Marcus Lopes's Blog, page 31
March 5, 2019
The 30-Minute-a-Day Social Media Diet
In November 2015, I pulled the plug on social media — Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogger. Then I went beyond that. I limited my use of e-mail, kept the TV off during the day (until my partner came home from work and turned it on), sent few text messages and, when I wasn’t working at my day job, kept my mobile on ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode.
Going Dark
I went dark, off the grid. This was, in part, inspired by a story I’d read two years earlier about a family that decided to live like it was 1986 a...
February 26, 2019
Finding Your Voice
Finding your voice isn’t always easy. Trying to find my own, I’ve explored various forms of creative expression, travelled the globe, switched jobs the way you change underwear, sabotaged relationships, and more. It’s been a journey of self-loathing as much as self-acceptance. And it took quite a long time to arrive at the latter.
And here’s the thing: I didn’t always know that I wanted to be a writer. I’d spent so much of my youth at the piano, which deflected attention from my heart’s true...
February 19, 2019
Push Yourself to Go Higher
Every day is an opportunity to become the best version of ourselves, to push yourself to go higher. If I’m at home in Toronto, that means getting out for a long run — as long as it’s not -20°C or colder, and I’m not fighting a cold. That means, on the days I don’t ‘feel like’ writing, I show up anyway and do the work. That means that if I’m the recipient of rudeness, intolerance or impatience, I act with love and acceptance towards that person and, still, wish them goodwill.
Every day — with...
February 12, 2019
Kick Writer’s Block to the Curb!
I don’t believe in writer’s block. I think it’s a myth, something invented to stop us from creating, from pursuing our dreams. We say we’re waiting on inspiration to start, but we could be waiting a long time.
‘Inspiration’ comes the moment I sit down and touch my pen to the page, or as my fingers dance across the keyboard. I can say that because I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about this morning. Typing the first three words of this blog post, the idea came to write about writer’s bl...
February 5, 2019
Keep Your Head in the Clouds
No matter what you do in life, there’s always someone who’s going to tell you what you should be doing and how you should be doing it. Sometimes it’s a well-intentioned partner, friend, or teacher who are concerned about you. You tell them that you want to be a novelist or a sculptor, and they’ll say, “That’s crazy. You can’t make a living that way. Get a real job.” Don’t listen to them. In fact, the best thing you can do is keep your head in the clouds.
When I was growing up,...
January 29, 2019
Take a Risk
During a trip to London in November, I had to do something out of the ordinary: find a post office open on Sunday to mail a package for a friend. I found one not far from my hotel, downloaded the route from Google Maps, then set out. It took me a moment to recognize the outlet since the postal services were offered inside another shop.
The packaged mailed, I then walked to the Marks & Spencer (M&S) on Edgeware Road. For some reason, I never bothered to check the M&S store hours and assumed —...
January 22, 2019
Write the Way
Distractions. They’re everywhere. TV and the soul-sucking, mind-numbing reality shows that we’ve become obsessed with. Social media. We’re constantly reaching for our phones, hoping we’re not missing out on what’s happening on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, et. al. — and the 24/7 high-stakes drama it has become. The Trump Presidency. The fracas around Brexit. It’s no wonder that we are, literally, driven to distraction.
More than ever, we’re livin...
January 15, 2019
Writing Sober: One Year Later
Something ‘magical’ happened a year ago. Then, however, I didn’t know how much it would change my life, how much it would change the script.
On 17 January 2018, I stopped drinking.
I need a moment to let that sink in. I’ve been sober for one year. 365 days. 8,760 hours. 525,600 minutes.
“Why?” many of my friends asked with bewilderment as much as curiosity. I stopped drinking — not because I was pressured to, not because I didn’t know my limit, not because alcohol was ravaging my life — becau...
January 8, 2019
Easy Does It
I have a driver’s licence, but it’s been over five years since I’ve sat behind the driver’s wheel and navigated a car through the streets. There’s no need for it. Living in downtown Toronto, everything I need — grocery stores, banks, the public library, restaurants — is within walking distance. And choosing to get around the city on foot keeps me active as part of a healthy lifestyle. It also reminds me that sometimes, charging through life, the best approach is easy does it.
Easy does it, th...
January 1, 2019
Why You Must Hold Fast to Your Dreams
Back in 2015, I did something kind of crazy. I declared it my Year of Selfishness. It was going to be ALL about me.
And it was … sort of.
How it all Began
I don’t remember exactly what I was looking for, but scanning the Google search results my eyes landed on “Three Simple Rules for Life”:
If you do not go after what you want, you’ll never have it.
If you do not ask, the answer will always be no.
If you do not step forward, you will always be in the same place.
Whoa! Th...
