coexist

Just ripped through Ignore Everybody on a cross-country flight the other day. It’s a fun read and a good book to give the creative soul a stir.

A few themes grabbed me. The hard work thing is covered in Outliers (another good read) but this book touches on it too. “Doing anything worthwhile takes forever. Ninety percent of what separates successful people and failed people is time, effort, and stamina.” I don’t know about saying “failed people”. That seems a little strong and it’s possible to fail at something and not be a failure. It’s truth though that anything worthwhile typically comes from hard work of the above and beyond variety.

Another fun excerpt, “Meeting a person who wrote a masterpiece on the back of a deli menu would not surprise me. Meeting a person who wrote a masterpiece with a silver Cartier fountain pen on an antique writing table in an airy SoHo loft would seriously surprise me.” This is just a nice ‘keep it real’ kind of statement. Is the next shiny device on your desk the key to success or just another distraction?

The last one I’ll mention is making your hobby your job. It seems like everyone has this nagging notion that they’ll quit their tough job and focus on their outside passion. Hugh points out that this is the worst possible thing to do because it changes your relationship to the hobby. If you’re getting paid, you’re not 100% doing it for yourself. Whoever is flipping the bill has a say – even if it’s the audience of a blog. Worst yet – you’re left without a outlet.

Conclusion: fun book, thought provoking, good for a short attention span, funny cartoons, worth a read.