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The Practice of Productiveness

Something Got Left Out | The Lantern

Published 20 days ago • 1 min read

The Lantern

by Mike Vardy

Vol. 2, Issue 15 | June 6, 2026

Hello Reader,

There's a quote you've probably seen attributed to Picasso:

"The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away."

It's not actually Picasso — it's most credibly traced to a psychiatrist named David Viscott — but that's not what interests me about it.

What interests me is that it's not even the full quote. The version that circulates drops the middle line. What was originally written reads:

"The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The work of life is to develop it. The meaning of life is to give your gift away."

The work of life is to develop it.

That line changes everything. Without it, the quote skips from finding to giving — as though the gift arrives fully formed and ready. As though meaning is just a matter of identification. But anyone who has stayed with something long enough knows that's not how it works. The development is where the gift actually becomes what it's capable of being.

We lose that line and we lose the most important part of the journey.

The Final Flicker

Finding your gift is a beginning. Giving it away is the point. But the work in between — the long, unglamorous middle — is what makes the giving worth anything at all.

See you later,
Mike

P.S. TimeCrafting Trust is my membership community where we go deeper on everything I write about here. The READY Retreat (included with membership) is one of the best ways to live up to the full arc of what this "gift" quote I shared with you today is pointing at. Until June 20th, your first month is just $1 – whether you choose a monthly, quarterly, or annual plan. Click here to join now.

Thanks for reading.

Your time is valuable, and I don’t take it for granted. In a world pulling us in all directions, thanks for choosing The Lantern.

Productivityist Productivity Services Inc. | 1411 Haultain Street, Victoria, BC V8R 2J6
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The Practice of Productiveness

Thoughts and practices for working with time—not against it.

I’m Mike Vardy, and I help people build a better relationship with time — not by controlling it, but by working with it. Through my writing, courses, and community, I explore how intention and attention shape a more meaningful life — one rooted in the original idea of productiveness over productivity.

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