Tag / ralph waldo emerson

by Nathan Coumbe

Atomic writing

Atomic Habits by James Clear consistently tops every bestseller list.

And for good reason: if you follow the ideas, you’ll improve your habits. Improve your habits, and you improve your days. Improve your days, and you improve your life.

What’s the saying? “Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.”

Emerson definitely said it better than I. But it means the same thing: your daily habits lead to your lasting legacy.

Which brings me to an idea I presented to someone the other day.

A friend told me he wanted to write. And he’d considered going the “Stephen King” route, writing 2,000 words a day, but he seemed daunted by that prospect.

I agreed. That’s a lot to commit to at the beginning. So I suggested he go the Atomic Habits route instead.

What’s the smallest version of that habit he could reasonably commit to?

My idea: write one sentence every day. Then don’t break the streak.

I find it hard to believe that anyone reading this can’t come up with at least one original thought every day.

It doesn’t have to be brilliant. In fact, I guarantee that 50% of your ideas will be “below average.” But so what? Half my blog posts are below average—that’s the definition!

It doesn’t have to be brilliant—it just has to exist! Do that for 30 days, and the 31st sentence will be infinitely better than the 1st one.

A writer writes. So be a writer and start writing!

by Nathan Coumbe

What do I need to hear today?

You may have noticed by now, but…

Many of my blog posts probably seem like they’re written for me. 

That’s by design—this blog, more than anything, is a way to get my thoughts out of my head and into the world. And often, these thoughts are ones I wish someone had told me years ago. Or perhaps reminders of what’s important. Or what I need to pay attention to.

This isn’t uncommon. One of the greatest books of philosophy was never meant for publication. 

It was a journal that Marcus Aurelius wrote in every day to remind himself how to live. To practice what he was learning. To gird himself against the trials and tribulations of his time (and there were many). That book became Meditations.

St. Augustine also had a journal that became a book of wisdom. As did Ralph Waldo Emerson. Their musings became widespread, even though that wasn’t the goal. 

So maybe you should start a daily blog. Or a daily YouTube video. 

Not because you’ll get famous. Or because you’ll make a lot of money. (You probably won’t do either.) 

Do it to stretch that muscle of putting your ideas into the world. And maybe also to tell yourself what you need to hear.

Who knows? Maybe someone else will benefit from it too.

by Nathan Coumbe

Undoing bad leadership

Often, employees are so burned by the people who lead and manage them that when they’re offered a real opportunity to make a difference, they scoff at it.

They assume there are strings attached. Or that it’s not a real opportunity, but instead, a way for them to pawn off their problems because they just don’t want to deal with it.

There’s a lesson here for leaders and managers of all types: 

You have to prove to the people in your care that you have their best interests at heart. To do this, you have to consistently act in such a way that they come to believe you by your actions, not your words. 

This is why Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote:

“What you are shouts so loudly in my ears I cannot hear what you say.”

You won’t have their trust in the beginning. 

What you want to happen won’t happen the first time. Or the second. Nor the third. Maybe not even the tenth. 

And unfortunately—but not unexpectedly—if you have a track record of burning your employees, it’ll take even longer. 

But that’s what you signed up for when you took on the role of a leader. You chose to show up continuously until you got the enrollment you seek. 

It’s not easy, but it’s definitely worth the work. 

by Nathan Coumbe

Play your music

“Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out.”

OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, Former U.S. Supreme Court justice

The other day I wrote a blog post about exploring the things about which you seem to be innately curious. I was discussing this subject the day before I wrote it, and during the conversation, I had something of a heartbreaking thought: I believe each of us has a unique purpose, a unique interest that, if nurtured, will allow that purpose to be lived out. And yet it seems as though a great majority of the human race never achieves their purpose.

Why is this so? Is the curiosity squashed out of them before they have a chance to develop it into something meaningful and lucrative, simply because it is different from what others think is a viable vocation or career? Is it that many are so focused on simply eking out a living that they never raise their heads long enough to look their purpose in the eye and pursue it? Are they so caught up in fantasy worlds, technology, and social media that time that could otherwise be spent on pursuing these inclinations is wasted? Or worse still, is the opportunity to live a purpose-filled life literally taken away by violence, famine, or disease?

Perhaps it is all of these reasons and more, but while you still breathe, while you still have time on this earth, I encourage you to listen to Mr. Holmes and play your music. Listen to Ralph Waldo Emerson and follow the beat of your own drummer.

Your curiosity, your natural affinities towards certain skills, subjects, passions, and interests – they were all given to you for a purpose. Follow them where they lead, ignore the naysayers, shun the nonbelievers.

Start today. Do something you feel you were meant to do.