"Learning to draw is much more about learning to see than making marks."
I’m not exactly sure what I was Googling when I stumbled across this adage but it made me pause.
Here, hidden within a thread of interesting dialogue on the subject of learning to draw, discussed by entrepreneurs-who-are-interested-in-a-start-up-accelerator-program, seemingly layeth a gem.
(this) my type of party…
Around 2017 – 18, I was on a meandering 13-month, 10-country Digital Nomad Spirit Quest. During this period I fell in love with Muay Thai. A sport/lifestyle steeped in traditional Thai culture. The very life blood of the nation’s identity and that of its smiling, manic-driving, lethal AF peoples.
Side note: never, ever get into an altercation with a Tuk-tuk driver. There’s a significant chance they’ve trained Muay Thai since they were children. If you belittle them, they could, and will, whip yo ass.
Based in Chiang Mai, Thailand for a spell, I was fortunate enough to be ringside and meet-post-fight a sweaty, disappointed-but-affable living human legend: Sylvie von Duuglus-Ittu - she lost her bout that day by a questionable decision.
Sylvie holds many epic titles including: The Westerner with The Greatest Amount of Professional Muay Thai fights in Thailand of All Time (270 bouts and counting) and being my second ever podcast guest. She’s equal parts articulate, charismatic and dangerous. A fusion of The Cheshire Cat and Rambo, if TCC had laid off those cat nip pipes...
Among many other interesting nuances of the Thai culture and life as a Muay Thai fighter in Thailand, Sylvie vlogs and writes about the concept of ‘Growing Eyes’, specifically in the context of pursuing her epic path to becoming a Master of Muay Thai or ‘Yod Muay’.
Learning to become a Yod Muay is more about learning to see than throwing strikes.
Which begs the question; how do we learn to see?
In Muay Thai there’s only one way; you must fight. Fight a goddamn lot.
And therein lies the paradox of the statement; I can only grow eyes through fighting.
I can only learn to see by first having made many marks in my attempt to draw.
That must be the parallel my lizard brain drew! One I was only consciously able to identify and articulate through this daily writing practice.
Learning to draw, fight, start a business, have healthy relationships, any context I can think of; if we intend to attain a higher level of skill than what we have today, we need to Grow Eyes. The only way to do that is to do the thing.
Not read about it.
Not have meetings about it.
To do it.
Day in.
Day out.
To risk getting punched in the face.
To f*ck it up and to try again.
To pursue our epic path.