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Inspirational Months

by | Feb 21, 2016 | Life

I’ve been doing so much reading, but I have one major problem with my reading process: I get interested in a lot of things and try to read a few books simultaneously. Depending on my mood, my circumstances, my schedule, and apparently the phases of the moon, I’ll grab any of the books I’m interested in and pick up where I left off. Much like life, I receive input from a variety of sources: books, podcasts, pastors, parents, my wife, and internet authorities (Tim Ferriss, Pat Flynn, etc.) make up the bulk of my personal input, and most of those I interact with in some fashion on a daily basis.

That being said, I’m currently in the middle of reading or re-reading nine books, which is absolutely absurd to most people.

I have a couple of these books at home for my perusal when I’m not busy: these are limited primarily to leisure reading, like Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” and recently, Pierce Brown’s “Red Rising” trilogy (which I discovered after the author did an AMA on reddit) which are engaging but fun reads.

I keep the majority of my self-improvement books at work, since it tends to inspire. I feel better approaching customers and sparking conversation when my head is full of new information and positive attitudes. Lots of Tony Robbins, all three Tim Ferriss books, and a smattering of recommendations from podcasts and book clubs make their way to my desk and line the back wall of my office.

51FK8v5xOtL._SL250_One book in particular, though, keeps catching my attention, and that is Tony Robbins‘ “Unlimited Power.” I have believed for a long time that a positive mindset is the key to having a positive attitude and multiple positive interactions daily. This book explores that perspective beautifully and engages the structure of our thinking to help maximize those benefits while minimizing negativity.

I admit, I struggle with this a lot. Years ago, when one of my personal relationships failed after years of effort, I found myself in a pawn shop with an expensive ring haggling over whether or not I could get $20 out of it (spoiler: I couldn’t). I was frustrated, growing bitter, and slowly becoming cynical of many things in life. I lost a lot of hope in those days and began questioning the permanence of many good things in life. The thing that annoys me most, though, is how formative I let that period of my life become and how long I’ve stayed untrusting of people and unwilling to receive good things.

I prayed, but honestly, I have been a little distrustful of God because He allowed the whole situation to happen in the first place (I’ve since come to love His aspect of allowing a bad to shape a good). I considered therapy for my negativity, but frankly, I’m poor. I considered guided meditation, but who knows what else someone might sneak into their “guidance” while I’m relaxed and receptive. What’s left?

Reading, I espouse to anyone who will listen, is like having a roadmap of lives we don’t have time to live. We can go where others have gone without leaving our seats. We can feel their pain and share their joy by perusing their experiences and taking them in. So why didn’t I think to read about happiness?

On the recommendation of a few successful entrepreneurs, I picked up Tony Robbins’ “Awaken the Giant Within” on Amazon. I saw that most people bought it simultaneously with “Unlimited Power” so I went ahead and grabbed it as well. Upon starting “Awaken the Giant Within,” I found the outlook and inspiration I was looking for. In truth, Tony’s positivity is contagious. However, about 1/3 of the way through the book, Tony summarizes his earlier work, “Unlimited Power,” in order to move on to another bigger topic.

I don’t want a summary of this stuff. I want the full explanation. I don’t want to skim something this important at this critical portion of my development. So I bookmarked “Awaken the Giant Within” and started “Unlimited Power” post-haste.

This book goes everywhere with me, and that says something. I have very little space in my satchel after my notebook, notepad, laptop, charger, Kindle Fire and current project papers make their way in; to make room for a physical book is pretty massive. When I have time at home (sparing), I read a few pages. When I sit outside work waiting to open up, I read a few pages. When I have time between customers and I have the energy to start the next exercise, I read a lot of pages. Besides “Awaken the Giant Within,” I don’t know that I’ve read such a transformative book.

So, as the title says, I’m having a few inspirational months. I’m gathering my thoughts and attention and getting ready to open up the proverbial floodgates of creativity and drive.

I also felt that it was time to launch a Patreon page, which is a fascinating way to support artists with per-event or per-month patronage. Some people pay $10 per podcast episode, or $1 per webcomic page published, or $5 per recording of a band. I set up a simple monthly patronage page, so even $10/month can go a long way to supporting my music, which supports my family. Consider checking it out!

As always, thank you for reading. Your time and attention are invaluable to me. Be well.

As a quick note: most of the links above are Amazon Affiliate referral links, so if you choose to follow them, I will receive a portion of your purchase price for anything you buy on Amazon, whether you get the actual book or product I sent you to. It’s very small, something like 4%, but it comes at absolutely no additional cost to you; Amazon literally pays me for bringing you to their site. So check it out, and if you see something you like, pick it up.

Of course, other than the AMA, there is one link (Patreon) which is not a referral, but a way for you to reach out and thank me directly by becoming a patron.

The last link that is not a referral is the satchel, which is just a link to a picture of a popular man wearing a man-bag satchel.

The Best Book I’ve Read in Ages

by | Jan 4, 2016 | Life, Money

Saying “I like books” is an understatement. Chris Guillebeau, in “The Art of Noncomformity” shares a story about his $30 table collapsed under the weight of his imported coffee beans, so he upgraded to a $40 table from Home Depot. That’s how I am with bookshelves: hand-me-downs and Big Lots specials have bowed under the weight of my stacked-and-filed collections, so I upgrade and reinforce as required. Although my reading pace tends to crawl, my book collection ever grows.

I am terrible about sticking to one book at a time. In fact, at the time of this writing, I am technically in the middle of 5 books that I’ve started reading and re-reading concurrently. What is more astonishing is that they are the same 5 books I was in the middle of just a week ago. I started reading a 6th and it completely overtook my time and attention; since starting this one, I haven’t touched another book except to move them out of the way. Really.

I find myself consistently engaging the memoir of Haruki Murakami, “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running,” (note: my affiliate link) a beautiful book detailing not only the thought processes of long-distance running, but the endurance and integrity required in the processes of an author. Murakami’s words call out to the deep but tiny little wellsprings of inspiration and talent in me (and I assume in each of us) as he muses on the life, time, training and scenery involved in both writing and running.

For example, in Chapter 5 he writes that “Seeing a lot of water… every day is probably an important thing for human beings… If I go for a long time without seeing water, I feel like something’s slowly draining out of me. It’s probably like the feeling a music lover has when, for whatever reason, he’s separated from music for a long time.” I suddenly remember trips to the beach when I was younger, or even a short picnic by the river at the Nutter Fort park. Water does something for me, something hard to describe, and now I find a respected author pointing out that one small piece of me that carries deep implication; perhaps I should plan my time and my weeks in such a way as to spend a little time near a river or lake.

I appreciate Murakami’s perspective, his paternal explanation of thoughts, dreams and directions; he reminds me both of who I am and who I want to be. It reads to me both like a mirror and a lens.

My running is nowhere near his level: the traditional route is to train for and complete a 5k, then a 10k, and then a half-marathon before stretching out to a full marathon. Murakami has spent decades running and describes the mentality of marathon running, which simultaneously lights my fire and breaks my heart; so far, I’ve run exactly one 5k, and I had to stop and walk quite a few times for that.

Give yourself the benefit of a couple days’ light reading and enjoy this book. You’ll be out around $10, and that money will be more than well-spent on the experience of sharing his space.

Go forth and enjoy.