likes and hearts and gold stars

I once asked man who has been blogging for over a decade which of his posts do best with his audience. He said it doesn't make any sense--some get crazy-shared and others rarely make a peep through a like or a retweet. He used to put predictions on which ones he was sure to knock out of the park, but after 12 years of writing, he is still in the dark.

Few things feel better than when you put your work out there and people care. They "heart" it, say it's smart; they have never seen anything like it and they "like" it. They really like it. Our ego will never tire of this flattery because to the ego it matters, but to the powers that be that live beneath, we know that it is unnecessary. Of course we are wary. Putting work out there is scary. But it will not affect whether I not I continue to create. That is innate. And the work is more for me. I aim to help a lot of people (eventually), but we have to start somewhere and that somewhere is here and it is process and play and trudging through muck, and wiping away the gelatinous sleep from the corners of my eyes that get stuck.

I think we know generally what get the crowd fired up. Sex and hot-button issues, underdog-takes-the-gold tales that may require some tissues, controversial political themes, Ryan Gosling memes, and when all else fails, vids of pugs and kittens attempting to bite their own tails. All the above are sure to get some attention if situated in the right place at the right time. But my intention is to move within and improve my improvisation on themes that mean something to me. This is the only way that I will continue to pray and offer work to the altar of my creative muse. Sacrificing lines and time that may not be my idea of good enough--not seasoned just the way I like, but will suffice. I will practice not for perfection and not to prove myself, but to improve the craft. Oh, and to enjoy it too. Who says you can't "heart" your own art? Start now.

morning person

Good morning, person.

Are you reading this before noon?

Do you work best before the sun peaks?

“I don’t know”? Me too.

It was recently discovered that there are genes that determine morningness

so it is a “thing.”

Yet, like so many things that we cling to and assert our identity to, it often times becomes a mental hindrance if you are trying to create change.

you say you’re not a morning person—that your best inspiration strikes after dark. 

That might be true.

But what I have come to starkly realize for myself that when you start taking action consistently and you actively seek inspiration, it comes; you don’t have to wait for it to find you. 

‘Cause if you do, you may be waiting forever.

Progress isn’t made from a lightning epiphany someone had just once in bed wearing their mismatched socks. It is made from someone taking stock, doing the work, regularly. Sometimes slowly. Whether it’s before dawn or after dusk is inconsequential. Everyone moves differently.

For some time, I had been fascinated by successful people’s morning routines. I studied people whose work I was consistently enamored with and wanted to know what they did to start their days. Some of them meditated, some wrote plays, some did pushups. Some, like Marie Forleo, started it the night before by outlining her day in her planner. Big ups.

Not much did they have in common other than the fact that each of them did seem to have a morning, i.e. woke before noon. And none of them were eating donuts or any kind of junk. When you’re in a sugar stupor it can put you in a mental funk. 

Regardless of what their process was, they were making things happen just because.

My process is a constant experiment in being comfortable being uncomfortable. At the present, I do pushups, meditate, and write. And if the rest of the day doesn’t pan out, I did something for me before the first light.

Did it dawn on you that you’re a self-made morning person, too? Tweet me your early-riser ritual @alisonperrie. I’d love to hear from you.