Day Momo (Des Moments) August 1st-15th
Maria Sharipova in Soho. Luke Wilson in Washington Square Park. A rapper I listened to in high school, Camron, in the Lower East Side. YouTube super star Casey Neistat jogging along the East River. I saw all of them within 2 weeks in New York City.
It’s funny how you feel a rush when you see famous people. This is even more the case when it’s an influencer you follow, as in Casey Neistat. Casey is a video blogger, and creative I’ve followed the last 2 years. The same can be said for James Altucher, one of my favorite authors, who I bumped into at a bookstore a few weeks ago.
The truth is, these encounters are fleeting and futile. After a few minutes, this star struck feeling wears off like fog on a mirror. Bumping into Neistat and Altucher on a street in NYC is not going put me into their network.
So these encounters are a cool way to show your appreciation with a brief thank you. That however, usually is the extent of the encounter. It’s not going to get your foot in their door.
The author Austin Kleon said, “Life actually is about who you know. But who you know is largely dependent on WHO YOU are, and WHAT YOU do.”
If I want be in the circles of Neistat and Altucher, then that’s going to depend on the type of person I am, and what I’m working on. There must be real value given to these influencers I seek to have a real connection with them.
Aside from celeb encounters, a distraction that isn’t fleeting, and much more serious is social media. The benefits of social media are powerful for certain, but this can be a very sharp double edge sword. It can cripple an artist, creative, entrepreneur, or anyone trying to be productive.
I listened to the James Altucher podcast last week, with guest Cal Newport, professor of computer science at Georgetown, who earned a Ph.D from MIT. Cal wrote a book called Deep Work, and what it means to be truly be dialed in and focused to produce quality work.
He said, “Social media, cell phones, and web browsing are as damaging to an artist or entrepreneur as smoking cigarettes are to a triathlete.”
In order to create deep, difference making, and life changing work we need to TURN IT ALL OFF. This is a big challenge for me. I’m constantly scrolling through Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Espn.com, and YouTube.
I’ve been working on this phone addiction. I’m still addicted. At least now, when I sit down to write each day my phone is off. No exceptions.
Gandhi in the later part of his life, did not say a single word on Mondays. This was his day to observe silence. He told a colleague this day of silence was intended at first to handle his correspondence.
Yet, over time it became vital to Gandhi’s spiritual practice. It became a channel to realize his deeper self and be one with life and the Universe.
It makes me want to have a no phone day, or a no technology day one day per week. It would be my day to observe “digital silence.” I think “digital silence” is a good idea.
Like Gandhi, “digital silence” might start off as a way to be more productive one day per week. Then maybe, it can turn into something deeper.
Where I feel a deeper connection with myself, the people I interact with face to face, and this miracle of life around us all.
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