Tag: motivation

Soul on Paper

I’ve always looked at reading a book like a conversation between author and reader. Through reading, you have the golden opportunity of communicating with people that are separated from you by time and space.

However, I didn’t realize the truth of this statement in my actions. As a young teenager, I read a lot of classic fiction. I would speed-read the chapters, sigh at the end, and leave unchanged.

Thinking back, I wonder: was it the books I was reading that didn’t change me, or was it my attitude toward the reading process? Even fiction books have deep underlying philosophical issues they address. Was I doing justice to the books I read by simply reading them and putting them away? Continue reading Soul on Paper

Perfection or Constant Growth?

I haven’t read the book Art and Fear, but I have learned a valuable lesson from the book without even opening its cover. There’s an anecdote about an art teacher that holds a valuable lesson for all of life, not just content creation:

“The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those on the right solely on its quality.

His procedure was simple: on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the “quantity” group: fifty pound of pots rated an “A”, forty pounds a “B”, and so on. Those being graded on “quality”, however, needed to produce only one pot – albeit a perfect one – to get an “A”.

Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems that while the “quantity” group was busily churning out piles of work – and learning from their mistakes – the “quality” group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay.” (Source)

We’ve been told all our lives to look at the big picture; there’s nothing wrong with that. But in the process of trying to see the big picture, we have begun obsessing over what it should look like.

Here’s the big deal: spending time worrying about making something perfect takes time away from actually creating value in life. But when you are focused on building and creating, you can’t help but to advance each day. Perfection is an illusion. But constant growth is not. The people who are obsessed with the illusion are the ones who will grow the least.

Maybe, instead of trying to make one perfect big picture, we should focus on each day as a figurative lump of clay ready to be molded. Each project, every idea, each relationship is its own work of art. Instead of sitting around spending time theorizing about what exactly your life’s masterpiece should be, create value on the canvas in front of you.

You’re the artist; go find your canvases.

Photo by Anna Jahn on Unsplash

It’s All in the Name

I google myself randomly, often. I want to be kept up to date with what comes up when people search for me.

Today, I realized something. I have an edge on the blade of search engine optimization. Nobody else has my name. At least, I haven’t seen any other “Lolita Allgyer” pop up on a Google search. Continue reading It’s All in the Name

Projects: Concrete Learning

I’ve been realizing anew the importance of learning through projects. There’s something about creating a physical representation of a new concept that concretes the information in your brain.

I’m not sure when humanity decided that information in the abstract is the most important part of survival. Slowly we are falling away from the practical application of knowledge; quickly we are approaching the day when no one knows how to apply what they have learned.

Knowledge is obsolete without wisdom to apply it. What better way to put information to use than a hands-on application? Continue reading Projects: Concrete Learning

Musings On My Life: a Free Verse

What is life, if I live with little impact?

What is freedom, if I do not free another soul?

My life cannot have meaning if I have no legacy.

My life will be in vain if I miss my destiny.

My destiny? to break the chains that bind the broken hearts;

To give the suffering spirits wings to soar the heights of life.

To thrive, and spread the message:

“Life is meant for living!”

So I hold close each heart entrusted to me.

I speak, to fill another soul with hope.

I love, that in my love another may find truth.

I’ll walk with passion, never looking back,

And live one moment at a time:

And as the moments turn to hours,

The hours into years,

Mark my words: my destiny will be completed.

Worst Work Fail?

While working for a dog breeder, I faced one of the biggest possible fails I could have ever imagined.

Princess was a poodle we had just bought. I had been earning her trust, spending time with her every chance I had.

This was the day I decided to let her run loose for the first time. The country property was around 3 acres. But on the north side of those 3 acres ran the county highway. I knew Princess was headstrong, and I didn’t want to risk her running onto the highway. So up until this day, we had taken walks on a leash.

The poodle did just fine, until I called her to come to me. Then I saw the look: that fiery glance of denial, recognizable in every strong-willed character. Princess turned and ran straight for the highway.

“No, Princess!” I screamed in my mind. But my voice managed to remain calm as I softly called her.

She turned, and like a spoiled, haughty heir to the throne, she pranced onward toward her doom.

I watched the scene happen in my mind, before the catastrophe actually struck. I couldn’t run; Princess was a hundred yards ahead of me and determined that she would not be managed. And she ran out onto the road like an idiot.

That very moment, a small car sped down the road into the dog. Princess was gone in an instant. But I stood there, thunderstruck. I couldn’t get the sights and sounds out of my head: that thud of the car hitting her little body, then watching her roll on the road and lie still.

Not only was I emotionally traumatized because of seeing an animal I loved die; I felt awful because I knew she was a $600 dog. Besides, her worth to my boss was much more, as each of her potential pups would sell for at least $400 apiece. I was in charge of a huge loss for this small business.

So I slowly trudged my 13 year old self out to the road with a shovel.  Not going to lie: I leaned on the shovel and cried. Thankfully a friend of our saw me and stopped to help me take poor Princess off the road.

My boss had watched the whole situation through the window. She understood that I had done everything I possibly could. That made the whole situation easier to bear. The battle was in my own mind.

I had faced the worst thing that could happen in the job that I was holding. But through this experience I gained an incredible mindset.

Even the worst possible scenario can’t take you down. Not unless you allow it to control you. I got up the next morning and loved those dogs with all my heart. I worked as hard as I could to make up for the loss. And greater than everything, I determined never to stop growing. Even if it means running into the biggest work fail ever.

 

Bored? Try Something New

There’s a magic involved with stepping out on a limb. The risk of attempting something previously uncharted makes a wonderful pathway in a  human’s brain. Personally, I have found that learning something completely different from anything I have ever pursued before spurs my creativity more than anything else could.

We were made to do some things on impulse. So look up that question you had, right away. Write down the ideas that fly into your brain. Learn something new.

Today, pursue something different; learn a fact you never had known before; experience life a new way. You’d be surprised to realize what kind of perspective it will give you! Who knows: you’re probably one idea away from changing the world!