This week I heard a podcast with the writer Steven Pressfield where he promotes his new book, Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants to Be. It’s not available at the Toronto Public Library, probably because of the word ass in the title.
The gist of the interview is that you must spend time in the chair on the work that matters to you the most in order to make some progress.
He talks with the host, Marie Forleo, about how people with regular day jobs might idolize the professional for having all day to work on their art, but in reality, those top professionals also might not have more than a few hours each day to write or paint.
If you do the math, one hour a day adds up to a significant amount of progress that might not otherwise be achievable if you complain to yourself that you don’t have enough time for your most creative work.
Listen to the interview here.
This Week’s Episode
Over on my show, I start things out with a nice long jam and then discuss a few ideas around why it’s important to take up an instrument as an adult. I also have some ideas for lessening your fear of using technology which is related to being overwhelmed by all the crap we see in our phones each day.
I realize that if you play an instrument, you can jam along with me in the key of E.
You can also listen and watch this episode on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.
Music Recommendation Roulette
I wanted to give you something new to try out this week and it was hard to narrow the choice down. So I scrolled down in the library and said I would pick one album from whatever row of album art it landed on.
Music is the Most Beautiful Language: Yiddisher Jazz in London’s East End 1920-1950 is what we ended up with and it kicks off with the song Biegels by Max Bacon. Available on streaming and on Bandcamp.
Ok thanks for coming along on my magic carpet ride, see you next week!
Elliott