Author Archives: thevsstudioblog

“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: ‘I have to go to work — as a human being…’” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations “We do not choose our own parts in life, and have nothing to do with those parts. Our duty is confined to playing them well.” -Epictetus Life isContinue reading “Doing Your Duty”

I have climbed highest mountainsI have run through the fieldsOnly to be with youOnly to be with youI have runI have crawledI have scaled these city wallsThese city wallsOnly to be with youBut I still haven’t found what I’m looking forBut I still haven’t found what I’m looking for -song “I Still Haven’t Found WhatContinue reading “Still Haven’t Found It”

They may not ever know if you tried your best, if your intentions were pure, if you behaved virtuously. Perhaps you got away with it. Or were wrongfully criticized. But you know. And that’s the only thing worth knowing anyway.

If you’re working for a company or organization and at the regular staff meeting the new person shows up and is brave enough to ask questions like “why exactly do we do this?” or “I’m trying to better understand…can you explain this?” or “I’m not sure I’m following…what do we do here?”, etc…honor that curiosityContinue reading “The New Person At The Meeting”

There isn’t some magical moment where you will cross everything off your to-do list, accomplish every one of your goals, reach the highest level of success, etc…and suddenly feel like “I did it. I’ve arrived. I’m good.” The reason? Because all the joy is found in arriving. Not in having arrived. Lean in to andContinue reading “Arriving”

“If we’re looking for purpose and fulfillment we need to carry weight…and creativity is an honorable weight to put on your shoulders. When we feel the hurt and pain of the weight we get to remember that what we chose is hard but it’s worth it. The goal is not to get rid of theContinue reading “Which Weight Will You Carry?”

“A writer – and, I believe, generally all persons – must think that whatever happens to him or her is a resource. All things have been given to us for a purpose, and an artist must feel this more intensely. All that happens to us, including our humiliations, our misfortunes, our embarrassments, all is givenContinue reading “The Clay Of Suffering”

“When they touch down, we’ll blow up the roof, they’ll spend a month sifting through rubble, and by the time they work out what went wrong, we’ll be sitting on a beach, earning twenty percent.” -Hans Gruber, Die Hard I’ve been in this town so longSo long to the cityI’m fit with the stuffTo rideContinue reading “Heroes and Villains”

May the good Lord shine a light on youMake every song your favorite tuneMay the good Lord shine a light on youWarm like the evening sun -song “Shine A Light” by The Rolling Stones One of the great and beautiful things about being a producer is you get to shine a light on projects andContinue reading “Shine A Light”

Either you’re all in. With your whole heart. Or you’re not. There’s just no in-between. Read this phenomenal excerpt from David Whyte’s book, “Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity.” (H/t to Billy Oppenheimer for providing.) After years of loving the work he was doing at an environmental nonprofit, David Whyte startedContinue reading “Your Whole Heart”