Last year, I had the great privilege of seeing Ta-Nehisi Coates in a lecture at the Central Library in Los Angeles. He was already renowned by then, and it was amazing to get to hear him in such an intimate venue with only a few hundred people. Despite telling us he was tired nearing the end of his book tour, Coates spoke with such candor and truth. It was an unforgettable experience. This video is a few years old, but I watched it again today, right before working on an essay. And it inspired me to push through. He’s talking about writing here, but it’s really translatable for other challenging endeavors.