Your eyes won’t explode but the effect is worse.  Limitless, a 2011 semi-mystery movie, will explode your: will, focus, expectations, and set back your maturity.

Limitless is a perfect expression of our base fantasy: Without work we can achieve great things; without work, our trapped genius can be realized and released; without work, we can know and do everything and anything. Plus, the world knows how great we are.

Is there a word like porn for ideas that keep us dumb, lost, or chasing our tails? Please send so I can add it to this post to more accurately describe Limitless.

Plot summary (no spoiler): Bradley Cooper is a guy with a book contract but no ability to sit down and work. Nor does he have the wherewithal to clean his apartment or pay his bills. Sound familiar? A chance encounter with a drug dealer ex-brother-in-law gives him exactly what he needs for the remaining 90% of the movie: a pill that unlocks every block and barrier.  Apparently, the more days you take it the greater genius you are.

O.k., Limitless is fun to watch, but does it provide the prescription we need to get started and keep moving with our projects. Bet none of our ex-brother-in-laws have such a pill. We need to look for creative healing to wellness somewhere else.

Ancient Secret Formula

Perhaps Limitless II (if that happens) could show a true prescription for creative productivity. Something that has been tested throughout time and around the word (only a few listed below):

– Develop a habit for consistent work (do this daily)
– Develop patience because getting good takes time, lots of time. Can’t rush this time. (do this daily)
– Envision where you want to be/do generally and envision specifically your project as it enfolds and becomes clearer to see/understand (do this daily)
– Plan your work but also trust the surprising directions you will be drawn to as you invest more of yourself into your project. Leave the door open. (do this daily)
– Consider your work as a journey with all sorts of landscapes; you will face ups, downs, quick sand, whirlpools, easy flatlands, etc. (do this daily)

2 thoughts on “Don’t Watch Limitless

  1. Too many people believe this stuff when they hear it. I have an old friend, for example, who thinks he needs to be on government disability because he has high blood pressure (he’s sedentary, 60, and smokes like a forest fire. Of course he has high blood pressure.) As a taxpayer, I am offended that he expects (and will probably get) ME to pay his way in life.

    On the other hand, my son-in-law is writing the next big studio screenplay. He works every waking minute of every day, and has for over ten years. He never missed a single day of school in K-12 and was sick only on weekends. He never cheated. He helped others. He was Valedictorian, played five sports and served a couple of years in a foreign country without pay for his church. Then he graduated in English from an Ivy League university. I’ve never seen anyone work harder. How will Hollywood say he and his co-writer did it? They will proclaim them to be an “overnight success.” Why? Because that’s what sells. Lazy-ass people want to believe it can happen to them if they just meet the right person or “think” their way to success.

    Oh, and people think if you’re playing in that league, you’re rich! Guess what? He splits it 50/50 with his writing partner, then there are taxes, his agency fees, managers fee, lawyers fee, union dues, professional membership fees, tithing, and charitable donations. He gets to keep about 16.5%, which means he needs to write about three feature films per year just to pay rent on a very small apartment.

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