Oh, hi friends!
Is it me or has everything suddenly ratcheted up to 100 MPH?
New inputs, opportunities, diversions.
Good! Bad! So much! Not enough time!
But I just had this thought: What is the core of your day?
Maybe it’s sweeping together all the minor “look this up, follow up with her, check that account” tasks.
Maybe it’s filing that one story. Or finishing that one book. Or caring for your sick kid.
What’s the core — the center and heart — of your day?
Start from there.
Love this energy from the mayor of Emeryville, California. (h/t Colin)
Amanda Green on striving for excellence:
What is a great bit of advice about playwriting you’ve given or received?
I received a great piece of advice from Stephen Sondheim, who himself received it from Oscar Hammerstein II: Frederic Auguste-Bartholdi, the man who created the Statue of Liberty, meticulously sculpted the top of her head, complete with part and hair, even though, at the time he built it in the 1800s, air travel hadn’t been invented and he had no way of knowing anyone would ever see it. So too with lyrics. You have to be meticulous and a perfectionist. Don’t settle for something that ‘almost says it,’ ‘almost rhymes,’ is ‘close enough, who’ll know anyway?’ I have taken it to heart and taken myself to task when I want to cop out.
From a recent issue of the Dramatists Guild magazine.
Perfectionism that prevents you from finishing a project might be a problem.
Perfectionism that allows you to rest knowing you’ve done everything you can isn’t a problem — it’s how you find your true ending.