Nixon’s The One!
This is going to kill it for some of you, but I’ve always had this little soft spot for Richard Nixon. Not that I don’t think he deserved everything he got; he did and more. But most politicians are so boring, so plastic…Nixon, on the other hand, was a walking and talking embodiment of the best kind of dramatic villain. And, as I get older, I think a great deal of my fascination owes something to his life-long quest to achieve his goals, and then destroy them, with the same bloody-minded zeal. That sort of paranoia and self-loathing, writ large, is just fascinating to my inner Freudian. He gets elected in one of the, if not the, biggest landslides in presidential history…and then, within two years, he leaves the White House in disgrace, telling his aides and followers that, “…always remember, that others may hate you, but those that hate you don’t win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself.” You don’t say…#notetoself. Oh, Tricky Dick, we hardly knew ye.
(If my mother reads this blog, pretty sure that it will be the last time EVER, she’ll be d-o-n-e. Mrs. Zimmerman can handle me talking about my vagina, but she cannot handle me talking about Nixon with anything approaching sympathy.)
Anyhoo, I’m thinking of Nixon today because so often in this business I tell clients to just get started, just do it and you’ll figure out a way. But I always have to remind myself that before you can even get started…you have to stop sabotaging yourself. You have to stop being your own worst enemy. You have to mute the part of your brain which thinks you’re fat, stupid, boring, unattractive, not smart, not likely to succeed and THEN you have to just f**king get started. Because with that destructive soundtrack going on, you cannot get started.
Because no one can sabotage us, no one can make us feel as crappy about ourselves and our choices as we can. No one can ruin opportunities for ourselves like we can. So I can talk to you till the cows come home about people like Kurt Vonnegut collecting 800 rejection letters and still writing, endlessly writing…but Kurt had his mind right. Kurt was going to be Kurt’s biggest fan, no matter what anyone else said. Kurt believed in Kurt and he believed that what Kurt had to say was important. That’s why he was able to shrug off the crap other people gave him. Otherwise…forget it. He wouldn’t have even been able to survive one rejection letter.
I think back on times in my life when I was convinced I was the biggest a$$hole ever and that everyone else knew exactly what they were doing…and I cackle a little bit. (Oh, those lovely dulcet tones.) Because now I see that no one knows what they’re doing…and that’s so liberating! You just do what you think is best, learn from your mistakes and keep on doing it. Now this business is getting tremendous opportunities because…what exactly do I have left to lose? I just want to have fun, and help people and hopefully wake up next to Idris Elba. So again: what do I have left to lose? My law school debt? Sure, right. The boring people who are stuck making love to their destructive addictions, while complaining about their lives? I’ve already kicked them out. The cats? They have no thumbs, thus they cannot unlock the front door. #psyche
I’m fascinated by Nixon…but I don’t want that to be my story. (Though yes: my mother is also a saint to have put up with my shit.) And hopefully, you don’t want to sabotage yourself, either. Let your freak flag fly so you can have the courage to roll up your sleeves and do the hard work necessary to create and achieve goals which will propel you! Want some help with that? Unless you’re an exasperating Libertarian, email me @ carlotazee@gmail.com, or like my Facebook page, “Carlotaworldwide Creativity Yenta,” for a free consultation!