Aral Balkan

It's interesting to see the same themes being mentioned in so many different talks, both here at OFFF and elsewhere. The same simple bits of high-level advice that is given out at each talk. Conclusions it's taken me some time to reach on my own. Like what? Here's a short list, paraphrased from the talks of Joshua Davis, Stefan Sagmeister, et. al. and my own experiences:

1. Do what you love every day

2. Take risks

3. Don't do it just for the money (if you do what you love, money usually happens)

4. You *can* achieve pretty much anything as long as you stick with it (and yes, it might take a lot of time!)

5. Embrace change

6. Do, don't think about doing (I always get annoyed whenever someone hears me sing, for example, and says "you're very talented." Bullshit. Talent has nothing to do with it -- thousands of hours of practice has everything to do with it. The same's true with ideas -- they're a dime a dozen. But actually following through with it, working on it, hour after hour, way past the point where the initial high of inspiration has worn off -- now that's the road that leads to creation.)

7. There's no such thing as a mistake -- it's all a learning experience.

They may be simply stated but I've found that the decisions we take at the highest level -- the ones that affect us the most -- are usually very simple ones. (Perhaps at times we complicate things just to mask how simple a decision we are really faced with because we are afraid of the risks that go with the choice that we know, instinctively, is the right one.)

Comments

• Ah, but can you rap?

  by JesterXL on 2006-05-12 16:52:07

• Fuggin A! That's brilliant-ness my man! I recently left a part-time j-o-b because it wasn't in alignment with my goals, and got in the way. I'm not usually one to promote a slogan because they're easily mistaken for the truth...but hell. "Life is the river flowing between the banks of pain & happiness." One could argue it's a risk to let go of taking risks...Consider the risk of losing one's passion & aspiration in exchange for security and monotony. I think many of us love that risk. Alright that's enough...so when is Flash Studio 9 to be released? I NEED UNIVERSAL COMPATIBILITY. Actually Flash 8 works on the Macbook, but it reeeally bogs down reeeally quickly. one

  by LEE on 2006-05-12 17:03:54

• "7. There’s no such thing as a mistake — it’s all a learning experience." .... exactly what I'm thinking! Unfortunately some other people doesn't see it like this!

  by sascha/hdrs on 2006-05-13 04:09:47

• Nope, but I'm up for collaborating, Jesse! :)

  by aral on 2006-05-13 12:25:09

• Those patterns for happiness remind me the Hacker ethic as described by Himanen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pekka_Himanen) in his book (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375505660/102-3167164-7509742?n=283155). It's not about "hacking" (penetration of systems, or cracking) as the word is usually refered to, but a "way of living", where the values are those patterns you've described above. Hacker ethic (we work to live, but we love to work) is an alternative to the protestant work ethic (we live to work, even if we don't like what we do). If you don't know the book, i suggest you to give it a look. Personally, "it's not that great", but i bet you'll feel familiarized with the described ethic feeling. ;)

  by João Saleiro on 2006-05-13 14:32:27

• It reminds me of Dave Kusek's book "The Future of Music: Manifesto for the Digital Music Revolution" also... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0876390599/ref=pd_lpo_k2a_2_img/102-2407184-9280915?_encoding=UTF8 I read The Hacker Ethic, which was very good also.

  by LEE on 2006-05-13 23:15:24

• Hey Aral, you're a cool dude. I love all the points you raised. Here's my rundown on the points you raised. 1. Love is what makes the world go round 2. Our opportunity (as Flashers) to display courage 3. With our speciality this is definitely the case. 4. Flex 2 should decrease the time it takes to complete projects. 5. The only constant in life is change 6. You only get out of life what you put into it 7. Taking responsibility for mistakes is key to being able to learn. Peace bro

  by Bjorn on 2006-05-14 02:11:19

• I really like your thoughts Aral, brilliantly put, thanks for sharing.

  by Pete on 2006-05-14 12:35:54

• Playing devils advocate: 1. .....good advice for any addict. 2. Risks: If a risk is easy to take it's not a risk. We talk of risks as though we're making life or death decisions. A risk is something that given a negative outcome would fundamentally threaten your security. Most of us will never actually take a real risk in our lives, we constantly protect ourselves from actually having to take risks. 3. Not just doing it for the money Always easy to take that point of view when you have a roof over your head. 4. You can achieve anything: Really? Have you watched any of the pop stars TV auditions? Sometimes it pays to know when your goals are unrealistic. 5. Change is good - but don't do it for the sake of it - why change a winning formula? 6. Do, by all means - nothing ever gets done by sitting on your arse. But don't invest years of effort into a pointless venture. Seek advice. (see 4) 7. Mistakes: Not all mistakes are learning experiences, especially the terminal mistakes. Try overtaking round a blind bend a few times.

  by Mike on 2006-05-15 14:15:23

• Hi Mike,

  1. …..good advice for any addict.

  Well, yes and no. More often than not, addicts (esp. drug addicts, at least those that I've known) are *not* happy with their current state of being at all and hence the drugs as a means of dulling the pain/not having to think about things, etc.

  A risk is something that given a negative outcome would fundamentally threaten your security.

  I've found that fear of failure is a big factor here. It's as real as any negative outcome that could affect you physically.

  Most of us will never actually take a real risk in our lives, we constantly protect ourselves from actually having to take risks.

  No argument from me on that one :)

  Always easy to take that point of view when you have a roof over your head.

  True. However, I've found that things have a way of getting back to you. I was talking to Craig about this too and he's very much in favor of giving away. It really does come back to you (but I wouldn't do it if that's your sole reason for doing it!) We definitely all need money to survive but there's a difference between that being your only goal and that being a nice side-affect. Personally, I chose the risk of saying no to a very well paid position in the States in 2001 (ie., "roof over my head") in favor of coming down to a completely new country (the UK) and setting up a life/company from scratch. I wish I could say it's been all shits and giggles but it hasn't. Would I change that decision in retrospect? Not on your life! :)

  Really? Have you watched any of the pop stars TV auditions? Sometimes it pays to know when your goals are unrealistic.

  The problem with those poor people is that they don't know that they're not ready to go out there and sing. I personally blame the 30-second-weakling-to-world-champion-boxer transition sequences in films. We expect to be able to master any subject in hours or days not months and years. Also, perhaps there's way too much of a focus on positive reinforcement. Someone should have told some of these people that they weren't ready yet (not that they couldn't do it.) Constructive, honest, negative criticism is worth its weight in gold.

  5. Change is good - but don’t do it for the sake of it - why change a winning formula?

  You have no choice in the matter: change happens and your winning formula won't be a winning formula forever because everything else is constantly changing. Not to say that you can't *evolve* it, but stagnation == eventual death.

  6. Do, by all means - nothing ever gets done by sitting on your arse. But don’t invest years of effort into a pointless venture. Seek advice. (see 4)

  It's definitely smart to constantly re-examine yourself, your goals and the current environment but some things will take years and, ultimately, only you can decide whether or not a venture is pointless. At the end of the day, is it meaningful/important for you?

  Not all mistakes are learning experiences, especially the terminal mistakes. Try overtaking round a blind bend a few times.

  Interesting point. I routinely marvel at how people try desperately not to take the important decisions/risks in their lives only to take potentially mortal ones daily (running across a street at a red pedestrian light for example.) Personally, I try and avoid those kinds of petty risks (the payoff -- getting across the street ten seconds before everyone else -- is no where near worth the potential price of losing your life.) I do wonder where people rush off to like this and how many hours they'll waste in front of the TV after getting home a minute earlier. You're right though: You can also make mistakes and not learn from them. In fact, it's quite common. But if you're not making any mistakes then I'd argue that you're not pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.

  by aral on 2006-05-15 16:29:33

• Hmmm, sounds like a Baz Luhrmann song in the making... ;o) Love hearing that you are reaching that same state of happiness. Albert Camus once stated that you will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life. OFFF this year portrayed an over exasperation of happy gurus. People, like ourselves, who have strived to pursue what they believed was the right thing for them. And yes, they have come out on top, and yes, they do seem content with their achievements. But have their efforts actually made them happier individuals, or just proud of having achieved what they initially thought they were longing for and, of course, together with a far busier life style? Personally, I think we are all happy to see that the achievements of so many talented artists has finally made them realise their calling. It seems alot of these guys have matured, not only in their art and craft, their presentation skills, and through tedious hours working, but also as human beings. Josh did say F*%k alot less than previous years ;o) Glad to hear you liked Barcelona. It was not quite the same experience I have had in previous years, but I can definitely say it was nice to see your face there. Keep up the good OS work. See you soon.

  by carograph on 2006-05-16 21:36:17

• aral: several years ago i read a book by csikszentmialyi (i know - long name huh?) entitled Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, This guy was working at the time with the Dallas Cowboys to extend their football league domination for many years. In the book he describes how people enter a flow state when they are fully absorbed in an activity during which they lose their sense of time and have feelings of great satisfaction. Mr. Csikszentmihalyi describes flow as "being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost." Interestingly enough, this is one precept of buddhism in the practice of yoga where deep meditation is achieved by full concentration on the task at hand (whether it's work, a hobby, mowing the lawn, etc.) Patanjali's Yoga Sutras puts forth the concept of settling the vibrations of the mind through this process and totally taming the ego so that the soul can shine. This leads to the state of yoga, or union with god, reaching one's divine nature or be surrounded by love, whichever way you choose to describe it. This was the idea for the original site we were working on, if you remember, Zen Cowboy - the western world using ancient buddhist ways to be productive, happy and enlightened. Not to get too strange on you, but I think this is very interesting. See a description of modern flow listed at the end of this message. Also, when you get a chance you may want to pick up a book called: Ancient Ways for Modern Minds - the author escapes me now. Ryan From www.brainchannels.com Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi "Flow Theory" The Thinker of the Year Award has been awarded to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a professor and former chairman of the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago who has devoted his life's work to the study of what makes people truly happy, satisfied and fulfilled. Mr. Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced chick-sent-me-high-ee) is chiefly renowned as the architect of the notion of flow in creativity; people enter a flow state when they are fully absorbed in activity during which they lose their sense of time and have feelings of great satisfaction. Mr. Csikszentmihalyi describes flow as "being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost." Martin E.P. Seligman, President of the American Psychological Association, describes Csikszentmihalyi as the world's leading researcher on a subject that is near and dear to his heart, positive psychology. He says Csikszentmihalyi's work on improving lives has been important in his own effort to encourage psychologists to focus on building human strengths. 'He is the brains behind positive psychology, and I am the voice,' says Seligman. Csikszentmihalyi is working with Seligman to engage young leading psychologists to focus on prevention and building human strength. Csikszentmihalyi is also a leading researcher on creativity. Csikszentmihalyi explored the lives of more than 90 of the world's most creative people, such as author Madeline L'Engle and scientist Jonas Salk, to find out how creativity has been a force in their lives. He's discovered that some highly creative people find satisfaction by inventing a career or job for themselves, like a scientist who creates a new field of study. These findings are described in his book 'Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention' (HarperCollins, 1996). Dr. Csikszentmihalyi has published over 120 articles or chapters, some of his books include: "The Evolving Self: A Psychology for the Third Millennium," "Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life," "Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention," and "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience." Mihaly Csikszentmihaly's Books Creativity : Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention Flow : The Psychology of Optimal Experience Finding Flow : The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life The Evolving Self : A Psychology for the Third Millennium Optimal Experience : Psychological Studies of Flow in Consciousness The Art of Seeing : An Interpretation of the Aesthetic Encounter Beyond Boredom and Anxiety: Experiencing Flow in Work and Play Writing in Flow : Keys to Enhanced Creativity Other Related Links Motivational Quotes by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Hero of the Day - Daily Objectivist Reaching Flow to Optimize Work and Play Excerpts and Info from "Flow: - The Psychology of Optimal Experience Go with the Flow - Wired Magazine 1996 Interview with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - Planetary.org

  by ryan armasu on 2006-05-18 18:18:27

• Hi Aral it sounds good, thanks for sharing.

  by nazeer on 2006-05-23 05:03:29

• I love this field of study, thanks for sharing your thoughts!

  by Marcelo de Moraes Serpa on 2006-05-24 13:43:22

• [...] Арал Балкан в своем новом блоге опубликовал пост, в котором объединил паттерны профессионального счастья. По его мнению это: [...]

  by Паттерны счастья at on 2007-04-19 09:39:24