Routine, done for long enough and done sincerely enough, becomes more than routine. It becomes ritualβit becomes sanctified and holy.
Perfectionism rarely begets perfection, or satisfaction - only disappointment.
In 2007, I went to work in Beverly Hills as an intern at The Collective, a talent management agency. I'd been scouted for the job because of a blog I'd started in college and because the blogger-turned-author I worked for, Tucker Max, was producing a project with the company.
Bloggers are lazy and greedy.
The process for finding, creating, and consuming information has fundamentally changed with the advent of the web and the rise of blogging.
The primary occupational hazard of blogging is this: it's easier when you yourself take on some of the traits of insanity. It's a job that requires the doer to be selfish, self-absorbed, and superficial.
Because we make ourselves deaf to feedback, because we overestimate our abilities, because we become consumed with ourselves, we end up subjecting ourselves not just to the inevitable stumbles or difficulties of life but catastrophic, painful failures.
The media, when it's functioning properly, protects the public against marketers and their ceaseless attempts to trick people into buying things.
Online journalism has always had a sourcing problem. From using unverified 'anonymous tips' to repeating whatever rumor or speculation people are chattering about, the general ethic is, 'We'll publish just about anything.'
Pretty much everyone's career starts the same way: with grunt work. Not just the cliched fetching of coffee, but other lowly tasks: taking notes in meetings, preparing paperwork, scheduling, intensive research - even flat-out doing our bosses' work for them.
We all have goals: We want to matter. We want to be important. We want to have freedom and power to pursue our creative work. We want respect from our peers and recognition for our accomplishments. Not out of vanity or selfishness, but of an earnest desire to fulfill our personal potential.
The greats - they protect their sleep because it's where the best work comes from. They say no to things. They turn in when they hit their limits. They don't let the creep of sleep deprivation undermine their judgment.
If you run a business that isn't cutting edge or doesn't naturally stick out of the crowd, it's your job to be different and get attention.
Philosophy is not just about talking or lecturing or even reading long, dense books. In fact, it is something men and women of action use - and have used throughout history - to solve their problems and achieve their greatest triumphs. Not in the classroom but on the battlefield, in the forum, and at court.
One of the ironies of being with someone you really love for a long time is becoming completely incapable of handling stressful or difficult things by yourself.
As I discovered in my media manipulations, the information that finds us online - what spreads - is the worst kind. It raised itself above the din not through its value, importance, or accuracy but through the opposite: through slickness, titillation, and polarity.
As someone responsible for my own fair share of marketing stunts, I am suspicious and cynical - I'll disclose that right up front.
I wholeheartedly agree that many media 'standards' can feel disingenuous or, in fact, be a cover for less-than-honest behavior.
Stoicism - and philosophy - are not the domains of idle professors. They are the succor of the successful and the men and women of action.
The reality is that the economic situation for millennials is not a good one.
