The Vs. Studio Blog

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 you will find strength.” -Marcus Aurelius

(1) Wake up early.

(2) Always be on time. Better yet, always be early.

(3) Stop complaining.

(4) Stop taking things personally.

(5) Focus on effort, not results. Trust the process.

(6) Be strict with yourself and tolerant of others.

(7) Go for long walks. Preferable with a friend and in nature.

(8) Stop comparing yourself to others.

(9) Focus on the essential. Eliminate the rest.

(10) Don’t suffer imagined troubles.

(11) Carpe Diem

(12) Memento Mori.

P.S. – H/t to Ryan Holiday and his Daily Stoic for inspiring several of these.

“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 of your own.” -Louisa May Alcott

“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

Once you know what it is you want to do, the challenge is then seeing it through all the way to the end.

How long will that be?

Well, that depends on the medium and what it is you’re shooting for. It takes what it takes.

The talent is in the patience. Don’t give up. See it all the way through. You’ll be so glad you did.

“More weight.” -Giles Corey from Arthur Miller’s The Crucible

Are you just too old or too young to carry?
Time stands in a duel and I stand for you
Are you just too old or too young to carry?
Time stands in a duel and I stand for you

Now lean and use your weight
That’s what a shoulder’s made for -lyrics from the song “Time Stands” by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats

“I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders.” -Atlas responding to Zeus

Boy, you’re gonna carry that weight
Carry that weight a long time
Boy, you’re gonna carry that weight
Carry that weight a long time -lyrics from the song “Carry That Weight” by The Beatles

When you get weighed down by life, sometimes all you can do is just carry that weight. Day by day. One day at a time. Carry that weight.

And if you’re fortunate not to be bogged down by the weight of life, then look around and see who is. And offer to help them carry that weight.

“Outcomes follow energy.” -Sahil Bloom

Looking for a simple, yet extremely fulfilling goal for 2026?…

Spend more time doing things you like and hanging out with people you like.

If you don’t know who and what those things are, then spend time each day figuring it out. Your energy level and feelings will be your guide.

P.S. – This energy tracking calendar.

When things are rocky and you’re going through a very uncertain time, it’s tempting to search desperately for certainty. And the more you try, the more it eludes your grasp and the more upset you get.

Instead, try flowing with uncertainty.

One day at a time my friend.

“Optimism is the belief that the future will be better, hope is the belief that we have the power to make it so.” -Chad Hellman

“To cultivate hope, people need three things: They first need to be able to envision a better future, either personally or collectively. Second, they need the willpower or motivation to move toward that future. And third, they must be able to chart a path from where they are to where they want to be.”

“It is hope that gives life meaning. And hope is based on the prospect of being able one day to turn the actual world into a possible one that looks better.” -Francois Jacob

“Hope” is the thing with feathers
by Emily Dickinson

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –

And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –
And sore must be the storm –
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm –

I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.

Wanna cultivate more hope?

First, believe you can make a difference in the world. Then, take continuous action to support and substantiate that belief.

Hope leads to action which leads to progress which leads to more hope. It’s a beautiful, virtuous cycle.

P.S. – This NYT article on Hope.

“Only the unsatisfied do things. The satisfied do nothing. Unsatisfaction is the stimulus to achievement. Satisfaction is destruction and leads down to the chamber of death.” -Jack London

if you’re feeling unsatisfied, but you actually do something productive with that feeling, then it’s a gift.

If you’re feeling unsatisfied, but you do nothing with that feeling other than whine and complain about it, then it’s still a gift. You just chose not to accept the gift.

Do something. Anything. Make it happen. This is the year.

Go make your art.

“Success is peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you’re capable.” -John Wooden

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” -John 14:27

“The ultimate source of my mental happiness is my peace of mind. Nothing can destroy this except my own anger.” -Dalia Lhama

Stop thinking, and end your problems.
What difference between yes and no?
What difference between success and failure?
Must you value what others value,
avoid what others avoid?
How ridiculous! –Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (Stephen Mitchell translation)

“After enlightenment one is still the same as one was before. One is simply free from unreality and delusion. The ordinary person’s mind is the same as the sage’s, because Original Mind is perfect and complete in itself. After you have had this recognition, please don’t lose it.” -Pai Chang

If you’re trying to cut through all the numerous hopes and dreams and resolutions you might have and just come up with one single goal for 2026, then here’s one for you:

Peace of mind.

What’s great about this one is that it’s not dependent on circumstance or things going your way.

It’s entirely within your control. You can have it anytime.

And when you do, you wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world.

P.S. – This song.

“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response…Everything can be taken from a person but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” -Viktor Frankl

There is a Buddhist proverb that goes something like this:

The Buddha once asked his student, “If a person is struck by an arrow, is it painful?”

The student nodded, yes.

The Buddha then asked, “If a person is struck by a second arrow, is that even more painful?”

The student again nodded, yes.

The Buddha then explained, “In life, we cannot always control the first arrow. However, the second arrow is our reaction to the first. The second arrow is optional.”

The first arrow is impossible to avoid. As long as we’re alive and walking this earth, we can expect some pain and suffering to enter our lives. Some arrows will come our way and pierce us and it will f-ing hurt.

The second arrow, however is entirely up to us. It reflects our beliefs and thoughts about the injury. We believe we didn’t deserve it. We wish we didn’t get struck by it. We wonder why it ever happened in the first place. We fear another arrow will come our way.

Don’t compound the first arrow with a second arrow. Instead, take a pause, reset and then when you’re ready, choose an empowered response. Lean into your resiliency. You will overcome this arrow and come out that much stronger.

That’s a wrap on 2025 folks. Thank you for reading, for commenting and for sharing. I hope this blog has brought you a little bit of joy and inspiration on your artistic and overall journey through life. May 2026 bring you much love, good health, happiness and creative fulfillment. I’m rooting for you!

Go make your art.