’t learn Spanish in Argentina by how they say certain words.
It’s similar to how you’d pick up on a midwest accent or if someone is a non-native English speaker.
The whole experience is pushing me to reconsider how I approach the unknown, and how my existing mental models can both help and hinder the gaining of new knowledge.
As with many things of this sort, there’s no cute bullet list (despite my love for them) that I can pass along to help, you just have to [::motions with hands::] feel your way through it and learn from your mistakes.
That’s my approach, anyway.
Saludos!
I recently made the following changes to my schedule:
I think I’m onto something, and I’ve noticed the following results:
Constant course correction seems to be the name of the game.
Also, these banana muffins I’ve been on lately.
Amazing.
My friend Chris proposed a writing challenge this afternoon, and I accepted.
I won’t tell you what’s at stake (not because it’s interesting or scandalous, or involves breaking the law or public nudity, but rather because secrets are fun), but I will tell you that I’m back (and alive, as it turns out).
I’ve got a lot to tell you.
Chat soon.
My friends Shelah and Shamilia are both using their art and passions to bring healing to communities in Haiti and Rwanda (respectively).
This August, I will be facilitating a month-long Sustainable Theater workshop for the youth served by T.E.N. Global‘s community center in rural San Rafael, Haiti. By the end of the workshop students will:
- Understand the traditional playwriting structure
- Learn how to compose and edit original material
- Be able to transfer original writing into performance
- Have a published original play script
With this workshop, I hope to do three things:
- Provide an alternative paradigm for education and learning
- Validate the participants’ creative spirit
- Incorporate the students’ published work into the body of contemporary theater
Your donation will help bring this project to life and facilitate much-needed healing through art practices. I’ll be keeping very close track of everything I’m doing on my blog so you can see exactly how the work progresses.
Visit Shelah’s IndieGogo Campaign Page →
So you may or may not know, I’m working on a masters degree that lets me meld my passions for theatre, community and social change in the field of Applied Theatre.
I’ve been learning so much and now I have the chance to actually -do- the work where it counts!Enter: Project Rwanda, an exchange between my Masters program and the Kigali Institute of Education (KIE). They’ve invited us to share Applied Theatre methods with Rwanda’s teachers in training to be used in classrooms across the country for post genocide reconciliation.
Visit Shamilia’s IndieGogo Campaign Page →
I couldn’t be any more biased in promoting these projects (I’m incredibly proud of my friends), but this is my blog so I can do it unapologetically.
So if the projects resonate with you, please spread the world.
And donate if you’re inclined. Thanks.
It has become customary for people to solicit feedback on ideas with “thoughts?” but I find it to be a bit lazy, obnoxious, and ineffective at times.
I realize that Tweets sometimes require statements to be truncated, but I don’t believe the same limitations exist in many other places…
My grouchiness on the topic aside, the best way to get an unhelpful answer is by not asking a specific question. Asking a the right question puts you halfway to the answer that you seek.
I’ve lived in Harlem for more than a year now, and I enjoy it quite a bit.
It’s a neighborhood rich with history and culture, and it’s in the middle of what many are calling the “Second Renaissance”. Next Tuesday, TEDxHarlem comes to the historic Apollo Theater.
Get ready for a day-long conference that seeks to understand, celebrate and empower the informal methods of social innovation that grow organically in Harlem and throughout communities around the world. The conference day is broken out into four movements designed to explore the newest ideas in innovation and expose you to concepts and dialogue that are exciting, engaging and inspirational.
Tickets can be purchased here.
How long does it take you to get your head back in the game?
In the same way that top athletes maintain focus when competing by not allowing bad plays or incidents to derail them mentally and emotionally, you must resolve to let your failures from the past (even from yesterday) to remain in the past.
You do your tribe and your art a disservice by beating yourself and preventing your own progress.
Shake it off, you’re late.
You have to teach people how to treat you. This is done in a few different ways:
It’s easy to apply this to situations in the workplace and relationships with others, but it’s equally true in dealing with customers and mechanics and even strangers.
Does this mean you need to walk around with a chip on your shoulder or on alert for the moment you’re disrespected? Of course not. On the contrary, I think a large part of the proper perspective involves ignoring things that others might get upset over.
Once you reach the point where you’re focused on your art and goals and making progress, it’s easy to determine what’s a distraction and what’s worth fighting for.