This morning I start the newsletter by getting a cup of coffee. Lately I feel like my morning coffee session is a form of community. Even though there is no one around when I drink my coffee, it helps get me into the mood for making some sort of small contribution to the world.
So cheers to you for reading this newsletter and enjoying a cup of coffee with me even though it’s not happening at the exact same moment in time.
Elliott’s Podcast
This week’s podcast is a sit-down session going over some items in the book The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. The main premise in creating the habit is that you have a cue, followed by a reward.
The invention of toothpaste milked this idea by training consumers to notice the cue of grimy feeling teeth, and then use their product to generate the reward of clean, slick teeth.
With creative work though, it’s a bit more complicated, so make sure to watch this episode to learn more about it. The essence here is we need to hunt down feelings, and find what resonates with us to get us on track.
It’s 45 minutes so save this one for a commute or doing your fall yardwork.
You can also listen on Spotify or Apple Music in addition to the YouTube version above.
The Writing Habit
There is an iOS app called Flowstate that can help you get the hang of this process, made popular by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way.
Art is basically code for, ‘taking lots of cracks at it’. You need to write lots of songs for them to get better. If you are playing someone else’s music you need to get many reps in to master the piece. We need to listen to a lot of different music with an open mind in order for new ideas to sink in.
This habit of writing as fast as you can while suspending judgement helps you work through these issues.
Music Recommendation
Today I am in a flamenco mood. Meet Pepe Habichuela. I found two interesting collaborations, one with the jazz bassist Dave Holland and the other with The Bollywood Strings.
Pepe Habichuela (born 1944 as José Antonio Carmona Carmona) is a Spanish flamenco guitarist, cited as one of the great flamenco masters and one of Spain's finest contemporary guitarists. He was born in Granada and belongs to a flamenco dynasty of gypsies started by his grandfather, known as "Habichuela el Viejo" (Old Bean), who took the nickname, and continued by his father José Carmona and his brothers Juan Habichuela (1933), Carlos and Luis. - Wikipedia
Did anything in this newsletter resonate with you? If so write me back or leave a comment.
Have a great week and see you next Sunday…
Elliott
Love you Ell. Wishing you a wonderful Sunday. Going to enjoy a bagel in about 30 mins. Will skip the coffee though…