The Pulitzer Prize-winning author writes on the turbulent writer’s mind, how coffee somehow helps, and the merit in serving an apprenticeship Annie Dillard first came to my attention several years ago when I came across the perhaps now over-played, yet accurate quote; “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives” […]
Making For Its Own Sake Versus Making For Success
I have lived most of my adult life with the persistent notion that what I do daily must be productive, contain value for other people, and lead to eventual commercial success. In this there must be recognition from others, and, of course, an exchange of legal tender, otherwise it’s hardly worth doing.
Business or Vocation?
I’ve changed my mind. In fact, it has been changing for some time, it’s only recently I have caught up. I’m talking about my relationship with daily work and how I categorise it. I have called myself a businessman in the recent and distant past, but I never really believed it. I thought I was, […]
Bide Your Time
Work for many people is a kind of prison. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say it represents a kind of psychological prison, the alternative to which, is often inconceivable. But what are we if we are not volitional, the active agent in our own lives capable of making decisions without the imposition of some […]
On Becoming The Performatist
I was about 13 years old and I was training with the junior team after school. We were playing a short game into the goals at the railway side of the field. I was in corner-forward when the ball came to me. I turned and took a shot – it went wide. The coach looked […]
Taking Score Too Soon
When the task becomes a toll on us, when we find ourselves taking score too soon and realise we don’t have what it takes, we lose enthusiasm, become discouraged and often give up. We’re caught in time. To achieve the result requires too much effort and so it’s not worth the time to learn the […]
On The Slavery of Work
Oh, the slavery of work! We either love it or hate it, and often both impressions exist side by side. It pays the bills and provides for some of life’s greater pleasures, yet it commands our time and attention. Work helps develop our minds and distinguishes us within the social order, yet it takes us away from the ones we love. It is a labourious drudgery, and yet it can bring us immeasurable gratification and happiness.