Books and Blogs influencing me these days

I loved "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield.  it's about being committed to your art. Your art is anything you bring a piece of yourself to. So it can be a business, most jobs and the arts like writing and, of course, photography.  If you do anything less, you're not fulfilling your god(s) given role on earth. He talks about "the resistance" as being the habits or thoughts that prevent you from reaching your very best. And how to beat the resistance. Great stuff, highly motivating.

Seth Godin is amazing. Great insights into marketing, and being the best you can be.  I love his blog. I get new entries to it emailed to me automatically (look on the left side, below his bald photo). In his latest book, Linchpin, Seth preaches giving, with no expectation as the way to excel and lead the pack. By doing this, you can become the indispensable one. I pre-ordered the Linchpin book because I liked his stuff and he said all the income was going to a charity. Seemed like a win-win idea to me, so I did it. Not only did I get the book I ordered, Seth made arrangements to send a second copy. I passed that copy on to a friend. A month or two after the book came out, Seth suggested that folks send their first copy along too in his blog entry about emptying your library.  Seth thinks that spreading the idea is more important than his income from the book. And he puts his money where his mouth is. I took his "empty your libarary" idea to the next level by sponsoring a "scholarship" to supply the "War of Art" book to 5 people that were interested in reading it, as long as they agreed to pass it on.I actually sent more than 5 copies out.  Cool stuff, and a great feeling.


Danielle LaPorte is an interesting writer and speaker. Quite the career path! Great insights and Passionate about living to your potential.  She calls her blog "White Hot Truth: Because Self Realization Rocks" I'm subscribed.

The Gaping Void cartoon on the upper right goes to Hugh Macleod's site. He wrote "Ignore Everybody". Great book! About a fourth of it is online here. I've subscribed to his newsletter. He sends it out every day. Sign up for it. 

It's been awhile since I read "The Four Agreements" but it's time to do it again. It's just a few hours. A chunk  of it is new age crap to me, but the core of the book is right on target. Do your best. Be true to yourself. Watch your words and thoughts. Don't let others influence the inner you, either up or down.

Check out Lateral Action. Great stuff. I get their email subscription.

The Artist Farm. Just as with Lateral Action, Great stuff, and I'm on their email subscription list. 


Full disclosure: If you go to any of the Books I linked to above, and make the purchase, I get a kickback. Try the library first. I get nothing for the blogs, but I think they're worthwhile!

There's more, but it's late...