The work is the work. The work is not me.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the distinction between one's work and one's identity.
Frank Ocean's quote highlights an important perspective: that the effort and output a person creates, whether in art or any other field, should not define their self-worth or identity. It suggests that while work is significant, it is separate from who we are as individuals, encouraging a healthier relationship with our creations and achievements.
In practice
In a motivational speech about the importance of work-life balance.
Whenever I think about movies, I always look at that art process as having the best of a lot of worlds. Because if you watch a great film, you have a musical element to it, not just on the scoring, but in the way that the shots are edited - that has music and rhythm and time.
It's about the stories. If I write 14 stories that I love, then the next step is to get the environment of music around it to best envelop the story, and all kinds of sonic goodness - sonic goodies.
I think we all change each other's paths. I don't know which law idea that is in physics, but I don't think any of us can live without affecting one another.
Work hard in silence, let success be your noise.
We were poor. But my mom never accepted that. She worked hard to become a residential contractor - got her master's with honors at the University of New Orleans. I used to go to every class with her. Her father was my paternal figure.
Some people focus more on sonics. Some people focus more on story. I focus on both sonics and story, but music sometimes, just music itself, can turn into more of a maths problem. I guess everything in life is a math problem, but it can be more about an empirical route to getting the symmetry that you want, and this vibe, sonically.
One can't fight with oneself, for this battle has only one loser.
Be yourself and the people that don't mind are the people that matter.
If you can't say it simply and clearly, keep quiet, and keep working on it till you can.
Mindfulness is about being fully awake in our lives. It is about perceiving the exquisite vividness of each moment. We also gain immediate access to our own powerful inner resources for insight, transformation, and healing.
You can be on the cusp of something. Appreciate the cusp, not the something. Appreciate this moment now.
I wish I could say something classy and inspirational, but that just wouldn't be our style. ... Pain heals. Chicks dig scars. Glory... lasts forever.
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