Author Archives: thevsstudioblog

A great essay persuades. Makes us re-think our convictions. Often motivates us to act. Emerson’s “Self Reliance” comes to mind. A great, personal essay does all this through the author’s observational lens and firsthand experience navigating the world. It engenders empathy which is the first step towards making any kind of lasting change. Both forContinue reading “The Personal Essay”

“You find out when you reach the top, you’re on the bottom.” – Bob Dylan Joseph Campbell said that the greatest tragedy in life is not so much failure, but climbing the ladder of success and finding that it was up against the wrong wall. The reason it’s so important to take time to figureContinue reading “Which Wall?”

Two of our most precious assets. Finite. No matter what we do, we can’t get more. Everyone is vying for them. Now more than ever. Guard them with your life. P.S. – This is my 150th blog post. Thank you for reading. I promise to continue doing my best. To continue earning your time andContinue reading “Time And Attention”

The first image is Van Gogh’s, “Wheat Field, with Cypresses.” It’s one of the most famous and expensive paintings (over $100 million adjusted for inflation) of all time. The second is a stock photo I found when googling “wheat fields with cypress trees.” It sells for $19.99. Both are beautiful. Both have value. Both engageContinue reading “Wheat Field With Cypresses”

“‘The Only True Wisdom Consists In Knowing That You Know Nothing.’” “That’s Us, Dude!” “The Best Time To Be Is Now, And All’s We Can Say Is…Let’s Rock!” “All We Are Is Dust In The Wind, Dude.” “Be Excellent To Each Other.” “San Dimas High School Football Rules!“

“The Art Of Fielding” by Chad Harbach is one of my favorite novels of the last decade. It’s about a college baseball star, Henry Skrimshander, whose life is upended when he makes one bad throw. Henry spends the majority of the novel wrestling with his own self doubt and trying to recapture the person andContinue reading “We All Want To Be Pushed”

How would you complete the sentence? …A Game. …A Test. …Fun. …Meaningless. …Precious. …Hard. And Then You Die. …Suffering. …Magical. …A Constant Chance To Help Others. …Short. Might As Well Make The Most Of It. …A Box Of Chocolates. You Never Know What You Get. …Whatever You Make Of It. As Viktor Frankl advises, ourContinue reading “Life Is…”

I once had a conversation with a successful independent film director…He was always curious about the theater and had flirted on and off with writing and directing a play. I asked him why he hadn’t done it yet. He said he just couldn’t justify all that time and effort going into an ephemeral art form.Continue reading “Here Today. But Not Gone Tomorrow”

We all walk around with a story in our heads. Sonder helps us remember that. We all want to hear and tell stories. It’s in our DNA. Art enables us to do that and have empathy for others. Culture is the collective story we’ve all consciously and unconsciously agreed to. To change the culture, weContinue reading “Story And Culture”

There’s an exchange towards the end of “Top Gun” where Stinger, played by one of my all-time favorite 80’s character actors, James Tolkan, asks how long until he can launch another fighter with Willard and Simkin aboard. They’re needed to assist Maverick and Iceman (Gotta love those pilot names!) who are engaged in a dogfightContinue reading “Top Gun Wisdom”