A relevant quote from Epictetus I turn to often: “What, do all horses become swift-running, or all dogs quick on the scent? And then, because I’m not naturally gifted, shall I therefore abandon all effort to do my best? Heaven forbid. Epictetus won’t be better than Socrates; but even if I’m not too bad, that is good enough for me. For I won’t ever be a Milo either, and yet I don’t neglect my body; nor a Croesus, and I don’t neglect my property; nor in general do I cease to make any effort in any regard whatever merely because I despair of achieving perfection."
The amateur projects are the spice of life to me. Work and family bring meaning to life from contributing to society and harboring something outside one's self. The side curiosities and hobbies allow one to explore her mind and soul. I think a problem that can occur when actions move from amateur to professional is the transition of purpose. From internal to external meaning. This has been well explored by those that have made a living from what began as a hobby. A good balance is necessary.
I really like this. We are called human "beings" after all. When you get right down to it, I think we're each a process, made of many sub-processes, comprising part of many more macro processes. We're all being and doing in a universe that is happening.
A relevant quote from Epictetus I turn to often: “What, do all horses become swift-running, or all dogs quick on the scent? And then, because I’m not naturally gifted, shall I therefore abandon all effort to do my best? Heaven forbid. Epictetus won’t be better than Socrates; but even if I’m not too bad, that is good enough for me. For I won’t ever be a Milo either, and yet I don’t neglect my body; nor a Croesus, and I don’t neglect my property; nor in general do I cease to make any effort in any regard whatever merely because I despair of achieving perfection."
A great quote - from Adventure Time, no less:
"Sucking at something is the first step to becoming sorta good at something."
- Jake the Dog
The amateur projects are the spice of life to me. Work and family bring meaning to life from contributing to society and harboring something outside one's self. The side curiosities and hobbies allow one to explore her mind and soul. I think a problem that can occur when actions move from amateur to professional is the transition of purpose. From internal to external meaning. This has been well explored by those that have made a living from what began as a hobby. A good balance is necessary.
Really resonated with this take.
"By all means, become an expert in something — but don’t let that stop you from being an amateur about a great many things, too. "
I really like this. We are called human "beings" after all. When you get right down to it, I think we're each a process, made of many sub-processes, comprising part of many more macro processes. We're all being and doing in a universe that is happening.