{"id":196,"date":"2014-11-27T10:56:32","date_gmt":"2014-11-27T10:56:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cloudtag.com\/blog\/?p=196"},"modified":"2014-11-27T10:56:46","modified_gmt":"2014-11-27T10:56:46","slug":"the-time-is-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cloudtag.com\/blog\/the-time-is-now\/","title":{"rendered":"The Time is Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Time is Now.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cMastery starts as a spark, a desire to move.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\n

Mastery asks us to proceed regardless of the outcome.\u00a0 Mastery asks us to harness the process, the immediate task of getting going and of learning.\u00a0 It asks us, finally, to keep going against odds, against instinct, against opinion, until we become what it is we set out to be, a master.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

We are very influenced by story.\u00a0 We like to build beautiful stories about all aspects of life: about both ourselves and others.\u00a0 The type of story to which we are most exposed is what famous screen writer Robert McKee calls an \u201carchplot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Very briefly, an archplot is about a character who sets out on a journey, has a hard time, gets tested, passes the tests and brings home the bacon.\u00a0 We\u2019re fed this story almost every movie outing and I would guess most of us approach our life with this model in mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

Out of this classic mold, the \u201cminiplot\u201d (a minimalist archplot) and the \u201dantiplot\u201d are born.\u00a0 The antiplot is one of those films that kicks the archplot in the face, a bit like the film \u201cSeven\u201d with Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey.\u00a0 If you haven\u2019t seen it, it doesn\u2019t end well in the classic sense.\u00a0 We tend to hope that the antiplot is not how our lives will go.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"spock-leornard-nimoy-star-trek-tos\"<\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u00a0 That\u2019s not supposed to happen!\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Both movies deal with adversity.\u00a0 Lots of adversity.\u00a0 In the archplot the adversity makes some sense.\u00a0 The bad things will come, the hero will find what they need, deep down after much pain and then overcome, heading towards a sequel or four\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the antiplot however, chaos reigns, the Universe isn’t so predictable and our hero’s efforts aren’t the comfy\u00a0insurance plan\u00a0for success we would like to\u00a0expect. There is no linear expectation of what is going to occur.\u00a0 A darker movie to bear.\u00a0 We want our popcorn money back.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"cryingwoman_dot\"<\/p>\n

\u201cSeriously, I took a loan out on that popcorn.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Our protagonist, or us, can really make use of three concepts in either of these instances.\u00a0 Regardless of how predictable or chaotic the journey is, these three tenets apply to becoming a master.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Get Going.<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0 Proceed to action when you have enough information; don\u2019t overcook it. We\u2019re hardwired to sense progress towards mastery, we all did it learning to move as babies.\u00a0 Jump start your mission by performing small related and relevant tasks towards your aim, ASAP.\u00a0 You\u2019ll generate a sense of reward as you do so.<\/span><\/p>\n

Recognize and Use your Strengths.<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0 In the Hunger Games films, all the kids run towards a bag of weapons and grab what they can.\u00a0 It\u2019s shovel against crossbow and, like animals, they each must develop and harness the skills they possess to affect the outcome — their survival.\u00a0 Lever your strengths and cover other bases.\u00a0 I\u2019m good at lifting things and chilling out.\u00a0 I like weight training and meditating.\u00a0 I\u2019m not going to spend much time doing step aerobics and crossword puzzles.\u00a0 Know what you\u2019re good at and develop it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"456x330\"<\/p>\n

\u201cChoose your weapon\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Aim for Experience.<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0 In our archplot and antiplot examples, one thing is for sure, they\u2019re both learning, they\u2019re both having an experience. One ends well and the other might not, yet they\u2019re both meaningful, fulfilling and have, above all else, purpose.\u00a0 Experiences are valuable.\u00a0 Move towards the kinds of experience that you want that allow you to harness and develop your strengths as soon as you can, no matter the situation.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mastery asks us to proceed regardless of the outcome. Mastery asks us to harness the process, the immediate task of getting going and of learning. It asks us, finally, to keep going against odds, against instinct, against opinion, until we become what it is we set out to be, a master.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cloudtag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cloudtag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cloudtag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloudtag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloudtag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/cloudtag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":202,"href":"https:\/\/cloudtag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196\/revisions\/202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cloudtag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloudtag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloudtag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}