Fighting The Resistance/ Coauthorship

So, I read Steven Pressfield's book, The War of Art in a matter of an hour this past Saturday. There were things that I liked and things that I didn't like. For the most part, I liked what Pressfield had to say. However, instead of posting a well-rounded review, i'm going to tap into a deeper discussion of how this book has spoken to me.

Here's a brief passage, from which i'll draw some illustrations:

Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it.

If we were born to paint, it’s our job to become a painter.

If we were born to raise and nurture children, it’s our job to become a mother.

If we were born to overthrow the order of ignorance and injustice of the world, it’s our job to realize it and get down to business. (Pressfield, 146)

What Pressfield is essentially saying here is “stop wasting your time following what makes you ‘look good’ or even what-perhaps-some others tell you to do!” Instead, it seems, Pressfield calls his readers to figure out what they’re supposed to do and go do it. How about I say that I have a general impression of what this is? Maybe it’s not even that general, to be quite honest. I think that most of us do, actually.

Now, let’s get to the nitty gritty of what Pressfield's kind of vocation looks like. Two other authors have recently informed my thoughts on this subject, perhaps more than most. One of these authors is Dan Allender, writer of the book "To Be Told." Dan essentially argues, sometimes to my chagrin, that we “know [God’s] path for our future when we look at our past.” By looking closely at what has already happened in our story, he says, we can get a better sense of what might happen in the future, or what kinds of decisions we should be making now. The process of looking at such a thing is often called metanarrative. In the framework of our lives, it involves looking at things from the 10000 foot view, taking in the whole story instead of focusing solely on a particular feeling or circumstance. When I look at my own story, some particular patterns emerge rather quickly; this is the part that is the chagrin, because sometimes I like to ignore these patterns. Sometimes, ignoring them is easier because I can stay in a little comfort zone and live within that zone for a time. But, what happens when the comfort zone is shattered? What happens when the nice, neat parcel in which we so often compartmentalize our selves bursts, shatters, or is questioned by someone else? Things change.

Pressfield uses a particular example several times in his book, the example of a person who is diagnosed with cancer, to illustrate what happens when the compartmentalized self, also known as the “ego” bursts. When people find out they have cancer and think they are dying, things change: they quit their boring jobs and make movies, or start serving the poor, or start telling the people they really love that they care about them. Additionally, such events make people suddenly willing to embrace what I would call their truer self. I don’t think, however, a cancer diagnosis is needed to push us to pursue this kind of life…

As Allender says, “God wants us to ask the questions of meaning: ‘Who am I? What am I made to be and do? What is worth dying for?’ As we ask, we begin a new journey, because we give up the superficial answers that seemed to have worked for decades.” (p. 80)

With that said, I don’t really know how to explain the intricacies of how this plays out except to say that I’ve been paying a lot closer attention to my own storyline lately, and questioning a shift in plot, particularly because of who I feel I’m made to be, particularly because the author is never absent from his subjects. In our case, much the opposite, the author writes us into his story and invites us to join in the process.

So, why does any of this matter? For me, it matters because I think that a fullness of life is found in linking passion, opportunity, and gifting. Another book that I sort of read/skimmed last week(pretty common practice for me) has informed this discussion as well. In this book, "Finding the Sweet Spot: The Natural Entrepreneur’s Guide to Responsible, Sustainable, Joyful Work," author Dave Pollard lays out this same-passion, opportunity, gifting-model for effective decision-making and vocation seeking. In a nutshell, Pollard argues that success is found when we link what we’re good at with what we love doing and what’s needed (that we care about).

Looking back through Allender's book now, a year after my first read, staring at a particularly marked up page, I see the following notes:

Creative one
Inventor
Leader
Developer
All about design/putting things together
Impetus for change, creativity

These are some of the keys to unlock the sweet spot...

It is no mistake that I rengaged Allender's work last week as I embarked upon both Pollard and Pressfield's commentaries. Something is brewing. Let’s just say that, in my case, the key is in the door; and I’m pretty sure some kind of fairytale creature is about to jump out as I’m embarking on the greatest adventure of my life by acting upon what all of these people are saying.

You might wonder why I put the “New CIO” post up yesterday. I often like to think that I’m informing the world of interesting things via this blog, but in reality we all write about things that interest us on our blogs (otherwise, we wouldn't take the time necessary to write about them). This is particularly true of blogging sidelighters, ie. those who don't do it for money. Bloggers who do it in their free time write for pleasure and passion. With that said, I wrote about the "New CIO" because it’s probably the closest I’ve come to finding an actual business description for the type of thing that I feel uniquely positioned to do and do well, if only someone will give me the opportunity.

And now, I’ve said too much, or maybe not enough. All I know is that I want to encourage any one of you out there who stumble across or follow this blog to pursue “the sweet spot” and stop settling. We’ve all been settling for far too long, and true freedom comes in stepping out into some of those places that terrify us most and giving it a try. Remember, though, that we can't write our stories alone. Allender talks about "coauthoring our future with God for his glory." Make no mistake, this is what it's all about, and there's nothing better!