Daily Yamabushi

How to get to the good stuff

This is the stuff that needs to get out of the way. This is the stuff that I need to get off my chest. This is the bad writing, and this, rinsed and repeated countless times, is the only way to get to the good stuff.

What the cold water teaches us

It’s unpleasant. It stings. It hurts. But you can train your mind to think otherwise. You can train your mind to switch the sensation from an unpleasant one to a sensation of simply being. To a sensation of acknowledgment of situation. To a sensation of acknowledgment of being alive. This is what the cold water teaches us.

Let it

Is your decision based on compassion? Are you acting for the good of others?

We all need a break sometimes. Sometimes always. One great way to get that is through compassion.

If you’re considerate of others, if you’re compassionate about their cause, people remember that. They respect it, and when they can, they reciprocate in kind.

Compassion comes back to you. Be kind and compassionate.

Plenty of it

Room for improvement is not a lack of abilities. It’s yet to be tapped potential. Room for improvement means you have more to gain, more to learn, more to look forward to.

It’s not a demotivator, it’s the opposite.

Room for improvement is an opportunity for improvement. It’s an unrealized opportunity for better. Plenty of it.

The worst kind

Excuses need backbones. They need legs to stand on. Otherwise they’re just that, excuses. They are a reason not to do something you probably could do if that backbone didn’t exist. You just aren’t doing the thing because you’ve fooled yourself into believing the excuse has a backbone, when really it doesn’t.

Sure, sometimes you need to test whether the backbone really is a backbone, whether the excuse you’re giving yourself is a valid one. Sometimes, it truly is. But not all the time. You need to be brave enough to not only know the difference, but to test it too.

Ask yourself, am I not doing the thing because of a valid excuse? An excuse with a backbone? Or have I led myself to believe there is a backbone when there really shouldn’t be? In which case, you need to do the thing.

Excuses with no backbone are the worst kind. Get them out of your life.

Means more of the same

More of the same means more of the same. If you want the same, do the same! If you want less of the same, do less of the same. Even if you want more of the same, do less of the same to keep things spicy. Either way, less of the same is a ticket for some adventure. More of the same is a ticket for more of the same.

Just relentless discipline

If you get the discipline right, you don’t need to rely on heroics. The discipline is the key to getting things done, or at the very least giving yourself the best chance at doing that. Get the discipline down, and there’s no heroics necessary.

Bad for relationships, good for ideas.

‘Thank you, next’ might not be the best thing for people or relationships, but when it comes to ideas, it’s a completely different story.

Get the ideas out the door and into the world. Develop them if you feel the need, once they’re out in the world you have a better idea on this. And if not, say thank you, and get on with the next.

The sooner you find out whether an idea is good or not, the sooner you can get on with the important work of developing it, or getting on with finding more ideas.

Thank you, next.

These are the days

The older we get, the fonder we get of days gone by, times that were much simpler than our convoluted modern lives. But if that was the case then, then it only follows that it would be the case in the future.

What happens when we change ’those were the days’ to ‘these are the days’?

A lot.

Nothing to come of it

I’m being tail gated. I can see that in my rear view mirror. What do they want? Did I do something to anger them? Why won’t they go away?

Turns out they have. Turns out the went down the last turn off. No more tailgating.

Getting all worked up about a tailgater only to then realise it was not even an issue. It may not be what you wanted to happen, you probably wanted nothing to happen, but at least nothing did happen, right?

Stop thinking. Start doing.

On a recent Tim Ferriss podcast his guest David Whyte discussed how he had given himself parameters when it came to writing that were simply total nonsense. He noticed this when asked to write something with a very small word count in a very limited amount of time, time that he didn’t have.

Or so he had led himself to believe with the parameters he had himself unknowingly.

This was a revelation for me. I always tell myself things like ’I need at least one whole hour or else I won’t make enough progress on that project’ or ’I need one more cup of coffee to give me the energy to get this done once and for all’.

These are just self-imposed parameters with zero basis in reality. I can do work in less time, and I can do it without coffee too. And so can you.

All these parameters are just nonsense, and they sound eerily like Steven Pressfield’s so-called Resistance. Unnecessary things we tell ourselves that stop us from getting things done.

Where are you placing unnecessary parameters in your creative life? What could you do with that extra time and energy? It’s time to stop thinking and start doing.

Understanding for understanding.

“There is no sure path to success. But the sure path to failure is trying to please everyone.” – Tim Ferriss

Not everyone has to like you. By the same token, not everyone has to understand you either.

Just create, and let the ones who get you, get you. Forget the rest.

There’s no excuse necessary

If you want to create, create. If you don’t want to create, create anyway. You’ll be better for it.

There’s no excuse necessary for creation. In fact, it’s the reverse. Any excuse is acceptable to create.

Try this on for size

If yes, carry on. If no, or if this question offends you, take ten deep breaths then get back to me.

You just have to let it out

You know the answer. Or, at least, your soul does. The little things you do without your thinking about it, the little things you notice when your mind wanders off. These hold the key to answering the question. You know the answer.

Sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes the answer hits you like a ton of bricks. Other times you find the answer in a knee jerk reaction. Sometimes you really do have to do serious soul searching to discover what you’ve known all along. Sometimes all it takes is a change of atmosphere or a change of situation. Either way, you already know the answer.

Deciding to do something, or actually doing it?

Is the moment of truth the moment you do the thing, or the moment you decide to do it a take the first steps to be able to do the thing?

Is it the moment you jump from the diving board? Or the moment you decide you want to do that?

Or is it?

If someone says it’s a big deal it doesn’t necessarily mean it is. If something seems like a big deal it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is.

In the grand scheme of things big deals are more often anything but. Quit your worry, and just get on with it. It’s not that big a deal.

The way to get to fast

The age old mantra rings true: Slow is steady, steady is fast.

Allow yourself to be slow, but don’t allow yourself to not be methodical. When you’re just getting started or starting back, you need to give yourself a break. You need to take it easy and work on the steps one by one. Any other method is a recipe for disaster.

Slow but methodical is the name of the game. Slow enough that you’re still in the game, methodical enough so that when you build that experience, it’s built right. It’s done in a way that means when you get to that next step, the step where you can speed up, it is mindful and done with care, not haphazardly trying to do things fast.

The way to get to fast, is to be slow and methodical.

Put it out in the world

If you’ve put it out in the world,

you’ve given it a chance. You’ve given yourself a chance. Give yourself the chance. Put it out in the world.

The only way to know for sure

Give them your best. Demand their best. And in return, you know for certain where you stand. No second guessing your position. Taking it to them is the only way to know for sure.

The last variable

What if the first step was the last step you needed to make?

In many cases, it is.

Sometimes the first step is the only thing to matter, the last step before that all important terminal velocity.

So, can you take it?

All you need is ideas.

Don’t wait until you’re motivated. As soon as the idea comes, that’s when you execute. No hesitation. No special motivation necessary. Now all you need is ideas.

The breaks give the meaning to the work. The art gives meaning to life.

The breaks give the meaning to the work. The art gives meaning to life.

Breaks are what give meaning to the work. Do good work and your break feels much better. Whatever your definition of work is.

By extension, it is art that gives meaning to life. Do art, and the living feels much better. Whatever your definition of art is.

Can’t art and work be the same thing?

Inaction is as big a decision as action is.

Inaction is as big a decision as action is.

When it feels worth trying, try it. Err on the side of action. Give action the benefit of the doubt, and see what happens.

Deciding to do something is as big as deciding not to do it. And which is the kind that leads to regret? You might just find you like this new way better too. And if not, you’ve eliminated one possibility. No harm done.

To be able to get a fluke, is not a fluke.

Flukes are always flukes. But it’s not always a fluke that you’re able to put yourself in the position of getting a fluke. It takes the same hard work and dedication to get there as the other people take, it’s just, going one step further isn’t always deemed possible.

Unless it’s a fluke.

You just need to see through the clouds

You just need to remember they’re there, to believe they are there, and to find a way to see them. The stars are still there. You just need to see through the clouds.

It’s not worth the worry

The conch acts as our alarm clock during yamabushi training. It tells us when it’s time to wake up, it tells us when it’s time to get dressed, and it tells us when it’s time to leave. Until we hear the conch, however, we’re essentially free. This means any time spent in anticipation of the conch is free time wasted. Free time wasted is moments of life you’re not going to get back. If it’s not the conch, it’s not worth the worry.

Show me the jealousy, show me the motivation.

If you’re feeling at a loss as to what to do, look for where you feel jealousy.

Ask yourself, am I jealous out of pity for myself, and is there something to be gained from this?

Often if we feel jealousy it’s because we too want a slice of the action, we too want a slice of the pie. This can be an extremely useful way of showing us where our motivations lie.

Show me the jealousy, show me the motivation.

Was yesterday’s problem

Today’s success starts yesterday.

Tomorrow’s success starts right now. Want success? What are you willing to do to make your tomorrow? What are you willing to do to make your now?