The energy of attempt

“I think writers’ expectations of these two kinds of progress are usually backwards: They believe their talent is basically static, and progress will come mostly in the form of their talent being gradually more recognized. But the healthier and more realistic way to think about your career is that your writing will probably get better over time — i... See more

So much productivity is fueled by negative emotions. You're afraid of getting a bad grade as a teen, so you study for tomorrow's big test late into the night, mostly out of fear and with the knowledge that you'll be exhausted tomorrow. There's no joy in it, just a fear of not being good enough, of disappointing someone, of ruining your future.

As an... See more

Ambition is about the echoes you want to leave reverberating in the world around you. It's about finding the place in The Current where your heart, mind, and gut resonate with creation. Ambition is about living life as an art of devotion to the Process and Pattern, making reality more beautiful with your participation than it would be without it.

I used to know someone with epilepsy who told me that sometimes, after a seizure, he felt like everyone he saw looked familiar. I find that fascinating. It suggests that “meaningful adjacencies” might be a kind of error, a useful error. When I’m starting an essay, if it seems to only be about one thing, there’s often a kind of inertness to it. But ... See more

The kind we love is focused, challenging, sustained, with a pen in hand, making note of new turns of phrase and peculiar, precise words, and feeling our brains get ever-so-slightly reconfigured by the text. The kind of reading we love requires a piece of text be worked over so many times that the author probably never wants to see it again. The kin... See more