Seth Godin on how to succeed

Notice things, turn them into insights and then relentlessly turn those insights into projects that resonate


read the full post here: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2012/06/how-to-succeed.html

Rest, or something like it

My BFFGF recently asked me where I find rest.
I quickly recited my hearts hobbies:
writing, guitar, reading.
Then I wondered if I really found rest there,
or if I knew what rest really meant.
I thought about how I secretly long to be recognized for my hearts hobbies,
while simultaneously knowing such to be taboo.
Then I thought if I even partially think
I do or could do or long to do these things for others sake,
could my rest really lie there?
Or is it just a lie.
I think you don't give these thoughts much entertainment,
if the gesture is for rest.
And so ill cease to confess much more,
whether my writes are wrong or right.
I'll just simply continue to explore,
letting go of this debatable mystery
I'll let my rest be,
and let the rest be history.

Ideas: Life and Death

Any Nay
Some ideas take on life
while others only die. 
I wonder how many there have been
where we haven't gotten it right.

We get a light bulb in our brain
& let others place their vote
& that's when ideas sink
or start beginning to float.

How I dream of that day
when my ideas passion veto's any nay
& I'll hold that needle nice & high
atop that mountain of hay.

ridiculously naked lives

I haven't been able to get these lines from Dr. Victor Frankl's book "Man's Search For Meaning" out of my mind (p. 34):

"... the illusions some of us still held were destroyed one by one, and then, quite unexpectedly, most of us were overcome by a grim sense of humor.  We knew we had nothing to lose except our so ridiculously naked lives." 

It's funny, because I think all any of us really have are our ridiculously naked lives.  Since the creation of man, our creator has given us nothing more, and nothing less.  Yet it takes the hell of a Nazi concentration camp to remind us of this.  Most of us forget it still, often.  As I ceaselessly do.  Worrying and afraid, foolishly, as if I had something to lose.  God is not a void where we sit when we're naked.  Our nakedness is the truest expression of God we will never know, by our own power.

Laughing Fish

Give a man a fish
you feed him for a day.
Make a man laugh
he'll be your friend for life.

My Best Enemy

Oh, how misery often fuels my energy.
How desperation diminishes my procrastination.

Sometimes moving forward,
simply requires of me to get low enough to look upward.

It's BLUSTERY- misery.

Yet onward it moves me,
a perpetual mystery,
my best enemy; misery.

The Stuff that Stuck: 2012

Reflecting back on the 2012 year, in no particular order, without really trying too hard, here are my top moments and thoughts I thought I'd highlight:

*Adult hood:  I feel like the transition into adult hood has been most evident for me this year.  Turning 27, the legality of the 9 year title I think has finally started to catch up with my mentality, maybe.

*Love:  Earlier this year I took my Girlfriend on an adventuresome picnic I worked really hard to plan.  I wont give away the juicy details, but lets just say it started with me skateboarding down the street in my leather jacket holding a bouquet of flowers in the early pitch dark of Winter strolling up to my Lady's front door like a true Romeo.  

*Guest List Theory: "If everyone's invited, no one can be missed."  I don't entirely agree with this idea that Henry Nouwen wrote in his book, "Reaching Out", but I found it highly interesting and worth considering.

*About Me: I have low moral and high energy.  This was something I had never identified about myself before, but an in-depth personality assessment pointed it out.  If my moral ever gets high enough I plan on exploring this conundrum more.

*Work:  Not only did I quit my job as a delivery technician, I plunged into the entirely new world of Real Estate.  It has been 6 months and the transition continues to be bumpy, but I'm excited to keep moving forward.

*Habit:  Podcasts have become a part of my daily life this year.  I really enjoy listening to content while I drive.  There is so much great stuff out there!  I love it.

*Marketing Theory: Beware of the race to the bottom, Marketing/ Author/ Blogger mastermind Seth Godin came across my radar this year.  I was enthralled by his theory of the "race to the bottom" that McDonalds, Wal-Mart, and many major corporations are participating in.  The danger of the race to the bottom he says, is that eventually, "someone is going to win".

*Action: Also inspired by Godin, after reading his book, "Poke the Box", amongst being motivated to do other things, I started this blog.  I feel like this also rides the similar thematic wavelength I should acknowledge from this year, of embracing fear and failure.  I often don't do things because our fear of failure is greater than the possibility of success.  This is a fact that I hope to continue to keep in check and defactualize in my own life.  Oh yes, I also invented the word "defactualize", apparently.

*Book of the Year: "The Dream Manager", by Matt Kelley.  More than making me laugh and cry, this little gem re-ignited my youthful passion for dreams and goals.  This fictional tale had an extraordinarily real impact on my imagination.

PS. I cherish my memories of the Dinner en Blanc, White Water river rafting, Milltown Progressive Dinner, Victoria, Spoons Diner, mourning lost life with loved ones, Autin TX, Spokane action training, Selling my Tundra, seeing Sherman Alexie speak, Milltown Retreat campout, Darington Blue Grass Festival, Beirut, Punch Brothers, Everett adult spell down, Leavenworth sleigh ride, eating a Peseo's Cuban, recording my first secret hit single, Book Thanksgiving, Breakfasts w/ Josh, Rock Olympics, Discovering: Dan Miller, pocket casts, and Seth Godin, meeting: Andrew Bauman, Bob Cenk, Mrs. Overby, & DR Whitson, watching "Blue Like Jazz" by the camp fire, and probably more stuff that I'm forgetting.  Amen.

I found this on the ground today

Faith & Argument

"You see, if your faith stands in human argument, someone who is a better arguer can argue you out of it again.  But when the spirit of God reveals truth to your heart and God manifests that truth to your heart, nobody can argue you out of it.  If you know God through Jesus Christ the Lord, nobody can argue you out of it."
-A.W. Tozer

Be determined to value what you do

“You’ve got to wake up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” (Goerge Larimer)

"To be able to manage oneself, one finally has to ask: What are my values?" (Peter F. Drucker)

"We are what we repeatedly do" (Aristotle)

Where is your wonderland?

 Alice: "Would you tell me, please, which way i ought to go from here?"

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to." said the Cat.

"I don't much care where." said Alice.

"Then is doesn't matter which way you go." said the Cat.

-Lewis Carroll

There's no Music like pre-grave Music..

"Most of us go to our graves with our music still inside us, unplayed."  (Oliver Wendell Holmes)

Perhaps, our music may be made

when we are able to look inside of our selves

and outside of our selves

and marry those findings

in a way that is true to our self

Bedrooms are like Underwear

Working from home, I have been thinking more about space recently; particularly, ones bed room.  I have decided bedrooms are like underwear, not many people see them, but you want them to be comfortable.  Maybe they're more like socks, because socks are more easily seen, and I feel like I actually really like seeing peoples bedrooms.  I really like funky socks as well.  So I think it is all making sense now.  They're a revealing place; ones personal space.  It's funny, because they say that your bedroom reflects you, so it makes sense that if you put time into your room and make it how you want it, your life will be more like you would like it to be.  Wow, I think I just solved life's puzzle.  One of my goals for this next year is to write a book, maybe I'll call it "Clean your room and Grow Rich". 

World Fame Formula

Why is the Pike Place Fish Market not only a fun place to work, but also world famous?  Because they:
1.  Choose their attitude
2.  Play
3. Make Peoples Day
4. They Are Present
The formula for world fame, brought to you by your local fish market.

Art of Living

“The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his
play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his
recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He
simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to
decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both.”
James Michener

"More gold has been mined from the thoughts of men than has ever been taken from the earth."

"You're never a hero in your own back yard." -Unknown

We all are stirred or stirrers

“Make no small plans; they have no magic to stir men’s souls.” Daniel Burnam

I believe it is our natural nature to stir, as men.  Our breath, movement, & thoughts; all inherent, are surely for something greater than that moments limited understanding and minimal evident effects.    

Pet Peeve: Friends & PHON(iES)

With the advancement of communication through technology (such as texting) you would think the substance of our interpersonal relationships would be gaining traction all the more.  Taking into account that body language is proposed to be 60-85% of all communication though, this so called "advancement" can quite quickly work to our disadvantage. 

Case in point, lets examine the last time my job and I decided to part ways.  It was an interesting transition, kind of mutual, kind of a work in progress, definitely expedited because of crappy communication with a 3rd party friend though.  A good friend of mine, who also knew my boss, being the unique 3rd party he was, was the first person I called when I found out my job may be coming to a transition.  It was a surreal moment for me; a big deal.  I called on him because I needed a friend to share in the surreality with... 
Has this ever happened to you though?:  You call a friend to talk, and they don't answer their phone, but text you back: "What's up?".  Well I fell for the bait, briefly explaining the ensuing situation, thinking it would warrant a call back.  Did they call me back?  NO!  Instead, they text my boss, WHAT!  My boss was blown away that I was already out there spreading rumors making light of the situation, and do you think she reacted to that?  Of coarse!  And do you think I reacted to her reaction?  Of coarse!!
Damn our human nature & crappy communication.  Next time you want to make light of a heavy situation through crappy communication, I hope that guy up there blows his bad breath right through his phone into your face, even if you don't answer; friend.
Who knows, maybe someday this crazy world will evolve into a place where we have little buttons on the front of our homes that our friends can walk up and push and it will make a little bell chime in our house and we can speak to one another face to face.  Someday... maybe we'll get there.  Until then, don't be a phoney homey and answer your phone homey. 

How To Control Time

In the midst of a reconnection with an old school mate the other day, I was reminded of the quickening of time.  "I can't believe High School was already 10 years ago!", she said.  "I can't believe it has gone by so fast, where did the time go?"

The flight of time seems sensible when I really take the time to think about what feels timely to me: new sights, sounds, symbols, lessons, tasks, thoughts, challenges, places, people.  Newness.  All of these things challenge us, force us, to slow down & smell the roses.  Rose smelling is no longer an option but a necessity when we encounter unknown territory.

As children, we are engulfed with newness daily, the entire world is full of wonder and awe.  As aging adults, we typically settle into more and more routine that growing up often brings, and we see less and less newness everyday.  We often smell the roses less and less the older we get, because, well, lets face it- who has time to smell the roses when time is moving this fast? Before we know it we've been out of High School for 10 years and we don't know what happened.  We got into a routine, we studied the same subect at school for 4 years and drove the same way to work every morning.  To thrive at life, we made things simple, and once life becomes simple, it just simply passes us by.  Surely the key to a full and slow life is to simply keep smelling the roses.  In this simple act, wonder may be reinstilled, and we can re-learn how to let the simplicity of life be a thrill.

Change

If you read a life changing book, see a life changing movie, or have a life changing moment; you should be different.  I have always associated growth and new direction in ones life to typically be a good thing.  Yet, I hear so much nay saying when someone sees someone who has changed.  "Oh, that's not the same old Billy Bob I used to know, what happened to Billy Bob!?".

Maybe Billy Bob read a book, or saw a crack on the sidewalk one day, and realized something he had not yet realized, and he let that moment fundamentally change him.  Isn't that what we do in counseling?  Are we not looking for a fundamental lens shift?  A deeper understanding, that will hopefully stay with us, heal us, and lead us to new heights?  If we are all the same this year as we were 5 years ago,then I have to wonder if we are living life the way it is meant to be lived.

Stop Reading

There are two kinds of books I stop reading: ones that can't hold my interest, which are usually set aside towards the beginning; and ones that are so remarkable I don't want them to end.  Those ones are usually set aside towards the end.

It's funny, because you always hear about people talking about how a book was so good they couldn't put it down.  I think that's backwards.  I think if a book is that amazing you should wish it to remain unresolvable, and let its implications ruminate through the doorways of your mind for the rest of time.

The only books worth finishing are the OK ones.

Crazy Idea

"I have this crazy idea, that If I take care of enough people- then things will take care of themselves."
-Donald Fillius

Evolving Faith?

I'm not sure sure if my faith is growing or slowing.  

Is it holier to pray by the sea, or run through it?  I don't fold my hands as often when I pray anymore, but I wouldn't say I pray any less.  Sometimes I believe we are called to lose our faith so that we may find it, and die so that we may live.  If only I was always at one of those clear cut cross roads.  In reality I'm often unsure of what road I'm on at all.  Im often repeating the process of taking 2 steps forward and 2 back again, finding what I already knew was there all along.  Or dying half hearted deaths daily, not to really die, but to avoid having to really live.

God, give me the bravery to live on a one way street. 

First & Last

I had my first martini ever tonight.

I think it will be my last.

It was cool to feel like James Bond for 7 seconds.

Then it wasn't.

At least now I know.

Now next time someone says, "I've never tried a martini before".

I can be all like, "I have, you should try one".

And then they'll try it and be like, "eww, this is yucky".

And I'll be like, "I know, right?"

Then I'll know what it's like to be with someone experiencing what it's like to be like James Bond for

7 seconds, and I very well may remember that feeling forever.

And even though my first martini was likely my last, it will have all been worth it.

Hang On

As frequently as we may wish to suck the marrow out of life, sometimes life shall undoubtedly suck the marrow out of us.  People die, and get sick, and get hit and twisted and cheated and raped and ripped off and pissed on.  Life is as vulgar as it is beautiful, sometimes.  And sometimes life is as beautiful as it is vulgar.  This teeter-totter fight frequents reality, always; only waiting for our subjective perspective to typically, seldom; fall to the realization of the reality of the constant bleakness of the depths of it all.  Suffering has not stopped for a heart beat since sin entered this world.  Yet it makes a world of difference when it enters our world.  What do we do for all of the suffering worlds around us in this world?  I think it is our duty, after an appropriate prayerful pause, to keep sucking the marrow out of life for all it is worth, for them and for everyone who can't go on.  And when I am 10 feet under, I hope you will suck some marrow for me, cause God knows I will need some, I shall surely need my share.  And then some.  And if I can breathe you yet one breathe easier, then Ill endure my beating gladly, cause I know some of us can't right now, and some of us couldn't, and the one who already has, for all, who has ended all, but not yet.  All shall be worth it.  At least tell me so, when I am trying to hang on.

Move, and the rest will be.

While running with my buddy Jertoven the other day, I had a jogging of the memory banks.  I was the 3rd leg of the race, standing off in my corner... waiting... thinking...  I was readying to run the 4 x 100 meter relay dash.  I was in the 9th grade.  I'll never forget when Joshua Hall, one of the upper classman walked by; he asked me what I was thinking about as the the botan began to make its way toward me... He asked if I was ever worried that I would drop the botan.

"No, I am never worried about the exchanging of the botan, but I'm always worried if I will remember how to move my legs", I said.  The most basic of initial actions is what honestly concerned me.  Would my mind and my legs remember how to communicate?  Would I remember how to move?  Joshua Hall thought that was weird, but I thought it was weird that he thought it was weird.  It's not that I had any qualms with foresight, but when it comes to those moments of required focus, all I could fathom to think about was the first step... If only I could live life more like a relay everyday.  That type of focus brings presence, and there's no present like the presence.  Move, and the rest will be.

Anti-Goal

Riddance of presuppositions.  Is it possible?  Only my 2nd blog enty and I find my motives torn and tainted.  Who is my audience?  What is my voice?  What is my motive?  What are my tactics?  Is this stupid?  Is this cliche?  Is this me?  The questions go on.  Judgemental, fearful, disempowering questions.

Questions.  I just finished reading this book about questions.  The idea is that if you can change your questions you can change your life.  I want to write a blog because it would be easier to pretend I am changing someone elses life rather than bother with my own.  I want to change lives, but changing my own, well, I would rather just drown in presuppositions all day.

So is it possible to rid myself of my presuppositions?  I think I need to brain storm some new questions, and ask myself first, "Do I truly want to succeed?"  Otherwise I am just wasting my own time... which of coarse if I do not wish to succeed would be perfectly in line with my anti-goal.   

Volcano Surfer

I started this blog because I thought I had something really great to start it out with.  You know, those thoughts that volcano out of you that you just know the world needs?  I got so caught up on creating a username though that I completely forgot what I once thought.  At least now I'll be ready for the next world changing brain wave.  That is the purpose of this blog, by the way.  To create a wave for ones brain to surf towards world change.  I don't care whose brain it is... like they said in that old baseball movie, "if you build it they will come". I just want to put stuff out there so it doesn't spoil sitting in here.

Disclaimer:  Mindless Listlessness may need sifting through to get to the riches, but riches thee shall see for as many as there are in you there are nearly as many in me.  And what good is changing the world without some mindless merriment along the way, anyways?

Surfs up, hang 10, until then. -Stay Valorous.