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To the audiences

by MAÔ, posted in Advice

Everything we do has the quality of being received by an audience. Each product we ship, or piece of art we create; the conversations we have, and even those silent moments we experience, where it is ourself that receives the message. In every moment we transmit with an expectation of reception.

It’s unfortunately so simple to send a signal that was not intended, or to mix the message up completely. Most experts suggest that communication is equal parts message and medium, and that effective communication takes into account both, on the part of giver and receiver.

So when the message is the most important thing to get across, take the time to make sure it’s being received correctly. A little forethought can save a great deal of stress later.

Why not?

by MAÔ, posted in Writing

The key to all creative thinking is to ask, “Why not?” The most innovative thinkers don’t view the world as it is, but as it might be. And while there are many blocks that prevent us from looking in such a way as to imagine new possibilities, the potential is there all the same.

When investigating a problem, don’t assume something won’t work just because it hasn’t been tried before. Remember to ask, “Why not?”

 

Defend your schedule

by MAÔ, posted in Organization

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time.”

— Annie Dillard, The Writing Life

We all have a list of things that we want to accomplish. And probably a bigger list of things that require our attention. And, if we’re honest, an even longer list of items that others need from us.

When we make time, we take time from other items that could be consuming our attention. The economic principle of opportunity costs. What we are giving up.

Remember: The most successful people are generally those who eliminate the unnecessary from their lives.

Jeopardy!

by MAÔ, posted in Social

Watched the Greatest of All Time competition over the last two weeks – Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter, and James Holzhauer competing for $1,000,000. Which made me wonder about trivia challenges and the like.

I’ve liked trivial knowledge for most of my life. Reading a lot made that easy, and I seem to retain many facts, though admittedly some are easier to recall than others. (I have trouble recalling dates and years, and geography isn’t something I’m strong at.)

But who wins trivia challenges? In this Salon article, we’re told Jeopardy! isn’t about IQ. At least, not all of it. It’s a game show, so we’re relying on television drama and a buzzer that Ken Jennings called “a cruel mistress.”

But all the contestants know facts. Many may even know most of the answers. So where does IQ come in? Looking up the intelligent quotient, it’s “a number used to express the apparent relative intelligence of a person,” and from the Mensa website: “…it is an indication of how well one performs on mental tests compared to one’s contemporaries.”

If the average IQ is 100, and Mensa takes those of 132 or higher, where do trivia buffs fall on the scale? All over the place! According to Adam Holquist, contestants are split between “normal people” and super-performers. And on Vox, there’s a case to be made for the individual IQ score not really being predictive of performance.

So, yes, trivia buffs know a lot. But there are plenty of people who don’t play trivia games that know a lot too. And we all know a lot about something, even if no one is asking questions about those topics.

For a bit of fun, there’s a Twitter roast between the contestants from the GOAT shows highlighted on the Woman’s Day site.

There are no re-dos in life

by MAÔ, posted in Advice

But there are reinventions.

We can’t go back and change how we reacted to a situation. Or make a different decision when the opportunity arose. Or bobbed when we should have weaved, etc.

So maybe we kick ourselves, reliving that moment over and over again. “If only I’d done it this way,” or “that way.”

Whatever the case may be, we cannot undo it. We don’t get another shot at that moment. It’s gone.

What we do have is the here and now. And at this moment, we can reframe our understanding of the past. Instead of kicking ourselves for missed opportunities, or shoddy decision-making, we can reinvent that moment as a time of learning.

We learned how we don’t want to react. That same situation will likely never come around. Similar situations will. And when they do arise, we’ll have a better idea of how we want to respond. We’ll be able to move forward, rather than dwell in the past.

Weekly Roundup

by MAÔ, posted in Social

Hello again, campers! Ready for your campfire tales? No? Not really?

I finished listening to the Camp Red Moon short anthology, and it took me a while to recognize the voice in the second story. Kevin T. Collins, who’s performed the audiobooks to the Sam Capra series by Jeff Abbot. Speaking of, it’s about time for another installment in that series.

Anyway, here’s what’s on my plate this week.

Reading: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed. Just getting started, and I haven’t seen the movie either, but I recognize the desire to travel, isolate, and found yourself. A lot of my library seems geared towards those sentiments, even if they all haven’t been read yet. A 26-year-old, reeling from tragedy, decides to make the 1100-mile solo hike.

Listening: You Learn from the Alanis Morrissette jukebox musical Jagged Little Pill. I had this in the nineties (it’s probably still floating around my cd collection somewhere). This ensemble number is really touching, and I enjoy it a lot.

Doing: Goal setting. I’ve been using a couple of resources – Designing Your Life, Tony Robbins, Seth Godin, & Tim Ferris. Before I start making cuts to some of my projects and interests, I want to make sure I’m doing it for the right reason. So having those goals set are important.

Sharing:

How to decide what’s important

by MAÔ, posted in Pathfinding

I’ve been asked many times, in many different ways, when will I find what I’m looking for? I’m asked this because I’ve jumped from job to job, picking up gigs along the way. I’ve traveled overseas and down south. I’ve acquired a couple of degrees (along with some debt), and I’m still looking at getting my Ph.D.

I have a half-dozen or so irons in the fire, so to speak. There’s a radio program I put together; some film & video work I still do; this blog; three gigs right now, which I’ll have reduced to one for the summer; and a couple of creative projects in the pipeline.

And I know it’s too much.

In one of the Weekly Roundups, I mentioned this blog post on working Smarter, Not Harder. I’ve taken some of the advice I gleaned from the posting, including trying to flesh out my goals. These are have proven enormously elusive to me, at least over the past four years.

I’ve seen what can happen when you have a singular focus and move methodically towards the goal. I’ve experienced it, and I know it works. Only when it happened, it wasn’t how I’d imagined it, and I now select goals with a bit more reluctance.

So as I take my time to list out my goals, for the short-term and the long-term, I think it’s important to (as I often say) be mindful and honest about what it is you’re searching for – what it is you want in life.

Once that’s done, the next step will be pulling the top three to focus on, which may yet be more of a challenge.

Catching up

by MAÔ, posted in Writing

Again I have some posts sitting in Drafts that need some TLC before I push the Publish button. But I wanted to take a minute and reflect on how the creative process works for me.

I usually walk around every day with a pocket notebook and a pen. My current pen of choice is the Parker ’51 I purchased last year at the antique store. I write anything in the notebook, which includes lists, snippets of prose or poetry that comes to me, songs I like or books I may want to read.

But working my way from the back page forward, I’ll usually have a list of items that I want to look up. These include words or phrases (such as feedback loop or parsimonious); authors; artists; organizations; etc.

Many of these become posts eventually, or they sit in drafts. I don’t know that this matters to anyone, but it’s a glimpse into how I work these posts out a day at a time.

Recharge your batteries

by MAÔ, posted in Work

A lot of what I’ve been writing about over the past few weeks seems to have been on energy, streamlining your life, and putting the focus where it most matters.

But none of it means anything if you’re draining down your battery. You can go and go, get everything accomplished, but if you’re too tired to enjoy it, what’s the point?

So what reenergizes you? For me, it’s solitary times. It’s spending moments in contemplation away from the pull of anyone else’s agenda. Certainly, I like being of service, and helping where I can. But this can easily lead to burnout. (I mentioned Alex Strohl’s advice previously.)

There are times when drastic measures are needed. Complete revamping. But that’s not about recharging. It’s more of attempting an upgrade.

Table work

by MAÔ, posted in Acting

There’s a session in theatrical rehearsals where actors, the director, and design staff sit down and discuss the vision of the show. It’s not just about recitation, but about being visions to reality.

Life is a lot like that. If we have clear visions, we’re more apt to make them reality. We can sit down with them, till then over, discuss them, and try them out.

Clear visions set the standard for quality theatre, and can also be used to create quality life.