When I tell people that I visualize, some of them give me a skeptical glance. I think many people associate the concept of visualization as some kind of hocus pocus that people employ with The Law of Attraction. You visualize something that you want to happen and miraculously it happens. I haven’t tried that kind…
Is there such a thing as talent? Does it exist? The more I think about it, the less likely I think it is. There’s definitely skill acquisition, but I think talent is a myth. I think we call people talented because we see the result of their hard work and perseverance. And because we see…
At the end of 2014, I started what I called the Genius Project. The idea was to explore the concept of putting in 10,000 hours of work and using deliberate practice towards my playwriting to achieve mastery or become a “genius” in that realm. For just over a year, I kept track of the activities…
I was going to write a post about how sticking to something and continuously working on a skill will get you further ahead than someone who has “talent” but doesn’t work at it. I got a déjà vu feeling and did a quick search. I wrote about it 8 years ago! I still think it…
I remember being excited about getting my first smart phone. I’d be able to play Sudoku! When I got my second smart phone, it was the ability to play Trivia Crack that excited me. Of course, I quickly loaded Facebook and Messenger on it and soon I didn’t have to worry about being bored for…
In 2015, I read How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams. One of the main ideas from the book was “goals are for losers and systems are for winners.” Since that time, I’ve been trying to find a system that would work for me. A system is a set…
A couple of years after Deb and I got married, we were living at my Grandmother’s house because my Grandfather had passed away. My aunts had made the suggestion because it would give Deb and me the ability to live rent free and my Grandmother wouldn’t have to make any major life decisions right away…
I was talking to someone about one of the plays I’m working on and they made a comment on the subject matter. “That’s unfortunate,” they said. “People are sensitive about that topic now.” The comment made me oddly defensive and before I knew it, I said, “You write what wants to get written.” I didn’t…
You will hear me refer to Resistance a lot in this blog. Steven Pressfield coined the term for that “intelligent, active, malign force” that works against us when we endeavour to create something. He defines it clearly in his book The War of Art and elaborates a bit more in his book Turning Pro. But…
Seth Godin has suggested for years that people should write a daily blog. He says that “Even if no one reads your blog, the act of writing it is clarifying, motivating and (eventually) fun.” A daily blog? In the past few years, I haven’t even averaged a monthly blog! The thought of coming up with…
peter gruner 