The Graffiti Machine

In the War of Art by Steven Pressfield, he talks about how we feel the strongest resistance when the task is the most meaningful to our soul's evolution. This shows up as different things like procrastination, fear, doubt, and excuses. This can be both a blessing and a curse. The curse is it's so hard to make ourselves do the things we want to do when resistance is so strong. The blessing is the resistance can help identify the things you should be focused on. There are many ways to overcome, but that doesn't make it easy. One thing he talks about is shifting your mindset from amateur to professional. An amateur will stack all kinds of reasons to not do the tasks. A professional gets it done no matter what. This is one of my favorite quotes from the book: "How many pages have I produced? I don't care. Are they any good? I don't even think about it. All that matters is I've put in my time and hit it with all I've got. All that counts is that, for this day, for this session, I have overcome Resistance." Professionals get the work done regardless of how strong the resistance is. — Bus

We all can find ourselves in a rut from time to time, lacking motivation and having difficulty getting things done. When this happens to me, I try to remember the best way to find motivation is to make progress. While motivation might pop up from time to time, that isn't reliable. The most reliable way to find motivation is to create it with action. If you feel like you can't get yourself to move forward, just write a list of a few things that will move you forward. A little bit of progress and checking the tasks off the list will not only create motivation over time, it'll compound. A little bit every day turns into a lot over a week, month, or year.

I saw a quote today that felt like it would be helpful for people. It said, "don't take criticism from someone you wouldn't ask for advice". In recent years, criticism doesn't really bother me, but when I first got serious about posting content around 2019, it did tend to bother me. Before posting a video, I would wonder how it would be received and often second guess it. If I had this quote back then, I feel like things would have been easier. Most of the negative comments are either from anonymous accounts, so those don't matter at all. The ones that you can see are never people I would take advice from. I would imagine you will find the same. If criticism is holding you back on anything you want to do, be sure to ask the question: Would I take advice from this person? Then act accordingly.

I saw this video the other day. It was a race car driver saying "I'm just gonna put my foot on the floor and I'm not lifting until I see god or the checkered flag". It got me thinking about this kind of all in mentality that can be really difficult to achieve. How do we get this kind of mindset when the shit we need to do is the last thing we want to do? I'm still trying to crack that code—one thing that might help is to shift our thinking to focus on the payoff of the action rather than the effort. This was something a guy named Scott Adams talked about. The reason a lot of us don't go all in on things is we get trapped into thinking about everything it will take. The actions aren't fun. The work is hard. If we focus on the payoff, it might push through the procrastination.

A couple months ago, I woke up with this crazy feeling and thought 'I'm running out of time!'. I must have had some crazy dream or something. The thoughts were about running out of time to accomplish my goals and things of that nature. At 51 years old, I'm pretty fit and healthy for my age, but you never know how much time you have left regardless of your age. Then I saw a video that changed my perspective. It was an 80 year old man hitting a heavy bag. This dude had super clean strikes for someone at any age. The caption said something like, "if I stopped training at 50, I would have missed out on 30 years of staying fit". Nothing wrong with staying urgent and aggressive about getting your shit done, but we may have more time than we think!

Lately I've been paying closer attention to what gives me energy and what drains it. The biggest thief? My phone. In this episode, I break down how scrolling kills momentum, what I've been doing to snap out of it, and a simple trick to get back on track fast.

We use the term 'Prioritize and Execute' at the shop all the time. It's from Jocko's Laws of Combat. Find the priority and execute. Once complete, there's a new priority. Then you handle that. This is the antidote for overwhelm. It's easy to get bogged down with the big picture of getting everything done. You can't do it all at once. Take a step back to detach. That'll help you find the next step you need to take. This can be applied to all aspects of life. When you're feeling overwhelmed, detach, identify the priority, and run the play. Before you know it, you'll be moving forward. Forward movement generates momentum. Now you're off to the races.

I was thinking about some concepts that are seemingly at odds with each other, but they aren't. We're only alive today. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow hasn't happened. Living in the present is all there is, but does that mean you can't learn from the past or plan for the future? No. Let's break it down. How do you use today to make your life better? If you have regrets from the past, you can use today to reflect on them, learn, adjust, and grow from those things. For the future, how do you live in the present and plan for the future? Isn't that going against living in the moment? I don't think so. We can use today to visualize our ideal future. It sets a target for where we want to go. Once you have that vision, you can then identify what you need to do daily to move towards it. What does today look like? We've decided what we've done in the past that we don't like, identified things we want to change, and now we can do things differently. We've created a vision for what we want in our future. That should give us some general ideas on what we need to do daily to move towards it. We don't need all the answers, we just need to move forward with that target in mind. Write down a list of five things that'll move you forward. Those things can be action steps to get you closer to your future, could be habits to correct past behavior to become the person you want to be, or habits that your future self needs to get you where you want to go. Knock out a list of 5 things that move you forward every day. You're living only today while working towards the future and adjusting based on lessons from the past. Is it easy? Hell no. But it's worth it.

Most people think personality traits—like confidence, patience, or staying calm under pressure—are things you're either born with or not. But the truth is, you don't have to stay the way you are if you don't want to. First, you think about the kind of person you want to be. Then you start doing the things that person would do. And eventually, you become them. It doesn't happen by accident. You train it. And the repetition is what turns it from effort… into identity. You can change into the person you want to be. And it might be simpler than you think.

Being able to build and keep momentum has been huge for me. We all go through phases—on track, off track, fired up, burnt out. That's life. The hard part is getting back on track when you're off. That's where building momentum comes in. Forget waiting for motivation or inspiration. Just start, even if it's small, and don't sweat the outcome. Consistency beats perfection. The flywheel effect is real. When you keep pushing, momentum starts working for you. And if you fall off? No problem. Just repeat the process. It's all about building momentum over and over.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about energy management—specifically, what feeds our energy and what drains it. How many times have you had a bad interaction with someone, only to stew over it for hours, days, or even longer? Social media makes this even worse. One negative post can trigger a response, leading to a back-and-forth spiral that eats up time and energy. But here's the question: How much energy is being wasted in those moments? And more importantly—how could that energy be used to build something better? If this resonates, take a hard look at the people, habits, and environments in your life. What's fueling you? What's draining you? Then ask yourself: What could I create if I redirected that energy? This podcast is available on all your favorite audio platforms and on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@busmsk

I read the quote 'What's it going to take?' in the book Market Outrageously. It was talking about actually looking deep at a goal and trying to get to the bottom of what it would take to accomplish. Even seemingly impossible goals are worth trying to break down. In my life and business, I have goals that are overwhelming to think about. When I read this part of the book, I was inspired to actually dig into it much further. Things start seeming much more achievable once you start breaking it down into smaller chunks. Ask yourself this question about a goal you have, then sit down and try to figure out what steps you need to take to make it happen. There is a lot of clarity that can be achieved with this.

I heard Alex Hormozi say this, and it stuck with me. When things get hard, most people give up. The idea of consistently getting better in all areas of life is not the norm in society. And in some ways, that's fine—if you're happy with where you're at. But the way I see it, most people aren't happy with staying the same. We want something more for our lives, but pushing ourselves into discomfort is hard. The truth is, doing the hard things is what's required to make our lives better. Where in your life do you feel like quitting—but know you need to keep pushing?

We all have those small tasks we avoid—paperwork piling up, a cluttered office, or something simple that feels like a hassle. For me, those things build up in my mind and start to weigh on me. But when I finally take care of them, there's always a sense of relief. Research shows that unfinished tasks, or "open loops," take up mental space and increase stress. The more we avoid them, the more they quietly drain our energy. Tackling them right away frees up that mental clutter and makes life feel lighter. Stop waiting. Do it now. It's worth it.

In this episode, we explore the Craftsman Mindset from Cal Newport's So Good They Can't Ignore You. This idea flips the script on "following your passion" and emphasizes mastering skills as the key to meaningful work. I share a powerful dream that confirmed my dedication to my path, reflect on the challenges of entrepreneurship, and discuss how honing skills—like marketing and leadership—has brought meaning to my work. We also touch on examples like Steve Jobs and finding fulfillment in any job through mastery. If you're questioning your path or looking for more purpose in your work, this episode is for you.

January of 2025 marks 10 years of the current version of Machine—I say current only because I started Machine in 2002 as a motion graphics business then transitioned into what we have now in 2015. It's been quite a ride so far, but it still feels like we haven't even started yet. In 2015, it was mainly a one man show. I lived in the back of the shop with my four dogs. No heat, air, hot water, kitchen, shower, or any of the creature comforts we're used to. I cooked on a hot plate and showered at the YMCA. I was all in on the vision, but it wasn't a clear vision at all. I just wanted to do something positive for the graff culture by opening a place for writers to gather, blackbook, attend art shows, etc. Over time, it developed into what you see now. Lots of ups and downs and a huge amount of great memories. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this. Team members, customers, supporters, collaborators, everyone. We have a long way to go. — Bus P.S. Rest in peace Kub, Herbie, Hooper, and Shortie. I think about you all the time.

With the new year and new goals, I thought about the habits that changed my life for the better and put them together as a program. It's 8 weeks of the following daily habits: • 10 Minutes of Meditation • 10 Pages of Reading • 30 Minutes of Exercise • Stick to a Diet • Do the Power List This episode goes into some detail as to why these habits, but most should be pretty obvious. If you want to read more about it, you can visit the website below. If you do the program, please let me know how it went! https://rebuild.graffitimachine.com/

When I'm having trouble creating, I use this technique and it works every time. Just start. Sometimes you'll have to force yourself to do it—make anything without worry, just to get moving forward. The longer you go, the more momentum you build. Every now and then, you'll discover something that feeds the fire. Keep exploring, keep making. Eventually, it'll feel like it's flowing on its own. From there, all you have to do is maintain it.

The law of rhythm reveals that life's cycles—whether good or bad—are part of a natural, repeating flow. With this perspective, we can find comfort in the lows, knowing they'll rise, and prepare in the highs, knowing they'll shift. It's a tool for staying steady, patient, and focused through every phase.

Think it was easier when you were younger? Yeah, maybe. But here's the shift: it's never going to be easier than it is right now. Whether you're 20, 51, or somewhere in between, today is your best shot to make a move. In this episode, I dig into a perspective that hit me recently and has kept me motivated—whatever it is you're aiming for, don't wait around. Start building those habits, set the foundation, and don't let the moment slip. It's only getting tougher from here, so jump on it.