76. Loving work desires

I’ve been thinking about what is it to work distinctively, to participate differently, and to cooperate uncommonly.

I think we’ve been fed this lie that it can be achievable through the outlandish things; burning the midnight oil, shouting from the rooftops and striking it lucky. But I think it can be much simpler than that.

I’ve come to believe it’s the small & quiet considerations of the heart that truly matter.

When no one is looking; how do you act, what do you think about, who do you strive to be?

It is the difference between the selfish and the selfless. The ability to love so much that you commit yourself to your calling whether that be lived ours in wealth, fame, ‘success’ or complete condemnation.

The outcome cannot be the motivation.

‘And what is it to work with love? It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit’ - Khalil Gibran

Vincent Van Gogh, arguably my biggest creative inspiration often talked of his struggle and hardship from external factors, all this occurred but he never gave up.

Between 1889 and 1890 he was in a mental asylum, forgotten by the world, and scrutinised. Yet, he created 150 paintings- many we know now as world-famous.

Delving into his stance on being distinctive in loving through work I think it’s pretty clear that we see, through all odds, we need to take action.

“What would life be like if we had no courage to attempt anything”- Vincent Van Gogh

Comparing this to the ‘hustle culture’. You could argue that surely the two are aligned. Work hard + create lots. But the problem with this is, ‘what is the meaning?’.

Selfish ambition and the futile plight for wealth is meaningless. We can see this with anyone of great wealth, material success, or fame- they hate it.

Only through love and accepting a deeper calling will true satisfaction arise. Consequently, this will materialise in an ability to not be so controlled by external opinions and validation- you simply are content as you know what you are doing is right.

"I hope everybody could get rich and famous and will have everything they ever dreamed of, so they will know that its not the answer" - Jim Carrey

The new mindset I have had is that I may never ‘succeed’ in this world but I am still enough in my striving.

External outcomes can be replaced by delving deep into my practice and loving thoughtfully through my work.

The real difference can be made in looking beyond just the simple desires we are told to accept. I now strive to simply turn up to my calling each day rather than the easy chase for money.

What are you going after?

75. Go for first

or don’t try at all.

When you look at pieces in a collection of art, athletes in a race, or businesses in a certain sector- there is very little that separates first from last.

Maybe it is just a colour that draws you in, someone a second quicker than the competition, or a few more clients acquired. Whatever it may be, it usually is only a small thing that can seemingly be the thing to elevate one above another in a group.

This means two things:

1) Becoming good is easy

2) Becoming the best is hard

So if this is the case why do you need to lose blood, sweat, and tears over the marginal improvements? Surely you can just be an adequate artist, athlete, or business person?

The honest answer is… well yes, you can be adequate, you can be mediocre, but do you want to?

You must recognise that being first is 100x better than being second.

Who was the second person ever to land on the moon? Who was the second-fastest person in the world? Who was the second person to climb Everest?

The answer? (Unless you hold specific knowledge in that area) You don’t know.

‘Excellence transcends any medium, sector, or geography’

The requirement you have for marketing disappears, the constant second-guessing you receive disappears, the lack of trust from others disappears.

When you are the best- you hold authority and your word carries weight.

But you may be wondering whether becoming the best is even possible?

The answer is yes.

As stated earlier; the difference between the first and last place is very small- therefore easy to get in the top group.

So, to start with, aim to be amongst those good at what you do. Like anything, you will have a massive surge in progress but then plateau- this exposes whether you really want it, so embrace this hardship.

Here you must choose to stick at it or stop- remembering the fact that you will instantly be amongst the top 10% if you continue.

All you have to do is simply stay consistent, it’s not complex, it’s not tricky. And as you are going to do something every day why would you want to be mediocre?

Use the snowball effect of momentum to spur you on.

Seeing improvement (however small) can breed motivation to sustain continuous consistency in practice.

“Ninety percent of success can be boiled down to consistently doing the obvious thing for an uncommonly long period of time without convincing yourself that you’re smarter than you are” - Shane Parrish

So what you can do is:

1. Choose a craft, and

2. stick to it.

3. Remember that being first is so much better than second and, therefore, you

4. don’t settle for mediocrity.

Within no time you will be amongst the top group from simply staying consistent. So why not at least try and reap the benefits of being the best- or what’s the point?

74. There’s no such thing as ‘writer’s block’

instead, there is fear of failure.

You know what you have to work on, but it’s not ‘good enough’.

You have an idea, but others might not like it.

You think it’s good, but everyone else will hate it.

The solution isn’t to wait for some fairy to magically make you better and then you begin working.

Like all things, you get better with practice and feedback.

So you must start before you feel like you’re ‘ready’.

“The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing”- Seth Godin

Simply commit to putting out the work and three things will happen:

1) You’ll expose your intentions

2) You’ll realise imperfection isn’t fatal

3) You’ll get better

The reality is that it doesn’t get any easier rather you understand that the muse is created.

You practically do this by picking up the pen and writing, by getting your brush and painting, by putting on your trainers and getting out the door.

When failure is not to be feared you have complete freedom- that is where the magic begins.