Listen:
Well, why not?
True confession: I liked the first solosode. It was not easy to do and it took a certain amount of courage to publish it, but in the end I liked the format and the experience.
I was also touched by the positive feedback.
So why not try another?
The first solosode was more directional. I wanted to tell my story. This time we get a little more topical, beginning with my thoughts on the creative resistance that made it so hard for me to do this episode; then moving to my salute and encouragement to the January crowd at the gym; the concept of re-framing questions to make them more productive; and the promise of opportunity represented by the story of Arsenal hiring manager Mikel Arteta.
The Arteta thing is important to me, and I think it’s relevant to anyone who is pursuing a dream, looking for the right opportunity, or dealing with disappointment. You can get the full scoop on the episode, but the short story is that Mikel Arteta missed out on this job when it was available 18 months ago, so he went back to work, kept improving, and kept learning, and when the time was right (and he was ready), opportunity knocked again. And so far he’s crushing it.
How illustrative is that?
How much of an encouragement to all of us to trust the timing, keep working, be ready when the door finally opens? Times are difficult right now in a lot of parts of the world. Australia is on fire. We have the whole Trump/Iran thing. It’s easy to get lost in fear and suffering and negativity. It’s easy to let it pull you down. Sometimes you need things to pull you back up, so let Mikel Arteta’s story be your encouragement. Let the January crowd and their effort be your encouragement. Let the fact that I managed to beat the resistance be your encouragement to keep on keeping on.
And let’s do something about this Christmas myth that all men work in offices, shall we?
Enjoy the episode, kids.