Keep the momentum going!
This week or probably last week, I made a decision. I want to at least write one story a week and I am finding Friday is the best day to do so. It allows me to go through the week, read, learn and digest things that I then would like to share on my Friday story. And what I find interesting about this is that it keeps me going, it keeps the fire lighting, it helps me beat my lizard brain and hopefully it could inspire somebody that is reading, that would be a gift!
Last week I finished “Linchpin” and my immediate feeling was a mix of discomfort and anxiety to look for the next book I wanted to listen to. I started by looking at Seth Gothin’s books’ summaries and reviews and I decided that I needed some diversity of thinking, or at least a different writer to continue with. I asked myself what is the real topic I am looking for?, what is that field I want to learn more about? What is that theme that inspires me to write and to become better as a person and as a professional? I shared this with my coach and she recommended me to look for Brene Brown. I also went deeper on Audible and start searching for books and as one thing lead to another, I ended up finding Adam Grant. His books’ summaries and reviews really attracted me as well.
Around Tuesday, and having already added Brene Brown and Adam Grant’s books to my Audible wish list, I was yet not convinced about any of them and I decided to go back to Neil Pasricha Podcast 3Books to listen to one of his interviewees and find out what my next book could be. And this is when the magic happened. I was going through the list of chapters of Neil’s podcast and I saw that the last chapter, #72, was with Adam Grant. Coincidence? I don't know, it is just something I want to pay attention to. But it doesn't stop there, I scrolled down just a tiny bit and guess what? Brene Brown was interviewed on chapter #70, right there, very close. This was absolutely like a gift to me and I was so excited to listen to both chapters and decide what my next book would be. At that point I had no doubt it would be one from either of those two people. And the good news is, I know which one will come after the next already. Bonus point!
I decided to listen to Brene Brown first. I guess she had an edge given that she was recommended by my coach. Straight from her website www.brenebrown.com , Dr. Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston where she holds the Huffington Foundation — Brené Brown Endowed Chair at The Graduate College of Social Work. Brené is also a visiting professor in management at The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business. She has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy and is the author of five #1 New York Times bestsellers: The Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly, Rising Strong, Braving the Wilderness, and her latest book, Dare to Lead.
I really enjoyed the Podcast with Brene Brown and everything she shared as well as her Ted talk “The Power of Vulnerability” and I am looking forward to watching her Netflix special: “The call to courage”. There is so much content in her website! A gift for those who would appreciate her research, her thinking and what she has to share with the world.
Once I was done with Brene Brown’s podcast on 3books, I listened to Adam Grant and it was as enjoyable. Also straight from his website www.adamgrant.net , Adam Grant has been Wharton’s top-rated professor for 7 straight years. As an organizational psychologist, he is a leading expert on how we can find motivation and meaning, and live more generous and creative lives. He has been recognized as one of the world’s 10 most influential management thinkers and Fortune’s 40 under 40.
Adam Grant inspired me and potentially opened a new path for me, unlocking this internal passion I have about research, teaching, people, motivation and meaning. He is awesome and his Ted Podcast “Work Life” is worth checking and listening to. As with Brene Brown, his website is full of good content.
Reflecting back on all that has happened this week and the discovery of this two great people, I can identify one thing and a reason why I felt so engaged with them. Although they are both outstanding at what they do, the feel so humble and they give their families such a prominent role in their lives. Both of them are very interested in parenting, in being the best parents they can be for their children, in being the best partners. I love that and it is what I want as well.
This is by far my longest story. I feel energized, I feel this has been an amazing week in terms of discovering new people that can teach me so much. I have made a decision, my next book will be “Daring greatly” by Brene Brown and “Think again” from Adam Grant will follow. I am looking forward to listening to both and see what they inspire on me!
In parallel, this week I have done my first interview around the “Linchpin” project. The first one was Eduardo, my father in law. I really enjoyed the talk. It was my first time but it felt good. Interviewing seems like an art and I hope to get better at it with time. I feel I got some interesting nuggets from Eduardo and I learnt so much about him that I did not know before. The next step is to sit down and write the Linchpin story about him. And as I think about that, I also have my second interview for next week, Martin, my father. I am really looking forward to it.
Back to the headline of this story, I can feel the momentum keeps going, DONE is the ENGINE of more and this engine will never stop!
Shipping in 3, 2, 1…
