Adam, this very good. There is an aspect of this phenomenon related to passivity. When we are actively engaged in doing something, it requires greater attention and focus. I’ve been writing intentionally for almost twenty years beginning with a weblog and a newspaper column in 2004. In 2016, I began work on my first book, Circle of Impact. It took two years to produce a manuscript. Huge learning curve. When the pandemic came, I wrote seven short books between March 2020 and June 2021. My capacity for focused attention was growing because I was working out of a clear sense of active purpose. I wasn’t passively responding. I was actively creating. In 2022, I began writing at Substack. That year I produced over 200,000 words, and found that the writing gave me greater facility for speaking. Then this year, I began The Eddy Network Podcast. What I found equates to what Johann Hari found. As I interviewed people, many of them I am meeting for the first time, I found my ability for focused attention growing as I listened more intentionally. The result was hearing things my guests were saying that prompted questions that took us deeper than a casual conversation. I found the 95 episodes changed me like it was a training regimen. I am calmer, less in a hurry to say something, and get on to the next thing. All this “work” can be found here- YouTube - https://tinyurl.com/42xx39ph - Substack - https://edbrenegar.substack.com. The key is having a sense of purpose that defines our intention for how we order our time. It means that we have to see ourselves as creators, not passive receptors of other people’s creativity. It was this awareness almost 15 years ago that was the change that brought me to this moment. Now, the question is “Where do I take all this in 2024?” The learning and capacity building never ends.
Thanks, Ed- writing also helps sharpen my thoughts, a form of extended cognition. I recently finished The Creative Act by Rick Rubin (https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Act-Way-Being/dp/0593652886), and he encourages people to reframe creativity as something that all humans participate in.
The writing life demands adherrence to focus and discipline. The more focused you can become, the deeper you can go into a topic. There may be a limit. Is there such a thing as too much patience ? I like 100 year old books because of their beauty and elegance. Design and formatting do play a part. People can still have long conversations if they desire to have them, but the molecular layer of dust that is our info age will not diminish but only get deeper.
Adam, this very good. There is an aspect of this phenomenon related to passivity. When we are actively engaged in doing something, it requires greater attention and focus. I’ve been writing intentionally for almost twenty years beginning with a weblog and a newspaper column in 2004. In 2016, I began work on my first book, Circle of Impact. It took two years to produce a manuscript. Huge learning curve. When the pandemic came, I wrote seven short books between March 2020 and June 2021. My capacity for focused attention was growing because I was working out of a clear sense of active purpose. I wasn’t passively responding. I was actively creating. In 2022, I began writing at Substack. That year I produced over 200,000 words, and found that the writing gave me greater facility for speaking. Then this year, I began The Eddy Network Podcast. What I found equates to what Johann Hari found. As I interviewed people, many of them I am meeting for the first time, I found my ability for focused attention growing as I listened more intentionally. The result was hearing things my guests were saying that prompted questions that took us deeper than a casual conversation. I found the 95 episodes changed me like it was a training regimen. I am calmer, less in a hurry to say something, and get on to the next thing. All this “work” can be found here- YouTube - https://tinyurl.com/42xx39ph - Substack - https://edbrenegar.substack.com. The key is having a sense of purpose that defines our intention for how we order our time. It means that we have to see ourselves as creators, not passive receptors of other people’s creativity. It was this awareness almost 15 years ago that was the change that brought me to this moment. Now, the question is “Where do I take all this in 2024?” The learning and capacity building never ends.
Thanks, Ed- writing also helps sharpen my thoughts, a form of extended cognition. I recently finished The Creative Act by Rick Rubin (https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Act-Way-Being/dp/0593652886), and he encourages people to reframe creativity as something that all humans participate in.
Yes, it is a growing trend. My recent episode with Anthony Howard speaks of this in terms of art and a new Renaissance. He is on to something. https://edbrenegar.substack.com/p/anthony-howard-on-a-new-renaissance
Got it in the queue!
The writing life demands adherrence to focus and discipline. The more focused you can become, the deeper you can go into a topic. There may be a limit. Is there such a thing as too much patience ? I like 100 year old books because of their beauty and elegance. Design and formatting do play a part. People can still have long conversations if they desire to have them, but the molecular layer of dust that is our info age will not diminish but only get deeper.