"There is no need to sharpen my pencils anymore. My pencils are sharp enough. Even the dull ones will make a mark. Warts and all[. Let's start this shit up]" [emphasis mine] Quote Book material. Fine words. Thanks for sharing it.
The part you quoted is big for Mark Manson, as well: 9 Subtle Lies We All Tell Ourselves, for example. There's also David Cain of Raptitude: You Aren’t In the Crowd, You Are the Crowd.
Hearing you say you're a fan of his makes my interest for his writing feel less awkward inside.
I liked what he wrote in the video game/cheat codes article about how often we respond to problems with distractions rather than solutions. Solutions move us towards the next Level. Distractions keep us on the same Level.
This helped me understand people around me who didn't seem to be addressing the real problem of -- let's just call it, their broken self ... Manson addresses these things.
Reminds me of a bit from Maron's special Thinky Pain that really spoke to me.You’re afraid of investing your full self in anything, only to be disappointed.
In my mind, if I don't prepare and I pull this off, I'm a genius. I'm a fuckin genius. If I don't pull this off, well, I didn't prepare!
I'm hanging around the comments hoping to find something good to say about the experience I've had with those words. I don't have "good". I only have "This was an enlightening experience, and I appreciate reading it because it gave me mental grounds for passion".