Non-Fiction

Are you a creative who hates marketing? Or perhaps a writer or artist who has no idea how to get noticed above all the online noise?

I recently discovered a book entitled Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered by Austin Kleon that might help. It’s a book that not only provides ideas, tips and tricks on how to get your work out into the world, but gives you the motivation to do so.

I personally hate self-promotion and have never felt that I was all that good at it. I find marketing even more challenging these days when everyone vying (some of them quite loudly) for people to pay attention to their work. What Kleon does is provide practical, useable advice – action steps that are not only fun to take but can help to get you and your work noticed.

I remember a fellow author friend of mine once told me: “If nobody reads your work, then you haven’t written it.” Kleon’s motivational push seems to be along these same lines. He tells us not to sit on and hide our work, but rather, put it out there. If you want your creative work to be known and discovered, you have to share it with the world. You have to get your stuff seen – and in this book, Kleon shows us how to.

Kleon provides examples, quotes, illustrations and anecdotes in each chapter that bring his advice to life. The book is broken down into 10 chapters, with each focusing on a specific method for showing your work. The chapters are further broken in subchapters, providing several different ways of approaching the method as well as concrete actions that you can take.

The chapters are:

1. You Don’t Have To Be A Genius
2. Think Process, Not Product
3. Share Something Small Every Day
4. Open Up Your Cabinet of Curiosities
5. Tell Good Stories
6. Teach What You Know
7. Don’t Turn Into Human Spam
8. Learn To Take A Punch
9. Sell Out
10. Stick Around

He starts out the book with a quote by John Cleese:

“Creativity is not a talent. It is a way of operating.”

Indeed, Kleon has introduced an entirely new way of operating in Show Your Work!. Rather than simply put our work out there and pray it gets noticed, Kleon recommends instead that we share our process with our audience. People don’t want to buy simply a book – they want to connect with you as the author. They want the a human experience. They want to be involved in the creation of a work. In other words, as he states in chapter 2 *”Think Process, Not Product.”

Show Your Work! may be small, but it packs a serious punch! This engaging book is chock full of his stories and inspiring stories of other creatives who have decided to step back and see the bigger picture – people who have chosen to show and share their work.

I recommend this easy-to-read book for anyone who could use a little help in getting the word out about their art or simply for anyone ready to share their work, their creativity and their passion with the world.

I’ve read a lot of business book over the years but none have them have stayed with me like Chris Brogan’s The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth. Now some might be put off by the term freaks but Chris explains that being a freak is a good thing. He defines a freak as someone who does things their own way and who doesn’t necessarily “fit in” without some effort. It’s someone who does not do business the way the rules dictate and who is not a fan of settling or compromising. It’s doing business on your own terms and, as Chris puts it, “You’re looking for ways to allow your weirdness to be an asset and not the deficit that people have tried to convince you it is.”

The tone of the book is casual and conversational – it feels as though you’re chatting with the author over a cup of coffee at a local cafe. But don’t let its informality fool you – there are a plethora of valuable gems in this book that can help you in your business and personal life, regardless of whether you’re a new entrepreneur, someone who works a day job, or a seasoned businessperson.

He starts about by defining what business is and then covers such topics as how fear can mess up your business, how to schedule your workday, how to overcome obstacles and challenges, why community and connection is important, and how to build your own media empire, just to name a few.

One of my favorite chapters was the Creating Systems That Work for You chapter, in which he talked about establishing a compass – five to seven reminders that you need to focus on daily. He provides an example of his own compass and how he incorporates it into his business as part of his system. By creating a compass myself, I have become more focused on the important things and am accomplishing much more than previously.

I found the chapter entitled Structure a Framework for Your Days to be life-changing and after reading it, my entire attitude on goal-setting changed. His helpful A Daily Framework table provides an excellent starting point and can help keep you on track in both your business life and personal life.

The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth is not only for entrepreneurs. A good majority of the information can be used even if you are employed by someone else, regardless of whether or not you plan on staring your own business down the road. Moreover, he dedicates an entire chapter to the topic which he entitled “Are You an Employeepreneur?” He defines and employeepreneur as “someone who has a job in a company, but is executing it like an owner”. In this chapter, Chris provides information how to excel at your day job and finding ways to accomplish your work goals. Lots of excellent stuff here.

The book is not just theory like so many business books out there but rather provides actionable tools to get you going. It also provides help to overcome those obstacles and pitfalls that inevitably appear in any business.

The book contains the following chapters (each of wish is broken down into several subsections):

• Business New and Old and New Again
• The Wild Colors and the Solid Spine
• Choose Your Own Adventure: Defining Success
• Skill Building for Your Business Goals
• Fall in Love with Not Knowing
• Structure a Framework for Your Days
• Are You an Employeepreneur?
• Create Systems That Work for You
• Are You a Solo or Small Business Owner?
• Fall in Love with Not Knowing, Redux
• Worship Obstacles and Challenges
• Build Your Own Media Empire
• Connect with Your Freaks
• Own Everything
• What It All Goes Wrong
• Take Action! Fight Crime! Save the World!

If you are thinking of becoming an entrepreneur, are a business person who tends to approach their business more unconventionally than others (or would like to) or are simply looking for some invaluable business tips, tricks, gems, tools and practical advice, then The Freaks Who Inherit the Earth is definitely worth a read. Recommended!

You can check out the book HERE

This was the first book I had read by Miller so I didn’t quite know what to expect. This was another recommendation that I stumbled across on a blog that I found interesting so I thought I’d give it a try.

The book is autobiographical. Donald Miller is approached by two movie producers who want to make a movie based upon his best-selling memoir. As the three work together on the screenplay, the script for the movie begins to slant more towards fiction than real-life and it is at this point where Miller decides he’s going to edit his current life into a better story. This reminded me a bit of what I wrote in my recent post about keeping a journal, in which one journal writer wrote that keeping a journal forces him to lead an interesting life – otherwise, he’d have nothing to write about.

In this book, Miller deconstructs his life and begins a quest to live a meaningful story while including all the necessary elements that make a story worth reading – conflict, emotion, negative turns, a positive turns, adventure, memorable scenes and more. He takes all of these story elements and attempts to weave them into his own life. Along the way, he recounts some beautiful, touching and meaningful anecdotes and stories, each with their own life lesson. His rewriting of his life story reminded me of an old adage that goes something to the effect of – “Your life is a script. If you don’t like the way the script is unfolding, then rewrite it!” Every life is a story – but whether it’s a memorable story or a story worth retelling, is up to us.

I found the book inspiring, thought-provoking and entertaining. It pulled me out of my comfort zone, stretched my thinking and caused me to examine my own life to see what kind of “story” I was living.

The book can inspire you to action, inspire you to take chances and could be especially helpful if you find yourself in a rut, going through a challenging time in your life or if you are searching for more meaning in your life. Miller’s conversational style and wit renders the book easy to read and enjoyable – and after finishing it, you may feel encouraged to “live a better story” yourself. Recommended!

I didn’t know what to expect when I first picked up Everyday Zen. I saw it mentioned on an e-mail list quite awhile ago and subsequently added it to my “To Be Read” list. The author, Charlotte Joko Beck, teaches at the Zen Center in San Diego and this introductory book is compilation of her talks aimed at those who are newcomers to Zen (although experienced Zen folks certainly can derive benefit as well).

The author takes familiar Zen concepts and helps us to apply them to our everyday lives. Some topics discussed are: feelings, religion love, anger, relationships, suffering, renunciation, tragedy, aspiration, expectation and more. While most people associate Zen with “sitting”, the author shows us that real action is necessary as well for a rounded practice – and provides practical advice on recommended actions. I found that reading this book opened my eyes and made me think about the manner in which I approach my life – and my relationships with others.

The author communicated her ideas in easy-to-understand plain English and included several excellent stories to make her point, making the book accessible to a wide audience. I admit that I have read some Zen books in the past where every page was a struggle. Not so with Everyday Zen. Her easygoing style helps make the book practical as well as full of wisdom.

A good portion of the book had to do with the ego or as Echart Tolle refers to it “The drama that is me.” Joko Beck leads us down the path of learning to not only keep the ego (she refers to the ego as “pride”) in check, but how to recognize ego interruption when it is occurring. She teaches how to step back and observe. When we are angry, we learn to observe that we are angry (rather than just experiencing the anger). Once we do this, wisdom comes in, allowing us to see the world as it really is, not just the way we want it to be.

One example that she used that really resonated with me was being in an argument. When we are in the midst of arguing with someone, it’s almost impossible for us to look at and label our thoughts because a huge block stands in our way. This block is our need to be “right”. This need to be right is one of the reasons why it’s so hard for us to back away and look at our ego. This is something I myself have worked on and struggled with over the years — these days, I find that being right is not as important to me as it was when I was younger and more “ego-driven”. It certainly makes for a lot less stressful life.

Consistent with Zen teachings, the author stresses over and over the need to be present, to be in the moment. She points out that when we live mainly in our daydreams and hopes, we miss actual life as it is happening. We give our life over to hopes, thoughts and fantasies. We daydream, we hope for something special, something ideal – and when it doesn’t come to pass, we are not only disappointed, but also anxious, even desperate.

What I liked about the book is that she shows how to relate these teachings to our everyday lives in our busy, ego-centric Western world – how to put Zen teaching into practical everyday use.

I found the book to be full of wisdom and helpful advice — and I believe that those not even on a Zen path can derive benefit from it. Recommended!