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{{Warning: This is a long post, but if you can get through it it's loaded with goodness to share}}
This year has involved a great deal of travel. Travel equals Growth for me. There have been several months where I feel like we have lived on a plane. One of my guilty pleasures of traveling is immersing myself in books. Plane rides are the perfect time for reading. Reading on planes is my "power off" & "recharge" activity. It is the one time when no one can get a hold of me, there are no e mails to check and reading is the best thing I could be doing to better myself and our business. I LOVE to read business/inspiration/creative books. I have always said if I could have one singular super power it would be to have the ability to walk in a bookstore or library and wave my hand over a book and have acquired the knowledge and feelings associated with reading that book (I'm not a quick reader and there is just never enough time in the day). It seems no matter how many times I confidently walk in a Barnes & Noble and eagerly wave my hand over a book, my ambition of channeling the "Clark Kent" within me never seems to work.... maybe someday.
I believe in books. I believe in their power to empower, to inspire, to grow us, to enrich. This was not a year that I attended workshops or seminars, this is a year that I READ. And for 2010 I have made it my goal to read over 40 books. This year I read about 30 books and the ones I have listed below are my top reads of 2009. These were the books that motivated and inspired Chris and me. These were the books that we have built our business around. These were the books that empowered us to think bigger and broader than we had ever thought possible. These were the books that encouraged us to persevere through seasons of long hours and sleepless nights. These were the books that fed our passion this year. The books that encouraged us when everyone else told us we were crazy. These were the books that forced us to face our fears. I want to share them with you with the hope that you will experience more success and love in your life and business because of them. Never underestimate the power of a good book. These are the books that have revolutionized our business.
Neumeier's philosophy is "When everybody zigs, you ZAG!" This was our biggest take away from this book. It is a fresh view of brand stategy. Zagging was crucial for us during the development of our brand, blog, magazine, web site. Here at the Rhoads we believe in the ZAG, we strive for the ZAG, we crave the ZAG. In an extremely cluttered marketplace, traditional differentiation is no longer enough- today's business' need "radical differentiation," to create lasting value for their customers.
I had to give a huge AMEN to Sanders for his thoughts that in business, you get ahead by helping other people get to where they want to be. Sander's three ingredients of success are sharing your compassion, knowledge and network with others. He defines business love as "the act of intelligently and sensibly sharing your intangibles with your bizpartners." Bottom line: surround yourself with good people and help those people along the way. Share and don't keep score... what goes around comes around.
Ferrazzi talks a lot about the importance of reaching out to people as a way to make a difference in their lives as well as a way to explore, learn and enrich your own. This book forced us to achieve the right mindset by putting our goals on paper and thinking about the people in our lives and who we are surrounding ourselves with. Are these people making us better or bringing us down? It is important to surround ourselves with people who push us to be our best. There were some really valuable takeaways from this amazing read!
This book is FULL of nuggets of goodness.. I have listed my favorite below:
1) The more original your idea is, the less good advice people will be able to give you.
2) The idea doesn't have to be big. It just has to be YOURS. The sovereignty you have over your work will inspire far more people than the actual content ever will.
3) The price of being a sheep is boredom. The price of being a wolf is loneliness. Choose one or the other with great care.
**AND MY PERSONAL FAVORITE are 4 & 5:
**4) Being good at anything is like figure skating - the definition of being good at it is being able to make it look easy. But it is NEVER easy. Ever. That is what the stupidly wrong people conveniently forget.
5) Part of being a true master is learning to sing in nobody else's voice but your own.. Put your whole heart into it, and you will find your true voice. Hold back and you wont. It's that simple.
This book encouraged me to write a better story for my life. It is a book about the things that we strive for, and the story that we are writing with every decision and experience we have in life. It truly gave me a paradigm shift. Miller's writing style is so easy to connect with, he is witty, deep, insightful and endearing.
I love that Gladwell asks, What makes high-achievers different? Gladwell proposes the idea of the 10,000 hour rule, this idea was paramount for me.. Nobody who succeeds does so without 10,000 hours or more of practice. Gladwell also argues that talent and ability are important to success, but equally as valuable is opportunity. Talent without opportunity will yield limited or no achievement. My huge personal takeaway, was that our business has come a long way, but we still have a LONG way to go. I want to be prepared when an opportunity presents itself. 10K hours inspired me to shoot more, even when I am exhausted or feeling creatively stumped, we must continue logging our hours behind the camera to achieve the level of photographic talent and know-how to achieve the level of "master."
I'm a firm believer in Purple Cow philosophy. In fact, it is a philosophy that we have built our brand and business around, we are constantly pursuing the "Purple Cow Complex." Purple Cows strive to stand out. Godin says that you are either remarkable (a purple cow) or you are invisible. The choice is yours. Cows, after you've seen one, or two, or ten, are boring. A Purple Cow, though... now that would be something. Purple Cow describes something phenomenal, something counterintuitive and exciting and unbelievable. Every day consumers come face to face with a lot of boring stuff i.e. a lot of brown cows, but you can bet they won't forget a Purple Cow. The Takeaway: We must do EVERYTHING with excellence. I wont settle for anything less than my absolute best. Their are LOTS of people out there doing things with mediocrity. Those that do things with true excellence stand out of the pack with ease.
Sinek studies the most powerful leaders out there from Martin Luther King Jr to Steve Jobs. He points out that the most prominent and inspiring leaders think, act and communicate the exact same way- and it is the complete opposite of everyone else. And all of them start with asking Why. I love that Sinkek points out that ANY business or organization can explain WHAT it does, but very few can clearly articulate why they do what they do. Knowing how to answer the Why sets the extraordinary apart from the ordinary. If you don't know your why you should probably go back to the drawing board and figure that out. It is the most important question you can ask yourself as an artist and business person. The Why is the heartbeat behind all that we do.
How about you, any good book's you have read in the last year that have changed your life or business in some way? I would love to hear. Always looking for a new good book to get my hands on!
Thoughts
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Started my ZAG for 2010, can't wait for what's in store, THANK YOU for sharing these titles. Keep inspiring....
I'm just starting out on my photography road and your blogs have been so wonderful / helpful. I'm truly thankful to have found your site! I'm always inspired after leaving.
"The Good Earth" It's one of my favorite books of all time. It's a good one about life :)
This list rocks, just wanted to say thank you! I picked up "Never Eat Alone" and I am loving it so far. Your work/ideas/outlook on life is simply inspirational. Thank you...
Thank You so much for sharing these with us! All of these sound interesting to me, now for which one to start with....
Thank you for sharing these, you rock!
Thank-you so much for this post! I am in the midst of should I set up my business yet or not, because I am still in school, and you are definitely inspiring me to do so now! I will go down to the bookstore and library today and see if they have these books. Thanks!
sarah - this post is a wonderful gift.....YOU are a wonderful gift!! thank you tons for sharing. I can't wait to get started .
blessings to you!
the artists way: creativity as a spiritual practice. its amazing. i think you'd love it. http://www.amazon.com/Artists-Way-Julia-Cameron/dp/1585421472/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262057683&sr=1-1
i seriously needed this post today. thank you so much for constantly inspiring .. always pressing on .. always learning more .. love yas.
wow! thank you so much for this post! I just got done reading "the Love Revolution" by Joyce Meyer. INCREDIBLE!
I am over half way listening to Ignore Everyone (I have 3 kids, and tons of work, so little luxury of reading...so I listen). So far I am in love with the book. I promised myself I would find my creative self again in 2010. I got sucked into the "biz" and "what everyone else is doing" world and got lost. Thank you for sharing your list, I needed it!
One of our goals in 2010 is to read more and these were all just added to my Amazon wish list. Thanks for sharing these with us!
I am just finding my feet, and this has been so inspiring! Thank you
Wow, I can't wait to start on some of these books! I definitely added them to my "to-read" list on goodreads. Thanks for all the recommendations. :)
LOVE these, Sarah! Something neat that I think everyone could benefit from - I recently learned about Better World Books (.com). They sell books like these, just like Amazon, but portions of the proceeds go to nonprofits like Invisible Children. :)
thank you for always inspiring and sharing. you continue to be such a bright star. xo
Thanks for doing this. I am always looking for fresh stuff. After reading on of your posts, I started following Seth Goodin's blog, and it has had so much good advice. So, thank you.
Thank you! Excited to add these to my list!
THANK YOU! Perfect timing! I was going to sit down tomorrow and write my 2010 GOALS and VISIONS and these tools are a huge resource. Sarah, you rock so hard. God Bless.
Such valuable blog post! I have Purple Cow on my end table, but still haven't read through it. Thanks for sharing these Sarah & Chris. Happy New Decade! =)
SWEEEEET! I have been wanting to add books to my 'must-read' list!! Thanks for sharing... HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!
Where do I start? Thank goodness I received the Sony Reader for Christmas! Great book choices! I want to read them all! Thanks! Jane
Got three out of the bunch under my belt - can't wait to meet you guys in January!
Thank you for sharing! I am definitely going to look into these books.
Thanks for sharing Guys!!!!
I'll read them, at least try!
Now I'm reading 'Love is the Killer App' and I'm loving it!
:)
cannot wait because this year i'm making the leap and booking a consultation. =)
I couldn't agree more with the plane down time. Seriously I have fell in love with it. No distractions, just a good book and hopefully some peanuts :)
Thank you SO much for the recommendations. I just finished Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk. I was looking for my next read. Loved the reviews.
Love this collection! Thanks for sharing :)