Whats Happening

I started off the year with this book, mostly because I had bought it a while ago and never got around to reading it. The book spans a period of a week or two as we learn about the main character, Holden. Most of the book, he narrates his last few days at school before heading home to tell his parents he got kicked out. You soon learn how Holden thinks of himself and those around him. He seems to only want to see the worst in people, rushing to learn something about a new person that makes him hate them. You start realize this attitude is what ultimately causes him to so often feel lonely and depressed. My biggest take away-be open minded and kind to those around you.

Show your work was a great reminder that we should be open with our work and put it out there for people to enjoy. You can put work out for people to find while also working to better yourself and your work. Don't think in terms of what you can get from your work, and instead ask what can I do for others? "Raw Enthusiasm is contagious." I think this book can be summed up in one statement that really stuck with me: "Forget about being a professional or an expert, focus on doing things you love, and people who love the same things will find you." If you focus and stress about being vulnerable, you'll never really connect with people.

"Many a false step was made by standing still." If I had to pick one sentence from the book to describe what its about, this would be the line. The book goes into detailed descriptions and examples of ways you can turn your free time into financial freedom. Ferriss goes over multiple ways to generate income, mostly focused on those that most would consider "passive". Its a great read if you're in the mood for a real entrepreneurial jump start. 

Keep Going highlights the key principles in staying productive, giving your creative brain a break, and the importance of connecting with those around us. Its a very quick read which makes it great for revisiting, some parts are more relatable than others. Even though this book is mostly for artists and other creators, Kleon assures his readers that these principles can also be applied to entrepreneurs.

I really enjoyed reading about Sivers experience with his company CD Baby. Even though this is a short read, it's packed with stories and experiences from good and bad times and how he learned from those. The biggest lesson I learned from this book was to just get started. Don't worry about having a grand vision for whatever it is you want. Just focus on helping people today because all of your great ideas mean nothing without execution. 

This book was a great reminder to make time for the things you love and enjoy doing. We have a finite amount of time and we really need to stress less about getting everything done that we want. It's best to accept we can't do everything. There's no such thing as "work-life balance" and as Marilynne Robinson writes, "The spirit of the times is one of joyless urgency." As we try to gain control by managing our time, we feel more empty, stressful and frustrated. 

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