What do you see?
What have you been conditioned to imagine?
Hi-De-Ho Virtual Neighbor!
Ready for a psychological evaluation? Neither am I.
Last week, I was reminded of the Ryan Holiday book, The Obstacle is the Way. While I am a skeptic of Stoicism, Holiday’s book is enlightening, and a fun read. The central thesis is that often the things we perceive as obstacles to our success are actually the keys to achieving the success we desire.
Our perspective is influenced by so many things are not conscious of. And we often trust our senses and judgments without question.
I write poetry not because it is famously lucrative (→insert sarcasm font←), but because I can’t not write it. For much of the past six years, I’ve viewed this compulsion as an obstacle to my ability to earn a full-time living as a creative.
But after reading this post by
in her Subsatck, Poe Can Save your Life, it occurred to me that Ryan Holiday has managed to monetize philosophy, and he has done it with passion, authenticity, and earnestness.Catherine’s post was about book marketing.
But it gave me a perspective shift. Perhaps, my poetry and my poetry comics are not an obstacle to my goal, but the way to my goal. After all, if Holiday can earn a living preaching about Stoicism, why can’t I earn a living 17 syllables at a time?
What obstacle in your path might secretly be an opportunity?
Be the weird you want to see in the world!
Cheers,
Jason
Fear gets in my way. I hate saying it but it’s true. I don’t know how I/my family could find a way without the paycheck at the moment. I love teaching, but having an opportunity to write fiction full time would make my heart burst. There’s nothing I enjoy more. If down the line I could take a chance on it with only a moderate risk, I think I’d go for it. With all of this said, I do I feel like I’m on the right path.
Thanks for the thoughtful post, Jason!
Often we need to look at our beliefs to see how they are holding us back. My current perceived obstacles are health and energy (lack of both). Trying to figure out how to move through these. Another great post, Jason. Thanks.