Productive/Creative – Analog Man in a Digital World
General thoughts, mostly blog updates
Every day that I spend scrolling through never-ending feeds of inane drivel is one more day that I’m not enjoying life.
Hi. My name is Jeff, and I hate the internet.
More specifically: I hate social media, and the effects it has on my brain, to the point where I’m considering whether I should even be using the internet at all.
Yes, really. Here’s why: Continue reading “Creativity Vs. Distractions”
Over the last week, I’ve been examining my Core Values, and let me tell you, it’s been harder than I expected it to be. You might think “What’s so hard about writing down what you value?” Well, give it a try, and see for yourself.
Ultimately, it boils down to what things drive your decisions and relationships, and whether or not your daily actions line up with where you want to go, and who you want to be.
As I wrote about previously, it’s easy to get caught up in feeling like your worth is tied into what you can do. But sometimes that’s out of your control, so why should you feel inferior for not being able to do something you had no control over? Continue reading “Purpose Redux”
There are times when you will go through the most unimaginable trials. These are the times when you find out what really drives you.
For the last 18 months, I’ve been going through wave after wave of difficulties, each one progressively harder than the last. I’m halfway expecting to come up on a “Final Boss” and win some sort of game, and then the credits will run and I can finally rest.
“Why so down?” you might ask. You’d be right in assuming I’m struggling with things- it hasn’t been easy. I’m currently writing this blog post on my phone as I wait to be allowed back into my state. We just survived Hurricane Ida, which directly hit my hometown. There’s massive wind damage everywhere. There probably won’t be power there for weeks. I have no way of knowing how bad the damage to my house is.
It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago we were evacuating for Hurricane Katrina. But 16 years to the day, and here we are.
Everyone will face some sort of storm in their lives, and I’m no exception. Mine are oftentimes physical storms, but the principal is the same- you find out what you’re really made of, and your deficits are quickly revealed.
Everyone has shortcomings. But most people are content to just admit they do, and go on with life, never knowing what they could do or be if they’d just admit they need help.
“I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.“
Psalms 121:1-2
Years ago, when I was a young adult, “accountability partners” were a popular thing. Our church leaders would encourage us to find someone we could share our struggles with, and use that relationship to hold each other to higher standards- in a way that was private, but effective.
If you asked someone today who their accountability partner is, you might get a blank stare, a puzzled look, or even a scowl. It seems like people, especially church leaders, have forgotten what accountability is for.
Accountability is defined as “Explainable, answerable, an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions.”
Throughout history, we see the effects of leaders who didn’t have accountability, and the disastrous effects it led to. But most people won’t accept a rebuke from just anyone; there needs to be a level of trust there that most people just don’t want to commit to. Continue reading “The Importance Of Accountability”
Years ago, back in 2010, I wrote a brief article about how much I desperately wanted to live a life of significance, but couldn’t, because I didn’t know how.
I said things like this-
“I can see myself in the near future breaking out of the corporate mold that has held me in prison for so long. It has provided a living for my family, yes, but has stripped me of the ability to do anything but work 8 to 5.”
-Me, 2010
I realize now just how long I’ve been wanting to break free from that mold, and how long I’ve struggled with it. When I say “I’ve been in a rut for over ten years,” I’m not kidding. The proof is right here.
Looking back on this now, in January of 2021, I realize this was really the origin of the journey to where I am now. Even back then, I knew I had to do something. But I was unprepared, and uneducated on how to get where I wanted to go. And nobody was urging me onward to do it.
Right then, I decided I was going to do something about it. I started bike commuting to work, lost a bunch of weight, and was (physically, at least) making a lot of progress. I wrote about how I wanted to start working on blogging and writing professionally, and started taking steps towards that. I was logging over 100 miles a week on the bike, and was in the best shape of my life.
All good things, right? I was on the way to making it happen. I was moving forward. I was “crushing it.”
Then, in July of 2011, I was severely injured in a cycling accident. Everything in my life came to a screeching halt. I was bedridden for weeks, and on crutches for 3 months. The doctors said I might never walk without a limp. I was absolutely, utterly devastated. Continue reading “How I Joined The Fraternity Of Excellence”
For the last few years, I’ve been comfortably working in a regular, ordinary, desk job. It has allowed me to focus on family time and not worry too much about paying bills and hustling.
But sadly, it doesn’t afford me the ability to do what I want or what I love. You know the old saying- “you work to make your employer rich.” You won’t find financial independence working for someone else. But I don’t really want to start a business, either.
So I have to make a decision: do I start a business again, or plug along with barely enough? Continue reading “Tired Of The Grind”
Since I’ve been looking at all-in-one guitar things, naturally, I’ve done research and considered all the options. There are units going from $200 all the way up to $3000, and everything in between. But truth be told, even the cheaper ones are still pretty good. So what am I looking for in an all-in-one guitar/bass effect unit? How do you make a choice when there’s so many good choices?
I’m basically going to walk you through the decision making process of how to buy a piece of music gear- or anything, really. This is a lesson on how to wade through choice overload. This is a critical skill for becoming a minimalist.
What do you need?
Let’s say I’m shopping for a pedalboard upgrade. The first question I need to ask is “What am I going to be using it for?” And the second question is related: “What will this allow me to do that I can’t do now?” Because if it doesn’t do more than my current one, it’s not an upgrade, is it? Continue reading “How Do We Make Hard Decisions?”
What is the point of writing a blog if nobody reads it? What is it about written discourse that people just aren’t interested in any more? No matter how I cut it, there’s no denying that blogs aren’t drawing in traffic like they used to. But written word is still my favorite way to communicate!
So what’s the point? Why am I still posting here? It’s mostly because I just like writing. Is it pointless? I don’t think so- not completely pointless to me. By me writing things out, it helps me to think through difficult problems, scriptures, and whatever else. Couldn’t I just do that in a written journal? Well, I suppose I could.
My Shifting Influences
There’s a lot that has been going on in my life lately. My wife has been ill. We’re still dealing with the consequences of that. We’re still dealing with after effects of Coronavirus lockdowns. Our family is struggling to find stability and peace, and somehow, I have to make sense of it all.
I’ve been watching a lot of new Youtube channels. Mostly music and guitar stuff, but there’s a few I follow that speak about current events and self-improvement. Some of them are Christians, some of them aren’t. But the main idea is that I’m trying to figure out what to do with my life at this point.
“What, you don’t have your life figured out yet?”
Well, sort of. I’ve spent the last 25 years building my family, and doing challenges when I get the chance- writing a book, learning a new language, studying martial arts. That has served me well up to now. But I am moving into a place where I am thinking about the future, and I don’t have a specific course laid out for myself. I’m being pulled in many directions.
“But don’t you write about purpose all the time?”
Yes, I do. But there’s more than one way to carry out purpose. I need to spend some time thinking about the best way to do it. If I’m a worship musician at heart, what are different ways I can fulfil that? If my goal is to creatively present the gospel, what are some ways I could do that? Music? Videos? Stories?
Each one of those pursuits has its own requirements for time, money, and energy spent. In some cases they may overlap (like making music for videos). But for the most part, they don’t. So I have to decide which way to go. I clearly don’t have the time to do all of them, as much as I’d like to.
Et Tu, Brute’
So, my choices are:
I’m sure there are other things I could add to the list, but these are what I’m currently evaluating.
A new baseline computer (just the parts) would run me around $700. Top shelf would be closer to $2000.
Music production would cost me a few hundred bucks in equipment, but easily less than $500. I already have most of what I need.
Video camera: I will probably need to get a nice camera if I go any of these routes. Everything is distributed through youtube now. Music? Needs video. Gaming? Needs video. Writers? Needs video. I don’t think I can get around this.
What’s the Point?
What I’m getting at is this: sometimes you need to evaluate not just your purpose, but also how you carry out your purpose. Not just the why, but also the how. And sometimes that means making compromises to keep moving towards the end goal.
In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Paul reminds the church in Corinth:
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize. Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable. Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air. No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”
In our spiritual walk, there are stages we go through. Much like when we train for a race, we have to do things in the right order and meet the requirements, or risk being disqualified.
Step 1: decide you want to enter the race (salvation)
Step 2: learn what rules require (study)
Step 3: learn who your opponents are
Step 4: Run
Can I Be Disqualified?
According to Paul, yes. Does that mean you can lose salvation? I don’t think that’s what he’s referring to. Paul says “After I have preached to others, I myself would not be disqualified.” Before this, in verses 16-23, he is talking about preaching the gospel as his primary mission. “I have become all things to all men, so that I might save some.”
So can you be disqualified from preaching the gospel? Yes. I think this is what Paul is addressing. You can contradict the gospel with your lifestyle, and thereby nullify anyone believing it.
“I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified” means he kept his fleshly lusts in control so that he would not become a hypocrite, and thus diminish the gospel being preached- his very reason for living.
Does this mean I can’t lose my salvation?
Whoah there, friend. I didn’t say that. Just because I think Paul’s addressing being disqualified from preaching the Gospel, doesn’t automatically mean you can’t lose salvation. But this question is a lot more complicated, and we might not do it justice with just a few hundred (or thousand) words.
But let’s assume, for the moment, that the act of preaching the Gospel is a crucial indicator for being saved. You wouldn’t want to be disqualified from either one, would you? That’s not to say you have to preach the gospel to be saved, or that lost people can’t preach the gospel. But the idea of being disqualified looks very similar in both cases, doesn’t it?
What then?
We run in such a way as to win the prize. Not aimlessly or lazily. It requires focus and dedication- not to secure salvation, but to solidify our walk.
For the last 10+ years or so, I’ve blogged about things off and on here. My brain ranges between topics freely, like a bird flitting to and fro in a cage. Never settled, always looking for another perch. Not realizing that I’m still not really free to go where I want.
But by spending time thinking about purpose, I’ve seen the duplicity of my brain, and how it sabotages my purpose.
If I say “My purpose is ___” and then that only constitutes 25% of what I do, at best, is it really central to my purpose? No, of course not. So why does my brain refuse to focus on my purpose?
Simply put, it’s my flesh. My worldly nature is in control. And I have allowed it to run amok. If I were of singular focus, I would hardly ever get distracted and waste time with things that didn’t matter. Too much of my energy is spent on ancillary activities, while my central purpose goes neglected.
Just identifying the problem doesn’t solve it, though. And this is the part where most people fail.
So how do you fix something when your problem is the inability to fix things?? Continue reading “Purpose And Anti-Purpose”