Presby-Musings

Author Seth Godin has written extensively about the joy of doing good work.  He recalled a time when he was on vacation, and had spent a wonderful day at a resort in Jamaica with his family.    That evening after everyone had settled down for the night, he went to the hotel lobby where there was a computer hooked up to internet.  He settled in and was happily answering emails and doing a bit of work.  A couple walked by then and he heard the man say, "Look at that poor guy, working on his vacation."   Godin remembers thinking, "Poor guy?"  He enjoyed his work, and was happy to be doing it.  He thought about how he'd spent a wonderful day relaxing and decompressing, spending time with his family, and how much joy it brought him.   He also thought about how much joy he got from working, and considered himself blessed that both aspects of his life were joyful and life-giving.   I like to work.  I'm one of those people who wi...

Stephen Pressfield writes in the War of Art  that "Rationalization is Resistance's spin doctor ." It's true.  Whenever the opportunity presents itself for us to fulfill our calling, to seek the higher purpose, to make our art to write that novel... We rationalize a million different reasons why it won't work, we can't start, we have other, more important things to do. And sometimes these reasons seem so valid and on point. This week I experienced a bit of that rationalization.  I am working on my doctoral degree , which means that twice a year I go into learning/paper writing/going to school mode.  It means that I am away from home for two weeks at a time in June and then again in January.  It means that I will be reading  a ton of books and doing assignments before I go, and then reading a ton of books and writing a paper or three after I get back. And the further I get into the process, the harder it has been to maintain it. This week the r...

I am reading and reflecting on the excellent book by Stephen Pressfield , The War of Art .    I actually read the manifesto Do The Work by Pressfield some time ago, and many of the ideas within War of Art  were being fleshed out there.   Sadly, I think I read Pressfield's manifesto when I was on one of my "read a book a week" kicks, and didn't really absorb the straight up truths that he was laying down about creativity, art and the pursuit of calling. Pressfield writes novels.  His most famous, The Legend of Bagger Vance  was made into a movie.  His most recent novel was about the battle of Thermopylae . Pressfield speaks a great deal about what he calls Resistance--that which keeps us from pursuing our true calling, being our true selves, producing the art that we were born to produce. He offers a list of the activities, the callings, the art that most commonly cause Resistance to rear it's ugly head.  See if you can find one that reso...

Image by Moriartys via Flickr First, let me say that I like reading Seth Godin's books for three reasons:  1) They are full of awesome nuggets of motivation 2) He writes like Rob Bell which looks something... like this. 3) His book titles are just messed up.  "Poke the Box???"  Are you serious? But you see, Seth Godin tries things.  He isn't the kind of guy that sits around and talks about the things that he's going to do when he has more time, money, wits, wherewithall, you name it.  There is, according to Godin, a difference between successful individuals and organizations and those that aren't: "The winners have turned initiative into a passion and a practice." He lists some imperatives that you need if you are going to be successful or have a successful organization: 1.  Be aware of the market, of opportunities, of who you are 2.  Be educated so you can understand what's around you. 3.  Be connected so you can be trusted as you...

Linchpin: Are You Indispendable? By Seth Godin Seth Godin is a flipping genius.  His books "Purple Cow" and "Tribes" blew my mind and helped me to become a more effective leader and marketer, of sorts.  He's one of those guys that just seems to know what comes next in an ever-changing, post-Great Recession, open-source business culture. Linchpin is a Godin's left-of-center manifesto on what it will take to be successful in the world that has emerged from the economic carnage of the last few years.  In Godin's assessment, traditional forms of leadership are not producing the kind of results in business that they once did.  Building on his wildly successful book Tribes , Godin doubly asserts that anyone can become a leader, and that any leader has the potential to be an artist.  And in the end, those leaders who care more about creating art than making money, a name for themselves, etc. will find that they are indispensable.  I think the one quote...