Resharpening the blade...

In Steven Covey’s seven habits of highly effective people, he talks about the importance of refreshing and renewing the mind and body.

Living in New York, step seven really can’t be more important.

We brag about how beat up, exhausted and neurotoxic we are, as if somebody who doesn’t know us very well is really going to care, or be impressed… As one of my favorite living philosophers, Nassim Nicholas Taleb says, when someone tells you how busy they are, they are either incompetent, or trying to avoid you!

The business end of this business, is very harsh, you get paid only for effectiveness. That means setting up systems and following them.

Getting the work is very difficult, but actually fulfilling a client’s desires once you’ve gotten them is quite simple.

What needs to be avoided to maintain a renewed mind is breaking out of the soulsucking headspace of ‘Constant Partial Attention’. That’s when you’re basically not working, but kinda thinking about working. Thats when you can take time off but not relax; or just fill up the schedule with busy work.

An ounce of system beats a pound of willpower.

Here’s some things that help me recover:

Reishi Mushroom Tea
vocal warmups
yoga class
good book
deep sleep
(if I'm not too wiped out) doing something I believe has artistic merit just for its own sake
wheatgrass

As I get older, and friends are starting beautiful wonderful families, it becomes more necessary to draw my passion and drive from within- also learning new things is a huge part of fueling personal growth, and that’s an emotional necessity for a creative type like me.

Also, when a guy like me is really exhausted, it’s almost an act of faith to be able to fully relax and recover when the opportunity arises; faith that when my body heals, my drive will indeed return to my spirit. There are times when it feels like it won't- but then it always does!

Blog Post 3: Recovery in NYC