I write for adults, thanks. — Every day, successful writers on Twitter bombard me with the same advice: “Simpler is better.” “Use plain, straightforward language.” “Don’t make it too challenging. ” Forgive me for rocking the boat, but that’s a load of crock. Let me clarify. My issue isn’t with people who write in this way…

How we find great sayings and what they mean to us is a story worth telling. — Long before the printing press, stories, songs, and sayings had to be memorized for posterity’s sake. This ancient oral tradition is the reason we can still enjoy works like The Torah, The Illiad, and Beowolf. Today, with an infinitude of information at our fingertips, this tradition has been almost entirely…

Don’t pretend you can relate. — Be honest — how many Bens have you met in your life? How many are you on a first-name basis with? I bet it’s a few. Perhaps you’ve even met a Ben Carter? I wouldn’t be surprised. Yep, my name isn’t winning any awards for being interesting or exotic. Along…

Were we to fully comprehend it life may become unbearable. — “Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.”—Ludwig Wittgenstein I’m what you would call a logophile. From the moment I started reading, I developed an irrepressible urge to learn unfamiliar words. The result was I gained a reputation for having an extensive vocabulary and, as you might expect, this…

Or any spiritual teacher for that matter. — I owe a lot to Eckhart Tolle. In my mid-twenties, listening to the audiobook of The Power of Now had a powerful impact on me. …

Find out the methods that increase the likelihood of success. — (Can’t be bothered with the intro? Scroll down to find out what I did.) When I started writing on Medium I had big dreams. “I’m a great writer”, I thought. “It won’t be long before I’m raking in the cash.” “Foolish child,” the algorithm whispered back, “that’s not how this…

I will speak to you and you to me yet one we are and will always be. — Come to me now naked and unarmed. Come to me now in supplication and surrender. Long have you wandered the corridors of thought. When did you lose the golden thread? Retracing steps forever new; forever wrenching up the dark. Is she with you? Yes, always, but perhaps not in the…

I can’t stop but wouldn’t if I could. — I’m addicted to writing. Thinking, ruminating, planning, researching, conceptualizing, starting, quitting, powering through — every goddamn part of it. I’m addicted to writing. “There are worse things to be addicted to”, they say. Though it wasn’t always the case. …

I know you won’t but I will rant regardless. — I’m not naive. Everyone has to make a living. Writing about a hot topic dramatically increases your chances of getting more clicks, reads, and cash in the bank. I get it, I really do. But, frankly, I’m sick of it. There are 8 billion people on the planet. 8 billion…