The Happiness Project

“It is easy to be heavy: hard to be light.” G. K. Chesterton

I am a huge fan of Gretchen Rubin.  First, I followed her blog and now I’m buying multiple copies of The Happiness Project and sharing it with friends and family.  Why do I like her book so much?

Structure

Gretchen was trained as an attorney and later realized that she really wanted to be a writer.  With several books to her credit and an orderly mind she approached her quest for greater happiness with admirable organization.  From her Twelve Personal Commandments and Four Splendid Truths to the monthly areas of focus she addresses multiple aspects of positive psychology.

Practicality

She alludes to the research but she doesn’t dwell on it.  This is not a book for academics.  This is a book for people who want actionable ideas.  Each month, for her Happiness Project, she selected an area of focus.  Each of the areas was broken down into several sub-topics.  Her objectives are tangible.  She writes:

Resolutions work better when they’re concrete, not abstract: it’s harder to keep a resolution to “Be a more loving parent” than to “Get up fifteen minutes early so I’m dressed before the kids wake up.”

Honesty

Like my other memoir heroine, Elizabeth Gilbert, Gretchen writes with personal voice.  She takes a frank look in the mirror and doesn’t whitewash her faults.  She shares a lame drawing from her first day in an art class and describes her cranky moments in detail.  I liked her better for her foibles.

Inspiration

She’s clearly struck a chord with readers because Happiness Project groups are popping up all over.  She is generous with her tools and has created a Happiness Toolbox site.

Finally, I felt she understood a dynamic that I’ve often experienced in my life: the tendency to underrate enthusiastic people.  In November she has a resolution to “Give Positive Reviews”.

Giving positive reviews requires humility.  I have to admit, I missed the feelings of superiority that I got from using puncturing humor, sarcasm, ironic asides, cynical comments, and cutting remarks.  A willingness to be pleased requires modesty and even innocence–easy to deride as mawkish and sentimental.

Yup.  Love this book.

Published on March 10, 2010 in Book Reports. 0 Comments

A Nifty Photography Project

I am an avowed Francophile and through Head Butler I was led to this yummy blog.  The author also posted a video showing how she creates a perpetual photo calendar.

If you’re not a photographer you can buy her beautiful calendar from her Etsy shop.

Published on March 5, 2010 in The Nature of Creativity. 0 Comments

Third Thought Deck: Balance

I am engaging in balance myself.   I will be on vacation until March 2nd.

Published on February 20, 2010 in The Nature of Creativity. 0 Comments

Innovation with Purpose

In my last newsletter I wrote about an inspiring exhibit from the Cooper-Hewitt Museum: Design for the Other 90%.  The show featured simple innovations for the majority of the world.

It’s got me thinking about all forms of  innovation.  On my radar this week are Crowdsourcing and the Purpose Prize.

Crowdsourcing

The word comes from CROWD + OUTSOURCING.  An organization has a challenge and invites a specific community to solve it.   The practice has broadened to include every aspect of corporate agendas since the word was coined a mere three years ago in a Wired magazine article.

Years ago I had the pleasure of talking with Mark Turrell, CEO and Founder of Imaginatik when he was launching his company and figuring out processes to capture collective intelligence.  If Crowdsourcing intrigues you I can recommend Mark and his company.  His results were impressive ten years ago and he and his colleagues are clear leaders in the field.

The Wisdom of Crowds did a fine job of exploring collective intelligence.  James Surowiecki is a journalist at The New Yorker and relates examples of  collective intelligence–both successes and failures.

Say what you like, but the Audience is usually right on Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

Another firm doing work in this area is Chaordix.  This blogpost from their site has a generous list of many crowdsourcing opportunities. Participate in any number of challenges from designing marketing to forecasting solar activity.

The Purpose Prize

And for those of us in our ‘encore careers’…the Purpose Prize is $100,000 big ones for worthy social innovations.  TEN people will win!  The catch is that you have to be over 60 years of age.  If you qualify you have until March 5th to enter or nominate someone else.  I don’t know about you but I am going to start thinking about it now.

Published on February 16, 2010 in The Nature of Creativity. 0 Comments

Third Thought Card: Add Love

Published on February 15, 2010 in Third Thought Deck. 0 Comments

Creative Habits

Often the challenge of creative individuals is finding that optimal state between dreaming and doing.

My last newsletter focused on Nick Bantock,a author of Griffin & Sabine and many other gorgeous books.  You can read more of his story here.  He is a Creative Producer with a truly solid background and I was intrigued with his routines.  Several things stuck out for me:

1) At the end of each day he leaves something simple undone.  The next morning when he entered his studio it is obvious and simple to get started.

2) He experimented with his physical space, finally arriving at a circular pattern of working.  He literally walks around his piece, getting different perspectives.  Since he started that pattern he has not gotten blocked.

3) Finally, he is organized and disciplined.  Easy to say, harder to do…or maybe I am projecting….

Nick strives to make his art, his life seamless.  That notion reminded Kath F. of this video (thanks Kath!):

Life as Art. Art as Life. Lovely.

Published on February 3, 2010 in Activities to Support Your Practice and The Nature of Creativity. 1 Comment

Third Thought Card: Make Some Thing

Published on January 30, 2010 in The Nature of Creativity and Third Thought Deck. 0 Comments

Shift Happens

Multiple versions of this video have been floating around on You Tube and elsewhere.  If you haven’t seen it I’m sure you’ll find it a thought-provoking booster for thinking more globally.

And here’s the link for the wiki

Published on January 25, 2010 in Business and Creativity. 0 Comments

Third Thought Card: Dark Skies

Published on January 20, 2010 in Third Thought Deck. 0 Comments

The Charm of Sincerity

This week I am traveling with the Get a Life Marching Band.  I’m a dancer with the band.  We are in Anaheim for gigs at NAMM and Disneyland.

NAMM

The National Association of Music Merchants is one of the largest exhibits in the world for music products.  There are vendors for anything sound and music related….guitars, keyboards, sound boards, horns….and on and on.  The larger vendors feature famous musicians to demo their products.  Thursday I saw a Guitar God wailing for a large crowd (I am but a lowly dancer and did not know his name).  Anyway–big stuff.  We joined the Ferdinand L. Petiot band for their 40th Anniversary appearance at NAMM to open the event.  The song “Thriller” had been selected for us and I choreographed a routine for our dancers.   Quincy Jones, who produced Thriller, led us through the halls.  Quincy Jones! Led us in the parade through the convention halls!

Later in the day we played a stage set.  I saw Lenny ‘Fuzzy’ Rankins and his band perform as we waited.  They could not have been more cool….jazz, R&B and charismatic stage presence.  Very hip band.  Inwardly, I groaned and I thought, “We’re following them?!  We are the opposite of cool!”  I anticipated a painful hour with the audience leaving in droves.

But that didn’t happen.  As our director, Steve, told the story of the band in between classic songs like, “Louie, Louie”, “It’s Hip to be Square” and “We’re an American Band” the audience stayed and came right along with us.

We are not hip.  We are band nerds.  And what comes through when we perform is the sheer joy of the music.  The band LOVES to play and they are pretty darn good.  We dancers, twirlers and flag team love to play with them.

As we rode the bus back to our hotel Steve related a few conversations he’d had with some musicians after we finished our set.  NAMM halls are filled with world-class studio musicians  but the professional musicians said they hadn’t seen anything like Get a Life in 30 years of the convention. Steve and the rest of the group reminded these professionals of when they first began playing…school band, perhaps. He took them to another time and reminded them exuberance and fun that music can bring when it’s not a job.    “I daresay it was an emotional experience for them.”

The sincerity of Get a Life, the unabashed corniness..all this was utterly lovable.  The LA suits, rockers and professional musicians couldn’t help but crack a smile as we performed.

Here’s the lesson I relearned: Follow what you love with a passion.  Be a complete geek about it.  Be unabashed in your pursuit.  Sincerity is disarming.

My name is Maggie and I’m with the Band.

Published on January 16, 2010 in The Nature of Creativity. 2 Comments