At the end of his letter of advice written to James Harmon for his book, Take My Advice, Alphonso Lingis writes “Never make any important decision out of depression, a sense of needs, of dependency.” He continues to explain that when you make choices because of fear, those choices typically end up being poor choices. According … Continue reading Important Decisions
Tag: Joe Abittan
Exploration
For his book Take My Advice, James Harmon collected letters from creative professionals who had carved our an independent career through art, writing, music, and other crafts. Alphonso Lingis is one of the creatives who sent Harmon a letter with advice on living life. One sentence from Lingis’ letter reads, “The ecstasy of going into … Continue reading Exploration
Into the Ocean
Alphonso Lingis wrote a letter to James Harmon for Harmon’s book, Take My Advice: Letters to the Next Generation from People who Know a Thing or Two. In his letter he has a single sentence about the ocean that I enjoy, “When you go into the ocean you realize that until then you did not know … Continue reading Into the Ocean
Knowing Life
In James Harmon’s collection of letters, Take My Advice, Alphonso Lingis in a section of his letter writes, “Our life is by nature destined to know life.” When I think of this quote I think about all of our questions, assumptions, stories, explanations, and understandings of life. For me it is not so much our own … Continue reading Knowing Life
Power
Howard Zinn wrote a letter to James Harmon for him to publish in his book Take My Advice, and in his letter he wrote about the incredible connections between people and the power that unified people can generate. He encourages the reader to find their own truths in life, and to seek an independence built through … Continue reading Power
The Power of a Wide Vision
James Harmon’s book Take My Advice: Letters to the Next Generation From People Who Know a Thing or Two is a collection of letters that Harmon received when he asked creative people for advice. The advice came from writers, poets, independent film actors, and artists. Poet Robert Creeley was one of the writers who gave … Continue reading The Power of a Wide Vision
The Long Haul
In the book Take My Advice: Letters to the Next Generation from People who Know a Thing or Two, James Harmon organized a collection of letters from creative people he admired, even though most of the world would not call them celebrities. Richard Meltzer is one of the many writers who sent Harmon a letter … Continue reading The Long Haul
Correcting Mistakes Continued
Bob Schacochis continues in his letter to James Harmon published in Harmon’s book Take My Advice to explain a lesson he learned about making and correcting mistakes. As a young college student working as a carpenter Schacochis learned a lesson in excellence when his work was corrected by a carpenter he was shadowing. Schacochis had put something together and … Continue reading Correcting Mistakes Continued
Correcting Mistakes
A lesson I have learned from the podcast Smart People Podcast is that successful people are always learning and always taking away something positive away from whatever situation they are in. In a letter to James Harmon for his book Take my Advice: Letters to the Next Generation from People who Know a Thing or Two, Bob … Continue reading Correcting Mistakes
Searching for Answers
In his book Take my Advice: Letters to the Next Generation from People who Know a Thing or Two, James Harmon shares the advice he received in letters from people who are silent success stories. He reached out to many creative artists, independent film stars, writers, and poets, to ask why and how they continued … Continue reading Searching for Answers