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Ed. Note – Please see my site’s policy on book and product reviews here.  There are affiliate links in the following…

Just finished reading Linchpin, by Seth Godin.  Wow, what an amazing book.  And it dovetails nicely with what I’ve been talking about here lately:  telling a good story with your life.

What is a linchpin?  It’s a metaphor for someone who’s indispensable in an organization.  If they left, the group would fall apart because of what they bring to the table.

A linchpin is someone who isn’t content to march to the beat set out for them by the organization they’re affiliated with.  Oh sure, they’ll fulfill their duties.  They’ll just go BEYOND.  Far beyond what anyone ever expects them to do.  Because what they do ceases to be work.  It becomes art.

“Art, at least as I define it, is the intentional act of using your humanity to create change in another person”

-Seth Godin, Linchpin

When you create art, when you begin to tell a better story with your life (because creating a story is art, isn’t it?), you cease to be average.  You become extraordinary.  There are very few people willing to be as open and as raw as it takes to make art.  Art is about giving a gift that only you can give.

Making art makes you vulnerable.

Making art gives people an opportunity to belittle your ambition.

Making art requires courage and sacrifice.

That’s what you face when you make the commitment to tell a good story, after not telling one at all for so long.

Sure, you’ll face times when it’s tough, and when you doubt your ability to do what you’ve set out to do.  Not just in telling a good story with your life (although I’d argue that any time you try to do something awesome, you’re telling a better story), but in everything you do, in any aspect of your life.

“How do I know what art to make?  How do I know what gifts to give?  This is the crux of it.  Once you commit to being an artist, the question is an obvious one.  The answer is the secret of your success.  You must make a map.  Not someone else.  YOU.”

-Seth Godin, Linchpin

You have to strike out on your own.  By the very nature of what you plan to do, there won’t be a map or a blueprint of how to do it.  You have to break trail.  It’s going to suck, because you’ll feel lost and alone and very few people will understand what it is you’re trying to do.

No one said being a linchpin was easy.

But it’s worth it.  Tell your story.  Blaze a trail for others to follow.  Do what you were born to do.

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Ed. Note – Please see my site’s Review Policy for details on this review, links, etc.

That being said, this is an awesome book.  GO BUY IT NOW.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years is a book by New York Times bestselling author Donald Miller.  Miller wrote a memoir (Blue Like Jazz) that hit the best-seller lists.  A few years later, when this book picks up, Miller has been contacted by a film producer in order to write a screenplay based on the book.  At this point in his life, Miller is somewhat burnt out and not fulfilled by what he pursues.

Miller spent a lot of time and effort during this process learning the rules of story telling, and he gradually discovered that writing a good story requires “a character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it”.

“What if,” Miller wonders “I were to apply these principles toward LIVING a better story?”  The rest of the book recounts his efforts to leave an unintentional life behind, and begin making a difference.  He gets in shape, hikes the Inca Trail, rides his bike across the United States, and begins a mentoring foundation, all with a focus on becoming better.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.  Make every effort to read it as soon as possible.

I plan on dealing with the book in more detail later on Start Being Your Best, but our reviews for this program are only supposed to be 200 words long.  So, I’ll end this entry here.

Related posts:

1. Be a Linchpin
2. Book Review – “Put Your Dream to the Test” by John C. Maxwell
3. Book Review – “Developing the Leader Within You” by John C. Maxwell, part 2

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Ed. Note – There are affiliate links in this post.  That means I will get paid a commission on any sales that come from you clicking through a link and purchasing a book.  So help a brother out, huh?

I don’t think it’s much of a secret that I’m a fan of personal development books.  So, when I heard that Life Coach Tim Brownson (who I’ve featured on this blog previously) was co-authoring a book called How To Be Rich and Happy, I was excited to read and review it.  I don’t always agree with Tim, but that’s okay.  I respect the fact that he’s honest about who he is, and, on the whole he’s a pretty awesome dude.

I was even more excited when Tim offered me a free copy to review on this site.  I’m a sucker for free stuff.  If you click through this link, you can get the first three sections of the book as a free download, as well.

The thing is, I’m pretty picky about the books that I read, and I’m even more picky about the books that I recommend.  John Maxwell’s book Developing The Leader Within You is one of, if not the, most recently published personal development books that I own.  It was published in 1993.  Other books that I often recommend are:

• Enthusiasm Makes The Difference, by Norman Vincent Peale (published 1967)
• The Richest Man In Babylon, by George S. Clason (1926)
• How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success In Selling, by Frank Bettger (1947)
• Hung By The Tongue, by Francis P. Martin (1979)
• The Magic of Thinking Big, by David J. Schwartz (1959)
• The Go-Getter, by Peter B. Kyne (1921)
• How To Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie (1936)

With the exception of Hung By The Tongue, all of these books are older than I am (a couple are older than my grandparents, for cryin’ out loud).  Personally, I think that’s an advantage.  If you can still find a book that, in the case of The Richest Man In Babylon, has been around for 83 years and is still in print, there’s probably something there you should pay attention to.

Truth stands the test of time.  Hype fades.

Which brings me back to How To Be Rich and Happy.  What Tim and his co-author John Strelecky have written is nothing earth-shattering.

In my mind, that’s a HUGE compliment.

With so many so-called gurus and lifestyle designers out there today, it’s refreshing to read a book by contemporary authors that emphasize time-tested personal development theories.  Topics such as:

• Aligning your goals and values
• The power of positive self-talk and daily, verbal affirmations
• Greeting life’s challenges with enthusiasm, rather than trying to do everything possible to side-step them
• And more…

Of course, they put these ideas into their own words and provide timely examples to drive the concepts home.  They’re simply updating timeless truths for a new generation of people who haven’t yet been introduced to them.

As I read through the book, every single chapter had me thinking, “This is the one I’ll feature.  This is the one that the rest of the book hinges on.  This is the one that will be most helpful to my readers”.  Then I’d read one chapter further and change my mind.  There are so many great points made that it’s impossible to pick just one or two to single out.

I don’t know about you, but there have been many times in my life where I’ve heard a piece of advice that I’d heard many times previously, yet all of a sudden it finally clicks.  Many of the things that Tim and John wrote about in this book are issues that I addressed in my Life Design Series on this very blog.

Even though the content of the message wasn’t different, the way they said it, and the examples they used to support it, somehow shed a whole new light on many of these concepts.  For me, that’s great.  I can never hear positive lessons too many times, because so often I lose sight of them.

Having read through the book in two days, I really feel as though I’ve had the opportunity to have some one-on-one time with the authors, asking them questions and getting their opinions on how to address some of the challenges I face.  And I’m certain that when I read through it again (which I will very soon), I’ll pick up on many things that I missed the first time.

Are there areas where I would have written something a little differently, or chosen a different example?  Sure there are.  But that’s the great thing about this book.  What I’ve said in the past may have planted a seed that will be watered and come to fruition through reading How To Be Rich and Happy. Each one of us can’t reach everyone, but we can all reach someone that no one else can.

I can’t recommend this book highly enough, which is why I’m happy to say that it’s the first product that I’ve been willing to feature on this blog and carry an ad for (which you can find on the right hand side of your screen).  Give it a read.  You won’t be disappointed.

Have you read How To Be Rich and Happy?  What did you think?  Let the rest of us know in the comments…

Related posts:

1. Book Review – “Put Your Dream to the Test” by John C. Maxwell
2. Book Review – “Reclaim Your Dreams” by Jonathan Mead
3. Review Policy

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Ed. note – Been a while since I did a book review around here.  Although this isn’t a proper review of the entire book, I don’t know if I could recommend this book more highly if I spent 2000 words detailing every chapter.  You really should pick it up if you’ve not read it before.

Re-reading through one of my all-time favorite books of any genre (let alone self-improvement), The Magic of Thinking Big, by Dr. David Schwartz. I’d like to highlight a little of what he’s talking about in Chap. 2, just to give you a taste of some of the topics he covers. Though this is an older book (first published in 1959), the principles are timeless.

He mentions four reasons that people allow themselves to be defeated in the pursuit of their dreams, terming them different forms of the killer disease excusitis. These four are:

1. Health

2. Intelligence

3. Age

4. Luck

HEALTH

We’ve all met someone who’s constantly bemoaning the state of their ingrown toenails, the air quality, the pollen count, their fair skin that’s subject to burning, etc. etc. These people are probably in generally good health, but they allow themselves to think their way into every imaginable ailment known to human kind.

What’s worse, these are the same people who will pass on this habit to their unfortunate, impressionable children. The kids don’t have a chance; they’ll grow up to be as big, if not bigger, hypochondriacs than their parents were.  Most of us could come up with examples of this from our own personal experience.

I realize that there are genuine health challenges that certain people face. However, there are those individuals (such as Mark Zupan, the inspiring paralympian from the documentary film, Murderball) who face greater limitations to their ability to function in society than most of us will ever dream. These people don’t waste time pitying themselves; they go out and find ways to circumvent their challenges and thrive and achieve at the highest levels of society.

Helen Keller, anyone?

INTELLIGENCE

There are very few people willing to publicly admit that they feel intellectually inferior to their peers. However, there are many who harbor these thoughts privately.

The truth is, a few points on an IQ test matter very little (and can often be a hindrance).

What’s crucial to success is not having all the answers, but a commitment to success itself. As long as you won’t give up, you can encounter as many learning opportunities as you can stomach.  Very often, those with a high IQ (and are aware of it) suffer from analysis paralysis or the habit of waiting for the “perfect time” to begin a new endeavor. Sadly, that time never comes.

AGE

Age is viewed as a hindrance not only by the old, but by the young. Some of our more mature readers should always remind themselves of the story of Ray Kroc (founder of McDonalds), who didn’t buy his restaurant from the McDonald brothers until well into his 50′s.

Consider this: a typical college graduate enters the workforce at 22, and the most successful leaders of companies and organizations will typically work well into their 70′s. This leaves a span of over 50 years to accomplish something in the business world truly worthy of the word success. A person really doesn’t even hit the midpoint of his or her effective working life until they’re around 50 years of age! Maybe this causes some of you to shudder (it certainly does me), but it’s true.

LUCK

Finally, luck. I believe luck is like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny; only the very young or the sorely misinformed believe in it.

I’ve heard, as I’m sure you have, that luck is where opportunity and preparedness meet. If you’re ready for the opportunities that come your way, you’ll be one of the luckiest people around, and people will envy how you always seem to land on your feet. Be always ready through constant application of your current skills and the never-ending effort to gain new ones, and luck will find you.

These are the four strains of excusitis. If you think you may be suffering from this malady, try the following exercise.  Make a conscious effort to pay attention to what you say at all times for the next week, and see if you catch yourself making excuses for why you can’t accomplish what others seem to do easily.

If you catch yourself making excuses, replace them  with affirmations. Instead of telling yourself why you can’t do something, start telling yourself ways that you can.

For me personally, I have a big case of luck excusitis.  What about you?  What kinds of excuses do you find yourself offering?  Why do we feel like we have to justify ourselves?  Any thoughts on how to end that need?  Share them in the comments…

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2. Site Wrap Up – October 2009 Edition
3. Be a Linchpin

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Ed. Note – This is the second part of my review of this book.  There was just too much to say about it for one post.

In the first part of this review, I covered the first five chapters of the book that first got me interested in leadership and personal development, way back in 1998.  Let’s continue…

Chapter 6 – The Extra Plus in Leadership – Attitude

“Your attitude in life determines your altitude”.   “Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it”.  I’m sure you can think of many more tired cliches to exemplify the importance of attitude in a successful life.  I’m not a rah-rah kind of guy.  I don’t get super-hyped up about many things in life; no screaming at the TV (unless the Mariners ever make a World Series) or anything like that.  However, I believe that these statements and the many others I didn’t list about the necessity of a good attitude are overused precisely because they’re true.  If you have a poor attitude, a tendency to look at the glass as half-empty instead of half-full, or just to be a downer, then you’re not going to get very far.  People aren’t attracted to others who don’t make them feel good, and if you’re negative all the time, you’re not going to feel good about yourself or those around you.  Attitude is extremely important.

Chapter 7 – Developing Your Most Appreciable Asset – People

No one leads in a vacuum.  If you don’t have other people following you, you’re not a leader.  And, if you are concerned about the people that you lead eventually leaving you, you’re limiting yourself and your visions.  The ability to develop other people into leaders is a force multiplier.  If you can raise up an army, you’ll do well on your own.  However, if you can raise up leaders of other armies, you’ll have allies in your quest.  By developing leaders, you don’t just attract more followers.  You engender loyalty in those you’ve trained in the past, and they’ll be willing to journey along with you to achieve your dreams.  Viewing other people as individuals, not as numbers, is crucial to your own success.

Chapter 8 – The Indispensable Quality of Leadership – Vision

Vision is what drives a leader to become more than what they currently are.  They see things as the way they should be, not as they are, and they formulate plans to make the changes necessary to get there.  It’s amazing, but many people are so set in their ways that they cannot imagine life being any different than what it currently is.  A leader not only has a vision for the way things should be, they also have the ability to pass that vision on to others.  If you can’t articulate the way things should be, you’ll never be able to convince other people it’s worthwhile to come along with you.

Chapter 9 – The Price Tag of Leadership – Self-Discipline

Oh my word, I hate this one.  It’s really not much fun to do things that you don’t want to do, but sometimes it’s necessary.  Self-discipline is about subjugating the things you want to have or do in order to be able to achieve the things that you have to do.  What you have to do is achieve your vision.  What you need to eliminate is anything that’s going to get in the way of achieving the goal you’ve set in the timeline you’ve set it.  If you’re trying to finish a master’s degree in order to get a job that will provide a better standard of living for you and those you love, then you might have to give up things like Friday and Saturday night at the bar, football games on Sunday, or playing XBox in the evenings.  You’d much rather be doing something fun, but you know that what you’re doing instead is better in the long run.  You have to focus on the results of the activities you’re doing, not on the activities themselves.

Chapter 10 – The Most Important Lesson of Leadership – Staff Development

This chapter combines a lot of the teaching from chapters 2 and 7.  You need to take the time to develop the people around you, and you identify those folks using the 80/20 principle.  You encourage everyone in your organization, but you need to invest time with those who are already making a difference.  The people who will rise up as leaders will self-select.  They’ll show you they want to be leaders by how they work and achieve results.  It’s all about teamwork; people pulled together by a common purpose.  Maxwell went on to write another book called Developing the Leaders Around You, which delves more deeply into this subject.

As you can see, I really do love this book.  There are so many things to think about and focus on in my own life.  The central truth I always take away from reading this is that I have to become a person I’d want to follow before anyone else will come alongside me.

If you’re interested in purchasing a copy, you can find Developing the Leader Within Youat Amazon (that’s an affiliate link, btw).

Related posts:

1. Book Review – “Developing the Leader Within You” by John C. Maxwell, part 1
2. Leading Without Being A Leader
3. Book Review – “Put Your Dream to the Test” by John C. Maxwell

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As I’ve mentioned previously, one of my favorite personal development authors is John C. Maxwell.  I just love the topics he writes about.  He provides practical strategies and guidelines that a person can put into practice immediately, using case studies to exemplify his points.  There’s not a whole lot of extraneous fluff, just solid application.

I first read Developing the Leader Within You (aff.)
when I was 21 years old, a college drop out, and living in a van down by the river (just kidding; I was living in a rented room on the back of a house in a bad part of town.  Not sure which is worse).  I’ve read it at least five other times in the eleven years since then, and every time I have to use a different color highlighter to call out stuff I’ve missed previously.  It speaks to me each time I pick it up, because I see so many areas that I need to focus on in my own life, before I can begin to lead others.  You lead yourself first before anyone else.

Maxwell discusses 10 traits that an individual needs to focus on in his or her own life, in order to become more effective in their leadership roles.  We’ll cover the first five in this entry, and hit the final five next time.   I’d do it all at once, but the first five are over 1000 words already.  I make sure you get your money’s worth here, but 2000 words seemed a little excessive.

Chapter 1 – The Definition of Leadership – Influence

Being able to cause other people to move in the direction that they need to go to achieve the aims of the organization is all there is to being a leader.  Whether or not that direction is correct (or even right, if you follow the difference) is irrelevant.  You only become a leader by gaining followers.  Maxwell notes that many people would define leadership as a position, not as the ability to influence, but that’s only one facet of being a leader.  You are initially given a position of authority, but people don’t follow positions; they follow people.  The only way to become a leader is to invest the time and energy into an organization (and the people that make up that organization) to prove that you’re someone worth following.  As Maxwell says, quoting an old statement, “A man who thinks he’s a leader, but who has no one following, is merely taking a walk”.

Chapter 2 – The Key to Leadership – Priorities

As a leader, you need to set priorities.  Maxwell discusses the Pareto Principle, which states that an organization derives 80 percent of its results from 20 percent of its people.  You can’t do everything for everyone in your organization, so you need to take the time and effort to prioritize.  Work in the areas which will produce the greatest return, and don’t focus on areas that aren’t high yielding.  This goes for people, projects, and everything else.  Ruthlessly protect the priorities you’ve set, because it’s impossible to do everything.

Chapter 3 – The Most Important Ingredient of Leadership – Integrity

Integrity.  That’s what it’s all about.  Most people, I think, have a concept in their mind of what the word “integrity” means.  It means you don’t lie, or mislead, you keep your word, and all that other stuff.  That certainly is a part of what integrity is, but the definition is actually more broad.  It’s “the state of being complete, unified”.  It means that who you are on the outside is the same as who you are on the inside.  You don’t present one persona to your friends and another to your business associates; you are who you are, no matter what company you’re in.  If you can demonstrate this quality to those you’re attempting to influence, they’ll realize they can trust you.  They’ll begin to know that you will do what you say you’re going to do, and that allows them to have confidence in the vision you’re trying to sell.  If they don’t think you’ll pave the way for the organization to reach the goals it’s set, or that you’ll give up in the middle of the process, you’ll never develop much of a following.

Chapter 4 – The Ultimate Test of Leadership – Creating Positive Change

What people are looking for in a leader is someone who can create positive change in the organization.  A leader brings not only new goals and visions, but the means to get from where the organization currently is to where it needs to be.  The sad fact is that many people will resist change, because it’s scary.  They don’t know what’s going to be around the next bend in the road, and so they’re more secure with the situation they know.  Even if the vision of where the group is going is better than where they are, a lot of people won’t be up for it.  It is the true test for a leader:  to motivate those in the organization who are resistant to change, or find ways to work through the challenges without them.  And, let’s not forget that the first change that has to occur in any organization is within the leader him/herself.  You have to motivate yourself to become better before anyone else will believe you can help them improve their own situation.

Chapter 5 – The Quickest Way to Gain Leadership – Problem Solving

What people are looking for in a leader is the ability to get them from where they are to where they need to be (as was stated earlier).  In order to do that, the leader has to be able to solve the challenges that arise in the way of the organizations’ goals.  One of the most important abilities a leader must possess is the ability to discern between a problem and an environment.  Problems are things that can be controlled or changed; environments are things that cannot.  A leader has to identify the issues that can be changed, and find ways to work around the issues that can’t.

So, that’s it for the first five chapters.  We’ll finish up with the final five soon.  If you’re interested in purchasing a copy, you can find Developing the Leader Within Youat Amazon (that’s an affiliate link, btw).

Related posts:

1. Book Review – “Developing the Leader Within You” by John C. Maxwell, part 2
2. Book Review – “Put Your Dream to the Test” by John C. Maxwell
3. Leading Without Being A Leader

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Full Disclosure – John C. Maxwell is one of my favorite authors.  I was offered a free copy of his most recent book, Put Your Dream to the Test, by publisher Thomas Nelson as part of their “book review bloggers” program.

Maxwell’s newest book, Put Your Dream to the Test, provides a road map to determine how fully developed your dream really is.  Using a series of ten questions, and a case study associated with each one, Maxwell takes the reader through the process of thinking about and understanding the nature of a dream.  His contention is that if you go through the process of thinking about your dream so you can answer each of the questions with a “yes”, you’ll be much better prepared to realize the dream you have.

Maxwell’s style is always interesting to me.  He provides easy-to-read stories that tie in quite nicely to the issues he’s trying to illustrate.  For instance, in dealing with “The Clarity Question – Do I Clearly See My Dream?”, Maxwell provides the story of Mike Hyatt, the CEO of Thomas Nelson, Inc.  Hyatt took the reigns of a division of Thomas Nelson under stressful circumstances and with no idea that it was going to happen.  Maxwell provides an account of Hyatt’s experiences in developing a clear strategy to bring his division out of the negative situation it was in.  Maxwell then illustrates the principle of how important it is to clarify your dream by linking back to specific events in Hyatt’s story.  The real-life example makes the principle come alive.

Put Your Dream to the Test is another in a long line of great books by John C. Maxwell.  Specific answers to the questions brought up in the book will provide you with a blueprint of how to go about refining and living out your dream.

Related posts:

1. Book Review – “Developing the Leader Within You” by John C. Maxwell, part 1
2. Book Review – “Developing the Leader Within You” by John C. Maxwell, part 2
3. Book Review – How To Be Rich and Happy

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Jonathan Mead, Head Dreamcaster (ed. – maybe not the title he uses) at Illuminatedmind.net, and I view the world differently.  There’s really not another way to say it.  Fundamentally, he and I have different world views, which is one of the reasons why I read and enjoy his work.  He’s got an amazing story to tell the world, and I appreciate the fact that he’s got the guts to go out and tell folks, even if I disagree with him on some things.

So, when he offered a free copy of his ebook Reclaim Your Dreams, I jumped on it.  I’m a sucker for books, free books even more so, and a free ebook written by a guy who’s blog I enjoy and who would probably have me shaking my head in disagreement the entire time?  I’m there, man.

Quite frankly, I had a tough time knowing how to review this book.  I don’t want to say it’s bad, because it most definitely is not.  However, until I got to Part 2, it didn’t move me at all.  I’m a bit more concrete and linear than Jonathan is, and Part 1 definitely is neither concrete nor linear (I’m going to throw out “new age-y” here, in the hopes that it’s understood it’s not meant derogatorily; maybe “touchy-feely” is a better term).  Once I was past Part 1, however, I found a list of practical, easy-to-implement solutions that will help people drill down to the personal foundation that their lives need to be based on.  Once that foundation is located, Jonathan gives tips and tools to build from there a life that will remain true to one’s values.  That, to me, is worth the price of the book.

Perhaps I’m biased or hypersensitive, especially since I just wrote an essay entitled “In Praise of Real Jobs“, but there seems to be a subtle bit of condemnation that comes through toward those who have “real jobs”.  The first portion of book seems less designed for those who want what Jonathan’s selling, and more for those that don’t. It seems to stand in judgment of people who aren’t dying to slough off the chains of imprisonment employment and move into the dazzling light that is “creative work as your own boss”.

To me, there’s nothing wrong with either situation. The only challenge comes when a person is in one camp and truly wishes he or she were in the other (yes, there are people who, while self-employed, would trade it in for the security and consistency of a job).

If you’re in this “grass is greener” situation, however, this book is for you. If you’re lost, unable to figure out how to start turning your dreams into realities (or you don’t know what your dreams are in the first place), then Jonathan’s book is one that will get you there.  He makes some amazing statements in Part 2 of this book,  entitled “Manifestation”.  Check this out, for instance:

“90% of living your dreams is based on how much you live in alignment with your values.”

I’ll say that it’s more like 100% (I’m assuming that Jonathan would say the other 10% is executing your plan to develop the life you want), but I totally agree with the premise behind this statement.  The crux of all dissatisfaction in life is saying or believing one thing, but doing something contrary to that.  Psychologists call it “cognitive dissonance”, and it’s not fun.

So, final verdict:  I think that you can learn from anyone, any time.  It’s usually more helpful for your own personal development if you often engage with people who don’t see the world in the same way you do.  If you’re already a fan of Jonathan’s work at Illuminated Mind, you’ll really enjoy the book.  If you’re more like me, and less like Jonathan, you need to read this book even more.  Go pick it up.

Related posts:

1. Book Review – “Put Your Dream to the Test” by John C. Maxwell
2. Book Review – “Developing the Leader Within You” by John C. Maxwell, part 2
3. Book Review – How To Be Rich and Happy

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I’ve been reading The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp the past couple of days.  I’m becoming more and more fascinated by the process creative people use to create.  I’ve been thinking that this process (and it does seem to be a process, not anything more mysterious than that) would be something that someone like me would want to learn more about.

In chapter 6, she talks a lot about the concept of “scratching”.  What she means by this, I think, is the propensity creative people have to follow the white rabbit down the hole and see where it leads.  I talked a little bit about this in the essay I posted called “A letter to my son“.  I quoted Paul Graham, who, when talking about the mathematician G.H. Hardy, said “only later did he start to ask questions instead of merely answering them correctly” (emphasis mine).

That seems to be one of the keys to creativity, and one area where I find myself falling quite short.  I always did very well in school, and have conditioned myself to answer questions, instead of asking them.  I’m looking to develop the inquisitive mind and the child-like wonder that I find myself lacking.  Once I start asking those questions, when I start to “scratch” through the first source I read and move on to more and more sources in an effort to satiate my appetite for answers, then I’ll know I’m becoming more of a creative type.

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1. A letter to my son
2. Those Who Can, Teach
3. The Creative Consequence

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