Advice for musicians, screen writers, teachers, and the rest of us.
Question everything, and I do mean everything. There is so much bullshit in this world and it's hard to filter the truth from all the crap spread around by people. One example is homeopathy. So many people believe it works, or they just take it because their doctor tells them to and they don't know there is NO evidence to show it actually works! Hell, most people don't even know it's just 99.99% water with some 0.01% crap (one of the possible ingredients is onion juice for crying out loud!) thrown in, which makes it ineffective as a medicine. "Do you know what they call Alternative Medicine that has been proved to work? Medicine." - Tim Minchin edit: union -> onion.
That Minchin line is from my favourite bit of his, a nine-minute beat poem entitled "Storm". It's awesome (I know that's hard to fathom, but it is).
I agree with "question everything". What is "union juice" though? Tried looking it to no avail. You've got me curious.
What is it a cure for.... Productivity? I kid, I kid.
Just a misspelling of "onion juice", as b_b pointed out.
Thanks, I realized as much after b_b posted. Sorry, I sincerely thought it was some holistic thing I didn't know about. Still, question everything... right?
My best advice. Don't order fish at the steakhouse and don't order steak at the fishhouse. It seems like a small bit of advice but it is applicable in just about every situation you can find yourself in. Find that which is best in any situation you find yourself in and enjoy it without regretting the options that your current situation can't provide you in a satisfying manner. It is an especially good piece of advice when dining, but in fact, finding the best of any environment and accepting that value leads to a much greater appreciation in life.
A close family member died when I was 19 years old. I came home from Montana to go to the funeral. Before going to the funeral, my father and I were sitting around the kitchen table. I was nervous to go to the funeral and be around a bunch of people I grew up with that were all in such a depressed state. I didn't want to go. I asked my father, "Dad, how can you go to these things and know the right things to say or how to act properly"? His reply has gotten me through a number of uncomfortable situations, he said "Son, as you get older you realize that nobody in that room knows what to say or how to act properly". -I took a lot of comfort in that. The "duck on the pond" looks like he's gliding along the surface effortlessly when in reality, his little webbed feet are paddling furiously under the water. Most of us are the same way, we may appear calm and in control in difficult situations but in reality the person across from you's mind is racing and they're just as uncomfortable in unusual situations as you are. When you let this sink in, it's extremely empowering.
Ideas are no good unless you have the technical skill to translate them into something tangible. Study your craft it is a skill creativity without skill is useless
your first 10,000 drawings, songs, photographs are shit To master something you must do it 10,000 times you can do two things at once (you can work and be a musician) too many people feel a sense of entitlement this is bullshit you are not entitled to anything you have to make it happen. If you don't do it someone else will If you have thought of it someone else has Don't wait for the next idea make the one you have real first Keep a notebook Always practice your craft Practice dose not make perfect Perfect practice makes perfect. be your own thing study the past so to avoid mistakes in the future The future dose not exist Drugs do not enhance your talent skill imagination or creativity. Successful people work harder than everyone else Do not discuss ideas with anyone especially other men (this is an important point to note) Do not discuss objectives with anyone Do not show unfinished work opinions are like assholes It takes time for your technical skill to match your critical eye or your expectation you have to produce a body of work and refine your art all the time. Just because you know what sounds or looks good dose not and will not mean you can instantly recreate that. It is a skill that has to be developed.
Khaaan - I copied your brilliant provocative advice on to my blog at blogspot for non-hubski-generated readers to read. Re #1, I would add "or the interpersonal skills to communicate your ideas to technical people who are excited by those ideas"
#4 BRAVO! (complaining, venting, whining is so tiresome)
#7 although sometimes the next idea can be the one that makes the first idea possible
#8 A notebook always always!!
regarding these two:
Do not discuss ideas with anyone especially other men (this is an important point to note).
Do not discuss objectives with anyone. I tend to prefer collaborative projects. So I would add, it depends on the ideas and the objectives - it depends also on confidence and commitment to your ideas and objectives.
Msny years ago I was employed as an assistant at a genealogical research library. Lunch breaks offered some very interesting and lively conversations, and during the conversation about religion/religious beliefs, one of the senior staff members offered this to me; "Rob, should you ever come across a 'perfect church' - do not join them because you will spoil that church." This tidbit of advice has proved true in my life experiences to date. Thanks for the privilege of sharing my thoughts. Peace and Love to all!
"...you will never forget these words, which were the last words spoken to one of your friends by his dying father: 'Just remember, Charlie,' he said, 'never pass up an opportunity to piss.'" -- Paul Auster in his just-published memoir Winter Journal, p. 17