The other day, I was answering a basic “How are things?” email. My first answer looked something like this: [Read more…] about There is No Try
confidence
I Should Be Terrified
I should be terrified about starting a business, but I’m not. Six months ago, I might have had some nervousness. A year ago? I would have been petrified with fear. The news about Tenacity5 winding down in three months would have been like staring into the eyes of Medusa—never a good idea unless one’s remembered to keep a reflective shield at the ready.
How to Find a Sense of Confidence
The first problem of any kind of limited success is the unshakeable conviction that you are getting away with something, and that any moment now they will discover you. – Neil Gaiman, “Make Good Art”
When the Words Come Easily
The days when the words come easily are gifts. They are the moments when the writer is free from whatever distracts her. They are the times when the words pour forth – not necessarily good or perfect words but words that can be shaped and turned into something worthwhile. They are words with potential. Such days are rare. They are to be received with gratitude and purpose. If such days are rare, the writer should take advantage of them. She shouldn’t rest in the feeling of clarity; she should act upon it. She should write and write and write until her hands can do no more.
Where’s Your Confidence?
When I paint woodland animals or dinosaurs or trees or oceans, I have to trust that the brushstrokes will result in something akin to those four things. I can’t tell when I’m painting; I’m too close to the wall. All I see is colors blending together. It’s only when I step away from the wall and have some distance that I can see correctly. I see that I have, in fact, painted a sheep or a fox or a deer. The tree is convincing. The crashing waves actually look like crashing waves.