AUDIO OF THIS BLOG POST

I’m not a big fan of business books. I read them on occasion, but generally find them to be a couple hundred pages of stories and anecdotes used to reinforce a few main ideas, at most.

I’ve currently got my nose in a couple, and they’re doozies (Reinventing You and Little Bets). But frankly, I’m zipping through them so I can find similar insights in less “businessy” places.

Lately I’ve been watching a series on Netflix that features biopics on various innovators (Abstract: The Art of Design). I find myself hitting pause every fifteen seconds to jot down thoughts stemming from discussions about architecture, magazine cover art, and creating Air Jordan sneakers. It also made me dig up this terrifically terrible photo of me in 1990 rocking my AJ 5s. Yeah, baby!

I’ve also been reading a ton about acting methodologies (The Stanislavski System), writing processes (Poetry in Person), and orchestra-conducting philosophies (Absolutely on Music). Again, I can’t get though a few pages without finding essential nuggets of information I’ll incorporate into my workshops and seminars.

The one thing they all seem to have in common is passion.

When I encounter applicable information in unexpected places, I feel like I’ve been let in on a lost secret. Makes me realize that life is all about discovery. That everything is connected and has potential to inform everything else. Like for real. Everything.

And it’s at our fingertips if only we make space for it.

Last year I was given a book of poetry to review (Olio by Tyehimba Jess). Barely a few pages in, I knew I had my hands on something special. Sort of like Nirvana or Guns-n-Roses first albums, it was a game-changer. A paradigm-shifting kind of poetry book.

Last week, Olio won a Pulitzer Prize, which triggered my review to be republished (It’s All in the Wind: A Review of Tyehimba Jess’s Olio) Read it. Then go check out the book. I guarantee it will change your life (even if ever so slightly).

You never know where your next big idea will come from. But based on my own experience, it’ll come from an unlikely place. Maybe from something like Olio. Maybe from a book on acting, mountain climbing, coin collecting, a TV show or live music performance, or maybe even from the memoir of a blues singer. Whatever.

All the world asks is that you first give yourself to it.

Christian Bale, an actor known for transforming his body for the roles he plays says, “There’s no point in doing something unless you’re going to do it absolutely to the hilt.”

Just another minor inspiration from an unlikely place.

…a minor inspiration that might teach you a little bit more about yourself.

Tom Griffen is a highly sought after presenter and educator whose message and impact transcends industries. He’ll help you (and your team) alter your personal narrative in a way that adds joy, satisfaction, and overall success to your life. Contact him to make the change you’re ready to make.

Coming soon…Purposeful Vulnerability, Tom’s book on altering the narrative you’ve been telling yourself for years.

Also…More to come on Tom’s 2018 storytelling walk across the USA!