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Less is More: Passion, Practicality, and Precision
*Preface*
Hello readers, new and old. This will be my very first blog with Team Liquid and I will do my very best to put up at least one per month. Happy holidays to all, this blog will be about one of my New Year's resolutions.
For those of you who don't know me: My name is Brian "FLUFFNSTUFF" Lee and I'm the captain of Team Liquid's newly acquired Dota 2 squad. I'm 20 years old and I mainly play supportive roles. I live in California and I have 6-7 years worth of Dota experience altogether. My blogs are usually just about my thoughts, observations and reflections upon competitive Dota 2. I'll repost all of my older blogs here, so check them out if you'd like.
For my returning readers: Hey guys, I know it's been quite a long time since I've put up a blog. The reason for this is because I took a short leave from the competitive scene to reflect after TI2. I really wanted to reevaluate my goals, hopes, and, more importantly, tend to real life matters that I put off for Dota that year. Thanks for supporting me and my team.
Please Note: The majority of my blogs are written in one sitting with cursory editing methods. The reason for this is because I tend to delete a large portion of the material I write. To counteract that, I try not to dwell on it too much and leave it be. I also use and abuse comma's, sorry in advance :D.
*Passion*
Passion, to me, was that invisible force that drove my every action and intention. It told me to follow my gut, to remain visceral. It told me that an unknown player, with an unknown team could be invited to The International 2. It led me to take a year off from school to pursue my dream. Many sacrifices were made, grief-ridden and regretful (at the time). It led me to write a 42,000 word essay for my team nearly one year ago: its contents littered with goals, aspirations, method and principle. In moments like those, I wore my heart on my sleeve. For a reserved kid like me, that was uniquely unusual.
I think people tend to love the idea of passion, yet they rarely make an effort to actualize anything at all. The idea of passion, to me, is this insatiable sensation that commandeers your thoughts, actions, and belief systems to fanatical levels. However, very recently, I've discovered a different aspect of this spectrum: Practicality.
*Practicality*
Pragmatism is, very much so, tied into the whole concept of passion. I've found that passion breeds a fairly equal ratio of good and bad. The good comes from finding intrinsic motivation to achieve, create, believe and so on. The bad, however, comes in regret, doubt, and pain spurred about through brash actions. You see, passion can be blinding. I suppose in some ways, you need to be a bit off to pursue Dota 2 or any competitive game for that matter. Delusion and passion go hand-in-hand. Many times the case, sometimes not seeing or thinking ahead can get you through doubt and foggy thoughts. Nonetheless, a blind spot should never be left unchecked.
Stay with me, I'll tie this into Dota. What are the blindspots of an ambitious captain? An example of my downfalls as a captain this past year, would include being irrational. I relied very heavily on the idealistic notion that "it would all work out" and that my "gut" would lead me through the chaos.
I'll elaborate: You've seen me play Priestess of the Moon on occassion, yes?
A couple of people asked me this question, "Why did you pick Mirana in the most important tournament of your life, are you stupid?". I'll give you the short answer: yes. What was my answer before? I said, "Because it's fun and I love it".
Truthfully and honestly, the entire concept of running a support PotM was potentially stupid. However, stupid doesn't always mean it's incorrect (I still believe in it). There are certain advantages that I sought out in the hero, specifically unique to trilanes. However, you'll have to take my word for it (I wouldn't want to reveal any strategic details here). The main concept was the ability to create something that could react and thrive in chaos. Part of the reason why I didn't see beyond the horizon was because it worked many times in practice before TI2: I became complacent.
Chaos: the inherent unpredictability in the behavior of a complex natural system
Chaos was my ideal medium for success as a support player. I wholeheartedly believed in being forever unpredictable and fully-capable of reacting to any situation with excellence and precision. In essence, I wanted to disrupt and dismantle the carefully planned tactics of my opponents and strike fast. It's a skill that I've been developing for a long time, yet there was a flaw. I put insane amounts of faith into the reactionary aspect of things. I completely neglected method, application, and execution. I always followed my heart before my head, not only in play, but also in draft.
Though reactionary picks and play will win games, it simply isn't a consistent means for success. Consistency comes with practicality. Practicality assumes that you do what works and precision is the process by which we fine-tune.
*Precision*
A little ambiguous, perhaps? I don't mean to say that following "metagames" and picking accordingly will bring about consistency. Let me make this clear: Anything can work. What I mean to say is that, as a captain, you need to implement method and strategy into everything you do. If you want to pick Warlock, make a strategy and don't just put him in as a filler. Examine all the shortcomings of your lineup, the gaps you need to fill as well as the heroes that need to get banned. Think about the applications: Where and how this strategy will succeed. Practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice. Was that an excessive amount of repetition? No, not even close- 'bub'.
I'm no saint either. Though I've done preparation like this in the past (unknowingly) and I do watch a lot of replays, I've arrogantly put my heart first and head second every time. So therein lies the issue: I'm a captain that broodingly feeds off of emotion. The dark truth of it all, is that I almost need to get angry or mad to lead optimally. Subsequently, my voice grow stronger and commands are made more decisively. Just something about it gives me an acute focus and clarity of thought, that I haven't fully mastered in a calm state. My teammates bear with me because at the root of it all, they know that I'm coming from a place other than belligerence. It's just something that needs to be invoked in order to supersede my very mellow nature.
There are many analogies for this in life, storytelling and proverbial sayings. My goal is to put head over heart in this upcoming year and have the ability to find assurance in my forethought. I believe that I can reach the next level and I know how to get there, which gives me a great amount of hope for 2013. So if there's a lesson to be learned here, it's this: Pathos (emotions) cannot overtake Logos (logic), rather we all need to strike a balance.
I may have gone on a tangent there, but the point I was trying to make was that strategy, practice and repetition are the keys to consistency. Often times I would switch focus and strategy depending on mood, even complete randomness. I would try to use too many heroes and I took the focus off of "what I know" and sought "what I feel". However, I'm now realizing the error in my ways. I want to be able to pump my state on demand and feel confident in its method because of the preparation I've put in place. Our team will focus a lot more on execution and practice until it drives us insane.
So for this next year, 2013, I will be focusing on practicing individual strategies instead of trying to utilize too much all at once: Less is more.
*Final Thought*
Many new teams are driven to success through passion, good teams will find success with practicality, and great teams will maintain success with precision.
Follow me on twitter for more updates <a href="http://www.twitter.com/liquidfluff">@LiquidFLUFF</a>
-FLUFF
 
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Fantastic read. Insightful.
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28091 Posts
Nice blog Fluff. You are awesome 
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Inspiring stuff. Glad to see your commitment has not diminished and I hope to see liquid triumph under this kind of leadership.
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Katowice25012 Posts
On December 24 2012 17:08 Liquid`FLUFF wrote:
*Passion*
Passion, to me, was that invisible force that drove my every action and intention. It told me to follow my gut, to remain visceral. It told me that an unknown player, with an unknown team could be invited to The International 2. It led me to take a year off from school to pursue my dream. Many sacrifices were made, grief-ridden and regretful (at the time). It led me to write a 42,000 word essay for my team nearly one year ago: its contents littered with goals, aspirations, method and principle. In moments like those, I wore my heart on my sleeve. For a reserved kid like me, that was uniquely unusual.
I think people tend to love the idea of passion, yet they rarely make an effort to actualize anything at all. The idea of passion, to me, is this insatiable sensation that commandeers your thoughts, actions, and belief systems to fanatical levels. However, very recently, I've discovered a different aspect of this spectrum: Practicality.
I think about this a lot. Whenever I tell people what I do I get the same reaction about how they wish they had followed a similar dream, but when it comes down to it very few seem like they're willing to put in the work to make that succeed. Purely running on passion can be trying, because to truly succeed there is a huge amount of sacrifice that needs to be made. There is no safe alternative, you're constantly faced with choices that are difficult to parse and things are rarely certain. Practicality is difficult to maintain.
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28091 Posts
On December 24 2012 17:37 heyoka wrote:Show nested quote +On December 24 2012 17:08 Liquid`FLUFF wrote:
*Passion*
Passion, to me, was that invisible force that drove my every action and intention. It told me to follow my gut, to remain visceral. It told me that an unknown player, with an unknown team could be invited to The International 2. It led me to take a year off from school to pursue my dream. Many sacrifices were made, grief-ridden and regretful (at the time). It led me to write a 42,000 word essay for my team nearly one year ago: its contents littered with goals, aspirations, method and principle. In moments like those, I wore my heart on my sleeve. For a reserved kid like me, that was uniquely unusual.
I think people tend to love the idea of passion, yet they rarely make an effort to actualize anything at all. The idea of passion, to me, is this insatiable sensation that commandeers your thoughts, actions, and belief systems to fanatical levels. However, very recently, I've discovered a different aspect of this spectrum: Practicality.
I think about this a lot. Whenever I tell people what I do I get the same reaction about how they wish they had followed a similar dream, but when it comes down to it very few seem like they're willing to put in the work to make that succeed. Purely running on passion can be trying, because to truly succeed there is a huge amount of sacrifice that needs to be made. There is no safe alternative, you're constantly faced with choices that are difficult to parse and things are rarely certain. Practicality is difficult to maintain.
That passage was amazing to read. I couldn't agree more.
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Awww yeah, another fluff blog.
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I'm not the biggest fan of Dota2, but you've just earned my respect and following. Thanks for joining Liquid :D
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Would love to get a glimpse of that essay, but that would probably prove disruptive.
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I appreciated how you made sense of things.
This can be applied to many things in life, good read , well worth the time
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On December 24 2012 17:50 FaZ- wrote:
Would love to get a glimpse of that essay, but that would probably prove disruptive.
Sup Faz, you play any Brood War still? It's Jack from SEN ;o
Did you play Temple Siege? I forget. TS2 is out on SC2 if you did :D
I sometimes worry about the amount of people on this site that will follow their dreams. I realize that sounds wrong given the current attitude of society, but most often, the dreams that people want to follow are impractical. Perhaps I have a completely different perspective on this because I don't consider this life to be the last one, so I don't think that happiness in this life is my ultimate goal; regardless, dreams change, and reality seldom is at the level of the dream you had. And the things you sacrifice to achieve that dream (if indeed you achieve it) often seem to not be worth what you get in the end.
EDIT
Holy wow, how many FLUFF blogs just got posted :O
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This is beautiful
I also couldn't help but notice how coincidentally awesome that it's "fluff" vs "less is more". Awesome blog, and best of luck.
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just wanted to add that you are quite blessed to have parents(iirc your TI2 interview you mentioned they were M.D.s or something paramedical related) that can give you insight and different perspectives.
most of us, are not so fortunate. We spend long periods of time looking for answers or struggling to cope with doubts/loss.
while you managed to find answers & steel yourself within the remaining months of the year..that's pretty amazing to me
good luck in future competitions and TI3
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You write well, it was interesting to read despite not understanding any of the Dota-specific stuff.
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deep thoughts my friend, you would make a good writer :D
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Really nice! I wish Team Liquid Dota the best in future competitions.
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I wish I could express my thoughts like this.
It also seems you always strike at the most important and difficult topics and manage to go through them well. Thanks for giving us one of the best resources for (competitive) Dota that we have right now. Even for other esports.
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Pandemona
Charlie Sheens House51493 Posts
Awesome handle xD FluffNStuff!
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Insightful blog, thanks.
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ty for these blogs fluff so good to read!
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konadora
Singapore66355 Posts
absolute amazing read, fluff.
merry xmas to you too!
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Great blog ^_^ Liquid Fluff fighting
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finally a blog that isnt just a ramble
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United States15536 Posts
This reflects a depth of thought and level of introspection that, quite honestly, I don't see much from eSports players (as much as a fan of them I may be). If there are players out there who think this much about their mood and similar factors for their competitive play, they either don't talk about it or don't do the thinking at all. And either way you're ahead of the curve.
As someone who has only started watching competitive DotA2, you've increased my (already large) desire to follow TLDotA as rabidly as I follow, say... TLSC2. Awesome post, can't wait to read more.
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Your blog reminds me of myself when I play LoL and Dota. This applies more so in LoL since things are more stablized but I always pick underrated heroes or put them in different roles and they work so well even with people complaining. It's more doable in Dota but like yourself I love trying different things
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On December 24 2012 17:37 heyoka wrote:Show nested quote +On December 24 2012 17:08 Liquid`FLUFF wrote:
*Passion*
Passion, to me, was that invisible force that drove my every action and intention. It told me to follow my gut, to remain visceral. It told me that an unknown player, with an unknown team could be invited to The International 2. It led me to take a year off from school to pursue my dream. Many sacrifices were made, grief-ridden and regretful (at the time). It led me to write a 42,000 word essay for my team nearly one year ago: its contents littered with goals, aspirations, method and principle. In moments like those, I wore my heart on my sleeve. For a reserved kid like me, that was uniquely unusual.
I think people tend to love the idea of passion, yet they rarely make an effort to actualize anything at all. The idea of passion, to me, is this insatiable sensation that commandeers your thoughts, actions, and belief systems to fanatical levels. However, very recently, I've discovered a different aspect of this spectrum: Practicality.
I think about this a lot. Whenever I tell people what I do I get the same reaction about how they wish they had followed a similar dream, but when it comes down to it very few seem like they're willing to put in the work to make that succeed. Purely running on passion can be trying, because to truly succeed there is a huge amount of sacrifice that needs to be made. There is no safe alternative, you're constantly faced with choices that are difficult to parse and things are rarely certain. Practicality is difficult to maintain.
you guys should make a blog together
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Nice Fluff blog ;P No but really- pretty well written.
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^
Guy has a good mindset. There is one thing you left out when you spoke about passion & practicality and I like to call that willpower. Yes sacrifices will be made and passion can only take you so far and that's where the drive comes in to allow you to kick it into another gear and overcome the obstacles on the road ahead.
GL Fluff
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Great blog.
The decision to do what you love over what is economically "sensible" is always a hard one, but fundamentally as humans I think it's always the correct one (unless you have kids, I guess). But it gets more or less hard or easy depending on exactly what the choice you're making is.
As a longtime fan of team liquid and a longtime fan of dota, I'm glad TL got a dota team with a captain who's invested in the community and willing to put himself out there like this, I'm just a fan but ill support you guys all the way.
Btw will there ever be a TL Horse courier? I want it so bad.
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Great read.
Altough, you will need a lot of broccoli to get to the next level.
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Amazing blog as always fluff, look forward to another hopefully soon.
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Nice that you offer us insight inside your mind. Good read.
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Every blog is always so well thought out even if its all done in one sitting. So much insight. Thanks Fluff, I'll keep you cheering for you and TL. I hope to see you play support PotM again soon. I feel it has a lot of potential in certain trilanes, but then again, you can say that about a lot of heroes.
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Great blog! Very excited to have you in the TL community. I have just gotten into dota 2 in the last few months, and am very excited to cheer for you! Can't wait for your upcoming blogs.
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First time I read one of your blogs, Fluff, but I have to say it's a great piece of work.
I'm sure, unlike other E-sports scenes, that Dota 2 is running on passion alot, with the great tournaments and what not just getting sorted out now, and The International being one of the most difficult tournaments out there, where teams are made and broken. Yet, few people are willing to make sacrifices to give it a shot, and the people who do really deserve the praise they get, no matter how successful they are.
Also, it's great to get to know you a bit more! Hope to see more blogs from you soon! And good luck for this year!
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Your blogs have always been amazing, glad to hear you're continuing them while on Liquid!
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Brazil1429 Posts
In my experience, every other aspect in competition is secondary to passion. Great blog as always, FLUFF.
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fluff is insightful and inspiring. I want to read his huge novel he referenced. It also trips me out every time he says he's only 20.
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Great blog, interesting read, but 42,000 word essay for your team?!?!?!? What the actual fuck. I am a politics major and the longest i will have to write is 12,000 for my dissertation thesis.
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Fluff is a good writer. This was definitely interesting to read, waiting for more.
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FREEAGLELAND26781 Posts
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Interesting and very well written! Will be looking forward to your future blogs..
Also, merry xmas and whatnot
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SUCH a nice read. Gonna check the archives too
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Yeah really nice blog FLUFF.
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Great insightful read Fluff. I know TL DOTA will succeed. Good luck in the coming year.
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Wow, that was really good. 
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On December 24 2012 17:37 heyoka wrote:Show nested quote +On December 24 2012 17:08 Liquid`FLUFF wrote:
*Passion*
Passion, to me, was that invisible force that drove my every action and intention. It told me to follow my gut, to remain visceral. It told me that an unknown player, with an unknown team could be invited to The International 2. It led me to take a year off from school to pursue my dream. Many sacrifices were made, grief-ridden and regretful (at the time). It led me to write a 42,000 word essay for my team nearly one year ago: its contents littered with goals, aspirations, method and principle. In moments like those, I wore my heart on my sleeve. For a reserved kid like me, that was uniquely unusual.
I think people tend to love the idea of passion, yet they rarely make an effort to actualize anything at all. The idea of passion, to me, is this insatiable sensation that commandeers your thoughts, actions, and belief systems to fanatical levels. However, very recently, I've discovered a different aspect of this spectrum: Practicality.
I think about this a lot. Whenever I tell people what I do I get the same reaction about how they wish they had followed a similar dream, but when it comes down to it very few seem like they're willing to put in the work to make that succeed. Purely running on passion can be trying, because to truly succeed there is a huge amount of sacrifice that needs to be made. There is no safe alternative, you're constantly faced with choices that are difficult to parse and things are rarely certain. Practicality is difficult to maintain.
Fuck, man, that's deep.
I know I can relate to that. I've been facing the same uncertainty and sacrifice in chasing my own dreams (not related to e-sports, mind you, but the same principle applies). I haven't gotten what I've been working for yet, and there's been times where things seem to be insurmountable, but I know I sure as hell won't give up. If I did, I couldn't live with myself, always wondering "what if I didn't give up".
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Great blog Fluff, I'm with the same mentality as a Dota player. Chaos is the best Dota! Perhaps not in highest levels of competition  .
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Nice read. Really looking forward to seeing TL's dota team in action. :D
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Thanks everyone, I appreciate all the kind words. Again, happy holidays.
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On December 25 2012 19:07 Liquid`FLUFF wrote:
Thanks everyone, I appreciate all the kind words. Again, happy holidays.
Merry Christmas. It was indeed a great read!
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On December 25 2012 19:07 Liquid`FLUFF wrote:
Thanks everyone, I appreciate all the kind words. Again, happy holidays.
What were you studying in school? You're a great writer.
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Great read! Enjoyed you sharing your thoughts. I like it because it almost feels as if you're figuring it out as you write it, as if I'm along for the ride. I think naturally most professional players in strategy games have to be very analytic about their play but not everyone can organize and communicate their thoughts in a way that makes it accessible to others. Well done and good luck with your journey!
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Very insightful and a nice read. Good luck in the future!
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cool read! fluffnstuff is a bosssss
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Great read FLUFF, seems your training is starting to pay off, great play last weeks! Keep going.
Liquid fighting~
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EPT
