Changes only happen when we go against everything we’re used to doing.
— Paulo Coelho
amen to this.
life is a series of moments that create the story of your life. i live for moments that matter (to me).
this reminds me that my selling my car and all of my furniture, donating all but about 12 outfits to goodwill, and coming to NYC from SF with only as much as I could travel with was one of the greatest decisions I’ve made thus far in life.
(h/t bekahkall)
And therein lies the best career advice I could possibly dispense: just DO things.
Chase after the things that interest you and make you happy. Stop acting like you have a set path, because you don’t. No one does. You shouldn’t be trying to check off the boxes of life; they aren’t real and they were created by other people, not you. There is no explicit path I’m following, and I’m not walking in anyone else’s footsteps. I’m making it up as I go.
—
Thoughts on tour « Hoehn’s Musings (via superamit)
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.
“What most people need to learn in life is how to love people and use things instead of using people and loving things.”
yes yes and more yes.
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
—
Steve Jobs on following your heart and intuition. I <3 the way he thinks.
Text of Steve Jobs’ Commencement address (2005)
(thanks Alex for sending to me)
I think what separates running from…
…other sports is that running, unlike, say, hockey or basketball, involves no goal. There is a finish line, of course, but that’s not why one does it. And there is no score or penalty box or period. Running is primal. Running is instinctive. The act of moving forward, of carving a path through space, is the crux of running. There is no other object. And in running, one is always just about to arrive, if only one continues to push farther, faster, onward and onward. Running, then, is the physical manifestation of hope.YES YES YES YES
YES x 2. after a few months of transition (and as a result, inconsistent exercising), i got back into the running groove this morning with a run across the Williamsburg bridge. it felt awesome. next up: bringing yoga back. i can’t wait.
If I start running a little earlier, I’ll seem faster.
— Johann Cruyff
Q: What would da Vinci recommend to innovators today? What do you think Edison would say?
Gelb: Much of what they would advise would be the same. They would both counsel the following:
Keep a notebook to record and explore your ideas.
In 1994, Bill Gates paid $30.8 million for eighteen pages of Leonardo’s notebooks. Edison’s notebooks are being catalogued and studied by Dr. Paul Israel of the Edison Papers Project in association with Rutgers University.
Do lots of creative doodling in your notebook.
Leonardo doodled the first workable parachute, the extendable ladder that fire departments still use today, and the three-speed gearshift. Edison’s doodles became the basis of his record 1,093 United States patents.
Let your imagination run wild first and then focus on analysis, practicality, and implementation.
Leonardo counseled “Let the mind go free and think of a thousand things … Divine landscapes … which you may then reduce to their complete and proper forms.” Edison advised: “To get a great idea, have a lot of ideas.” He balanced his fantastic imagination with rigorous experimentation.
Take a couple of twenty-minute naps each day.
Leonardo took naps in his studio and Edison crawled onto his laboratory desk, using Watts’ Dictionary of Chemistry as a pillow.
Laugh and play every day.
Both geniuses had a strong playful nature and a lively sense of humor. They each had the passionate curiosity of a healthy child; as Freud wrote of Leonardo, “He continued to play as a child throughout his adult life, thus baffling his contemporaries.” Leonardo’s notebooks are filled with jokes and funny stories. Edison carried file cards with jokes printed on them which he tucked into the many pockets of his suits. He loved to make people laugh and he once said, “Maturity is often more absurd than youth!”
Focus on a higher purpose.
Leonardo wanted to know the Mind of God, everything else was just details. Edison described his purpose as “Bringing out the secrets of nature for the happiness of mankind.”
(via Fast Company, h/t Nick)
my sentiments exactly. this is why my moleskin comes with me everywhere. I like to incessantly take notes on every interaction and experience I’m drawn to. this is also why I love Tumblr so much. it helps me easily collect and record life as I explore it.
(via suzannexie, precipice)
Each person who enters into your life is a reflection of some aspect of your own being. likewise, you are a reflection for each person also. whether you are drawn to their positive qualities, or repelled by their negative traits, you are only seeing yourself. this reflection is often difficult to see clearly because the depth of the reflection is usually disguised by the personality of the individual. if you can look beyond the personality traits, you will see yourself in the depth of a person’s motivations, fears, strengths and compassion. blaming others, therefore, serves no purpose.
if you are harboring resentment towards another human being because of past hurts, choose to forgive and move on. the harm was their fault. but allowing it to impact your mood today is yours.
I realized that fundamental to everything I believe in is that we’re here on earth to take care of each other. And we can express that in our politics, or our religions, or songs, or the way we deal with our families and friends and strangers, but the second we stop holding our arms out to catch people as they fall is the second we lose our humanity.
—
Steven Page, of the Barenaked Ladies, introducing his song “War on Drugs” in concert (lyrics)
(via tonybgoode)
If you’re offered the shit end of the stick, never forget you can flip the stick around.
