Saturday, April 10, 2021 (Day 100)
Meditation Music: Soft Focus: Liquid Mind (7:25) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F6iMXz5jlc
Question: What are your favorite books and why?
Answer: With 3,000+ books, I have to narrow down my favorites? Wow! And what a challenge for my 100th daily post in a row! The only things I’ve done 100 days in a row like this is work out 100 days in a row. I committed to writing every day this year, so I’ve stuck with it for the first 100 – now, let’s see if I can keep going.
So, back to my favorite books…here are a few:
- The Art of Work: A Proven Path to Discovering What You Were Meant to Do by Jeff Goins. This book (and his work) inspired me to look at work in a different way. I liked how he focused more on varied experiences and creating a “portfolio life” vs the traditional route of getting a job. Look at your varied experiences as a way to define the work you’re here to do. Definitely one of my favorites.
- The Prosperous Coach: Increase Income and Impact for You and Your Clients by Steve Chandler and Rich Litvin. I would consider this one a coaching masterpiece because they believe that the key to getting clients is building meaningful relationships, not the traditional routes of selling and marketing. When I read this book, their message talks to my soul more than the traditional marketing and sales pitches out there.
- The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires. This children’s book is a must read for any entrepreneur or creative soul. It’s a great story about creating and failing…and how to deal with it. I read it every time I’m frustrated with work and need to pick me up to keep going.
- Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 Days by Chris Guillebeau. After reading this book, I decided to try it out in my Purpose-Driven Entrepreneurship class, since the original goal of the class was to create a purpose-driven business over the course of the semester. This book became my bible because instead of taking 14 weeks, I was able to cut it down to 7 weeks. Now, I have incorporated a process where I now can get students to start something within 3-4 weeks, from a place of profoundly serving others. This was my inspiration!
- Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative AND Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered by Austin Kleon. Again, a book for creatives by a creative. I love his down to earth writing, sharing ideas on how to create your own work, then ideas on how to share it with the world. Anyone interested in creating something and then sharing it with the world should read these two books.
There are so many other books that I read over and over again for inspiration. I will continue to more to the list on my “The Dream Dean Resource Page,” which you can find at: https://thedreamdean.com/the-year-of-you-resource-page/
Other Stuff
I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want my “work” to look like over the next 5-10 years, around the time I can think seriously about “retirement” – whatever that means. A few months ago, I wrote a proposal to create an “Office of Transitions and Transformation on my campus, a place where we would be able to help all sorts of people in a state of transition (almost everyone). Specifically, we’d work with first-year undergraduate students, first-year graduate students, and returning adult students, helping them create academic, career, and life plans for the future. We would do it through courses, through workshops, through trainings, through webinars, etc. In fact, I can’t stop thinking about it, because it’s something that inspires me to get out of bed in the morning. But for some reason, something was holding me back…and I couldn’t put my finger on it. Then two days ago, I watch the following video by Benjamin Hardy:
- This One Question Will Make Every Decision In Your Life Easier – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t16_xGajxI
Here’s what I need to decide: Do I know what I want? Will I pay the price? Do I have a filter?
So, what’s my “Will it make the boat go faster?”
The Dream Dean 