The Vs. Studio Blog

“To err is human, to forgive, divine.” -Alexander Pope

“When people injure you, ask yourself what good or harm they thought would come of it. If you understand that, you’ll feel sympathy rather than outrage or anger.” -Marcus Aurelius

“Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” -Hanlon’s Razor

“How much better to heal than seek revenge from injury. Vengeance wastes a lot of time and exposes you to many more injuries than the first that sparked it.” -Seneca

“Misunderstandings and neglect occasion more mischief in the world than even malice and wickedness.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“No one does wrong willingly.” -Socrates

A close friend or family member wronged you. You’re hurt, angry, sad.

Okay.

But do they actually know they wronged you?

There’s a pretty good chance they don’t.

Sometimes, true friendship is about having the courage and vulnerability to let them know they did. And why what they did (or didn’t do) hurt you.

If it’s a relationship you truly care about, then you will.

“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” -Picasso

“We think, ‘I’m good because I obey this commandment, because I do this kind of work, or because I belong to this group.’ That’s the calculus the ego understands. The human psyche, all organizations, and governments need this kind of common-sense structure at some level. But that game has to fall apart, or it will kill us.” -Richard Rohr

Rules are great. At their core, they should help us. Serve us all in the game of life.

When it comes to your art though, while you should absolutely know the rules, study them, and learn everything you can about technique…

…At some point, you must have the courage to drop the rules and be guided by your own intuition and subconscious.

For that’s how the truly great, the sublime, the memorable art gets made.

“My whole life has been nothing more than a continuous struggle against Reaction and the death of art.” -Pablo Picasso

I highly encourage you to read George Bothamley’s recent post on Picasso’s Guernica painting which you can do Here. As well as subscribe to his “Art Every Day” Substack. (I’ve recommended it prior.)

One sublime snippet from it that I thought to share with you…

It comes from some time in the 1940s, during the Second World War – when Picasso was still living in Paris, and would often have to suffer through studio visits from Nazi soldiers or members of the Gestapo.

Essentially, these men had been tasked with rooting out any art / artists that were deemed “not suitable” for their agenda at the time. And, as you can imagine, men like this would often take a strange pleasure in striking a bit of fear into whoever they met – just to make sure they knew who was really in charge here!

So, on one particular visit to Picasso’s studio, an officer actually brought with him a small newspaper clipping, which featured a picture of Picasso’s notorious “Guernica” painting. 

And while locking his eyes on the artist with a stern gaze (obviously hoping to see the famous man in Paris reduced to a cowering wreck)- the officer handed the little clipping to Picasso, saying “Did you do this?”

Picasso glanced briefly at the paper. 

But to the surprise of all who were present that day – the artist did not even flinch.

Instead, he simply looked back at the officer again – pointing to the Nazi flag on the man’s uniform.

And, with an astonishing level of composure, Picasso simply replied:

“No. You did it!”

“Our comforting conviction that the world makes sense rests on a secure foundation: our almost unlimited ability to ignore our ignorance.” -Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow

We’re not as rational as we think.

Just look back on all your past decisions and actions, and the thinking (or lack of it) behind them. Some were good. Some were well…

We’re not always rational. We’re messy. Emotional. We have tons of blindspots and we bungle all kinds of decisions.

That’s okay.

We’re human.

Remember this in your art (aim to be truthful over being “logical”) and in your life (be aware of all your cognitive biases so you can make better decisions).

And read this phenomenal Farnham Street article/interview recap. The eleven takeaways he lists are spot on.

Speaking of meditating and being still, one idea that might help (my good friend Z passed this on to me)…

Picture your monkey mind and anxious thoughts as just foam. To get to the good stuff, to get to the beer, you’ve first got to pour out the foam. So let those thoughts just pour out of you. Don’t resist them. Be thankful for them. Eventually you’ll find your stillness.

And if that fails, go have a Guinness!

“All of humanity’s problems stem from a person’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” -Blaise Pascal

“I have so much to accomplish today that I must meditate for two hours instead of one.” -Mahatma Gandhi

“Be still and know that I am God.” -Psalm 46:10

“Stillness is what aims the archer’s arrow. It inspires new ideas. It sharpens perspective and illuminates connections. It slows the ball down so that we might hit it. It generates a vision, helps us resist the passions of the mob, makes space for gratitude and wonder.” -Ryan Holiday, book Stillness Is The Key

“Do you have the patience to wait
Till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
Till the right action arises by itself?” -Lao tzu, Tao Te Ching (Stephen Mitchell translation)

If you’re trying to be still and meditate and you just can’t because your monkey mind is running all over the place and you have all these anxious and sometimes angry thoughts like “why am I here?”, “this is stupid”, “I’m getting nothing out of this?”, “what am I gonna eat for dinner?”, “why did that person say that to me?” “I wanna do something else with my life”, “what should I do with my life?”, “what is my purpose?”, “this is stupid”, “I don’t have time for this,” “who sits like this and just does nothing?”, “I suck at meditating”, “this isn’t for me”…and you just wanna get up and be done with it…

…That’s good. That’s really good.

It means you’re doing it. You’re in the right spot.

Keep doing it.

Thank your thoughts and keep being still

The clarity you seek will come.

Trust.

Be still.

“There’s no shame in failing. The only shame is not giving things your best shot.” -Robin Williams

“Heads I win, tails I don’t lose much.” -Mohnish Pabrai

You’re right, it might not work.

But it also might work. 

Bigger and better than you ever could have imagined.

It’s 50/50. A coin toss.

You won’t know until you actually flip the coin and try.

So go for it. Flip the coin.

And the really good news?

Either way, heads or tails, it’s a win.

Because the real value is in the attempt.

Go make your art.

P.S. – This scene. So good.

If you sit down to write something after you get an idea (a zig), and as you’re writing it, you hear a little voice telling you to move in “this direction” (a zag)…

…Listen and follow it. It’s your subconscious calling.

Don’t be married to your original idea. Let it go with gratitude.

For it got you to sit down and start writing in the first place.

P.S. – My initial title for this post was “That Little Voice” and then a little voice told me to change it to “Zig, Then Zag. So I listened to it.

“You don’t need more time, you just need to decide.” -Seth Godin

“To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time.” -Leonard Bernstein

(1) The Pareto Principle: 80% of the results you seek will come from 20% of your actions.

(2) Parkinson’s law: Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.

How to apply these two “P’s” towards anything you want to accomplish?…

Figure out the most vital actions. This will take some trial and error at the beginning. But commit to figuring out what those are. (Continuously asking yourself the magic focusing question will help.)

Once you’ve decided, eliminate everything else.

As a result of going through the first “P”, you can now apply the second “P.” Which is really just about having confidence that you can accomplish the vital action in whatever time you have. And do it really well.

Because you can. You really can.

P.S. – H/t to my friend Jeff for the Bernstein quote above.

In the pursuit of your goal or dream, there will be many days you just go through the motions. And when you do, you’ll feel like crap. Like you didn’t do much. You didn’t accomplish anything. You didn’t give your best. You’ll berate yourself. You’ll be tempted to quit your pursuit.

Please don’t.

Keep going.

Just go through the motions. Get through it.

Remind yourself that at least you’re in motion.

Which is far better than where you were before you took on this goal.

Which is at rest. Not going anywhere.