The Vs. Studio Blog

“You have to believe in yourself, that’s the secret. Even when I was in the orphanage, when I was roaming the streets trying to find enough to eat to keep alive, even then I thought of myself as the greatest actor in the world. I had to feel that exuberance that comes from utter confidence in yourself. Without it you go down to defeat.” -Charlie Chaplin

“Belief carries disproportional energy.” -Rick Rubin

True belief in yourself and your dream is what matters.

Whether it’s “right” or “logical” or “smart” to do so is irrelevant.

“I would turn every minute into an age, nothing would be wasted, every minute would be accounted for.” -Prince Pushkin in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel, The Idiot

In the above passage, the character, Prince Pushkin, faces death at the scaffold, and wonders what he’d do if he had another chance to live. It was actually inspired by a real-life incident in 1849 in which the Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky was sentenced to death for allegedly engaging in anti-government activities inside a radical intellectual circle, named the Petrashevsky Circle. (Members also included Hegel, Kant, and Marx.)

Sentenced to death by firing squad, Dostoevsky and others were lined up and tied to the posts. Guns were raised. Everyone awaited the command to fire…

…But the command never came.

Turns out the Tsar had written an order of reprieve beforehand, and wanted it delivered at the last possible second so as to make a spectacle of the “conspirators.”

Getting a second chance on life, Dostoevsky vowed from then on, to make every minute count.

His death sentence was downgraded to four years in a Siberian work camp. He served those years, and when they were done, Dostoevsky wrote all five of what are now considered his major works and some of the greatest novels of all time: Notes From the Underground, Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Demons, and Brothers Karamazov.

Today and everyday going forward, turn every minute into an age.

“I don’t want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don’t want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed.” -Lloyd Dobler (played by John Cusack) in the film Say Anything

“Via Negativa: In theology and philosophy, the focus on what something is not, an indirect definition. In action, it is a recipe for what to avoid, what not to do — subtraction, not addition…Michelangelo was asked by the pope about the secret of his genius, particularly how he carved the statue of David, largely considered the masterpiece of all masterpieces. His answer was: ‘It’s simple. I just remove everything that is not David.’ -Nassim Nicholas Taleb, book Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder

Sometimes the best way to find out what you want is to know what you don’t want.

Start from the negative.

Make a list of everything you don’t want to do, say or be. All the people, places and things you want to avoid. All that makes you feel unhealthy or unhappy.

Before you know it, you’ll have carved away all the excess marble. And your own masterpiece of a life plan just may emerge.

P.S. – Speaking of masterpieces, this scene.

“Don’t become a wandering generality. Be a meaningful specific.” -Zig Ziglar

“You can do anything. But not everything.” -David Allen

“Think of many things; do only one.” -Portuguese proverb

Unlimited potential is exciting. You’re wide open to all possibilities. You feel like you can do anything.

But at some point, you have to choose a path. Take action. Limit the unlimited. Get specific. And actualize that potential.

Unlimited potential without decision is nothing. Sadly, it becomes wasted potential.

The Tao is infinite, eternal.
Why is it eternal?
It was never born;
thus it can never die.
Why is it infinite?
It has no desires for itself;
thus it is present for all beings. –Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu (Stephen Mitchell translation)

“Sell you cleverness and buy bewilderment.” -Rumi

Decrease your expectation.

Increase your gratitude, enthusiasm and encouragement.

Detach from outcomes. Whatever happens, happens.

Stay open to all possibilities. The Way becomes The Way by you putting one foot in front of the other.

“Darkness within Darkness. The gateway to all understanding.” –Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu (Stephen Mitchell translation)

“You have to carry the fire.”
“I don’t know how to.”
“Yes, you do.”
“Is the fire real? The fire?”
“Yes it is.”
“Where is it? I don’t know where it is.”
“Yes you do. It’s inside you. It always was there. I can see it.” -the Man speaking to his Son in Cormac McCarthy’s novel, The Road

Most of us are stumbling around in darkness.

That’s why it’s vital that when you’re passionate about something or a change you want to make, you gotta make it happen. Ignite the flame. Start your small fire.

We don’t need full brightness.

Just a bunch of small fires spread out everywhere and we can find our way home.

P.S. – Can you guess the movie in the pic above? Hint: it’s a sequel.

“Ambition is when you expect yourself to close the gap between what you have and what you want. 

Entitlement is when you expect others to close the gap between what you have and what you want.” -James Clear

Stop waiting for the tap on the shoulder.

Stop waiting for validation.

Stop waiting for the cavalry to show up.

If you want something, go make it happen.

The cavalry isn’t coming.

YOU are the cavalry.

Go make your art.

Ashes! Ashes!
We all fall down! -nursery rhyme, “Ring Around The Rosie”

“All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.” -Ecclesiastes 3:20

“Christ, cut us up to little pieces. We’ll die for what is right! Put fruit trees where our ashes are!” -Agate Keller in the play “Waiting For Lefty” by Clifford Odets, originally produced by The Group Theatre in 1935

JIMMY
Yeah, maybe Matty’ll get his shit together, that happens in
prison, y’know, maybe he’ll be reborn outta the ashes a this, like the phoenix, y’know the phoenix?
GUS
Yeah, I know the Phoenix, s’a city in Arizona, asshole, so
what?

-excerpt from the play “Gus’s Fashions & Shoes” by Ron Klier, originally produced by Vs. Theatre Company in 2015

Sometimes it’s gotta be decimated. Torn down to the studs. Blow that motherfucker to the ground.

For it is at max pessimism, when all hope is lost, when nothing remains but ashes…that the phoenix rises.

“Writing out your thoughts is how you realize that you do not understand what you are thinking about. Importantly, writing is also the process by which you figure it out. -Shane Parrish

“A good writer doesn’t just think, and then write down what they thought, as a sort of transcript. A good writer will almost always discover new things in the process of writing.” -Paul Graham

“I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops. To put it another way, they’re like dandelions. If you have one on your lawn, it looks pretty and unique. If you fail to root it out, however, you find five the next day… fifty the day after that… and then, my brothers and sisters, your lawn is totally, completely, and profligately covered with dandelions. By then you see them for the weeds they really are, but by then it’s—GASP!!—too late.” -Stephen King, book On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft

Here’s my writing process and let me know if it’s similar to yours…

Enthusiasm! A good idea pops into my head that I want to share.

Frustration. 😦 I sit down to write what was in my head and it doesn’t come out so smooth. “What the hell was I trying to say?” I muck my way through.

Enthusiasm!! I wade through the muck and get to the other side. I go deeper with my original thought. “Hey. This is pretty good.” I set it aside and feel good about my work.

Frustration. 😦 😦 I read it later, the next day, and am depressed. “This sucks.” I am particularly aghast at the amount of adverbs I’ve left in. I set out to excise these dandelions (“Should I remove particularly?…I’m unsure.”) and all the extra words I can. I muck my way through.

Enthusiasm/Frustration. Yeah it’s better, but if I just had more time I could…

…Deadline is here. Read it over one last time and make any edits.

Ship.

(Repeat the process tomorrow.)

P.S. -Speaking of removing adverbs, this Seth Godin post.

“More than intelligence or persistence or connections, curiosity has allowed me to live the life I wanted.” -Brian Grazer, book A Curious Mind

“Passion is the result of a good life design, not the cause.” –Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, book Designing Your Life

“Follow Your Passion” isn’t always the right advice. Especially for a young person.

Most people don’t know what they’re passionate about. Let alone have a passion. Studies including one from William Damon, director of the Stanford Center on Adolescence show that only one in five young people between twelve and twenty-six have a clear vision of where they want to go, what they want to accomplish in life, and why. Other similar studies suggest that 80% of ALL ages don’t really know what they’re passionate about. (These studies are referenced in the excellent book “Design Your Life” by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans.)

Passion comes from doing things. Seeing what you like, what you’re good at, what you’re interested in.

So instead, why not follow your curiosity as author Elizabeth Gilbert suggests below….

I am a big advocate for the pursuit of curiosity. You’ve maybe heard me talk about this before? We are constantly being told to pursue our passions in life, but there are times when passion is a TALL ORDER, and really hard to reach. In seasons of confusion, of loss, of boredom, of insecurity, of distraction, the idea of “passion” can feel completely inaccessible and impossible. In such times, you are lucky to be able to get your laundry done (that sometimes feels as high as you can aim) and when someone tells you to follow your passion, you want to give them the middle finger. (Go ahead and do it, by the way. But wait till their back is turned, out of civility.) 

But curiosity, I have found, is always within reach. 

Passion is a tower of flame, but curiosity is a tiny tap on the shoulder — a little whisper in the ear that says, “Hey, that’s kind of interesting…” 

Passion is rare; curiosity is everyday. 

Curiosity is therefore a lot easier to reach at at times than full-on passion — and the stakes are lower, easier to manage. 

The trick is to just follow your small moments of curiosity. It doesn’t take a massive effort. Just turn your head an inch. Pause for a instant. Respond to what has caught your attention. Look into it a bit. Is there something there for you? A piece of information? 

For me, a lifetime devoted to creativity is nothing but a scavenger hunt — where each successive clue is another tiny little hit of curiosity. Pick each one up, unfold it, see where it leads you next. 

Small steps. 

Keep doing that, and I promise you: The curiosity will eventually lead you to the passion. 

And that’ll be the end of boredom.