Well, I think your writing is brilliant. I have watched him giving that speech on Youtube, more than once. Your lovely story of getting your youngsters up to that rock pool is just as good and I'll be thinking of it when next I need to urge myself on.
Glad to hear you've discovered this go-to piece of inspiration, Ed. I've watched the speech about once a year for the last 8 years or so and I find that I understand/hear something new in it every time. It's in the 'Vital Viewing' section of my Linktree profile as I'm forever pointing people towards it! Keep on keepin' on and #MakeGoodArt when you can, Jack
Absolutely. I've known of Gaiman's speech for a while also and keep coming back to it also but it took on more resonance for me at the end of my first calendar year as a freelancer.
It seems my mountain top is shrouded in mist I'm wandering endlessly in a valley, some days I'm not even certain if I'm on the mountain side or back down in the valley. Visualizing what I want helps clear the mist and it feels like I have a direction to follow but every now and then that path is blocked and too much time passes and I end up losing sight of the top again. It makes me wish I had a guide, like your sons did, someone who had been to the summit and knew the journey was worth the effort.
Very nice post Ed, sounds like maybe you've found your own motivation. I expect that COVID has tightened the purse strings on grants, hopefully it won't stay that way much longer.
Hi Ken, thanks for reading and commenting., It's not really about motivation. It's about what you want to do and charting a path there, knowing there will be distractions and bumps along the road but accounting for them and moving on towards the goal. I know what you mean about losing sight of that goal though, we all do. I know you are great at project planning. Have you written down your goal and the steps that are needed to get there?
Wonderful analysis of working towards long term goals through the 'valleys' and to the time when, as Gaiman says, "....you stop saying yes to everything, because now the bottles you threw in the ocean are all coming back, and have to learn to say no." I know you are well on the way. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and concerns so openly. It helps us all.
Thank you Mary. I'm not sure I am at the stage where I can say no, not many of the bottles are coming back to me yet. But I am getting a clearer understanding of what I want to be doing.
![The[ED]it](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_36,h_36,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F10fafd9a-1b10-453f-8b58-eac6fa884cd0_600x600.png)
Well, I think your writing is brilliant. I have watched him giving that speech on Youtube, more than once. Your lovely story of getting your youngsters up to that rock pool is just as good and I'll be thinking of it when next I need to urge myself on.
Thanks too for linking the BBC piece.
That's very kind of you Paul, thank you. You're very welcome, it was great to see your piece on the BBC.
Glad to hear you've discovered this go-to piece of inspiration, Ed. I've watched the speech about once a year for the last 8 years or so and I find that I understand/hear something new in it every time. It's in the 'Vital Viewing' section of my Linktree profile as I'm forever pointing people towards it! Keep on keepin' on and #MakeGoodArt when you can, Jack
Absolutely. I've known of Gaiman's speech for a while also and keep coming back to it also but it took on more resonance for me at the end of my first calendar year as a freelancer.
It seems my mountain top is shrouded in mist I'm wandering endlessly in a valley, some days I'm not even certain if I'm on the mountain side or back down in the valley. Visualizing what I want helps clear the mist and it feels like I have a direction to follow but every now and then that path is blocked and too much time passes and I end up losing sight of the top again. It makes me wish I had a guide, like your sons did, someone who had been to the summit and knew the journey was worth the effort.
Very nice post Ed, sounds like maybe you've found your own motivation. I expect that COVID has tightened the purse strings on grants, hopefully it won't stay that way much longer.
Hi Ken, thanks for reading and commenting., It's not really about motivation. It's about what you want to do and charting a path there, knowing there will be distractions and bumps along the road but accounting for them and moving on towards the goal. I know what you mean about losing sight of that goal though, we all do. I know you are great at project planning. Have you written down your goal and the steps that are needed to get there?
Wonderful analysis of working towards long term goals through the 'valleys' and to the time when, as Gaiman says, "....you stop saying yes to everything, because now the bottles you threw in the ocean are all coming back, and have to learn to say no." I know you are well on the way. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and concerns so openly. It helps us all.
Thank you Mary. I'm not sure I am at the stage where I can say no, not many of the bottles are coming back to me yet. But I am getting a clearer understanding of what I want to be doing.