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Anthony Alvarado

Anthony Alvarado

Monthly Archives: November 2013

Thanksgiving is easy

28 Thursday Nov 2013

Posted by Alvarado in Uncategorized

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Tags

gratitude, happiness, philosophy 101, thanksgiving

What is the point of life? When I was young I thought about this most basic of questions and decided that the point of it all was to have fun. (It is really shocking how many people just never bother to ask themselves —what IS the point of it all? It’s like sitting down to play a card game or a video game and not asking “what are the rules?” how do you win?” It should be the first thing  one does, right?)

I remember when I was a teenager, I was flopped down on the couch eating a bowl of Rocky Road and watching Bugs Bunny battle Yosemite Sam on TV instead of doing my homework.

lt_Carrotblanca

 

My dad walked into the living room and said very seriously “Son, some day you are going to learn that the point of life isn’t just to enjoy yourself and have fun.”

I tried to think of what else the point could be . . . I was stumped.  “Well, what is it about then?” I asked. “What is the point if not to enjoy yourself, have a good time, and be happy.”

He thought about it and said “You have to learn to be responsible.”

***

I have thought about that interaction a lot. Of course we are both right in that little story. You do have to be responsible; if all you do is loaf about eating Rocky Road and watching Looney Toones you’re going to end up diabetic and sick of Bugs Bunny pretty fast. Pursuing nothing but immediate gratification usually leads to a pretty unhappy end. After all the shortest short cut to immediate total bliss is shoot heroin, do meth etc. But that is also a surefire ticket to a tour of life’s miseries and general unhappiness, for you and those around you. What you want is the right balance that leads to long term happiness.

Of course it is more complicated than just that motto —seek happiness. Afterall what about all the virtues such as helping others, activism and caring for the less fortunate, saving the world etc. The hidden paradox to altruism is that people who help others out are given a burst of happiness at having done a good deed. Altruism ends up being not totally altruistic! We need to strike the right balance between looking out for ourselves, and caring for others. I believe that being happy actually does both.

Check out the work of psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky — the methods of increasing happiness are surprisingly simple. Here is one method, it’s a very simple assignment. Try this, get a pencil and paper and write down 3 things that you are grateful for. (If you get carried away and want to write more go for it. Maybe try 108 things it is considered the number of abundance in Buddhism and Hinduism.)

daily-gratitude

It is Thanksgiving after all. Maybe we should use this holiday to do a little more than just stuff ourselves with mashed potatos. Psychologists who study the science of happiness have found that the simple act of taking a moment to be grateful, to express gratitude for what you have in life leads to an immediate and measurable burst of happiness. And guess what, when you are happy it radiates outwards, and effects those around you in a positive way. So in a surprising way— your happiness can help make the world a slightly better place, and in the end isn’t that what it’s all about?

thankful-for-vegans

Van Gogh on Creativity

18 Monday Nov 2013

Posted by Alvarado in Uncategorized

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Tags

art, creativity, Painters, Painting, Van Gogh

Café-Terrace-on-the-Place-du-Forum,-Arles,-at-Night,-The

I dream of painting and then I paint my dream.

wallpaper_van-gogh_animaatjes-33

I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.

starry_night_over_the_rhoneI often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day.

Starry-Night

If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.

Van-Gogh-Self-Portrait

Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.

Van-Gogh-tree

As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult, but in fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart is developed.
rest2vanGoghBartelsept12270

The way to know life is to love many things.

Red-Vineyards-vincent-van-gogh-12483426-2560-1545

I am still far from being what I want to be, but with God’s help I shall succeed.

Hunting & Gathering

12 Tuesday Nov 2013

Posted by Alvarado in Uncategorized

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creativity, hunting and gathering, ideas

The next time you got a big project to start, here is my number one tip—don’t start yet.

Just let it sit for a while. The most important part of the creative process may actually be the part the comes before you start. Before the actual plan for what you are going to do has solidified, because this is when you have a chance to be flexible, to try out different strategies and tactics in your mind before committing pen to paper, paint to canvas, or chisel to stone. Let the project live, breath and come to life in your head before beginning.

I call this phase Hunting & Gathering. You have your rough idea of the project you want to work on, perhaps it is a song, perhaps a short story idea, perhaps a business model. Whatever it is the initial idea comes to us blurry, distant, like quarry seen across a foggy meadow. If we rush up upon it too fast, we will scare the idea off before the time is ripe. We must get as close to the idea as possible before springing upon it. Also taking the time to let the project you are working on take root in your subconscious will often let you stumble upon insights almost effortlessly.

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What to do during the Hunter & gathering Phase.

1.Take lots of notes. Copious amounts of notes. If it is a really big project try to fill up an entire notebook before you begin. Think about the project a ton, but don’t begin it—you see the difference? This delay teases the muse, it provokes her into giving you more and more inspiration. Because the muse is thinking “this is a GREAT idea, why don’t they start yet? I better throw more fuel on the fire!” Trust me it works like a charm.

2. Take lots of long walks. Preferably by yourself. Walks are the best thing ever invented for creativity.

3. Don’t tell others about the project you are working on during the Hunting & Gathering phase. I see way too many people make this mistake. Someone gets a good idea and they immediately rush out and start blabbling to all their friends about how cool this new idea is and blah blah blah. The problem with this is that it lets steam out of the kettle. So the kettle never boil over. I have listened to many friends talk and talk about the story they are going to write, the film they are going to direct etc. . . .which of course they never get done because they deflated all of the creative juice on talking about it. There are two kinds of creative types: talkers and walkers. Be a walker.

4. Finally, don’t wait too long. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you are hunting and gathering when you are just procrastinating. Even the biggest idea probably only needs a week or two to marinate. After that it will lose freshness. When you reach the maximum boiling point of the onrush of ideas then it is time to pounce, and begin the actual work.

May your Hunting and Gather be fruitful!

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I got a book deal!!

06 Wednesday Nov 2013

Posted by Alvarado in Uncategorized

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Butt Hours, Lord of the Flies, Perigee Books, Published

WAAHOOO!

I just got a book deal with a fantastic publisher—Perigee Press, a division of Penguin. These are the guys that published Lord of the Flies. Lord of the freaking Flies!

www.perigeebooks.com

(5 minute pause here)  . . . for once in my life I am speechless. I mean, this is that long awaited day, that as an aspiring writer you dream of, you imagine, and you sometimes wonder if it ever actually will come. The answer: yeah, it will come, it just takes a while . . . I was talking with a guy at the coffee shop this morning about it, that what it comes down to is—if you want to get a book published you have to put in a lot of “Butt Hours”.

Butt Hours simply mean all the hours you spend sitting on your butt, doing the work, putting in the time on whatever it is you do, whether that is writing, or music, or architecture—doesn’t matter. You just got to sit down and do it, as much as possible, every day. Frankly it’s the sit-your-butt-in-that-chair-and-work muscle that matters the most, more than talent, luck, or creativity, or anything else when it comes right down to it.

Anyhow, I am delighted that now I can go to the coffeeshop every morning, with my pencil and spiral notebook and sit down and put in my daily Butt Hours as a professional!

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