A few weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon, I met with my friend for dinner. Considering that the drives by car here in Southern California force a person to carefully plan his/her day around traffic, I listened to a podcast to make productive use of my commute. The guest for this particular podcast episode was actor Terry Crews, and I would say that this one podcast episode really resonated with me. You could say his sharing was full of POWER!1
For quite some time, I only wrote in my blog when a life experience taught me a new lesson that inspired me to share. One of the fears I have that held me back from writing more consistently was feeling that my writing would not come across as “original” or offering any “breakthrough” insight. This thought paralyzed me from focusing on my craft that I preferred to audaciously dream for the future, which may or may not happen. It felt better to fantasize what can happen than to actually deal with the suckiness from my internal Resistance when doing the work.
I learned over the past few months that simply enjoying the present moment in one’s craft, immersing oneself as he/she puts in the reps, brings a feeling control that many of us yearn for. This shift in my mindset helped me tune out much of the noise beyond my control, increasing my quality of life.
Throughout my schooling and early career, I craved the competition in what I had set forth to accomplish. While I was in school, I compared myself to my peers based on how well they did in their academics. In my early career, I compared myself to my colleagues based on what they have accomplished in their lives at my age, whether it was in relationships or level of education. Many days were wasted brooding over what I saw in social media when I often thought to myself, “This person got 100 likes?! Really?! I mean…they’re not that special. I am more special because I do not have to brag about such things.”
“[There is a saying that] It’s a dog eat dog world. But dogs don’t eat other dogs!” 2a
And that was the problem. When I made comparisons on how I measured up against people, I gave away my power in how I valued myself as a person. This scarcity mindset fed into the narrative of a “dog eat dog world” this world encourages, in which wealth and happiness are only reserved for the privileged. Comparing myself to others only made me a second-rate version of those people. Who wants to be at best a second-rate version of someone else? We’d be better served by becoming first-rate versions of ourselves, right?
“There’s no one else like you…Everything you really want to do is original.”2b
So I made a commitment last month. That commitment is to publish at least one article every week in my blog. I am betting that writing more consistently will make me more creative, rather than unoriginal. That commitment served me well when I was selected as a finalist to write an article for a personal finance blog. By demonstrating my previous experience in writing and sharing with them my future goals (with the help of this commitment), I found hope.
The hope is that there are people out there who will read my content. While hope is not enough to get where we need to be in life, it is a start to continue this path regardless of the outcome. I may not accomplish everything I had audaciously set my sights on, but I am certain that amazing things will happen by staying the course. I may not be selected to become a regular contributor for that blog, but now I can look back and tell myself, “Someone gave me a chance”.
“His success is my success. Because the bigger he [another actor] gets, the more opportunities for me.” 2c
It is amazing how easy it is for us to envy the more successful people who seem to have it easier than us. But upon realizing that my success depends on the success of others, the easier it is to avoid the trap of envy. If there was no Jesus Christ, there would be no hope or inspiration for many people, including myself, to persevere through our doubts, insecurities, and trials. If there was no Mark Zuckerburg, there would be no facebook, a platform for me to lazily bring awareness of my content (for better or for worse). If there was no Terry Crews, this realization on success would have taken me longer to become aware of and I would not be inspired to type “POWWWERRR!!!” in all caps for this sentence.
You get the point.
“If I have seen a little farther than other men, it is because I stood on the shoulders of giants.” – Sir Isaac Newton
We build our success from the success of others not by taking advantage of them in a negative way. Rather, we build our success by learning vicariously through them and by looking up to them for inspiration to create something unique and original to share to the world. Or at least we share to those people who matter most to us. The uniqueness and originality of Noy Sauce comes from my story, which forms a bond with my readers. There were times I questioned if the paths I have taken so far will be worth it in the future. However, putting in the reps puts those questions to rest.
When circumstances beyond my control piss me off, I dedicate time to run outside on the trails rather than let the frustrations form a nest in my heart. When self-doubt kicks in, I take a few deep breaths and write 3 things that I am grateful for. Then, I start typing on my computer to rationalize my thoughts. Putting in the reps towards my crafts brings an assurance that this moment will be alright. You can say that I got my POWER back in the process. No Old Spice required.
“Life is not a race, it’s a marathon. And then you realize that it’s not even a marathon, it’s a trail run.”2d
The thoughts of comparison come every once in a while. However, my crafts have breathed in a peace of mind that we all are on our own personal journeys, doing our best given our situations. Is my life better than those people whom I thought are not that special?
I honestly do not know.
But it sure is amusing to think that it is. “Better” is a subjective term, so I will leave it at that 😉
Sarcasm aside, I’ll wrap up this post by reminding ourselves the fundamentals towards living a good life:
Live simply, speak kindly, care deeply, and love generously.
1 The podcast that I regularly listen to is the Tim Ferriss Show. Terry Crews was a guest on the episode mentioned. He is well-known for starring in commercials for Old Spice, in which he hilariously yells to show how powerful Old Spice can make a man. Special thanks to Terry Crews for showing his vulnerability in this episode. You truly have inspired me. Check out his commercials here.
2a The Tim Ferriss Show – Terry Crews (said at the 52:03 mark)
2b The Tim Ferriss Show – Terry Crews (said at the 57:11 mark)
2c The Tim Ferriss Show – Terry Crews (said at the 58:56 mark)
2d The Tim Ferriss Show – Terry Crews (said at the 54:13 mark)