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Book Review: The Art of Work

Pat Hannon @phannon December 9, 2015 Leave a Comment

Book Review: The Art of Work

I was in an epic struggle. Despite years of time and effort I wasn’t sure I could finish the project. This wasn’t your everyday kind of project; this was a life goal, alter your destiny kind of project. And I was losing the battle.

I had the skills necessary to accomplish what was in front of me, but I was paralyzed with an inability to do the work. During this season I read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. I discovered names for my paralysis: fear and resistance. I was afraid that I didn’t have what it takes, that I wouldn’t be able to get the job done, that I would fail at a major life goal. So resistance took over, giving me all the reasons I would ever need to avoid instead of doing the work necessary.

Pressfield named my struggle and help me understand that fear is not always a sign to stop or retreat, for fear can point the way to what we are most supposed to do. We overcome resistance by going pro – showing up and doing the work even when we’re afraid.

I resisted resistance and fear, did the work, and accomplished my lifetime, destiny altering goal. Thank you, Steven.

Recently, Mike at Speakeasy contacted me with an opportunity to receive a free review copy of Jeff Goin’s The Art of Work. I immediately noticed the homage to Pressfield’s work in the title. Seeing that Pressfield endorsed The Art of Work sealed the deal: Let’s see what Goins has to say.

While Pressfield reflects on how to get our work done, Goins is reflecting on what work we should be doing. How do we discover and live into the calling to our true life work? Goins reflects on the nature of calling and discovering our vocation. By listening to people’s stories he discovers and unpacks seven common characteristics of people who embrace their calling:

  1. Awareness
  2. Apprenticeship
  3. Practice
  4. Discovery
  5. Profession
  6. Mastery
  7. Legacy

It turns out that calling is less about planning for the perfect life and more about responding well to the unexpected moments of life.

I once thought that discovering my calling was something I would accomplish once and be done. It’s the “what will you be when you grow up” question. If this was the case, I would have settled this at 19. I’ve since made a discovery: we are never finished discovering our calling. Our calling becomes more specific as we walk the path it has for us. It manifests differently in different seasons of life. And, if we let it, calling will guide us throughout our life.

Pressfield prepares us for the war involved in doing our most important work; Goins shows us the way to discover what that most important work is.

Filed Under: Books, Leadership, Productivity Tagged With: Book Notes, calling

Monday Quote: Keep Swimming

Pat Hannon @phannon July 21, 2014 Leave a Comment

Monday Quote: Keep Swimming

The blog has been quiet for a few weeks of summer vacation. Here’s a Monday Quote for those seeking a little perseverance.Just keep swimming.

Just keep swimming. -Dori the fish, Finding Nemo

Filed Under: Productivity Tagged With: Monday Quotes

Free Book Friday: Get Some Margin

Pat Hannon @phannon January 17, 2014 3 Comments

Free Book Friday: Get Some Margin

This week in Free Book Friday we have two offers that will help you get some margin in your life.

24:6

First, the fabulous book 24/6: A Prescription for a Healthier, Happier Life by Matthew Sleeth is offered as a free ebook.  I paid full price for this book and it was well worth it. Get it now for free while you still can!

From the back cover of 24/6:

“Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.” It’s the only commandment that begins with the word remember—almost as if God knew we would forget. Well, guess what? We did. And is it any wonder? Look around. Thanks to ever-improving technology, we now feel the pressure to be “on” twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Sure, things like smart phones, the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, and Skype help us stay connected with coworkers, family, and friends—but what about God? How can we possibly have “ears to hear” when we are plugged in 24/7? If we never take time to “be still and know” God, how can we grow into mature spiritual beings? The solution is simple. And it is endorsed by the Great Physician himself. In fact, he invented it. It’s called rest. And like all good things, rest is a gift from God. Rest doesn’t just happen. It takes intentionality, commitment, and restraint. Yet the rewards are indescribably amazing. In 24/6, Dr. Matthew Sleeth provides a life-giving prescription for a healthier, more God-centered life amidst a digitally crazed, always-on world and helps us better understand how our lives can be radically transformed—physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually—by adopting a 24/6 lifestyle.

Margin

Second, I have a print copy of Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives by Richard Swenson to give away. In this book, Dr. Swenson helps us find some much-needed margin in our overloaded lives.

From the back cover:

Overload is not having time to finish the book you’re reading on stress. Margin is having time to read it twice. Overload is fatigue. Margin is energy. Overload is red ink. Margin is black ink. Overload is hurry. Margin is calm. Overload is anxiety. Margin is security. Overload is the disease of the 90’s. Margin is the cure. Margin is the space that once existed between ourselves and our limits. It’s something held in reserve for contingencies or unanticipated situations. Dr. Swenson provides a prescription against the danger of overloaded lives. Focusing on margin in four key areas-emotional energy, physical energy, time, and finances-he offers an overall picture of health that employs contentment, simplicity, balance, and rest.

Enter to win a copy of Margin. Leave a comment below telling why you need margin in your life. Then enter the giveaway via the form in this post. One winner will be announced in next week’s Free Book Friday post.

Filed Under: Books, Productivity, Spiritual Formation Tagged With: Free Book Friday

Resources for Managing Your Time

Pat Hannon @phannon January 14, 2014 Leave a Comment

Resources for Managing Your Time

Are you seeking to manage your time better this year?
Do you desire to find balance among all of your different responsibilities?

These are books I have found to be helpful for my time and life management.

In Search of Balance: Keys to a Stable Life and Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives by Richard Swenson, MD.

These books by physician Richard Swenson seek to move beyond helping mange our schedules to looking at the reasons–cultural and personal–that our lives are out of balance. If you need margin and balance in your life, these are excellent, inspiring, helpful books.


Greater Expectations: Succeed (and Stay Sane) in an On-Demand, All-Access, Always-On Age by Claire Diaz-Ortiz

This is a brand new book from the excellent Barna Frames series. It’s a quick read, providing engaging visuals that show the latest research about our out of balance lives. Claire Diaz-Ortiz works at Twitter, leading Twitter’s social good campaigns. In this book she offers helpful tips for managing your life in the midst of the crazy connections of the internet and social media.


The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen Covey

This is a classic book in the field of time and life management. Covey offers the seven habits that highly effective people maintain to manage their time and life. These habits include “putting first things first” or building your schedule around your “big rock” priorities. This book has influenced many writers on the topic.


Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen

The classic book on managing your to-do list. Allen offers big picture and practical applications to managing your to-do lists, finding the next step, and getting things done.

Filed Under: Books, Productivity, Spiritual Formation Tagged With: Living Your Resolutions, Time Management

Breaking The Silence

Pat Hannon @phannon December 30, 2013 Leave a Comment

Breaking The Silence

Last Spring I completely reworked EmbraceTheGodLife.com. I wrote a few new posts and picked up some new readers. My post “How Steven Pressfield, Jeff Goins, and a Bad Website Helped Me Turn Pro” gained some traction on social media. I saw a spike in readers and received the most traffic I ever have.
SilenceWorksSo, how did I respond to this growth in my blog? I went silent for 7 months.

Not the best tactic for reaching worldwide internet fame, I know. So what gives?

Here’s what gives: God opened on unforeseen door. My family and I were unexpectedly invited to begin a new ministry assignment in North Carolina, outside of Charlotte. Sensing God’s leading in this opportunity, we made  a major, and rather quick, long distance move. It required absolute focus on what had to be done. Triage was the order of the day. Do what had to be done, let the rest go. Some good things were set aside so that the most important things could be accomplished.

This is the way life works.

Our New Town

Our New Town

We can’t do everything. And sometimes we can’t do what we usually do. Life moves in seasons, and some seasons are completely overwhelming. Thankfully we’ve arrived in a much more stable season. Things are going well in our new place. God has blessed us and we have entered into a much more stable season of life.

That big blog post 7 months ago was about turning pro. Here’s a few more lessons: Sometimes you can’t turn pro in every area of your life at once, and you have to focus on the most important. Sometimes turning pro is followed by a setback. Sometimes even a pro has to follow a move in the right direction with a lengthy time of silence. What do you do then? You let the silence do its work, regain your voice, and break the silence.

Click to Tweet: Let the silence do its work, regain your voice, and break the silence.

With that, I’m breaking the silence. Sorry to leave you in the quiet for so long. Let’s pick up the conversation, shall we?

Filed Under: Miscellany, Productivity Tagged With: silence

The Secret to Doing Things You Hate, Without Hating It

Pat Hannon @phannon May 14, 2013 Leave a Comment

The Secret to Doing Things You Hate, Without Hating It

Do you ever do things you hate?
Of course you do. Sometimes we all do.

Life requires us to do things we hate sometimes.

360182_face_-_extremeI’ve discovered the secret to doing things I hate, without hating it.
Here’s the secret:
When you hate what you have to do, find motivation in why you have to do it. [tweet this]

I hate getting up early, but I did today so my kids could enjoy a special breakfast program with their mom at school. I did not want to get up early (what I had to do), but I was motivated by why I needed to do it: to provide a good experience for my kids and wife. I love them more than I hate mornings. So I got up early today without hating it.

Discovering why to do something can be all the motivation you need to do the things you hate, without hating it. [tweet this]

You may hate the dentist, but you want to have some teeth left in 40 years. So you go to the dentist.

You may hate the gym, but you want to be healthy and have energy. So you go to the gym.

You may hate performance reviews, but you want to achieve excellence in your field. So you receive the feedback from the performance review.

Discovering why is the secret to doing things you hate. [tweet this]

An Inspiring Example

My wife hates running. She ran one 5K race a few years ago—and hated it. She decided not to run any more races.

My Amazing Wife

Yet, my wife loves her brother. Her brother has been a Leukemia survivor for over 10 years. This year he is the “honored hero” for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team running the Cleveland Marathon.

My wife, who hates running, is running her first 10K this weekend. She loves her brother more than she hates running. She is running in honor of her brother and to raise money to support Leukemia patients and research for a cure.

She found a reason to run that was stronger than her hatred of running.

I’m proud of her. She has been training for a few months and is ready to rock the race this weekend. I think she’s even enjoying it.

Can you give a few dollars to support Leukemia patients and research for a cure? Donate here by May 18.

Sometimes, doing the things you hate just requires a bit of motivation. Find your why. [tweet this]

What about you?
What do you hate doing?
Might discovering your why help?

Filed Under: Productivity

How Steven Pressfield, Jeff Goins, and a Bad Website Helped Me Turn Pro

Pat Hannon @phannon April 27, 2013 5 Comments

How Steven Pressfield, Jeff Goins, and a Bad Website Helped Me Turn Pro

It happened two weeks ago. I decided it was finally time to start writing the series on waiting I’ve been pondering for months. So I scribbled down a few ideas and hammered out my first post. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. And that’s a lot.

LIsten to your best-self

Who do you listen to?

I was writing again, with a plan to do so seriously and regularly. Visions of meaningful writing danced in my head. I could see a series of humble blog posts paving the way for a good article or even a modest book. Should I self publish or shop for a publisher?

And Here’s where it happened. Having written a modest blog entry it was time to post my work. ARGH! Frustration! My free-but-good-enough blog host had updated its site to be more “user-friendly” and “intuitive.” (I’m making air quotes here.) It took over an hour to get the spacing right on the article. I could no longer adjust the placement of my cool-image-that-catches-the-readers-attention. It was a pain and I was ticked.

This platform simply could not work for me any longer if I was going to attempt to write with any seriousness. But a new website would cost money I didn’t have. And what good is new website since I hardly ever post and hardly anyone ever reads.

Then the voice of the best-me spoke above the frustration, doubt, and negative self-talk: It’s time to turn pro.

In Turning Pro, the great Steven Pressfield* writes that turning pro is a choice: “all you have to do to is change your mind.”

(*You have read The War of Art, right?)

“When we turn pro we stop running from our fears. We turn around and face them.” -Steven Pressfield [tweet this]

Turning pro isn’t primarily about making money from your craft. It’s about approaching your craft with the attitudes, work ethic, and tools of a professional.

It is so easy to make excuses about why you can’t do your best work, why you can’t do what you were born to do, why you can’t answer the call of God on your life to join in the recreation of all things.

When you turn pro you no longer let the excuses, or a bad website platform, get in the way of doing your best work, of making your unique contribution in the world.

Turning pro happens in a moment. Pressfield says you’ll never forget the day you chose to turn pro. I’ve realized it has to happen every day.

Or as Jeff Goins puts it: You are a writer; start acting like one.

Tweet this: Listen to your best-self, and do your best work, every single day.

So, I’ve turned pro, at least for today.

And welcome to the new website.

Filed Under: Productivity

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