Weekly-ish notes on navigating big change

seth godin

Explorer’s Club of Book Lovers – May

Hello book lovers! It's time for the book club, but let's change it up!

Last month I picked two books, but we didn't have nearly as much participation as the month before, and I think I know why. Two books is just way too limiting, isn't it?  I read a few at once, and I'm a fan of quitting whenever I want. So instead of just  picking 2 books for us to read and discuss together, let's just make this a space to talk about everything we're reading.

I'll share (some of) the books I read last month and the books I intend to read this month. You can share your list of books in the comments, or we can talk about any of the books that you want to read along with me.

April's Reads

Icarus Deception. 

Amazon | IndieBound | GoodReads

This book was a big YES to everything I feel about my own creative business, and the way I encourage creatives in their own. It directly inspired this post about the Only Work You Have to Do, whose discussion led to this one on connection…which led to these two posts about creating a path of connection for your customer.

 

Market Yourself.

Amazon | Goodreads

Yes, I spent a good chunk of last week re-reading my own book, to prepare for teaching a workshop on Artist's Portfolios + Social Media. The timing was perfect since Saturday was my Book-iversary! The book launched one year ago! (You can get a signed one here.)

Sunday Morning Quilts

Amazon | IndieBound | GoodReads

I read a lot of quilt books last month, but this was by far the best – both in the I-would-make-that quality of the patterns and in the friendly, chatty beginning.

 

May's To Read List 

This month's reading list. Details are on the site.

I had intended to read Contagious last month…but I had to return it to the library (someone else had a hold on it) before I got to it. But it's all mine now, and I'm one chapter in. What makes this book different from all the other ones about business and social media is that it is well-researched by the author.

You Can't Make This Stuff Up is all about creative nonfiction. What it is, how to write it, and exercises to get you started. Since creative nonfiction is the best definition I can find for what I write, and I'm working on a new project, I'm super excited to read this.

After hearing Father Boyle on On Being with Krista Tippet, I wanted to read his book.  I strongly recommend the recording of their conversation. It's funny, heart-breaking, and is the very best I can hope for my faith.

Lean In. Eh, I'm requested this book from the library because I'm curious about what it says to women in the workforce. I've seen a lot of entrepreneurial types saying “You don't need to “lean in” because you should start your own business!“…but while I'd love for everyone to do exactly what they love, I know that's not a choice everyone has, in every situation. Until I read this, I'm not recommending it, because it has the potential to be completely annoying.

Last week my 14 year old brother called me up to say, “I just finished Divergent. It is BETTER than the Hunger Games. You have  to read it.”  We're going on a family vacation at the end of June, and since 14 year old boys are notoriously hard to have conversations with (without stabbing out my own eyes), I hope to be caught up with where he is in the series so we can talk about it. (Yes, I take recommendations from everyone. And I know we have similar taste (in movies and books, if not in video games.))

 

I’m an affiliate for Amazon + IndieBound, which means I get soy latte money if you buy through the links I’ve used here. GoodReads is a free tool for tracking what you read.  I  read all these books via my library, which I strongly recommend!

 

What are you reading? 

 

 

 

 

 

The only work you have to do.

workyouhaveto

Last week we talked about growth and rest, and I mentioned that setting intentions (or goals) is so “you focus your energy on what you really want, so that you filter out the distractions, so that you find your own path and trust your choices.”

But in order to filter out the unhelpful, the busy work, it's imperative that you do not stop there.  In all the Starship success stories (you get 'em here), the actual map-making only takes a week or so.  But then there's the three months that come after. Those three months are what moves people from where they are, to where they want to be. Those three months are where all the magic happens and people increase sales or finish the big project or launch a new line.

But the “magic” isn't magic. It's Work.

I meet (and read the blogs of) a lot of creatives who are working long, draining hours and still not getting where they want to be, so let's get really specific about the kind of work that makes a difference. I'm not interested in work for work's sake (in fact, I'm pretty much a slacker by comparison to my peers – weekends off, sleep-in Wednesdays, and several weeks of vacation every year.)

The Work that matters.

Before we get to the work, make sure you are working towards something. Big or small, you gotta know the big WHY behind what you're doing. Are you trying to increase your sales? Or find more time off? Or get a book deal? Each of these requires totally different kind of work, so you gotta identify this first. Seriously. Stop working until you know why.

Now that you know why – good news!  In my experience, most creatives only have two kinds of work that actually matter.

  1. Make your Art. 
  2. Connect with the people your art is for.

Make your Art.

I'm using art in the Seth Godin sense, to mean anything that you create that comes from you and who you are. It can be painting, knitting, teaching, writing, singing or ditch digging.
Whatever it is that you make, you actually have to spend time making it! I know it's easy to get seduced into twitter, emails, blogs, and the endless list of things you should be doing to market your work. But before anything else, you have to be making something.

Sound obvious? I think so, too, but I get a few emails a week from people who are “ready to start a business”, but don't make anything, yet. I understand the impulse, but if you want a life filled with creativity, you have to start creating. If you want to be a writer, write. If you want to teach, teach.

Connect with the people.

As you're making your art, connect.
This could be craft shows or online shop + blog or snail mail correspondence with your patron – but someway, somehow, you have to be having a real conversation with the people you create for. This is not the salesy, persuasive, one-sided monologue of a sales page. To connect with someone, you have to go where they are and ask about them, get to know them. And then – the hard part – you have to fully show up, as YOU. Vulnerable, honest and open, you have to be there, with them (for the difference on vulnerability and oversharing, read Brene Brown!). This isn't the tweet where you share a link (although that might start a conversation), this is the back and forth where both people are feeling heard and seen. This writing that scary blog post, this is making a clear and heartfelt ask, this is honoring the equal exchange you and your buyer are co-creating.

 

The good news is: you don't have to do both every day.
If you're like me, you get in moods for each. For example, this week, because of the tragedy in Boston, I've needed to take a break from connecting (because it so quickly led to obsessive reading and crying). So I wrote, alone in my living room, this very blog post, longhand into my journal. I share it today, because I'm ready for the conversation, for the connecting. Last week, I was mostly connecting and not creating – answering questions on the Starship, sharing my favorite quilt patterns.

The trick is to go with your own flow, and still find time for both. To create when you need to create, and not forget about connecting. To connect genuinely and make offers, without ceasing to make your art.

This is the work of your creative life.

If you're not where you want to be, can you identify which one of these is needs more attention? Or perhaps both  get crowded out by the stuff that looks-like-work?

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, because all of my recent one-on-one sessions have come back to this balance of Real Work. Explorers are trying to find a way to do both, under the pressure of a Big Project (launching a book, designing a new line). When you have to go in your Creative Cave to knock out a big project, how do you keep the connection happening? This is the kind of thing we craft a plan for in the Flight Plan sessions.

I did over 20 sessions last quarter, all with Starship Captains, and they were so connect-y, I have committed to finding the space to do even more. I opened 5 spots to non-Starship members for this quarter. If you want to find your own balance of connecting and creating, grab one here.

What does the Real Work balance look like in your work?

 

PS. If you need to be convinced that your Art is art, or that you should be making it in order to survive the new economy, read The Icarus Deception. But for most of us – you already know!

 

 

 

 

The Adventures

Every week is an adventure and this is the view and the finds that made this one special. You can follow all my adventures here.

The View

Snow day = spending allll afternoon making a  #vegan apple pie.
Actually, this whole neighborhood reminds me of Downton. #ifnotforthestripmalls
Just posted a short #monthofloveyarn spinning video on Vine! (I'm taraswiger, of course!)
Hanging art! #momsfirstexhibit
Yay!  Mom and her art are in the paper with my press release!

The finds

  • On my car trip yesterday I listed to this interview from On Being, with Seth Godin. It is so good. Every maker, artist, or thinker should listen in.
  • Tammie Bennett made the MOST AWESOME map. Check it out here.
  • Confession: I know nothing about who comes to my site or how they got here. I check Google Analytics every once in a while, but I'd like to be smarter about it. Thank goodness Diane is teaching this series of classes.

My path

  •  How to plan your daring adventure – my post on the Karina Chronicles
  • Right now I'm in Cookeville, for my mom's first EVER Art exhibit! There's an opening reception tonight at Corner Coffeebar + Arthouse. If you're nearby – stop by and say hi!
  • The best part of this week was opening the new class and meeting the new students! Join us here.

Linchpin in a Business of One

Last time I saw my uncle, he told me he had read a life-changing book. A read-three-times-in-a-row kind of book. An everyone-should-read-this kind of book.

What is the book, I practically screamed.

(We like to tell dramatic stories in my family…ones that can go off the rails by the constant interruption of cousins/sons/brothers.)

I was completely surprised to hear the title: Linchpin, by Seth Godin.

The only Seth Godin book I haven't read.

I thought the book was about being an indispensable employee…so I had skipped it. I'm not an employee and I'm pretty darn indispensable in my business of one.

But I trust my uncle, so I got the book from the library.
And devoured it this week.

It's a great book for employees and entrepreneurs alike, but here's what blew my mind: Seth talks, at length about the need to…make your own map. (I'm sorta into you making your own map, remember?)

He has an entire chapter on There Is No Map and here's how it starts:

What does it take to lead?

The key distinction is the ability to forge your own path to discover a route from one place to another that hasn't been paved, measured, and quatified. So many times we want someone to tell us exactly what to do, and so many times that's exactly the wrong approach.

Right?

 This is what I'm talking about. 

This  is exactly what I'm passionate about:
You, getting comfortable with your youness.
You, recognizing that your distinct talents (Seth calls it your genius), your amazing thing (or Seth likes to say, your art) are what your Right People are begging for.

You, getting clear, getting obvious, gettin' jiggy with your youness is what I want for you.

So whether you're working for the man, or your own womanly self – be honest:

Where are you looking to someone else to tell you what to do?

What area of business (life) could you be making your own map for?