You Are What You Do

I've been a fan of Jonathan Harris ever since watching his first Ted Talk a few years ago (and blogged about him last year before heading to Bhutan)

He's a true left brain / right brain -- a modern day Da Vinci-type character -- that mixes technology and art together in order to tell beautiful stories.

Today, I listened to his interview with Debbie Millman on Design Matters and discovered his personal essay on "Navigating Stuckness."  In the essay, he documents several transition points along his life journey.


Lesson 1: Follow what you want, not someone else's dream

After Jonathan received $500K in VC funding for a storytelling app, he learned the lesson of chasing what will make him happy, not someone else:

"When I think about my own future, my dream is always the same. I’m living in a small beautiful farmhouse in a small beautiful town among a small community that values me. I’m living with a wife and kids I love deeply, and I spend each day making art and watching nature. My mind is clear and calm, I’m in control of my time, and I’m kind.  

In a cafe in Barcelona, I decided not to take the investment money. In my heart, I realized I just didn’t want to run a company. I didn’t want to sit in meetings, manage people, market products, raise money, and send emails all day. Really, I just wanted to make small, beautiful things."

Lesson 2:  Time is our most important resource

As a general rule, I think we need to be more precious with our time.  As I've mentioned before, I think we should be working far less, dedicating more of our time to personal growth and making choices that fulfill our needs.  

Jonathan expands on Annie Dillard's quote to remind us that our time is our most valuable asset:

"All we have in life is our time. People struggle after success. They hunger for fame, fortune, and power. But in all of these things, the same question exists — what will you do with your time? How do you want to spend your days? As Annie Dillard reminds us, “how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”  In life, you will become known for doing what you do. That sounds obvious, but it’s profound. If you want to be known as someone who does a particular thing, then you must start doing that thing immediately. Don’t wait. There is no other way. It probably won’t make you money at first, but do it anyway. Work nights. Work weekends. Sleep less. Whatever you have to do. If you’re lucky enough to know what brings you bliss, then do that thing at once. If you do it well, and for long enough, the world will find ways to repay you."

Since how we spend our time is our life, it's important to do what you love (or, at least try to make small, daily choices to eventually get yourself to that place):

"In America, success is a word we hear a lot. What does it mean? Is it money, power, fame, love? I like how Bob Dylan defines it: “A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do.”  We have these brief lives, and our only real choice is how we will fill them. Your attention is precious. Don’t squander it. Don’t throw it away. Don’t let companies and products steal it from you. Don’t let advertisers trick you into lusting after things you don’t need. Don’t let the media convince you to covet the lives of celebrities. Own your attention — it’s all you really have" 

Lesson 3: Learn from your childhood self

Over the last year, I've been trying to get in touch with my childhood self (yeah, yeah, cliche, I know).  I've taken up painting again and started developing an app + a website.  Jonathan agrees that your childhood interests may be a hint to what you actually like doing:

"Inside each of us is a little ten-year-old child, curious and pure, acting on impulse, not yet caring what other people think. Remember what you were doing at ten, and try to get back to doing that thing, incorporating everything you’ve learned along the way."

For more on Jonathan, check out his website here: http://number27.org/