I took [Judith Wright’s] reply to mean that for certain kinds of knowledge you have to undertake a journey. It isn’t like pouring water into a bucket—a process by which neither water nor bucket is much changed—It seemed that if I took this journey I would be utterly changed. And before setting out, I couldn’t predict what that change would be.
~ John Tarrant, from Bring Me the Rhinoceros
slip:4a1566.
If you’ve not heard of Burkeman’s book (Four Thousand Weeks, I’ve not yet read it) the seed is simple: Your life will be about 4,000 weeks in duration.
In this podcast episode, Burkeman talks about the common advice to prioritize your work and to do the important things first—an echo of Stephen Covey’s metaphor of rocks, pebbles and sand to be put into a jar representing your limited time. Burkeman zooms in on the implication—missed by most people—within Covey’s advice.
You only have finite time. If you have a prioritized list of what’s important to you, it’s the stuff in the middle that will do you in.
Your top 5 items are clearly those big things you should work on. But, your number 6 item—that one feels almost as important as number 5. You need to actively avoid the danger of getting sucked into that number 6 (and the other almost as important items right behind it.)
ɕ
On a recent trip I found myself with some spare time one morning. I used it to slowly wander through the little hotel’s sitting area. There I found a collection of board games and a couple dozen coffee-table books scattered about. I took the time to thumb through each of them for just a few moments.
This book still held my interest after a few moments and so I applied my page 88 test. When I realized that page 88 was somewhere within a long series of color plates—all of which were interesting to me—I flipped to the Foreword. And then I took a photo of the cover so that I could later snag a copy.
Today, here I am with a copy of the book (bought for $4.95 from AbeBooks). Beyond all of the above and the contents of the book itself, the book is now also imbued with the ambiance of that little hotel and cues up all the memories of that little trip.
ɕ
In a word, Senecan joy comes from within, from a good person’s own character and conduct: it arises from goodness itself and from right actions that one performs. This means that joy will not always be a matter of smiles and laughter, for good actions may be difficult and unpleasant: one may have to accept poverty, endure pain, even die for one’s country. A good person does these things only when they are right, and only for that reason, but the doing is itself a good and a reason to rejoice.
~ Margaret Graver and A. A. Long from Letters on Ethics
I don’t understand how we got to the common definition of “stoic”—the suppression of emotions. It’s a shame, because Stoicism is literally the opposite of suppressing one’s emotions. Emotions and reason have their right place. Stoic joy.
ɕ
When looking for similar feedback loops in human interactions, Bateson saw that they didn’t always exist, or operate in the way they should. As a result, he recognized that there were two kinds of systems: ones that relied on feedback to create stability, and others that tended to escalate and create runaway trends.
~ Ted Gioia, from Why Gregory Bateson Matters
slip:4uhopy1.
I will admit this is the first I’ve ever heard of Bateson, and based on Gioia’s article, I seriously considered buying his Steps to an Ecology of Mind. I definitely recommend reading Gioia’s article.
ɕ
They had this idea, just one shot in which three very, very unlikely people were seen as NASCAR drivers. And I think they approached Julian Schnabel, Lou Reed, and me. (Laughs) And we were all supposed to be wearing the uniforms and the helmet, walking in slow motion with the heat haze. That would have been fantastic, but all of us couldn’t do it.
~ Salman Rushdie, from Salman Rushdie – The Talks
slip:4uteie33.
I was a junior in high school when Rushdie’s, Satanic Verses was published in 1988. The book was widely mentioned; It wasn’t really discussed, but rather it was just that everyone knew about its existence, and everyone had an opinion about it. Thinking back, I’m sure my opinion was simply a *hunh* and “that’s interesting.” To this day, I’ve not read the book, not for any particular reason but simply because there are way to many books I have reasons to read. The whole thing (back in the 80s) now feels like some sort of mirage: Real, vivid, and important, but in the end it wasn’t a real thing. The mirage was about a real thing, but it wasn’t real.
ɕ
The pile of unread books we have on our bedside tables is often referred to as a graveyard of good intentions. The list of unread books on our Kindles is more of a black hole of fleeting intentions.
~ Ross Andersen, from Stagnant and dull, can digital books ever replace print?
slip:4uaeea31.
Digital is great for consumption, but consumption is not the only reason for having a book.
Having the books physically take up space in my environment is a key feature of books! My anti-library—the collection of books I’ve not yet read—serves the important purpose of reminding what I don’t yet know. Also, when I have a spare moment the books’ proximity draws me to them; This enables me to affect my future self (albeit only slightly) by setting in sight things that would improve me through their reading.
ɕ
[…] a small number [of books] were truly transformative for me. They served as intellectual lighthouses on my journey, helping me understand what was happening to me as I explored my past, my psyche, and my pain.
~ Tiago Forte, from The 10 Most Transformative Books on Personal Development I’ve Read
slip:4ufobo8.
An interesting list. I’ve not read any of these books. I do have one of them in my pile of books at hand. I’m not endorsing the specific books. I do very much endorse the idea of making top-ten lists to share what one has learned.
ɕ
I mentioned this book previously (in, Driveway Moments). As I read more, it became clear this book is stuffed full of useful information for podcasters. At some point, I’ll get around to organizing some sort of “resources” something-or-other over on the Podcaster Community, and Sound Reporting will definitely go in the “must read” books list for podcasters.
Almost nothing in the book is directly usable… but there’s a ton of stuff—far too much for me to quote—that I found made me think.
To be honest, a lot of it felt like, “yes, I agree” and “yes, I learned that the hard way.” But there was also a lot of “that’s a good idea” and “yikes, now I know I don’t want to do that that way.”
These chapters were particularly fertile ground: Writing for Broadcast, Story Editing, Reading on the Air, Hosting, and Booking. They contains tons of information from the professionals.
ɕ
The driveway moment: When a report or interview really works, you can tell and we can tell. We can, because the story hits the top of the most emailed list at
~ Jay Kernis, from Sound Reporting, pg xiNPR.org. You can tell, because the story keeps you pinned in your car, in a parking lot, in your driveway, or at the side of the road—as you wait to hear how the story will end. In letters and emails, listeners named these occurrences “driveway moments,” and say they look forward to them, even when it means being late for work or dinner. So that’s your goal: make some driveway moments.
I’m finally heading into NPR’s book, Sound Reporting, and this big of context included by Kernis in the Foreword got me thinking…
What are you doing so that you even know when you’ve put out a “driveway moment?”
It doesn’t matter at all if we feel it’s a driveway moment. It matters if our listeners think so. Are you paying attention to your listeners? Do you have multiple ways for them to connect back to you?
I do think about “driveway moments” when creating episodes. It’s difficult however, given the way that I create my work; They have to simply happen. If one wants to create them, that requires planning, work and editing.
For me, when I encounter a listener (virtually or in real life) the only question I ask them is…
Has any episode grabbed you? …any particular moment or image?
And then I shut up and listen.
ɕ