I remember the time when cable tv was a new thing and I wanted to watch all the channels at once and there were hundreds of them. I've suffered from wanting to do it all and not leave anything behind. It was a disease. Then with time I sort of healed because I learned that I cannot be everything, everywhere, to everybody. That life is made of choices, but here's the thing: no choice is irreversible. When I decide to abandon something to direct my time and energy to other things, I do it with the awareness that, one day, I may get back to that, if I'm so inclined (I give myself permission to think in these terms). We live in a society that fosters absolutism: everything it's either white or black. Either 100% or 0%. And this whole disease of wanting to do everything is exacerbated by the need to do everything at full speed, at 100%. This is as damaging as it is a necessary part of our evolution; I think of it as a phase that cannot be skipped, no matter how much advice you get from (supposedly) smart and wise and older folks. And so I'm happy to see you make a choice and try to cultivate the parts of your life that you deem more salient right now. As much as I really enjoyed your Saturday pieces, I'm glad to see you direct your attention (and heart) to one weekly, personal essay. :)
Silvio, thank you for such a beautiful reflection.
It’s so funny. I was just watching an interview with DFW (now I’ve deleted instagram and Twitter) and he said the exact same thing: he got rid of his tv because he’d manically flick through the channels, worrying, thinking that on the next channel there would be something better than what he’s watching.
Then I remember reading your piece on books as an anti-library. Not to read them all but to remind yourself of just how much there is you don’t know. And that was just beautiful (and I remembered it!)
I’m just getting to that point with books, just settling into the realization I will die with so many books unread.
I agree you can’t skip it. And I think we align there on cautioning against giving advice. You can’t really know until you do it & learn the hard way.
Thank you again for such a beautiful comment. I swear they could be essays themselves
I hope you have a lovely November weekend :) I don’t recall if you celebrate Christmas but I’m already getting excited for the holidays
Congratulations for deleting Twitter and Instagram! A few weeks ago in WOP David Perell said something along the lines of "I wonder how many people would reach for their dreams if they just deleted Instagram and stopped caring what others perceived their life to be." I haven't stopped thinking about it since.
I just started reading your "Saturday Mornings" (SMs) series last month and I got so hooked with them. Those plus your essays.. especially your essays.
And even though I've read a few of the SMs, they've taught me alot about perspective. Reading that they'll stop made me frown a little then you kept on saying the reason why and I smiled and I felt an ache at the same time but a good ache. And then I got to the part where you said
"In the end, I hope this all results in writing you love. Writing that makes you think, writing that makes you feel, writing that makes you smile"
Your writing makes me feel exactly that.
Your writing actually inspired me to maybe try publishing something on substack?😅 Let's wait and see.
Congrats on deleting Instagram and Twitter. That's a bold and important move for you.
Did the qn "shouldn't I stick around in the hopes of getting clients or a gig" pop up before making the decision?
For me as a freelance writer, I'm questioning it alot. I imagine quitting Instagram and Twitter and I don't worry about losing the dopamine hit from addictive content. I actually feel relief just imagining quitting but that question usually pops up.
I'm excited for the coming personal essays! I'm sure they're going to be relatable and educative.
Wow, thank you for such a thoughtful and reflective note :) comments like these make my day & remind me why I love writing so much
It's always sad to leave the past behind (I'm quite a nostalgic person) but I hope this will lead to a better future. But it wasn't a decision I took easily or lightly. I first began to think about this in February.
It makes me so happy to hear you've enjoyed my work. I'm glad I'm hitting the mark :)
I've really enjoyed Substack as a platform, both for writing and reading. I'd encourage you to check it out as a place to share your writing! And it's part of the reason I deleted other socials, is I want to just engage and be more present here
Thank you again, for the kind note. Hope you have a lovely week!
"Less but better". I'm loving this so much. I made a decision to pause my YouTube video-ing before WOP11 and now that WOP11 has ended, I don't think I want to go back to YouTube (just yet). Just focusing on writing now. Less (creating) but better.
yeah i think you explored similar ideas when you wrote about managing priorities. it's a tricky one cuz part of being creative is having multiple outlets to express yourself and your creativity but also i know how essential focus and reduction is to full creative expression.
Thank you Rick! it's scary to focus because instead of kinda being mediocre at a bunch of things I can now fail big (and publicly) at one thing. but it's a risk i want to take & i hope it will pay off.
I didn't think it through this way, but that's exactly right. Which explains why there'd be resistance to doing that. I've suffered from exactly that dynamic for a long time and only recently chose a focused niche (speaking and storytelling) to go deeper on. But it's really changed everything.
Also forgot about the instagram and Twitter emancipation Tommy!
My God man, you pack so much into your writing that I need to be taking notes! Haha
As for you doubting your capabilities? We are all faced with that inner dialogue, and it’s hardly ever of a positive persuasion, daily, my friend. You are showing up though. Consistently! Consistency in all things, especially consistency, I say. Outside looking in gives me a different perspective on your work. Top drawer, in my humble opinion. Keep going!! 800 subscribers can’t all be wrong!👏✍️👊
Good man. Looking forward to your take on Patagonia. Such a beautiful name. And place, from what I’ve seen on tv and some magazines down through the years. As I type, I have Attenborough’s voice repeatedly saying the word, in my head!!
Patagonia.. here, we find the tribe of the Dixon. Having come here to take a few snaps, decades ago, he ended up marrying a local, having a daughter named after this magnificently beautiful place.. and that, as they say, was that!:)!
Terrific piece, and so inspiring and encouraging to read your words. Backing your authentic self to triumph in the long run takes cahones.. is that how it’s spelt?!.. anyway the brass things that monkeys lose during a cold snap.. and I take my hat off to you Sir! Keep posting those little eclectic notes. We all need respite from the worlds troubles at the mo, so the more laughs, and thoughts shared, the better. Greatly appreciated and anticipated by this patron. Great Stack Tommy. Thanks, yet again, my friend , for sharing!👏✍️
Rather than saying no to things, I think it’s important to say yes to what pulls our hearts. The no’s will come naturally as we drift toward what makes us feel more alive.
Oh I love that J.T. If you find your soul’s work it feels obvious and everything else is boring in comparison.
My friend used a tree as a metaphor for your life’s work: when a tree wakes up in the morning, it doesn’t have to think about what it’s job is. It just does it.
That’s what I’m aiming for. To find my life’s work that’s so natural I don’t even think about it. It’s just an extension of me.
I love this: “I want to spend more time with each essay. Write more words, rewrite more words, scrap more words. So when I do share something with you, it’s really the best I can do.”
What you wrote next about being exhausted after publishing each week really resonated too. Sometimes I can wait until I’m done, so I can take a few, or several weeks off and let my subconscious dance with my muse and see what surfaces.
I’m split because I know quality comes with quantity but I hope to increase quantity just keep more of it behind the scenes & left on the cutting room floor
The subconscious certainly needs time off to percolate and ruminate and process the world. I think that’s why so many great creatives made time for boredom and rest.
I’m so glad to have you here :) hope you have a lovely November weekend
Tommy! I’m sad because I just found your Saturday notes. I’m happy you’re reflecting and spending your time more intentionally. Saying no is hard but, you seem to be going in the right direction! I’ll be extra excited for your weekly writing! 🙌
Emma! Brought a big smile to my face to see your comment :)
Hopefully this will be a step up with an improvement in writing quality & also a bit of rest. Feeling a bit burnt out. And hopefully will savour the holiday season with family (which I’m usually terrible at doing!)
Saying no is SO hard.
Thanks again. Hope you have a lovely November weekend :)
Thank you for the reminder!! For me creativity emerges from within and that divine inspiration speaking quietly inside. I slowly seep outside myself and find after a while there is just too much noise and distraction all the time and I can’t hear what my heart/inspiration is saying so Yes! Reduction, simplify, and awareness plus taking care of myself so I don’t get that far into the noise next time before I shift back. Finding a better balance but leaning more toward my inner intuition. Thanks, Tommy.
Thank you for leaving such a beautiful reflection Kim :)
“creativity emerges from within and that divine inspiration speaking quietly inside” is so good. Very similar to my experience. The more stillness I can cultivate, the more I can hear my inner voice & the more it infuses my life with creativity
Often it’s not about adding more. We are all naturally creative beings. It’s about taking away what’s blocking our channel to inner creativity.
I remember the time when cable tv was a new thing and I wanted to watch all the channels at once and there were hundreds of them. I've suffered from wanting to do it all and not leave anything behind. It was a disease. Then with time I sort of healed because I learned that I cannot be everything, everywhere, to everybody. That life is made of choices, but here's the thing: no choice is irreversible. When I decide to abandon something to direct my time and energy to other things, I do it with the awareness that, one day, I may get back to that, if I'm so inclined (I give myself permission to think in these terms). We live in a society that fosters absolutism: everything it's either white or black. Either 100% or 0%. And this whole disease of wanting to do everything is exacerbated by the need to do everything at full speed, at 100%. This is as damaging as it is a necessary part of our evolution; I think of it as a phase that cannot be skipped, no matter how much advice you get from (supposedly) smart and wise and older folks. And so I'm happy to see you make a choice and try to cultivate the parts of your life that you deem more salient right now. As much as I really enjoyed your Saturday pieces, I'm glad to see you direct your attention (and heart) to one weekly, personal essay. :)
Silvio, thank you for such a beautiful reflection.
It’s so funny. I was just watching an interview with DFW (now I’ve deleted instagram and Twitter) and he said the exact same thing: he got rid of his tv because he’d manically flick through the channels, worrying, thinking that on the next channel there would be something better than what he’s watching.
Then I remember reading your piece on books as an anti-library. Not to read them all but to remind yourself of just how much there is you don’t know. And that was just beautiful (and I remembered it!)
I’m just getting to that point with books, just settling into the realization I will die with so many books unread.
I agree you can’t skip it. And I think we align there on cautioning against giving advice. You can’t really know until you do it & learn the hard way.
Thank you again for such a beautiful comment. I swear they could be essays themselves
I hope you have a lovely November weekend :) I don’t recall if you celebrate Christmas but I’m already getting excited for the holidays
I do celebrate Christmas, yes. Not in a religious way, but as an occasion to gather the family and get together. Enjoy your time in Bariloche! :)
Ah exact same with my family. I’m sure Milan is gorgeous around the holidays.
I will! Already enjoying the quiet small town feel.
Congratulations for deleting Twitter and Instagram! A few weeks ago in WOP David Perell said something along the lines of "I wonder how many people would reach for their dreams if they just deleted Instagram and stopped caring what others perceived their life to be." I haven't stopped thinking about it since.
Motivating! Inspiring. Glad to have joined you on this journey of yours. May our growth parallel each other to new heights.
Anderson, thank you so much my friend. So glad to have you here.
I hope so :)
I just started reading your "Saturday Mornings" (SMs) series last month and I got so hooked with them. Those plus your essays.. especially your essays.
And even though I've read a few of the SMs, they've taught me alot about perspective. Reading that they'll stop made me frown a little then you kept on saying the reason why and I smiled and I felt an ache at the same time but a good ache. And then I got to the part where you said
"In the end, I hope this all results in writing you love. Writing that makes you think, writing that makes you feel, writing that makes you smile"
Your writing makes me feel exactly that.
Your writing actually inspired me to maybe try publishing something on substack?😅 Let's wait and see.
Congrats on deleting Instagram and Twitter. That's a bold and important move for you.
Did the qn "shouldn't I stick around in the hopes of getting clients or a gig" pop up before making the decision?
For me as a freelance writer, I'm questioning it alot. I imagine quitting Instagram and Twitter and I don't worry about losing the dopamine hit from addictive content. I actually feel relief just imagining quitting but that question usually pops up.
I'm excited for the coming personal essays! I'm sure they're going to be relatable and educative.
Wow, thank you for such a thoughtful and reflective note :) comments like these make my day & remind me why I love writing so much
It's always sad to leave the past behind (I'm quite a nostalgic person) but I hope this will lead to a better future. But it wasn't a decision I took easily or lightly. I first began to think about this in February.
It makes me so happy to hear you've enjoyed my work. I'm glad I'm hitting the mark :)
I've really enjoyed Substack as a platform, both for writing and reading. I'd encourage you to check it out as a place to share your writing! And it's part of the reason I deleted other socials, is I want to just engage and be more present here
Thank you again, for the kind note. Hope you have a lovely week!
"Less but better". I'm loving this so much. I made a decision to pause my YouTube video-ing before WOP11 and now that WOP11 has ended, I don't think I want to go back to YouTube (just yet). Just focusing on writing now. Less (creating) but better.
Looks like we're still kindred spirits, Tommy ;)
Have fun in Bariloche!
Becky!
yeah i think you explored similar ideas when you wrote about managing priorities. it's a tricky one cuz part of being creative is having multiple outlets to express yourself and your creativity but also i know how essential focus and reduction is to full creative expression.
can only hope to be a kindred spirit with you :)
I'm inspired by your commitment to focus in on the core of your art Tommy.
Thank you Rick! it's scary to focus because instead of kinda being mediocre at a bunch of things I can now fail big (and publicly) at one thing. but it's a risk i want to take & i hope it will pay off.
I'm inspired by you :)
I didn't think it through this way, but that's exactly right. Which explains why there'd be resistance to doing that. I've suffered from exactly that dynamic for a long time and only recently chose a focused niche (speaking and storytelling) to go deeper on. But it's really changed everything.
It’s key to achieving just about anything.
Also forgot about the instagram and Twitter emancipation Tommy!
My God man, you pack so much into your writing that I need to be taking notes! Haha
As for you doubting your capabilities? We are all faced with that inner dialogue, and it’s hardly ever of a positive persuasion, daily, my friend. You are showing up though. Consistently! Consistency in all things, especially consistency, I say. Outside looking in gives me a different perspective on your work. Top drawer, in my humble opinion. Keep going!! 800 subscribers can’t all be wrong!👏✍️👊
Thanks Kevin! Certainly some days I feel like a Writer, some like a writer and some like a loser. But I try to be consistent regardless.
And oh yeah..Patagonia eh?? The very name fires up the imagination. Living the dream, Tommy!
Well done. Keep going man.💪👏✍️
Haha it is quite the name Kevin. Maybe the name of my first child …
Exciting to finally be here.
You will be posting extra photographs of Patagonia?!
I’ll take the best photos I can! :)
Good man. Looking forward to your take on Patagonia. Such a beautiful name. And place, from what I’ve seen on tv and some magazines down through the years. As I type, I have Attenborough’s voice repeatedly saying the word, in my head!!
Patagonia.. here, we find the tribe of the Dixon. Having come here to take a few snaps, decades ago, he ended up marrying a local, having a daughter named after this magnificently beautiful place.. and that, as they say, was that!:)!
It would be a wonderful name for your future daughter.
Hey man!
Terrific piece, and so inspiring and encouraging to read your words. Backing your authentic self to triumph in the long run takes cahones.. is that how it’s spelt?!.. anyway the brass things that monkeys lose during a cold snap.. and I take my hat off to you Sir! Keep posting those little eclectic notes. We all need respite from the worlds troubles at the mo, so the more laughs, and thoughts shared, the better. Greatly appreciated and anticipated by this patron. Great Stack Tommy. Thanks, yet again, my friend , for sharing!👏✍️
Thanks Kevin :) seriously means a lot. The past few days have been bumpy, haven’t been feeling like the most confident writer or even a writer at all.
Thank you for your words of encouragement :) appreciate you
Rather than saying no to things, I think it’s important to say yes to what pulls our hearts. The no’s will come naturally as we drift toward what makes us feel more alive.
Oh I love that J.T. If you find your soul’s work it feels obvious and everything else is boring in comparison.
My friend used a tree as a metaphor for your life’s work: when a tree wakes up in the morning, it doesn’t have to think about what it’s job is. It just does it.
That’s what I’m aiming for. To find my life’s work that’s so natural I don’t even think about it. It’s just an extension of me.
If we love what we do, it feels more like play than work. Right, Tommy?
That’s the dream :) just get to play & get paid
Yes!
Saying no is sometimes the best thing to do, but it can be one of the most complex words to say.
It’s complex indeed. Saying no is neither easy nor intuitive nor encouraged. It often means disappointing people. Getting pushback.
But I come back to that quote “your job is to disappoint as many people as you need to avoid disappointing yourself”
It’s a risk but one I hope turns out for the best :)
I love this: “I want to spend more time with each essay. Write more words, rewrite more words, scrap more words. So when I do share something with you, it’s really the best I can do.”
What you wrote next about being exhausted after publishing each week really resonated too. Sometimes I can wait until I’m done, so I can take a few, or several weeks off and let my subconscious dance with my muse and see what surfaces.
I will look forward to your visit each week!
Thank you James :)
I’m split because I know quality comes with quantity but I hope to increase quantity just keep more of it behind the scenes & left on the cutting room floor
The subconscious certainly needs time off to percolate and ruminate and process the world. I think that’s why so many great creatives made time for boredom and rest.
I’m so glad to have you here :) hope you have a lovely November weekend
Tommy! I’m sad because I just found your Saturday notes. I’m happy you’re reflecting and spending your time more intentionally. Saying no is hard but, you seem to be going in the right direction! I’ll be extra excited for your weekly writing! 🙌
Emma! Brought a big smile to my face to see your comment :)
Hopefully this will be a step up with an improvement in writing quality & also a bit of rest. Feeling a bit burnt out. And hopefully will savour the holiday season with family (which I’m usually terrible at doing!)
Saying no is SO hard.
Thanks again. Hope you have a lovely November weekend :)
Thank you for the reminder!! For me creativity emerges from within and that divine inspiration speaking quietly inside. I slowly seep outside myself and find after a while there is just too much noise and distraction all the time and I can’t hear what my heart/inspiration is saying so Yes! Reduction, simplify, and awareness plus taking care of myself so I don’t get that far into the noise next time before I shift back. Finding a better balance but leaning more toward my inner intuition. Thanks, Tommy.
Thank you for leaving such a beautiful reflection Kim :)
“creativity emerges from within and that divine inspiration speaking quietly inside” is so good. Very similar to my experience. The more stillness I can cultivate, the more I can hear my inner voice & the more it infuses my life with creativity
Often it’s not about adding more. We are all naturally creative beings. It’s about taking away what’s blocking our channel to inner creativity.
Your consistency has been an inspiration man! Excited for the new format!!🔥
Thanks Andy! really appreciate your support for my writing (since wayyyy back) :)