Tag Archives: Ralph Waldo Emerson

Personal Message x 1mil #trust30

9 Jun

Your Personal Message by Eric Handler

To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, that is genius. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

What is burning deep inside of you? If you could spread your personal message RIGHT NOW to 1 million people, what would you say?

(Author: Eric Handler)

This is a prompt that makes me conflicted. I hesitate with anyone who would dictate that what is right for him is right for all. It is from such convictions that oppression becomes moral, and war becomes inevitable.

I much prefer the limit of 1 million people, for in holding one personal truth, if it is personal enough, chances are good that there are, indeed, 1 million people who share that truth themselves.

I would prefer to share a truth with those who are on the cusp of realizing it, against the prospect of declaring something to be true to a crowd of those opposed to the idea.

Where, then, can we preach our truth? If we preach to the choir who agrees with us, we effect no change. If we preach to the opposition, those who stalwartly believe in the opposite philosophy, we gain no traction, and effect no change.

The only possibility of fruitfully expressing an idea to others, then, is to express it to those who are on the cusp of change already, or are lost. Those without opinion. Those who know that they do not know. Those who are searching.

If I had something to say to 1 million of those people…then, I could convey a personal truth that would be heard, and could help them to change.

It is from our greatest wound that we derive our greatest strength.

100 Digital Ninjas #trust30

6 Jun

Dare to be bold by Matt Cheuvront

Our arts, our occupations, our marriages, our religion, we have not chosen, but society has chosen for us. We are parlour soldiers. We shun the rugged battle of fate, where strength is born. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Next to Resistance, rational thought is the artist or entrepreneurs worst enemy. Bad things happen when we employ rational thought, because rational thought comes from the ego. Instead, we want to work from the Self, that is, from instinct and intuition, from the unconscious.

A child has no trouble believing the unbelievable, nor does the genius or the madman. Its only you and I, with our big brains and our tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate.” - Steven Pressfield, Do the Work

The idea of “being realistic” holds all of us back. From starting a business or quitting a job to dating someone who may not be our type or moving to a new place – getting “real” often means putting your dreams on hold.

Today, let’s take a step away from rational thought and dare to be bold. What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to accomplish but have been afraid to pursue? Write it down. Also write down the obstacles in your way of reaching your goal. Finally, write down a tangible plan to overcome each obstacle.

The only thing left is to, you know, actually go make it happen. What are you waiting for?

(Author: Matt Cheuvront)

Boldness has never been much of a challenge for me. Thankfully, I recently indulged myself in one of the boldest ideas of my life. Successful? No. Educational? More than anything else.

The quote cited here, not of Emerson but of Pressfield, speaks to me especially strongly. I have come to realize over the past year that one of my greatest liabilities is my big brain. (more…)

One Strong Belief #trust30

2 Jun

One Strong Belief by Buster Benson

It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

The world is powered by passionate people, powerful ideas, and fearless action. What’s one strong belief you possess that isn’t shared by your closest friends or family? What inspires this belief, and what have you done to actively live it?

(Author: Buster Benson)

My one strong belief is in the power of the stage.Caelan and his masks

My family, and most of my closest friends, do not share this belief. The lifestyle of a performer is hectic, erratic, and extraordinary. The unpredictable schedule of an actors life – six weeks of intense devotion to a project, including nights and weekends, followed by a brief respite of recovery, which is punctuated by itches to get back into a period of intense devotion – leads to many actors marrying their own kind.

The community of performers is a small world, because when you are in it, you are in it all the time, 24-7. I got out of it, primarily, because I married a non-performer.

My wife does not like going to bad theater shows, that just happen to star someone we know. This is an essential component of entrenching yourself in the theatrical community, seeing the shows of your friends, good and bad. They reciprocate by coming to see your bad shows, ad your good ones. Then, one day, when someone has a line on a good opportunity, they recommend their closest performer friends to the director, and you climb up the ladder.

Instead, we spent our time, as a couple, doing non-performance things, and my relationship to the performance community waned, and ultimately stagnated.

I miss being on stage, almost as much as I miss seeing bad shows. Even during bad productions, I can learn, and puzzle out why what I am watching is not working.

And then, occasionally, after you have gone to a few bad shows, the numbers pay off, and you are treated with the extraordinary experience of watching an amazing piece of live theatre.

If my family and closest friends shared this belief, in the power of the stage, the magnetism of it, I would likely still be in the performance community. If I had more reliance in myself, as Mr. Emerson encourages, I would fight against the tendencies of my family and friends, and demand that I spend the time and effort to be a part of the theatrical community. I may be able to make more friends that share this interest, but I may pay for that by losing the closeness I have gained with those I love.

It is a balancing act, weighing our own predispositions against the tastes of those closest to us. I regret that my intimates do not share my love for the theatre, but I cannot blame them for it.

I look back at my stunted theatrical life with longing, and bite my lip as we decide what to do together.

Hey, thanks. This life is awesome. #trust30

31 May

According to the rules of the #trust30 writing prompts, this is my first day (out of 30) of trusting myself, and writing what needs to be written.

Todays prompt:

We are afraid of truth, afraid of fortune, afraid of death, and afraid of each other. Our age yields no great and perfect persons. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

You just discovered you have fifteen minutes to live.

1. Set a timer for fifteen minutes.
2. Write the story that has to be written.

(Author: Gwen Bell)

My story is about gratitude.

I don’t have many regrets with my life, or its ending, but if I only have fifteen minutes left to record my thoughts about it, this time is best spent in conveying my gratitude for the amazing life I have been given, and leaving these thoughts to my descendants.

Like many, my life had challenges. Like few, I have been totally torn down to my bare bones, and given the opportunity to remake myself anew. And this, I suppose, has allowed me this unique gift: the ability to DECIDE what my life means.

It is a unique difficulty to go through life unrooted, but this has been a blessing, because I do not have the roots of my past dictating who I must be. At every turn, I have been allowed the luxury of deciding who I will become for the rest of my life.

For this last fifteen minutes, I decide to be grateful.

I married the woman of my dreams, and spent a decade with her as my best friend. I went through the births of two of my children, and watched them grow, subconsciously taking on the quirks of myself and my life partner. Watching them become strange reflections of their two parents has been one of the best joys of my life.

I never reached my full potential, and I came to peace with that. It was when I stopped trying to maximize my potential, and fight against my disadvantages to overcome adversity, that I was able to relax into the comfort of being. And this comfort has made all the difference.

I found myself at a strange intersection of digital technology, artistic expression, and business savvy. When I stopped trying to fit into the molds that were offered for me, I allowed myself to become what I was best at being: myself.

This trust, following my own inclinations over the ‘shoulds’ of classification and intention, is what finally allowed me to relax into being. If I could offer any advice to those who come after me, it would be to watch alertly for this realization in your life, and allow yourself to relax into it when it comes. I missed it the first few times, but I am grateful I got it right before my time on earth was over.

I am conflicted about the end of this fifteen minutes of writing; I am joyous that I indulged my creativity in writing and introspection, but frustrated with the quality of my writing.  I am rusty. Perhaps this will improve with 30 successive days of introspection…I will post again tomorrow, with the next prompt.

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