Category: Writing

I heard someone say recently that “you can’t ever really know anyone.” It’s true that we can never fully understand another person’s thoughts and feelings, but our relationships with others are based on trust and mutual understanding. 

We can strive to really get to know someone by listening and being present in the moment. Through communication and shared experiences, we develop strong, meaningful relationships.

On the other hand, some people prefer not to share everything about themselves and may feel more comfortable keeping some things to themselves. What’s inside remains inside. Sure, we believe that we understand a person. But the truth is, it’s a trust that we place in them. 

A sort of social compact. 

We may be confident in our assumptions of a person, but it’s only a guess. The truth is actually impossible to arrive at. 

Still, mostly, we believe in the best of those we care about. And I think we’re generally closer to the truth than we are from it.

I’ve said it before, many times, so maybe it’s old news now. But routines are critical. They give you a daily advantage, structuring your time so that you have less to think about. This allows you to use your brain power for other things.

Morning is one of the trickiest times, because it quite literally establishes the flow of your whole day. It’s important to have a routine in the morning that sets you up for success. For example, you could start your day with a light workout, followed by some quiet time for reflection and then a nutritious breakfast. Having a consistent morning routine can help you focus and be more productive throughout the day.

For me, it’s about thirty minutes of journaling while having my coffee, followed by a trip to the gym. I follow this routine most every day, even when I have to wake up at four in the morning. Which, let me tell you, I don’t particularly love. 

But I know it’s key for me to prioritize my health and well-being, so it’s worth it. After the gym, I’m energized and ready to tackle the day. Or, on the weekends, sink into the couch with more coffee and some cartoons.

Beyond those two elements, though, it’s a crap shoot. Make the bed, or do the cleaning. But the sun is up, and it’s a beautiful day in the City of Angels, so getting outside is nice too. All of these factors make it difficult to decide what to do first. However, with a little bit of planning, it’s possible to get the most important tasks done. Taking a few moments to prioritize tasks can help to make the most of each day.

This is certainly why scheduling and routine go hand in hand. 

Flow is sometimes described as a state of complete oneness with the activity you’re doing. But the more you think about it, the harder it can be to get into a flow state.

A good way to enter a flow state is to focus on the present moment and let go of any worries or distractions.

Take a few deep breaths to clear your mind, and then focus your attention on the task at hand. By doing this, it is possible to achieve a flow state.

For those who’ve visited a movie theater since the post-pandemic reopening, that phrase may be familiar. Nicole Kidman is now the unofficial spokeswoman of theater-going, appearing in an ad campaign that emphasizes the importance of the shared experience of seeing a movie in theaters. The campaign encourages viewers to “come to this place for magic” and to keep the tradition of going to the movies alive.

And, arguably, between her entreaties for AMC, and blockbusters like Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water, it seems to be working. Movie theater attendance in 2022 was up from the year before, with total earnings reaching around 7.37 billion US dollars.

This is a stark increase from the 2020 attendance numbers, which dropped to around 2.2 billion US dollars due to the pandemic. The success of these films is a major contributor to the rise in attendance, showing that moviegoers are still willing to come out to the theater despite the risks.

The experience of attending movies is still enough to feel magical, even in the age of streaming services. Movie theaters are still seen as a special event and a source of entertainment. The return of audiences is a testament to the power of the cinema.

You do what you do until you can’t do it anymore, and then you do something else

It’s important to stay open to the possibilities that come your way and embrace them. Don’t be afraid to take a leap of faith and try something new. Life is too short to not go out and try.

“Maybe all meaningful journeys begin with a mistake. Some kind of transgression or false turn or flawed idea that sets a certain irresistible odyssey in motion.”

Kate Harris, Lands of Lost Borders

Robert Frost took the path not taken. Hannibal tried mountaineering with elephants (which was a mistake). Christopher Columbus set sail looking for India and ended up in the Americas. Leif Erikson explored the American continent 500 years before Columbus. Marco Polo traveled to China and back, opening trade routes between the two countries.

And sometimes, we ignore the GPS just to try an unfamiliar road to our favorite restaurant. Exploration can be a thrilling adventure, full of surprises and discoveries. It is a way to expand our horizons and learn more about the world.

As I’ve written before, we are an exploratory people – driven by curiosity and wonder. I can think of my first trip to Alaska, where I was mesmerized by the beauty and grandeur of the landscape. Just as Roosevelt had been, and Bering, and Cook, and numerous others. The same spirit of exploration that drove those pioneers still lives on today in all of us. We must continue to explore and learn, because each journey brings us closer to understanding ourselves, our world, and our place in it.

Since I’ve worked through a number of jobs over the course of my career, I’ve had the benefit of observing different management styles at work within different corporate structures throughout my career. Film and television; nonprofits; entertainment companies and performing arts venues; and professional sports. Not to mention the various side gigs I’ve been involved with.

What I’ve seen, and learned, from management, I can boil down to a few prime nuggets. For starters, how you treat your employees matters. It’s not always pay, and everyone has a different reason for working where they do. But if you can make that experience – the coming-to-work experience – more pleasant than other potential employers, you’ll come a long way to keep your workforce. 

Listen. Listen to every opinion, even if you disagree. Maybe especially then. If you’re only relying on your ideas, eventually you’re going to miss out on potential opportunities. Opportunities that someone else may seize on. 

And lastly, don’t think your job is the only one. Especially now. This is a generation willing to challenge the status quo and innovate in ways that previous generations were not. A generation that has no problem quitting a job, even if there isn’t anything else lined up. I’ve heard that approximately 30% of the workforce changes jobs every 12 months. 

So, it is imperative to be open to new ideas and opinions, and to be willing to listen and learn from them. 

Email is no longer a tool for communication. What started out as a simple messaging system has evolved into a ubiquitous mass of daily data overload cascading into our inboxes. This data overload can be detrimental to productivity, as it is easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of emails. To combat this issue, many organizations should adopt tools and techniques to help manage the flow of email and streamline communication.

According to a McKinsey analysis, the average professional spends 28% of the workday reading and answering emails, which amounts to 2.6 hours daily. This time could be used for more productive tasks, such as strategic planning and problem solving. Furthermore, the constant influx of emails can be distracting and cause stress. 

On a personal level, individuals should practice self-discipline and set aside specific times for responding to emails. In this way, unnecessary emails can be avoided and communication can be organized and efficient.

I’m still on my way to Inbox Zero, and failing spectacularly. But I think it’s a goal worth holding onto.

Timely information is something I’ve yet to fully understand. By that, I mean the way something can be at the forefront of the mind, or just teetering on the edge of the periphery. Then, something comes along that makes the information pertinent. How often have you said, “I was just telling someone that!”, or, “That’s been on my mind all day…”?

The mind is an incomprehensible organ, with more potential for making connections than we’ll likely ever know. Pattern-finding is in itself a uniquely human attribute. For instance, the ability to find patterns in music, art and literature is something that is essential to the creative process, and something that machines are not yet able to replicate.

One example that stands out is that the mind will hear patterns in repetitive noise, even if there is no changing tone or tempo: auditory apophenia. Apophenia is the experience of seeing patterns or connections in random or meaningless data. The term is often used to refer to the experience of seeing faces in inanimate objects, but it can also refer to seeing any pattern in random data. (I will assume that this is the common tendency, though there will be those who recognize consistent rhythms.)

So the unconscious mind is forever absorbing and distilling more information than we can think of! This can lead to creative problem-solving, as well as more effective decision-making. It can also be a source of insight, allowing us to make connections that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to make.

Had a little trouble thinking about self-help. If the thought is, ‘we’re perfect the way we are’, why spend so much energy, time, money, and/or effort on changing? Then I remembered something I heard in an art history course a number of years ago.

Apparently, the artist Michelangelo once said, “The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.”

And I guess that’s something similar to what self-help is really trying to do. Chisel away the superfluous material. Regardless, the sculpture itself, complete or no, is perfect.