I’ve been reading this past week, and came across a gem of a passage last night that I wanted to share.
” [...] when you find something at which you are talented, you do it (whatever it is) until your fingers bleed or your eyes are ready to fall out of your head. Even when no one is listening (or reading, or watching), every outing is a bravura performance, because you as the creator are happy. Perhaps even ecstatic.”
I love that. It justifies the ever-increasing amount of time I spend pounding away at our modest cache of web toys every night, or during the weekends. Or in my sleep, even. Your chances of becoming really good at your craft are directly proportionate to how much time you spend at it, I daresay. And unless you’re Mark Zuckerberg, there are no shortcuts for this either.
One other thing: I take issue with the term “workaholic,” which I’ve been hearing a lot from people these days. In the first place, this isn’t “work.” Work is what you do to put food on the table and pay bills. This is something else entirely; I do this because
otherwise I’ll go insane.