Author Archives: thevsstudioblog

I used to be such a sweet, sweet thing‘Til they got a hold of meI opened doors for little old ladiesI helped the blind to seeNo more Mr. Nice GuyNo more Mr. CleanNo more Mr. Nice Guy -lyrics from the song “No More Mr. Nice Guy” by Alice CooperI If you suddenly feel like, “OkayContinue reading “No More Mr. Nice Guy”

“It was rare for him, this kind of clarity. But here was a way to evaluate existence. Measure its success by the extent to which you have loved and been loved.”— A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst “A smile and a handshake are, in the finalContinue reading “A Love Scorecard”

“When I was young, I thought that nervousness and fear would disappear over time. But I realized that not only does it not disappear, it gets even worse. The only thing that changed is, now I accept it. I know it’s going to be there. I know how to deal with it. Now, with experience,Continue reading “Stop Trying To Eliminate The Nerves”

“When we’re daunted at the outset of a change, there is some comfort in knowing that the person who will undergo the full experience will be different from the person we are in this very moment. We will become new people on the other side of change, in ways we are capable of shaping.” -MayaContinue reading “Embracing Uncertainty”

“We are story-processing creatures, and the most effective stories are often embodied in people. Living examples of the lesson we’re trying to learn and the posture we hope to model…This is what saints do for us. This is why we put pictures on the wall or invoke the memories of the people who came beforeContinue reading “Heroes On The Wall”

“When you drink water from a cup, it becomes part of you. When water falls on you like rain, it evaporates a few minutes later.​Similarly, thoughts can be consumed or dismissed. Is this thought nourishing? Is this feeling something you should drink? Or is it more like getting caught in the rain?​You’ll always feel theContinue reading “Rainy Thoughts”

Some people, hoping to avoid responsibility, insist that they don’t have great power. That’s a choice, but it might undermine what we’re capable of…Agency and freedom go together. We have more choices than we want to admit. When Ahab decided to become a whaling captain, everything that happened after that was related to his initialContinue reading “Own It”

If you really feel the need and urgency to go out and prove something, then instead of trying to prove it to the world or other people, why not just prove it to yourself. That’s all that matters anyway.

“Don’t seek for everything to happen as you wish it would, but rather wish that everything happens as it actually will. Then your life will flow well. -Epictetus “A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a [person] perfected without trials.” -Seneca “You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this and youContinue reading “2026 (and beyond) Stoic Resolutions”

“Genius is infinite patience.” -Michelangelo “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” -Albert Einstein “Write, and print if you can; if not, still write, and improve as you go on…Work for twenty years, and then you will some day find that you have a style and place ofContinue reading “See It All The Way Through”