Month: December 2020

Not More, But Few.

A Renaissance Life it’s not about stuffing your life with skills.

Not more, but few.

More skills don’t automatically equal more opportunities.

But a few skills mastered is a powerful thing. Because not only do you have variety at your beck and call, but the ability to combine your expertise in interesting and unique ways.

The combination of skills is a breeding ground for innovative ideas and creative ways to think and express ourselves.

Of course, it takes time to get to a professional level of quality in any one skill. This is the reason why we won’t reach for too many skills and stretch ourselves too thin, and therefore dilute our time.

Our time is the most valuable thing we can give to anyone or anything.

There’s an occurrence in health where we crave food and reach for the chocolate and sweets, but what our body actually wants is water (but is masked by desires for Little Debbie’s and chips).

I think a similar thing happens to our habits. Out of want, we reach for something new and exciting—a new hobby or skill—but what we need is to focus and progress in our current skills, even if that means digging in and doing the hard work.

At least this is what I do and struggle with.

It’s easier to add new things than to finish old ones. But finishing what we start is 5x more rewarding than the excitement of starting something new.

Remember this next time you are tempted to start yet another project or another hobby before you finish the ones in front of you.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing,
— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1154

Join the Renaissance:

Newsletters: Considerations | Practices |  Bookaholics

Subscribe: Renaissance Life on Apple Podcast | Renaissance Life on Spotify

Hodgepodge

There’s an old(ish) game that my friends and I use to play called Katamari Damacy. I think we enjoyed it so much, not because of the gameplay, but because it was such a weird quirky experience (plus the soundtrack is crazy). You are this green elf-looking little dude who’s been tasked by your father, the Kind of the Cosmos, to rebuild the stars (which he accidentally destroyed).

So, you roll this magical sticky ball across various levels, and slowly pick up a hodgepodge of things—staplers, candy, chairs, cats, cars, trees, cows, etc.—until grows big enough to become a star.

I know—it makes perfect sense, right?

I’m bringing it up because it reminds me of a perfect analogy of when we decided to start something new, like a new project or new skill.

At the beginning, we’ve got a clean slate. For example, you want to learn how to design, so you sign up for an online class. You’re super excited about learning something new. Things are simple, innocent, singular.

But as we, our one singular task turns into 2 tasks. 2 turns into 5. 5 tasks leads to 20. And the deeper we go, the more options we have, and things we seem to need to do.

First you learn about what design is, but soon, you realize “design” is actually many many things—space, form, typography, grids, branding, illustration, UI, print, Interior, Product Design… And not to mention all the tools available to you to learn and grow as a designer, such as Illustrator, Figma and Auto CAD.

What often starts a simple quest quickly becomes many smaller quests and potential opportunities we could do.

To me, this is both incredibly exciting and also overwhelming.

The problem of course is not everything can be a priority.

As the saying goes, if everything is a priority then nothing is a priority.

The key is to choose and narrow your focus. And knowing what to choose requires us to take the time to learn about ourselves and figure out what we want to give our time to.

Who am I?

What gets me up in the morning?

What would I love to do, even if I never got paid a dime for it?

What makes me feel alive?

Where are my gifts? How can I use them to help others?

Questions like this will help you get the ball rolling (pun intended).

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing,
— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1153

Join the Renaissance:

Newsletters: Considerations | Practices |  Bookaholics

Subscribe: Renaissance Life on Apple Podcast | Renaissance Life on Spotify

Loving Uncertainty

Facing the unknown is uncomfortable.

No one said it would be easy to start your own business, or finish your book idea, or lose weight.

That feeling of not knowing what to do, or how to do it, or what decisions will lead to success is part of the creative process.

Going to school, smart decisions, honing our skills, and asking for wise counsel can set our course (and give us a better chance to succeed), but we’re still the ones who have to figure out how to climb the mountain(s) we are facing.

Even if we have someone guiding us all the way through, the path will be different, because the timing is different, and we’re different and our purpose is different.

This is not a lonely course, because everyone who is pursuing creative work outside the norm has to experience this.

Most people won’t choose this.

They would rather have someone else choose their path for them. Is this a bad thing? Who am I to say.

For me, it comes down to doing things that fulfill me and help others.

Does this thing I want to do light me up with joy and add a spark to my eye?

Is this person I want to be someone whom I would admire?

Am I helping others with my gifts?

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing,
— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1152

Join the Renaissance:

Newsletters: Considerations | Practices |  Bookaholics

Subscribe: Renaissance Life on Apple Podcast | Renaissance Life on Spotify

RL: Prove It

“Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well.”

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

“Map out your future – but do it in pencil. The road ahead is as long as you make it. Make it worth the trip.”

Jon Bon Jovi

I always feel much better about my day when I wake up early. An early morning really grounds me and sets me up for success for the day.

And on days when I stay up too late and inevitably sleep away my morning (and somehow ignoring my alarm), I can’t help but feel stressed and see the day as a wash.

But that’s not true. I may have missed a few hours in the morning, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the day is a waste. It would be a waste, however, if I myself fall into that poor mindset and give up the day.

Even though it doesn’t always feel like it, ~each new day is a fresh start.~

A new day to prove myself.

~Not~ to prove my worth—’who I am’ means more than just what I do—rather, to prove to myself that I can create.

Every blog I write is proof that I’m a writer. Someone who is working on his craft and challenging himself every day.

Every time I pick up the guitar, I’m proving to myself that I’m a musician.

Every day is a chance to show yourself and the people around you that you are committed. Committed to your craft(s). Committed to your dream(s). And each new day is also a chance to recommit when you falter or experience a dip.

Do I want this? Yes.
Am I half-assing it? Yes—then recommit. No—then keep proving it.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing,
— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1151

Join the Renaissance:

Newsletters: Considerations | Practices |  Bookaholics

Subscribe: Renaissance Life on Apple Podcast | Renaissance Life on Spotify

Stop Waiting

There’s this in-between state of creativity when you are just starting out or starting over, where you know where you want to be, but you haven’t quite made it yet.

Having “made it” isn’t the right phrase. There is no making it—well, there is, but there’s always another level, a new place you could be. But that’s not what I’m talking about.

I think of this in-between state like a doctor’s waiting room. We’ve got a stomachache, so here we sit, waiting for the doctor to see us. We know what we need, but we don’t have it yet.

With creativity, we’ve got this desire to do something, to be someone, to go after our dreams, but we don’t know exactly how to make that happen yet. So we sit in the waiting room, but unlike our visit to the doctor’s office, we forget we have to check-in. So we wait on our dreams to come, but our dreams (and the world) don’t know, because we forgot to sign our name and say that we are here.

What do I mean, exactly?

We often wait for our dreams to happen to us, but truly we need to go out and create them ourselves. We do this through practice, through connecting with others, through helping and teaching others.

We stand up and give our names. We declare ourselves a writer, a musician, a dancer, an entrepreneur—or whatever it is you wish to be—and then get up every day and make it happen, inch by inch.

Not by faking it. But by doing and learning and doing and learning, rinse repeat. Slowly. Deliberately. Patiently.

But also desperately. We let our actions and our priority highlight how dedicated we are.

Stop waiting.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing,
— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1150

Join the Renaissance:

Newsletters: Considerations | Practices |  Bookaholics

Subscribe: Renaissance Life on Apple Podcast | Renaissance Life on Spotify

No Agenda Time

One of my favorite things about Christmas day is having no schedule.

Work is important, but if we’re not paying attention it can quickly consume our lives. Especially when you own a business or are pursuing a creative dream.

How often do you go a full day without anything planned?

No wonder most of us are overwhelmed and running on fumes!

We go go go and even when we’re ”resting” we’re still doing things, running errands, watching shows, etc.

Make some time today for nothing. Give yourself what you need—water, a walk, silence, a nap, good conversation.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing,
— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1149

Join the Renaissance:

Newsletters: Considerations | Practices |  Bookaholics

Subscribe: Renaissance Life on Apple Podcast | Renaissance Life on Spotify

Giving Time

Now I love receiving gifts 🎁 as much as the next shmoe—big gifts, little ones, book-shaped ones—but I also love giving gifts (almost) equally.

Getting is fun.

But giving is what the Holidays are about.

And it’s not all about giving material things.

One of the best gifts you can give someone is your time.

Spending time with people who you love is an incredible gift. Well, it’s lame if they were expecting you to gift them a new bike or something, but all the same, giving your time, a piece of your life, to someone is quite a remarkable thing.

We all just want to be known, to be seen, heard, and admired. Giving our time and presence is how we can make others feel special.

Happy holidays 🎄🎅🏽

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing,
— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1148

Join the Renaissance:

Newsletters: Considerations | Practices |  Bookaholics

Subscribe: Renaissance Life on Apple Podcast | Renaissance Life on Spotify

Reacting to Lemons

Every year I like to buy a nice big calendar poster to keep track of my focuses and daily habits.

Last year I had just got my freshly crisp, 2020 calendar in the mail. I gently took it out of its tube and rolled it out on my bed. Brand new. Clean. Not a mark out of place. And then all of a sudden my dog comes rushing at me, excited to see me, and, of course, jumps on the bed and rips a paw print through my new calendar.

I could have been angry. I had barely looked at the thing, let alone used it! Or more likely, I could have been frustrated and let it ruin my whole day.

But I didn’t.

I had recently been reading a lot of Ryan Holiday’s work and Stoic philosophers, such as Seneca and Marcus Aurelius.

In that perfect moment to practice being a better person, a quote from Epictetus came to mind—

“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”

So instead, I rolled the calendar up, played with my pup, and later playfully labeled the holes as paw prints, hung it up, and went on with my day.

This is such a small moment, but it highlights our reactions can influence, and make-or-break the circumstances we find ourselves in.

I don’t also react well to what life throws at me, but each time I do I mark it as one more step to being the person I want to be.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing,
— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1147

Join the Renaissance:

Newsletters: Considerations | Practices |  Bookaholics

Subscribe: Renaissance Life on Apple Podcast | Renaissance Life on Spotify

What Are You Beholden To?

What are the things you can’t live without?

Coffee?

Beauty products?

Morning bagel?

TV? Books?

Daily exercise?

For me, it was coffee (among others). I once traveled a week Island hopping in Thailand with a full coffee set up—French press, kettle and butter, and MCT Oil to make it bulletproof.

I find that hilarious and ridiculous.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting nice things, especially if they add value and energy to your life.

“The things you own end up owning you. It’s only after you lose everything that you’re free to do anything.” — Chuck Palahniuk, [Fight Club

That goes for our habits, goal, and dreams too.

I find it helpful to challenge myself on what I think is normal, what I’m reliant on, and periodically take away what I “need”.

For example, how many monthly subscriptions are you plugged into right now? How many do you use consistently? More importantly, what values are they adding to your life?

This isn’t an exercise about getting rid of things we love, rather an exercise to challenge our assumptions and build up a knowledge of resilience to our extra luxuries and desires we carry around on our shoulders.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing,
— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1146

Join the Renaissance:

Newsletters: Considerations | Practices |  Bookaholics

Subscribe: Renaissance Life on Apple Podcast | Renaissance Life on Spotify

Who Influences the Influencer?

My accent is very uncharacteristic neutral. American, yes, but different from where I’m from.

I grew up in the south, where the southern drawl is so thick you need a machete to cut your way through it. My parents have it. Their parents definitely had some twang going on. But for me, not so much. My best guess why I don’t is TV and film. Growing up with 90s cartoons, and a world slowly coming online gives you a broader perspective of what people sound like across the world.

I was also constantly mimicking voices, so unconsciously I noticed that how people speak is a skill and aesthetics that can be changed.

Lately, I’ve been fascinated by the idea of “influence”. Not influencers, per se, but how we pick up values, personality traits, interests, and lifestyles from people we surround ourselves with.

Do you really like punk rock? Or do you like it because a cool friend from middle school liked it? Does it matter?

Do you really dislike country music or are you just rebelling against your parents?

Does it matter where our influences come from?

It’s a big question to ask, with lots of nuances.

My answer right now is—

Mostly. Absolutely. Probably. Definitely.

I have an old friend who’s never like reading. Ever since I’ve known him, I’ve never heard him talk about a book he’s liked. In school, he would read a book from cover to cover—meaning the front cover and the back cover and nothing in between. I get it, he’s a people guy. He’d rather have a conversation or watch a show then read. And school reading assignments obviously left a bad taste in his mouth. But I love reading! Half of what I know is from books. I can’t imagine who I would be if I wasn’t voraciously passionate about books.

Small things can influence us in a big way. Little decisions that set us on a certain path. It doesn’t take much to push us down a path that leads us to places we don’t want to be. And on the other hand, a random whim or chance encounters can lead to open doors and wonderful opportunities. Friend of a kind of situation. Stumbling into someone at a coffee shop or bar that leads to your life calling. Or—just leads to your next oat milk latte.

There’s certainly a heavy sprinkle of chance when it comes to influencing.

However, that doesn’t me we are helpless to its power.

Instead of thinking of ourselves like a leaf on the wind, aimlessly spinning around, following wherever the wind takes us, think of it like you’re an origami paper airplane. You can cut, follow, and weave through the wind. You can change yourself, and therefore have a hand in where you’re going.

Not the best analogy, but you get the idea.

It comes down to willingness.

Be open to change and possibility. Try things before you judge them or write them off. Curate your influences. Surround yourself with a higher quality of influences. And examine and question why you do what you do.

Are you making a decision out of curiosity or good admirations, or are you doing it everyone around you is?

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing,
— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1145

Join the Renaissance:

Newsletters: Considerations | Practices |  Bookaholics

Subscribe: Renaissance Life on Apple Podcast | Renaissance Life on Spotify