Hey everyone - Adam here.
This newsletter was written on December 8th, 2021.
09:46 - I’m going to assign myself reading for a book I’d like to finish today.
As a prerequisite for writing this newsletter this week, I am forcing myself to read the rest of Stephen Pressfield’s book “The War of Art”. I have roughly 35 pages to go and want to chunk this into my goal of publishing a newsletter :)
I bought this book from a local book store over the weekend, and realized quickly that (holy smokes) this book is the exact gut punch I needed. As soon as I began reading “The War of Art” I immediately began writing quotes down such as this gem below.
“The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.”
This makes me think of publishing this newsletter on a weekly basis. Every time it gets close to the weekly time in which I publish (Every Thursday before 10AM), I feel this urge and begin to stress out, overthinking the situation at hand.
Even on the days in which I have work I am excited to do (publishing a new song, working on a new piece of writing), etc… I find myself suffering from analysis paralysis.
Analysis Paralysis: overthinking a situation can cause forward motion or decision-making to become "paralyzed", meaning that no solution or course of action is decided upon.
Rather than overthinking… it is the wise and simple thing to take action in your situation, and act towards your goal.
The only we can drive towards a solution (yes this even includes deciding what to wear) is to just act. Make a decision and roll with it friends!
09:55 - THIS BOOK HYPES ME UP
So rather than overanalyzing my morning, I am going to continue to read this beaut and report back when I feel like I need a break from reading.
This is the type of book that makes me want to go to work, so it’s fun to write this newsletter as I wrap up reading the concluding pages.
10:41 - 15 pages left to read!
It’s my goal to highlight one or two more of the quotes that I enjoy, as I finish reading the concluding pages of this book.
However, first, I’m going to begin to copy down the quotes I enjoy onto a page I made in my notes on Roam Research.
I wrapped up writing the quotes I enjoyed from the introduction of the text, hence the ✅ signifying that I am finished copying down the quotes I enjoy of a particular section.
Here’s a screenshot of the way I am mapping out the quotes that I enjoyed from “The War of Art”
Here’s an example of how I write out my quotes and respond to them within an individual note. The section in which I am writing these notes on is [[Book #1: Resistance - Defining the Enemy]].
The quote I chose to reflect on as shown above is:
“The more important a call or action is to our soul’s evolution, the more resistance we will feel towards pursuing it.”
I think of the desire I have towards creating my debut album.. and overthinking the amount of work it’ll take for me to get there… rather than putting in the work, or just sitting down at my chair to play the piano.
Naturally, I had to make a flashcard for this quote on my Anki.
(Let me remind you, we become what we remember!)
So this may be why it’s so easy to brush up on my piano playing some days versus others? The longer the gaps are in between me playing, the harder it gets to improve.
However, the shorter the gaps are for when I practice jamming on my piano, the better I get at it. You really do have to fight the resistance one day at a time.
11:16 - Back to Reading :)
The main objective of this newsletter, is to use it as a forcing function to finish reading the book “The War of Art”.
I’ll put down one quote I enjoyed from the end of this text too :)
I still have 15 more pages remaining.
I ended up eating a leftover slice of pizza, with a fork and knife, with this song (below) playing in my headphones and felt like I was in Italy (or at least how I always imagined it to be there).
(As an aside, I listen to A LOT of classical music, especially as I take the time to go DEEP on a topic.)
Give it a try with this playlist, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much it helps.
Back to reading.
12:08 - I FINISHED READING :)
WOW. This was a fascinating book folks.
I cannot recommend this read enough, as it really is the gasoline to the fire that is your passions.
In the last 16 pages, I highlighted 9 quotes in which I enjoyed 😲
However, I will stick with my initial promise and pick just one more quote to reflect on.
“We must do our work for its own sake, not for fortune or attention or applause.”
This is the quote I chose to select, for the purposes of being stuck in a state of overanalysis… that any creator online must feel a tinge of nowadays (myself included).
Creating and publishing online, gives us the opportunity to have real-time feedback. This typically expresses itself in the form of likes, plays, shares and comments. Let me remind you that this is not the only point of putting your work online.
But to instead, put in the work, and refining on your craft, rather than merely playing the game just right on social media.
Consider social media as a progress vector, a place in which you can release your latest published work, and as a place to submit an assignment in, in a sense.
Because let’s be honest, social media continues to evolve, and the ways in which you went viral before are continually changing and likely obsolete.
So rather than devoting the time to create a killer marketing plan. Instead, release your music to the world, publish that piece you wrote a while back, and just get something out INTO THE WORLD.
The only way, you will get closer to your dreams is by actively taking steps towards them on a daily basis.
For the goal of writing a book in your lifetime, start by publishing your writing somewhere… (starting a newsletter is a good first step)
For the goal of releasing an album, start by making a lot of songs… (publishing them is a good step too).
You can be selective with this, but the important thing is you continually sharpen this skill and share your progress with others whom you have something you can learn from as well.
Read books that make you do stuff and do the work that the book inspired within you!
Cheers to lifelong learning,
Adam Bartley
PARTING NOTE
If you're enjoying “The Freelance Graduate Student” newsletter, I would really love it if you shared it with a homie or two. You can send them here to subscribe. I try my very best to put out creative ideas each week, and I hope you have as much fun reading them as I do writing them.
If you find any links relevant to the previous writing I have put out, or have any comments just reply to this post. (This is encouraged too by the way.)
Thanks ya’ll 🙏🏻