Eric Kent Edstrom's Blog, page 12

Politics, Religion, Nutrition . . . and Twilight

As far as I can tell, there are no more divisive topics than politics, religion, and nutrition. Fats are evil. No, carbs are evil! Animal protein is the devil. No, wheat is the devil and should be banned. Whenever any of these topics comes up in conversation with strangers, I tend to go quiet.

This is probably a mistake. Because people who voice strong opinions are interesting, even if you disagree with them. Actually, especially if you disagree with them.

They take your attention, they get your ears, your eyeballs. They get into your mind because you leave the encounter thinking up how wrong they were, and formulating new arguments you wish you’d have thought up while you were talking to them.

I know that many people hate the Twilight series. They like to hate it. They love talking about how much they hate it.

Why? Because like politics, religion, and nutrition, Twilight is important. The first three are important for obvious reasons. The fourth for a different one.

The topic of Twilight is about taste. I could easily substitute The Hunger Games, Star Wars, or The Color Purple and the point of this post would be the same. People want their taste to be the standard by which all art is judged, just as they would prefer everyone agree with their political or religious beliefs.

No matter what you think about Twilight, you can’t say it didn’t get people talking. If your art is bland and right down the middle, it won’t generate any ecstatic praise or vitriolic hate. It’s all “meh, it was okay,” or “meh, it wasn’t that great.” That is, uninteresting.

I long for the day my books are hated by as many as hate Twilight.

Jerks Don’t Care about Your Opinion of Them

That’s part of what being a jerk means.

Not all of them are being that way intentionally. They’re not all trying to offend you.

I did a post on bad habits a while back called Lessons from Lucky. It applies here.

Jerks are jerks because it works. It get’s them attention. And frequently it’s profitable attention.

Yes. These individuals may turn a bunch of people off. They may make enemies. They certainly upset a bunch of people . . .

But your red-faced outrage is gold to them. It empowers them. When a woman in the entertainment world is a jerk, she gets a special title: Diva.

It’s a path you could take. But the golden rule still applies. If you are a jerk, you will certainly encounter more of them.

There is a different model, one which still stands out. (And standing out is what this post is really about.) That model is to be supremely confident at the same time you are courteous and generous.

For both men and women this has a special title too: role model

Back from Sunny Arizona

We had a blast in Scottsdale and then Sedona. We enjoyed the warm sunshine and beautiful scenery. And the amazing customer service!!!

In my ATV helmet ready to explore the beautiful desert

And now we’ve returned to snowy Wisconsin. Boo hoo.

What the Money Means

Don’t let your sales numbers go to your head. The money can mean many things:

that you’re good at it
that you created something significant
that you finished something
that you are a professional
that you are a savvy marketer
that you have good timing
that you got there first
that you followed with something better or similar
that you have great packaging
that you got your mom to buy one
that you’re really good at sales
that you struck a nerve
that you were at the top of the list
that someone recommend you
that you were cheap
that you hit a hot trend
that you uncovered a niche
that you spent a lot on advertising
that you got lucky

 

 

 

A Mental Makeover

People can’t see themselves.

If you’ve ever seen an episode of What Not To Wear, you know this to be true.

And that just deals with someone’s appearance. What about the inner workings of the individual? How blind are people to their own nature?

My guess is that 9,999 out of every 10,000 people have no awareness of their own thoughts. And that 1 individual is only mindful for a few moments a day.

There is no makeover show for someone’s mind. It isn’t as easy as putting on a new outfit.

Or is it?

One could declare, “I am no longer the person I was. I am a new person, one with the qualities I need in order to be successful.”

If you are bad at (and, therefore, don’t enjoy) networking, marketing, cooking, is it as easy as saying that you enjoy it for it to be true?

Can you “put on” a new mental outfit?

 

 

Signal vs Noise

Go bookmark James A. Owen’s blog.

Done? Good.

He calls his blog “Everything is Signal.” If you’re familiar with the concept of signal to noise, then that title is intriguing.

If not, here’s how to think about it: Think of listening to a radio station. If it’s very staticky, then the signal to noise ratio is bad. If it’s crystal clear, there is no detectable noise, then the signal to noise ratio is very good.

When signal to noise is applied to one’s life, there is a seemingly wise practice of tuning out the noise. That is, avoiding the nonsense, the criticism, the LOLcats and memes, etc. To focus instead on high-value content and people.

In his blog post What is Signal, James offers an amazing perspective shift.

How much of what you broadcast is noise vs. signal?

 

Swinger of Birches

When I was a kid, I used to go into a wooded area by my house and climb trees. Not big oaks or maples, these were thin birches or poplars.

I discovered that if I climbed them high enough, eventually my weight would bend the tops over and deliver me gently back to earth. Years later, I discovered that Robert Frost had written a poem about this very feat. He wrung a lot of wisdom out of the metaphor, so I don’t see any point in expanding on it.

But when I’m doing something that gives me joy, I often have to ward off a voice in my head that says, “you shouldn’t be fooling around like this. There’s constructive work to be done.”

I talk a lot on this blog about getting things done, pushing through resistance, and embracing fear.

But there is a time to have fun. To just be and enjoy.

I’ve made the final line of the poem a kind of mantra:

“One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.”

Are you Wearing a Shock Collar?

My dog wears a shock collar. It holds a little battery-powered device that zaps him when he tries to cross the hidden fence.

You’d think he’d hate it, that he’d try to get it off. Instead, he’s so used to it that he doesn’t notice that he’s wearing it. When he approaches the border of my property, he stops. He doesn’t yelp, or cower. He just stops. Doesn’t even think about it.

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that you aren’t wearing a shock collar. But you’ve been trained in the same way. And now there are lines you don’t cross because your body won’t allow it. This is different than concious fear. It’s a blind spot.

So here’s the question: has something zapped you so badly that you’ve closed off possibilities for yourself without realizing it?

Tedium Tax

Taking out the garbage what I call a tedium tax.

I hate taking out the garbage. It’s tedious, it kind of smells, and I have to wheel the garbage and recycling bins down a fairly steep driveway. Then, once the garbage truck has emptied them, I have to bring the bins back up!

It’s one of those tasks that makes me sweat just enough to make it irritating.

The same thing could be said for printing out a manuscript and mailing it off to a publisher. Or going through the final edits of a manuscript, when I’ve already been through the work nine times already. It’s tedious and boring and blech!

I know. Boo, hoo, hoo. Tiny violins.

Everything worth doing is encumbered with the tedium tax. And I believe that it’s unwillingness to pay it that takes many people out of the game.

What is the Opposite of Fear?

“What is the opposite of fear?” the Spartan hero Dienekes asks in Steven Pressfield’s wonderful novel, Gates of Fire, about of the Spartan stand at Thermopylae.

He goes on: “To call it, aphobia, fearlessness, is without meaning. This is jut a name, thesis expressed as antithesis. To call the opposite of fear fearlessness is to say nothing. I want to know its true obverse, as day of night and heaven of earth.”

Dienekes finds his answer by the end. I’m not going to tell you what it is. You should read the book. It’s really great.

The only way to get to the opposite of fear is to endure fear.

It’s important to feel and to recognize fear. Beyond it’s obvious purpose for self-preservation, fear tells you when you are about to attempt something awesome.

I say “attempt,” because if success was guaranteed, your action would cause no fear (and therefore would likely not be too awesome).

When you’re diving into your creative work, you want feel a little anxious about it.

And no, you dont have to feel like you’re about to die in order for the endeavor to be worthwhile. Chances are you aren’t a Spartan, trained from childhood to face death in battle. But in order to grow, you do have to test the limits of your fear.

My wife, JJ Frederickson, offers an excellent model for thinking about fear. Check out her video on the stretch, risk or die concept!