He Who Whets His Steel, Whets His

For What Can Be More Noble Than To Slay Oneself? Not Literally. Not With A Blade In The Guts. But To Extinguish The Selfish Self Within, That Part Which Looks Only To Its Own Preservation, To Save Its Own Skin. That, I Saw, Was The Victory You Spartans Had Gained Over Yourselves. That Was The Glue. It Was What You Had Learned And It Made Me Stay, To Learn It Too.

Sometimes, When We're Terrified Of Embracing Our True Calling, We'll Pursue A Shadow Calling Instead. That Shadow Career Is A Metaphor For Our Real Career. Its Shape Is Similar, Its Contours Feel Tantalizingly The Same. But A Shadow Career Entails No Real Risk. If We Fail At A Shadow Career, The Consequences Are Meaningless To Us. Are You Pursuing A Shadow Career?

Art Is A War - Between Ourselves And The Forces Of Self-sabotage That Would Stop Us From Doing Our Work. The Artist Is A Warrior.

These Are Not Easy Questions. Who Am I? Why Am I Here? They're Not Easy Because The Human Being Isn't Wired To Function As An Individual.

We Show Up. We Do Our Best. Good Things Happen.