Not Smart

Seth Godin had a great blog post the other day that really resonated with me because I heard several different students at different times say words to the effect of, "I'm not smart."

First of all, I don't think that was true of any of them. They were saying this as kind of a way to excuse the fact that they didn't know something. But that's not smart, that's just informed. 

Secondly, that is horrible self-talk. You start listening to yourself say that very much and pretty soon you'll end up believing it.

And it's not true!

Anyway, here is the link to Seth's post and a copy of it below. 

"I'm not that smart."

Someone said that to me the other day and it was heartbreaking.

The number of tasks in our culture that require someone who was born with off-the-charts talent is small indeed.

Just about everything else we need people to do is the result of effort, practice and care. It’s true that variations of that work are easier for some folks, but no one finds all of it easy going.

The correct thing to say is, “I don’t care that much.” I don’t care enough to do the reading, to fail along the way, to show up, to make a promise, to learn as I go, to confront failure, to get better at the work.

All of that might be true.

But you’re almost certainly smart enough.

The Power of Showing Up

Writers will often cite something called Writer's Block as a reason they are unable to write. All artistic or creative people have felt something similar - the lack of a creative impulse. Or their "muse" went on vacation or something.

Seth Godin argues that Writer's Block isn't real. The problem isn't that you aren't coming up with good ideas, it's that you aren't coming up with enough bad ones. 

Isaac Asimov published 400 books(!) by getting up, going to his typewriter at 6:30 in the morning, and typing until noon. 

Every day. 

He said, "It doesn't matter if it's good nor not. I just got to keep typing."So subconsciously he was telling himself, "Well, if you're going to type anyway, you might as well type something good." And so something good came up. But he refused to bargain with the self-consious ever and say, "Oh, I'm dry. I'm getting up." Nope. Type.

What could you create if you would just show up and keep at it?

(For a great podcast on this, check out this week's Akimbo podcast with Seth Godin: "No such thing as writer's block")

Persistence and Obession

Seth Godin writes a great blog and hosts a very interesting podcast called Akimbo. I don't always agree with his take on everything, but he is very insightful and always makes you think. 

On particularly thoughtful post the other day was especially insightful. It's one of those I wish I had written myself. I'll repost it below, but I'd encourage you to go to his site for more great content.

 The Coyote's Anguish

It’s one of the best metaphors for life, marketing, achievement, community and possibility in all of TV cartooning.

The coyote is always looking for a quick win. Because he doesn’t persist with a plan that builds over time, all of his outlandish stunts add up to nothing but frustration.

The coyote is obsessed with gaining at the expense of his enemy. As a result, he’s faced with either defeat or short-lived and ultimately empty victory.

The coyote is obviously immortal, but he’s always in pain. Either in the pain that comes from hitting a wall at 100 miles an hour, or the pain of knowing that yet another short-term plan came to no good.

The coyote challenges the laws of physics in the belief that he, and he alone is entitled to his own rules.

The coyote is happy to spend money on ludicrous devices that make promises he must know are empty, but instead of investing, he keeps chasing the gimmicks.

The coyote picked the wrong goal. Even though it’s clear he can’t succeed, he doesn’t switch, obsessing about sunk costs instead.

And even though he has experienced the frustration of the short-term selfish shortcut again and again, he never pauses to consider what would happen if he created something of value instead.

Facebook Vs. Blogging

Why a blog and not just post on Facebook?

Facebook is okay (I guess) for the occasional update or personal anecdotes, but it not very good for recording things you want to keep and look back on. (Although their Memories function which shows old posts is entertaining, it's not all that useful.) Plus with all of the advertising and junk that gets shared it's nearly impossible to sort through the important from the ethereal.

With a blog you can record ideas in a more coherent and lasting manner. It's also easier to search and doesn't have all of the clutter that Facebook has become overwhelmed with. Plus it's accessible to everyone - even those without a Facebook account. (There are those out there. I've heard stories of sightings...)

Seth Godin has a great quote about this:

"If you know you have to write a blog post tomorrow, something in writing, something that will be around 6 months from now, about something in the world, you will start looking for something in the world to to write about. You will seek to notice something interesting and to say something creative about it. Well, isn’t that all we’re looking for? The best practice of generously sharing what you notice about the world is exactly the antidote for your fear."

Do you have ideas that you want to share? Maybe look into starting a blog. Let me know in the comments below and I'll link to it (as long as it's not just cat pictures...).

Introducing Spahr Tracks 2.0

Seth Godin told me to blog. Every day.

He said so right here: https://www.cjchilvers.com/blog/seth-godin-explains-why-you-should-blog-daily 

So... Introducing Spahr Tracks 2.0

I'm revitalizing the blog I started years ago but haven't updated in the last 3 years.

Some days I'll write a lot - some days a little. I'll post on things I find interesting that I think may interest you or make you think. If this helps you - glad I could help. If not... these are not the droids you're looking for. Move along. Move along.

I'll try not to ramble and I'll endeavor to keep it interesting and humorous.

And short.

See you tomorrow.

Blogging, "Micro-blogging", and Facebook

What's the difference between having a blog and keeping your Facebook status updated (or Twitter, or MySpace, etc.)? Isn't it the same thing?

I've been a Facebook fan for some time now and recently added my 300th friend. That may seem like a lot to some, depending on how long you've been on Facebook and your age. Others may find this quite a small number - usually younger people or those who friend at random anyone they've ever met. But I digress.

For a little while now I have been much better at keeping my Facebook status updated but have allowed the blog here to languish. Part of this is the assumption that most of the people I know are Facebook friends and can "follow" me there. Recently, however, I have begun updating my status a lot less frequently. I started updating my status only when I felt that I had something more significant to share than "heading to work again" or "staying up late tonight". I weary of reading some of my Facebook friends' updates that are constantly filled with trivia. It's not that I don't want to know what they are up to, but there is a point when the trivia becomes trivial. (For instance, there is the new habit some of my friends have gotten into where they post lines from a song as a status update. Sorry, guys, but I just don't care unless there is something in those lines of particular significance to you. If so, then explain it. Otherwise you may end up in my "hidden" list of status updates.)

The benefit of blogging is that there is the opportunity to expand on a thought and really flesh out items of more significance. No, I won't be giving up Facebook, which I think is a wonderful way to keep in touch, network, etc. But I think a nice balance of blogging is a great way to keep my communication skills sharp (as Seth Godin pointed out in my blog post yesterday.) Also, as these blog posts get highlighted in my Facebook status updates, there will be opportunity for interaction via the Facebook comments rather than on this site. Hopefully I can share some helpful, interesting, thought-provoking, or simply entertaining things on the blog and we can discuss together via Facebook. Let me know what you think.

Why blog?

Saw this today and thought it was brilliant. Certainly something worth aspiring to, for sure. I'm going to give it a try. We'll see how it goes.

Seth shares how to write like a blogger

In addition to being a youth pastor, one of my first passions is writing. Seth Godin has a great blog post that I thought was very interesting and a wonderful way of spicing up any writing. I was going to just quote part, but one of the geniuses of his blog posts is that they are so short and easy to read but hard to distill any more than they already are. Plus I hate having to jump to something when I'm trying to read a blog, so here's the whole thing. If you like it, you will want to check out his blog regularly. Great stuff.

Write like a blogger

from Seth's Blog by Seth Godin

You can improve your writing (your business writing, your ad writing, your thank you notes and your essays) if you start thinking like a blogger:

1. Use headlines. I use them all the time now. Not just
   boring ones that announce your purpose (like the one on this post) but
   interesting or puzzling or engaging headlines. Headlines are perfect
   for engaging busy readers.
2. Realize that people have choices. With 80 million other
   blogs to choose from, I know you could leave at any moment (see, there
   goes someone now). So that makes blog writing shorter and faster and
   more exciting.
3. Drip, drip, drip. Bloggers don't have to say everything at once. We can add a new idea every day, piling on a thesis over time.
4. It's okay if you leave. Bloggers aren't afraid to include links or distractions in their writing, because we know you'll come back if what we had to say was interesting.
5. Interactivity is a great shortcut. Your readers care about
   someone's opinion even more than yours... their own. So reading your
   email or your comments or your trackbacks (your choice) makes it easy
   to stay relevant.
6. Gimmicks aren't as useful as insight. If you're going to
   blog successfully for months or years, sooner or later you need to
   actually say something. Same goes for your writing.
7. Don't be afraid of lists. People like lists.
8. Show up. Not writing is not a useful way of expressing your ideas. Waiting for perfect is a lousy strategy.
9. Say it. Don't hide, don't embellish.

What would happen if every single high school student had to have a
blog? Or every employee in your company? Or every one of your
customers?

Wow, what a week!

I'm exhausted! It's been an amazing week with tons of stuff happening (more on that later). I've had a least 5 major blog post ideas floating around in my head this week but just haven't had any time to write them up ('bad, bad blogger!')

One of my challenges is that I wait until I think of something that I think is 'blog worthy', but those posts tend to be longer. (Hey, if you're going to do something, do it right!) In the interests of keeping my blog up to date I will try to have several shorter posts. That will also help people find things they want to read about and skip those posts that don't interest them. I find myself that when I'm browsing the blogs I've subscribed to in Google Reader that I am much more likely to read the short posts than the long ones. If they're interesting, I'll save the long ones for later.

Anyway, if you're still reading this, let me recommend a blog for you to check out (see - it pays to stick around for the end!) Seth Godin's blog, creatively titled "Seth's Blog", is a great example of awesomely short posts with plenty of helpful content but brief and readable. If you don't know who Seth is, he's an author and... well, instead of me telling you, check out his blog! The funny thing is that he posted this yesterday on The Secret of Writing to Be Read:

Basically, short, simple sentences not only sell more books, but spread ideas farther and faster.

Good stuff!