Timeless Masterpiece VS Bestseller.
One comes Through you, the other — From you.
I went for a walk this morning.
To meet the Sun. To meet the Day. To find myself for the day.
I have a routine I love doing in the morning now.
I go out for a walk before the sunrise. I take my phone to take pictures and to listen to some podcast.
The routine makes my body come alive. It energizes me. It puts new ideas in my head. It connects me to the flow of life.
I never have a destination, a route I follow, a schedule.
I walk. I listen. I see. I take pictures.
Something amazing comes out of that.
I feel inspired. I feel alive.
…
Today was special.
Paulo Coelho on Tim Ferriss Podcast.
Paulo Coelho is one of my favorite writers ever.
His writing is like magic.
It transforms you. It fascinates you. It makes you feel alive. It makes you feel as a part of some intriguing story. A participant — not just a passive observer.
The podcast is about writing. Tim is trying to identify how good writing is done, what the parts of the process are, what one can do to get closer to that level of captivating writing. Writing that leaves a mark in your heart forever. Writing that becomes you.
Paulo said all the things I believe in — about writing, art, creativity, the art of living.
Timeless masterpieces can’t be manufactured. Timeless masterpieces come through you into this world. You are a tool. Even better — a prism. A prism that light shines through.
There is light. There is you.
The light shines through you. You change the way it moves, the way it works, by being you. But all the light is still there. Unchanged. And the clearer prism you are — the brighter the light that shines through is. The more you get out of your own way, the less thinking you do, the more light you let to shine through.
I never got the idea of manufacturing books, movies, art.
I never could understand what people talk about when they say writer’s, artist’s, creative block.
What to block? Where is the block? What the hell is it?
You have something to say — say it. The medium doesn’t matter. A book? A poem? A twit? A picture? A painting? A business idea?
You get something to say by living your life, being you.
Art, creativity, light is everywhere just get out of its way — BE the way!
Yes, practicing a craft helps. You get polished. You become a better prism, better receiver, better maker.
But the stuff, the good stuff that comes out through you, doesn’t change. — You change. You let more light shine through you. That’s all.
…
One doesn’t write to write a masterpiece.
One writes to be a better tool for a masterpiece to write itself.
Paulo Coelho gets that. He lives that.
…
You can’t plan or come up with an idea for a great book.
You either have a book in you or you have something else in you.
…
If your writing (or any art or creativity) doesn’t flow through you, there are only two reasons.
You think too much about something, that is NOT done by our thinking mind.
It’s not your thing to do. You can’t “should” yourself into being a great writer who loves his craft.
The Solution:
Shut your thinking brain down.
Live your life like you have no other job (do you really?). Living your life is your mission.
Create whatever wants to be created through you. Don’t should yourself into anything. Create what you want to create. What wants to come out, to shine through you.
…
IT — is really simple. YOU — make it difficult.
My favorite quotes from the podcast:
“Books [the ones you write] are not there to show how intelligent or cultured you are. Books are there to show your heart, to show your soul, to tell your readers, I’m not alone, and you are not alone…”
“You have to be free to write. You should be free to write things that you feel.”
…
What I heard just changed my life.
I’m going to sit down and let the book come out of me. It’s been there for quite some time.
Going to read two books by Paulo Coelho I haven’t read yet.
Shoulds got in the way!
“Aleph” — how could I not read that? I’m from Siberia!
And “Adultery”.
Oh, yes, one last thought.
If you never had that — You are writing and you feel you got to pee but you can’t until you finish writing down the thought — You have not been in a writing flow yet.
