Meet Dahlia Danton

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dahlia Danton. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dahlia, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

It’s easy to blame one’s parents for one’s lack of self-esteem, but to me that’s a flagrant dodge of the responsibilities of adulthood. At a certain point, one has to acknowledge that life isn’t fair and that if you aspire toward competence it’s imperative that one works hard. For me, all the schmoozing in the world will never compensate for the satisfaction of doing something well. Friends, contacts and colleagues all aspire toward a fictive condition of mutual deception. Words like “awesome” and phrases like “you’re the best” should be banned from our collective vocabularies. The best way to develop confidence and self-esteem is to shut up and work.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

For years I edited an online magazine called The Harps of Heaven. I loved it. I had the greatest writers working for me. We had regular essays from the likes of Currado Malaspina, Sophia Lagrimar, Nim McFadyen, David Schoffman, Spark Boon, Ezra Carpentier, Orestia Shestov, and Boris Lemon. I mean, talk about a star-studded cast of polemicists. I learned a lot during that time but most of all, I learned to appreciate Ken Kesey’s famous quip that implies that just because something didn’t happen doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
I now spend most of my time reading and painting and writing. I don’t go out much. I live alone. I go to sleep early. I don’t stream movies or scroll through social media. I don’t shop. I don’t participate in redundant and unnecessary meetings. This frees up an abundance of time for my real work.
As Maimonides wrote in the tenth century: “Don’t waste time being sociable.”

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

That’s easy. Quality number one: I’m arrogant. Quality number two: I’m humble. Quality number three: I have no problem living with contradiction.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

The greatest influence upon my life, by far, is the comically insincere arts podcaster Timmy Black. His amazing podcast, “Timmy Black Presents” The Lives of Contemporary Artists,” is a modern-day reinterpretation of Vasari’s famous chronicle from the Renaissance. It’s full of gossip, lies, and uproariously funny anecdotes. Just like Vasari.
What people don’t know about Timmy is that he is really very thoughtful and sensitive. He’s given me some terrific advice and I value his friendship above all others.

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