Issue 105 - Get in the Zone
Welcome to 500 Words.
On the first day of my new day camp, I think I was about nine, I got on the basketball court and hit every shot. Layups. Turn-around jump shots. Three-pointers. The coach greeted me enthusiastically, certain he had discovered a new star.
Then, for the rest of the summer, I missed nearly every shot that I took. The coach kept me on the team, riding the bench.
Another year, another camp, I pitched lefty and had a good sinker. Early in the summer, the softball coach put me in, and I struck out the side for the win. Never did it again. The coach put me at first base for the rest of the summer.
When I moved to LA I was thirty-two, and there was a writers' strike. I couldn't write film or TV scripts for money, so I became a professional typist who went 90 words a minute, and a serious amateur tennis player, catching pickup games on public courts. I learned how to pound serves down the middle. One of my opponents was losing so badly, and got so mad, he smashed his racquet to bits.
That was fun. (Not for him.) I couldn't conceal my smirk. But I have never served as well again.
Flow States
Looking back over those early athletic triumphs, I realize now that they happened because I'd entered a flow state. It's a state of energized focus, complete immersion in the task, and feeling the joy of doing it.
Athletes cultivate flow states, and we all should. The steps to success are simple:
Visualize what you want to achieve. Picture yourself doing it successfully.
Remove distractions; when writing, I use music, specific playlists for specific projects.
Use timers. I work in concentrated 20-30 minute segments, then take a five-minute break.
Let your mind wander when you're not working intently.
Visualization is the magic spell. If I go over the chapter I want to write the night before, the next day goes better. If I take a moment to visualize where the tennis ball will go, it goes there.
Just about every day at work, I use a timer called Session that helps me pace myself.
I probably won't be striking out any sides or sending 130-mph serves down the middle, but I will hit other goals in writing and teaching, because of flow states.
The Storyline Sessions
My Storyline Sessions masterclass participants have shared their success stories with me. I shared one last time; here are two more.
During the pandemic, many pundits predicted the demise of mid-level local restaurants. And it was true, many of those restaurants had to close. But in their place, we've seen a local food renaissance — local chefs are doing popup kitchens and food trucks instead of formal restaurants.
Ashwin Khajana is the CEO & Founder of Streetstop, an app for connecting mobile food popups and food trucks to hungry humans. As a foodie, Streetstop connects you with those trucks and popups. As a restaurateur or chef, Streetstop takes care of the backend ordering stuff.
Ash told me that he's scored another funding round and added more people to his team. The app is available in LA now and has a national waiting list of 10,000 restaurant popups across the United States, ready to use the app when it goes national.
About the Storyline Sessions, Ash said, “The course with Lee helped me refine exactly what to say and how to say it to different stakeholders, very helpful!”
Julia Perederiy, is the scientist-founder of OmBiome, the world first oral care product made from microalgae. OmBiome rebuilds your cells to protect and rebuild your oral microenvironment.
Julia was recently accepted into the prestigious Berkeley SkyDeck startup incubator/accelerator program.
She said about the Storyline Sessions: "Thank you, Lee, for helping me organize my thoughts into memorable & actionable stories!"
I hope you find time this week to create flow states and get into the Zone.
Lee
SOURCES
The Street Stop website
Street Stop on the Apple Store and Google Play
Ombiome
Session Timer for timing work segments
This is a weekly letter about indie publishing from Lee Schneider. Author of the novels SURRENDER, RESIST and the forthcoming LIBERATION. Creator of the audio dramas MISSION OF THE LUNAR SPARROW, YOUR PERFORMANCE REVIEW, and PRIVACY POD. Working on many things. Nice to see you here. 500 Words is a publication of FutureX Studio.