Do you want it? - November 20, 2007

I think it really comes down to a question of whether you want it or not. Look at Jamie Kennedy. The internet basically gave him the opportunity to reinvent himself like no other medium possibly could, and what happened? He posts like every 2 months.

That's the thing, no one's got a gun to your head forcing you towards the good life. No one cares if you do anything--let alone something well. Only you. So is hard work the exception or is it the rule in your life? And I don't mean do you work long hours, or if you spend all night studying. Quantity has never mattered to anyone but the person making rationalizations. Only results, effort, growth--quality--matter. So do you take advantage of opportunity? And when you do, do you clear cut/scorch the earth and take every single resource you can?

I'm not there yet. Sometimes I realize I spent all day just dicking around. Or, that I'm waiting for someone to hand me something instead of just fucking taking it. But then I catch myself and respond by identifying something tangible to get back in the groove. "Finish this book." "Write this." "Send these emails." The productive groove--do you have one?

I'll end with Rand: "It was like advancing through empty rooms. Nobody opposed her, yet nobody approved of her progress." It was like advancing through empty rooms.

Posted by ryanholiday at 10:31 AM

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Comments

This may just be a choice, but shouldn't you link to Jamie's Rudius media site? Other than that, great post, I'm 22 so I am exactly where you are right now, possibly with less introspection than you do. Great work, keep it up.

Posted by: Irie at November 20, 2007 11:57 AM

Fixed

Posted by: Ryan Holiday at November 20, 2007 12:01 PM

come

Posted by: zzy at November 20, 2007 01:38 PM

IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT I SAY. IT WILL NEVER GET PUBLISHED!

Posted by: woojiwoojiwoo at November 20, 2007 04:19 PM

"So is hard work the exception or is it the rule in your life? And I don't mean do you work long hours, or if you spend all night studying. Quantity has never mattered to anyone but the person making rationalizations. Only results, effort, growth--quality--matter."

This is the part resonating with me right now at this exact second because I was just put in charge of 2 other people and a whole company. Having done so it's hard for me to find a fine balance in between working my ass off and working smart without getting burned out. Excellent post as usual.

"Suddenly you realize that you are reading exactly what you need to hear at this moment in your life" - Developing Intuition: Practical Guidance for Daily Life

Posted by: Edward at November 20, 2007 08:07 PM

at some point maybe you'll stop referencing my favorite authors. until then:

"A desire presupposes the possibility of action to achieve it; action presupposes a goal which is worth achieving."

-Ayn Rand

Posted by: kate at November 20, 2007 08:08 PM

JK's blog was so damn funny I read all his posts the first time I saw it. Now it's about to be axed from my RSS. He's got a movie coming out soon so I assume he' doing something - Why not tell the story?

Posted by: Nick at November 21, 2007 02:52 AM

Thanks for motivating my to get off my butt and post. It's so easy to just sit back and let time go by - and forget that we only have a limited amount of it. Just like Robert Greene says in his Death Ground strategy, time is an enemy too...

Scott

Posted by: Scott at November 21, 2007 10:46 AM

What ever happened to hedonism? Jeesh, slow down and just enjoy yourself.

Posted by: joewanderlust at November 21, 2007 05:19 PM