Free the Quality!

Don't let problems stop you in your tracks.

Ever come against a problem and you think to yourself, how will I afford to pay someone to solve this for me?

Recently, I discovered a screw in the tire of a truck. It will have to be fixed and addressed. In the meantime, who’s going to fix it and where is the money coming from?

Then, a friend of the family comes around and a teenage son is brought into the question. He swaps out the damaged tire for the spare with little complication or hesitation. He had the skills and drive to deal with the problem.

You may think, Well, I should have know that... while not seeing his hours of study and work put into his skills.

If we had more skills at the home front, it may be easier to swap damaged things out for solutions, or to mitigate problems so that they are mere inconveniences rather than catastrophic hindrances.

This is not lost with soft skills, too. Such as: collaboration, empathy, foresight, things that do not require hard skills, like a trade, but – as with anything – these skills can be cultivated and developed.

So, “Free the Quality!” What quality may that be?

• Health

• Wealth

• Relationships

• Competency

We could agree that more of the above is (more often than not) a good thing for the world. We will roughly aim for these to develop. Paricularly, in writing. I believe writing is one of the most universal skills at our disposal, to go deeper into thoughts and problems so that we do not get hung up on minor issues again. Technicalities aside, just start - right now!

A World Too Far Off?

Walk outside, get your share of resources, what you need to survive and be comfortable… You also need the skills and knowhow to process raw materials into finished products. We are strictly in a consumer market where relatively few facilities create products.

Cornering markets to capitalize on a service or resource was once considered illegal. Now, it is the norm. Centralized bodies controlling the products and resources, setting the prices and wages which we get in order to feed whatever we make back into the system, without gaining too much wealth or influence in the process. This is our world today.

It is not the first time it has been said: “If everyone just had the skills and knowhow, we’d be living in a much better world.” Which is true, but what skills and knowledge are being ingrained in today’s newer generations? What faith do we have in the young ones, the ones that may take care of us when the time comes? I cannot be certain, but I do know that I – a relatively competent adult – should play some role in that outcome, before I am in dire need of their assistance.

It is time to open the skills and recourses, rebalance our value systems from a consumer mentality, into a creator mentality, and take control in our own lives.

Delayed Gratification

Work now (often for free), enjoy the payoffs later.

Most are comfortable in their own worlds. They can binge all the videos they want, have snacks and “food” delivered to their door. Heck, you could work at home, without ever dealing with another human being directly, for some time. While we are closed away in our virtual worlds, the realm of possibilities and wonders slip away – I am not stranger to this misfortune; I’ve indulged as much as anyone.

Young adults, the ones in prime positions to begin to make changes, spend nearly 8 hours a day on their device. That is a full-time job. Imagine what we could accomplish in that time.

Overcoming this tendency toward comfort and instant gratification can be extremely difficult. For some, they need more, more of that “hit,” which may be in the form of drugs and alcohol: the ultimate escapism, but for most, it is related to devices and the content we consume on them. Temporarily hiding ourselves from the reality, just long enough until it is time to go to sleep, then the whole sordid process starts over again, ad infinitum…

Get off that wheel and into the realm of possibilities. Things are for certain where you will be planted in one spot, who knows where you will end up should you begin to build today.

Self-Limiting Beliefs

Most are lulled into thinking that this is all there is. Perhaps, they think they are not talented enough, or have enough money, or do not have the connections in order to transcend their current conditions. An ideal life – if they have the wherewithal to consider an “ideal,” for some, they live self-fulfilling prophecies and resign to their fate.

Aside from blatant atrocities which occur regularly around the world, believing that you only have so much potential is one of the greatest threats against progress. We will address that.

I do not wish to “stoke people up” for a spell, lead them on into thinking that everything can be solved if we simply had a more positive outlook on life, this is only part of the solutions. We may simply need permission to “go for it,” for them to be allowed to reach their full potential. As with a garden, this drive needs to be carefully cultivated and minded as one attempts to develop themselves in body and mind.

Initiatives often wither away in our mind and our hearts due to self-limiting beliefs before they ever see the light of day; various fears which hold us back. This is a calamity.

What Can Be Done?

Beginning my journey, I had lofty goals and ideas – still do, really – but was always limited in money and skills… I may have been looking at these problems all in the wrong way. So, low-budget, low-tech solutions were considered: the humble pen and paper.

Writing things down, organizing thoughts, expressing ourselves in ways of “ought” and “is.” Mind frame and perspective is what makes us human. Housed within our prefrontal cortex lay all of the wonderful faculties responsible for our:

- Thoughts

- Emotions

- Actions

Studies where people are given open licence to cheat, without the threat of repercussions or witnesses, we still only cheat a little, not as much as you would think. This is our prefrontal cortex at play, weighing out many possibilities other than that quick-fix which might be before you at the time of temptation.

We must still be aware of the inroads to our freewill when the call for comfort comes our way. One can even be addicted to cortisol – the chemical we produce in stressful situations. Which vice do you struggle with?

Questions of what might be and right or wrong aside, when you see what your thoughts in reality – such as your journal – then you might garner insights into certain things better. Also, others can look at your work and potentially add to the material, ensuing in a conversation. This brings to mind the question of true conversations. Do we converse, or are we waiting for our turn to speak? To get a quick hit of attention as we try to frame our words and actions in such a way as to gain the most respect of the crowd.

Writing stuff down, sharing it, this offers more fulfilling interactions and perhaps there are things we find hard to express in casual passing, and something more tangible and thought-out is needed. Thus, written thoughts.

This may be done – in the beginning – often for free. I do not ignore the fact that some may be interested in a career, which is perfectly fine. Although, giving it away for free, the value will come back. The more you can give away for free and the people notice and appreciate the quality, the more you will get back eventually. Practice, giving, growing and refinement in a world of reciprocity – a ludicrous thought in today’s world, but absolutely necessary to begin with. Plug away, and you will get noticeably better.

How to Write

To write well, you must blurt out almost anything that comes to mind. The key is to get it down.

Even the most polished writers get their work checked, rechecked, and polished off a bit more… before you ever see their material. I implore you not to worry about that for now – just get it out there. Yes, editing and proofing are needed, but raw, unrefined thoughts will do for now, for even they intrinsically carry value that we often take for granted.

1. Mind Dump

2. Sifting

3. Sharing*

4. Refinement

*Arguably the most critical component: sharing with others.

Pen and paper will suffice for now.

The term journaling refereed to writers physically stuffing their notebooks with all the data they could find on a particular topic. So, the more specific you are about certain problems – problems and solutions are often what people want to consume – then, the stronger the direction, the more understood and consumed your thoughts will be, but we will first try to paint a very broad picture for us to consider later, just begin “stuffing” that journal, it could very well be a digital note taking system, but I encourage handwritten things that my wire deeper connections within our brains as we physically write and organize.

The more you jot down, the better you will be able to pick out certain patterns about yourself. These patterns may be developed and explored further as you begin to understand them. Overthinking is a common problem. Start where you are at with skills and knowledge and grow from there.

To whom you are speaking is yourself facing problems and how you solved them.

Next, arguably the most important part: sharing. Your direction may be developed for you. Other people’s insights into your thoughts offers an incredible chance to grow. It is common for some to feel uncomfortable sharing their thoughts. They may not trust the other person’s opinion, thus may get offended or haughty about others’ insights, or they may not trust their own opinion, thus allow circumstance to dictate their life for them.

All these steps lead to growth. More can be said about sentence structure, grammatical conventions, and the nature of academic work that can be considered at higher cognitive levels – for those that wish to take it to “another level,” but all start with the basics.

Lastly, writing and making videos almost go hand-in-hand. They are not exclusive to the other. Information on how to begin in video productions may be one thing we cover in the near future.

One & The Many

Who is it that you are writing to, yourself or others? Yes.

The person you are writing to, is yourself, your past self that may have been held back, but are now able to move forward with strength. It is likely that someone will encounter the same problem and may be in need of help overcoming it. The important thing is to clearly visualize to whom you are writing. The more specific you are about that person, the more they will be drawn to your solutions. Know yourself and know others as clearly as possible and things may move ahead in a clearer direction.

Some worry they may lose their voice as they pander to the audience, but it will always be you producing the material. So, even if you pander profusely, the subjective nature in which we perceive reality will always spill into our work.

So, what pains are they facing, how might you handle it, or how did you handle it? Can you help? How you helped yourself, that is generally what you will be sharing. You are always an authority on issues you have handled yourself and the insights from your experience. No one can take that away from you.

Taking Your Thoughts for a Cruise

Test out your thoughts, share. Keep it simple for now. We are talking about 4th grade reading levels, simple 1-4 step solutions; just one, complete thought at a time, see how they do in the real world.

X (formerly Twitter) is one of the most forgiving platforms to share and grow in skill and audience. Post on there and post regularly and see what happens. Your audience may very well identify your direction for you. For other platforms – whether they be shortform or longform platforms – I would suggest knowing their idiosyncrasies first, who frequents them and why, and offer them a more polished product, but remember, just do. These are mere considerations for those that want to take things higher.

Social media and streaming platforms are on the rise. They will consist of a major market for the years to come. The future is looking bright online and in video, but be creative with your media, even though we mainly consume in visual, audio, or tangible ways.

There is a definite science to setting up videos, shooting them, lighting, scripts, scenes, story movement, etc. That aside, the possibilities are still endless with base techniques. There are sentences in the English language which have never been uttered in the history of the universe that we could craft on a whim. No topic is ever saturated enough to exhaust beyond the possibility of redundancy, share away!

Formal/Informal

Jotting things down on a napkin, or publishing manuscripts with 300+ citations, they require different platforms, but share common roots and value: us. Remember not to be get caught up in “getting it right,” it take a lot of mistakes to get proficient.

Do you want your work to be taken seriously or is it simply a hobby? It is a bit of both. It should be well thought out but sharing something “shoddy” is generally better than not sharing at all.

There are grades in which you can take things. I argue you can take things to the very height of the world through pen and paper - a journal - and nothing more. I say this as I use some the latest tech, but I assure you, there are plenty of handwritten notes around my desk. I find their ease to write and ability to be physically carried from one are to another superior to cloud-based notes. Both have their pros and cons.

Start out simple. Even if you want to produce videos, everyone carries a decent camera within their phone. Investing in a simple microphone system is generally all one needs to get started.

What Can We Do?

- Start a Journal

- Write for Your Past Self

- Share

Do not let issues make your life go flat, grab that proverbial wrench and swap out your current state of living for the life you wish fashioned for you and yours. Easier said than done, which why it is important that you take those first steps now.

On a side note, it may be time to consider whom you are spending time with. Do those around you inspire you to reach for better states of living than where you are now? Not to mention what actually constitutes a "better state" for you, but are things generally improving? A littler dealer insight, a little less hung up on issues, a little better prepared for whatever life may throw at you. It is important to surround yourself with those that aspire for greater states than where they are at now. All wonderful accomplishments aside, those that conduct themselves with humility are often wiser choices to have around.

Advanced techniques at impacting change within your community will be shared eventually; this will be the foundation of something greater.

Share your thoughts with us and perhaps we could develop a better world together. Choosing empowered agency means taking responsibility for the world as it is and taking peaceful actions toward an ideal existence; jot things down, share them. I promise, you will be surprised at who is listening and who may benefit from your thoughts.

Do I truly believe in a world where everyone is highly skilled and competent under many circumstances, within the human condition? I do not have to, for I have already witnessed and experienced it within myself. I know the potential within us, we are simply not permitting ourselves the proper circumstances for us to grow.

Start sharing, start helping, in whatever way you can. Someone will listen, someone may help, or someone may benefit – it all allows value, health and wealth to be put forward, so that we may be stronger together, as unique individuals.