Have I mentioned Marcus Buckingham's book "First, Break All the Rules" ? I have? Good.

Marcus talks a lot about how we put ourselves through so much nonsense when we work. We assume, as my father told me in virtually the only bad advice he ever gave, that 'work is work, not fun; stop looking for something fun to do for a living and settle for a real job.'

Well, that's not how it works. At least, it doesn't have to. Except nearly 90% of the working people in this country don't like what they do for a living (I was astonished to discover that this statistic includes the self-employed. Why on earth would you hire yourself to do a job you don't like?)

Buckingham offers a couple simple useful tools I wanna talk about, but first, a book I just read on the same subject that really expanded my thinking about doing what you love for work.

Jonathan Fields just released his first business book called Career Renegade. It is, as the subtitle says, about how to make a great living doing what you love. I'll quote my Amazon review:

"An excellent read even for those of us already firmly in the entrepreneurial world. Fields knows his stuff and doesn't gloss over the hard parts. He does, though, deliver on the title. Even though I already love what I do, the book started me thinking about other paths as well.

Absolutely packed with practical information and resources. The success stories are much more than feel-good 'see? it can be done!' They're usable examples.

The list of Career Renegade paths is a tool I'll use the rest of my life.

I wanted to write this book. Probably best that Jonathan beat me to it; he's done an excellent job."

If you're one of the 87% who aren't happy at work, consider Jonathan's book. It will make you think and help decide if you're ready to move or bluffing yourself.

Ah; those Marcus Buckingham tools. How 'bout next week?

Seth Godin's book Tribes spawned an online community, leading to two fairly hefty ebooks, both free (here and elsewhere; the video below by the illustrious Paul Durban has a web address for the Q&A.)

Seth's Change This manifesto is a thought-provoking introduction to his excellent book. The casebook is a series of anecdotes illustrating the thinking endorsed in the book. The Q&A is shorter and more didactic. Well worth reading.

How to Sell a Book
(or Any New Idea)

Tribes
Casebook

Tribes Q&A

We meet each month with a group of professional and aspiring speakers who are one of the most inspiring and bright groups we're part of.

Last night's meeting was "The Great Tip Exchange." Members shared two minutes of their favorite books, web tools, business strategies, and philosophies. Sue took extensive notes and posted them at the NorCal Speaker's social network.

Non-members can read all the info and follow the links, but if you have anything to add feel free to join the group and post your comments.

Next week, I'm hoping to introduce you to a handful of folks from all over the world. I'm excited about the possibilities this group opens and just couldn't wait 'til next week to mention them, even though I'm not quite ready to unveil them yet.

I keep stumbling across older books that never caught my attention before. I'm currently reading two excellent books by Harry Beckwith: Selling the Invisible (1997) and The Invisible Touch (2000) which I'd never heard of before two weeks ago. Maybe I wasn't ready.

"Many outstanding big-picture thinkers are always looking for, and burdened by, this search for perfection. But too often, the path to perfection leads to procrastination.

Don't let perfect ruin good."

—Selling the Invisible, p. 76

"For years, physicists discussed an important phenomenon: the gravitationally completely collapsed object.

Physicists knew these objects had profound implications. These objects could answer the question "How did the universe be begin, and how might it end?"

For years, this discussion was just among leading physicists. Then some creative physicist devised a better name for a gravitationally completely collapsed object.

He called it a black hole.

Suddenly, the whole world was interested. People were intrigued by the concept of a hole in space, which itself already seemed like an enormous hole. The idea of something black in space, which already is black—well, this whole concept intrigued millions of people.

Now people were talking. Sci-fi movies featured half-mad cowboy astronauts rushing suicidally into black holes.

The words "black hole" changed how people thought. Most important, the words helped people get the idea of a gravitationally completely collapsed object.

Your words matter. One word or metaphore can quickly define your concept and your uniqueness, and make your concept compelling."

—Selling the Invisible, p. 193

"The first good lesson of marketing, then, may be this. Look. Just look around. And look carefully. See what is there—rather than what you expected to find."

—The Invisible Touch, p. xiii

"You need to take not just a wise look at your business, but a naive one. You want someone who will clearly see the folly that you and others too close too the business are missing. You need someone who sees what they truly see, instead of what they think you want them to see. You need to stop, pull back, look, and have an outsider help you look.

Find a boy to tell you what your emperor is wearing."

—The Invisible Touch, p. 22

I'm insatiably curious. When I discover a writer who reinforces what I think, it's great. When I find one who challenges me and even makes me think something I've never thought before, that's the Holy Grail of reading.