THE 3 ESSENTIAL BOOKS FOR 2022 (TILL INFINITY & BEYOND) By Rajesh Kapoor.
Out of a zillion books out there , these are my top three recommendations to each one of you. Be it a student, working professional, content creators, visualizers and the story tellers.
The 3 most essential reads to get you through 2022 and beyond, regardless are :
These may be considered as the holy trinity of the paperback section and to be read, by this order of preference by me.
1) How To Ikigai by Tim Tamashiro
2) Steal Like An Artists by Austin Kleon
3) Show Your Work by Austin Kleon
In my first blog, a few days before I have spoken about Tim's Ikigai book & Austin's Show Your Work. I had also ordered his New York bestseller "Steal Like An Artist" which I consumed in under 2 hours,as they are easy to read and come in a perfect size.
To kickstart your creative journey out of procrastination, confusion, non clarity, lack of purpose and motivation, feeling dull, lifeless, lost, kindly pick up Tim Tamashiro's HOW TO IKIGAI.
It basically give you clarity on the timeless question, which till date, a very few know the answer to, "What Is My Life's Purpose?" or as my once favorite Metal Band, TESTAMENT said "....use Your Mind, and hope to find the Meaning Of Existence" in Sins Of Omission from their album 'Practice What You Preach".
Basically, Ikigai is a superpower which actions you out of bed every dawn with a strong sense of purpose. It is always within grasp and reach. It is not a far off concept that can not be done. I feel it is like a map to your wonderment.
IKIGAI is your key to unlock your gifts which can reward you greatly spiritually, financially, mentally and physically. It opens up the garden path to a balanced life which is both enjoyable and productive. So I compel us all to kickstart our IKIGAI today and propel us into the realms of Positive Psychology.
If you are using time as an excuse, then opt for the 1/2 Ikigai which borders around yourself.
What do u love doing? What are you good at? What resonates with you?
Basically Ikigai is taking your fun seriously.
Can you make your own life a bit more Interesting, Creative, Expressive, Fun, Enjoyable? Or are you that boring, dark, or so dull that even your plant withers around your existence or your goldfish stops moving, seeing your negative energy,the minute you step near it?
Let in a bit of a sun infor heaven's sake,or feel the afternoon breeze, watch the rain drops on a lake, or feel the snowflakes fall on your face as you look up to the sky. Resonate with joy as much as you can, doing nothing at all, expecting nothing from nobody, just being still and enjoying the here and now.
Yesterday's gone and you do not know what tomorrow might bring, so technically today is the only day we all have.
Some of you are at a liberty to think that I have an amazing life, and things are cool and am writing blogs, sipping my coffee and enjoying savory tea time snacks or biscuits.
Well I don't. The docs have advised me against drinking tea / coffee / soda / alcohol / health drinks due to my hyper refluxive digestive system. Also no spices, non veg, lentils, butter, cheese, salads but do I let it affect me?
I definitely miss my tea the most, but life goes on and I choose to look at the stars, rather than the dirt and it comes from developing a positive mindset reading books like these and many more such as Robin Sharma,etc. But let's leave positive psychology for another blog, shall we.
You may ask, "what is my Ikigai?" , "I do not know the purpose of my life?", "How Can I start right now? ", "I have nothing to begin with?"
To all of you, I say this," Really? Are you totally sure that you have nothing to begin with?"
Everybody has an Ikigai and if not, then start with, doing good random kind things unconditionally at home, neighbors, office, workshop, on sites, offshore, malls, streets, strangers, pets, birds, plants, trees, earth.
So let your Ikigai be "To be Kind". There, you now have one to call your own.
And If you practice this long enough, people will begin to notice the change in you, which may result in a bigger reward, even if you are not looking out for one.
Let it be your superpower. You are now "Capt. Kindness" from now on.
So go do good to the world. Maybe you can start your own comic book strip, and who knows, Marvel studio may just buy it from you for a million bucks. The world definitely needs Capt Kindness and yes, you are welcome!
2) STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST By Austin Kleon
STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST By Austin Kleon
Read this book after you have finished with the first one off this list.
Ikigai was to get you started on your journey of self fulfillment and this book will show you how to .
Austin says Originality is nothing but Undetected Plagiarism.
Steal ideas, concepts, music, articles, vlogs, research from whatever resonates with you,or what inspires you/fuels your imagination/ puts you into action/ gets you going.
Be an apprentice to the great dead/ the departed geniuses like Beethoven, Picasso, Van Gogh. The one rule being, make it better or unique. Make it your own. All the music we hear, books we read are recreated and told in a better way with more insights maybe or a different approach. But it has the same roots.
Curiosity is the key. Always ask "Why?". Research. Dig Deep. Do not settle for superficiality or surface talk.
Wikipedia + Google everything.
Use a fishbone / map mind chart
To make it big or consequential, just show up everyday.
Be it online, or to work or wherever your profession requests your presence, in body and mind.
Austin says, Fake it, Till You Make it. I will say "Fake it, till you Rake it"
Raking in the money makes for a better visualization than an abstract "Making it"
So before sleeping, visualize yourself, raking in the money, via legal means.
I do not want you being a drug-lord to achieve this or a loan shark.
Copy and emulate your heroes. WHO-WHAT-HOW-WHY-WHEN-WHERE.
Do not just copy them, but look, see, think, feel from their eyes and soul from their perspective.
Internalize the process and then recreate it as your own.
Write that book / blog that you wanna read.
Play the music that you wanna hear
Be the change that you wanna see.
Which brings me to the third book in this list of essential books for 2022 and beyond.
Now that you my know your Ikigai and know How to steal Like An Artist, it is time to showcase your work to the world.
3) SHOW YOUR WORK By Austin Kleon.
I will relist the points here once again from that book with the last few,my own spin offs.
1) You Do not have to be a genius or be perfect to begin now.
2) Think Process, not product/end result (= Think Journey and not Destination)
3) Share something/anything small everyday that you yourself would have liked to read, see, hear, feel.
4) Open up your Pandora's box of Curiosities
5) Teach what you know in a compelling and an interesting way.
6) Do not turn into Human Spam /Trash.
7) Roll with the punches. (Be ready for anything)
8) Sell Out / Capitalize / Monetize if that's your game plan.
9) Stick around / Do not give up.
10) Be findable, in order to be found/discovered
11) Crank away creativity wherever you are and with whatever you have
12) Showcase your work / process anyway.
13) Overnight success does not exist, same as get rich quick online/offline schemes
14) One day at a time. Stay in the Here & Now. Always.
Austin always says, credit the originals wherever due with a hyperlink to the original source of the author/musician/other or mention them, same way as I have mentioned Tim & Austin here.
and lastly he says 'Keep Going"
If you ask me who am I or what do I do? I will say "Marine Consultant By Day, Digital Content Creator By Night"
And my Ikigai, I guess would be "To Create"
And that brings us to the end of Blog #2.
Thank you for your patience if you have made it this far without dozing off.
Let me know how this article resonated with you in the comments section online so that I will know how to autocorrect myself in the next ones to come.
Please how can get used to it
ReplyDeleteI do not understand you comment, Christopher
Delete