_Nov. 2011 • A POSITIVE PRESS PUBLICATION • VOL. 2, ISSUE 1
Oh, book reviews...
Trey Sinyard
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No one reads book reviews. I mean come on, if a book is worth
reading then plenty of people will recommend that you read it. I have
“thrice rule” as far as recommendations go. As soon as the same book is
recommended to me three times, then I will immediately go buy it. I
would be dumb if I didn’t.
Books are where the real learning occurs. And I’m not talking about those overly expensive, too-frequently-updated-for-no-reason, I-would-never-read-this-because-it-makes-no-sense books we call textbooks. I’m talking about books that mess with the life trajectory you’ve had since fifth grade, that make you laugh out loud when you’re alone, that make you lose sleep because you’re so engrossed in them. If you’re reading this paper, I know you have those kind of books in your life. They’re the ones still sitting on your shelves that you won’t ever give away because you still pull them out and read them sometimes. I’m envisioning the books that you travel with even though you’ve read them ten times already, the ones that are scribbled in with life notes, stained by food from the lunch table because you couldn’t put them down to eat, warped because you read too soon after stepping out of the shower, splotchy with repeated tears. Books like this exist. And you need to read them. That’s what this article is about. We’ll periodically review books that will scare you because of the ideas they propose or thrill you with opportunity. If you’re about creating and building and dreaming and loving life, then these books are for you. If you’re about getting that job in the cubicle on the fourth floor of an office building in Atlanta, then these books are too dangerous for you. Seriously, stay away. |
Suggested books to inspire the soul:
"Awaken The Giant Within"
— Tony Robbins "The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire" — Deepak Chopra "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying" — Sogyal Rinpoche "Linchpin" — Seth Godin "Art of Nonconformity" — Chris Guillebeau "Evil Plans for World Domination" — Hugh Macleod "Delivering Happiness" — Tony Hsieh "A Whole New Mind" — Daniel Pink |
Review: Derek Sivers' Anything You Want
If you’re not already on board with Seth Godin’s Domino Project, then turnaround on the plank and walk back to the ship. The project is all about writing short, meaningful books that can be consumed in an afternoon. Anything You Want by Derek Sivers is one of the best of the Domino realm so far.
Measuring an incredible 77 pages where each page is a half sheet of legal paper, this whopper will take a bite out of you. No really, don’t read it unless you’re ready to change everything you believe about entrepreneurship. Heck, forget entrepreneurship. He’ll change how you think about your future, the people in your life, your education.
As founder and former owner of CD Baby, Sivers chronicles the unplanned,unintentional, messy, nonsensical rise of his silly website into a million dollar grossing music machine. But the story isn’t about him; it’s about you. He weaves the story into lessons about life, business, and relationships that everyone should know.
There are no chapters, just subtitles ranging from “No ‘yes.’ Either ‘HELL YEAH!’ or ‘no.’” to “How do you grade yourself?” to “Like you don’t need the money.” I promise you will laugh and stand amazed at this simple work of literature. For any budding entrepreneur, you’re an idiot if you don’t read this. Really you should memorize it. For any dreamer, this is a must. For anyone thinking of doing anything with his or her life, read this.
To close, look at the cover picture above. It’s a kid buried up to his neck in sand but loving it. That’s what it is to be a dreamer, an entrepreneur, an impact player: “stuck in a pit of your own devising…and enjoying every moment of it.”
Measuring an incredible 77 pages where each page is a half sheet of legal paper, this whopper will take a bite out of you. No really, don’t read it unless you’re ready to change everything you believe about entrepreneurship. Heck, forget entrepreneurship. He’ll change how you think about your future, the people in your life, your education.
As founder and former owner of CD Baby, Sivers chronicles the unplanned,unintentional, messy, nonsensical rise of his silly website into a million dollar grossing music machine. But the story isn’t about him; it’s about you. He weaves the story into lessons about life, business, and relationships that everyone should know.
There are no chapters, just subtitles ranging from “No ‘yes.’ Either ‘HELL YEAH!’ or ‘no.’” to “How do you grade yourself?” to “Like you don’t need the money.” I promise you will laugh and stand amazed at this simple work of literature. For any budding entrepreneur, you’re an idiot if you don’t read this. Really you should memorize it. For any dreamer, this is a must. For anyone thinking of doing anything with his or her life, read this.
To close, look at the cover picture above. It’s a kid buried up to his neck in sand but loving it. That’s what it is to be a dreamer, an entrepreneur, an impact player: “stuck in a pit of your own devising…and enjoying every moment of it.”
Don't hide. Paint it RED
Trey Sinyard
That phrase above is killer in so many ways. And I guess I have to start by painting it red myself: that’s not my quote. I stole it from Chris Hanks, head of the Terry Entrepreneurship Program. If you don’t know him, you should. Regardless, he uses the phrase in regards to our mistakes and weaknesses. Cool, huh?
Whenever we screw things up, our first instinct is to hide them completely. No one will notice if I just sweep this small stuff under the rug, if I just act like nothing ever happened. My lab partners won’t remember that I was supposed to put the blue dye in after the acid, right? He won’t remember that I said I would be at that meeting that I know I’ll never make it to, will he? Yikes, I forgot about my quiz in Biology this morning! Well, if I just call my friend’s dad I can get a sick note and have an excuse to retake it, can’t I? What excuse can I give my group partners for not finishing the powerpoint slides last night like I said I would? We all do this. It’s instinct. We don’t want to be seen as forgetful, fallible, or failures. So when we truly are any of these things, we desperately try to throw a cloak of invisibility over our mistakes and hope that no one accidentally runs into that giant mound of “oh-that’s-nothing” we’ve strategically situated in a corner. Companies do this too. “When you screw up royally, tell people about it.”
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Oil companies play the musical chairs game when it comes to sitting in the throne of culpability.
Wall-Street financiers dodge direct questions about the nature of their portfolios. Baseball players lie to Congress about their rehabilitation techniques. And what happens? Do people just forget about it like we hope? Does the American public just walk around the thousands of foreclosed homes and act like nothing happened? Does Congress just let Roger Clemens off with a slap on the wrist? Absolutely not! In fact, the problems only become hundreds of times larger! So here’s the solution. Ready? “Don’t hide it, paint it red!” When you screw up royally, tell people about it. Tweet it, put it as your facebook status, email all your Gmail contacts, write it on the whiteboard before your presentation starts, tell your parents before you go home for Christmas break, paint them bright red so that everyone sees them. Because whatever “it” is already exists. You can’t take back what you did. And avoiding the issue or covering it up only delays the inevitable or multiplies the repercussions. So very simply, don’t play the hide and “I-still-see-your-mistakes” game. It’s lame and ineffective. Be real. Be authentic. Be you, flaws and mistakes and shortcomings and all. Scream for the whole world to hear about your self-inflicted disaster. Ask for help. Welcome relief. Let other people be strong where you’re weak. Just paint that sucker red and see what happens. |
Meet Greg.Carly Nash
Friday, June 10, 2011
5 a.m. Alarm. 6:15 a.m. I am sitting shotgun in a truck full of Coke product heading to the outskirts of downtown Atlanta with the man that opened my eyes to the power of happiness. Meet Greg: Greg is a 40-something year-old Georgian who drives a Coca-Cola truck and delivers product day in and day out. And he loves it.
It is not Greg’s NFL sized shoulders or ham-hock calves that makes him respected among store owners, it is his constant, bright smile and willingness to work. Greg loaded me up with the electronic printer and put me to work; by noon my arms were bruised, scraped and shaking from lifting so much. I learned more about serving others in the ten hours I spent delivering product with Greg than I have the majority of my 21 years. Greg graduated from the Naval academy and served our country in Desert Storm. One day he walked into a Coca-Cola facility and started working. By the end of the day, managers were asking who he was and no body knew. Greg walked away with the job. Greg loves delivering Coke, and has turned down other jobs—even promotions—to continue doing what makes him happiness. Greg’s happiness overflows into his everyday deliveries, and people look forward to seeing his bright smile. There is just something different, real, about immersing yourself into the everyday labor of physically bringing a refreshing moment to someone’s day. How refreshed would our campus be if everyone sought out their channel of happiness? Who could we, as a student body, inspire if we went through our daily tasks serving with a smile? |
"Some peruse happiness; others create it."
"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."
Siddhartha Guatama Buddha "But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?"
Albert Camus "Happiness is like jam. You can't spread even a little without getting some on yourself."
Be happy.
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A Glittering Dinosour
Austin Blouin
“Wow,” I thought, “I am really sweaty right now… and that is a lot of glitter.”
These were the thoughts passing through my mind as I jumped up and down, screaming “YES I CAN FEEL IT!” at the top of my lungs. Before I could think anything else, a Pillsbury Doughboy-esque man passed above my head – I struggled to keep him lifted above the surf as I passed him to the back of the crowd. I turned around to ensure his survival and I noticed just how crazy the party behind me had become. “Wow,” I thought, “I am really having a blast right now… and that is a lot of glitter.” In late August, the local Athens band Reptar played a free concert at Farm 255. It was, hands down, one of the best times I’ve had during my UGA career. Honestly, every time I’ve seen Reptar it has been unforgettable… and rather glittery. That’s because my friends and I, the self-proclaimed Glitter Goblins, throw glitter at every one of their shows. There’s something potent about the combination of Reptar’s “sexlectropop” and shiny, permanently irremovable craft supplies. Yet, that’s beside the point. The point is that you can find |
experiences like this every weekend in Athens. They won’t all be as glittery, and oftentimes they may be more mellow, but the music scene here is thriving. Like this summer, I had to run from stage to stage to drink in all the musical goodness at Athfest. In three days I saw: the Modern Skirts, the Futurebirds, Dank Sinatra, Gift Horse, Co Co Rico, and a bunch more. Plus, there was nothing quite like seeing lightening strike Trappeze as Lera Lynn belted out the crescendo of Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.”
Even if some of those names are unfamiliar to you, fret not. This isn’t some exclusive scene, nor are these the waning years of a once great music town. It’s been said that there’s just “something in the water” here that propels our sleepy little college town to rock like no other, and I totally agree. So, make a point to try something new this weekend. Check out a band you’ve never heard of, wear some flannel, and feel like a hipster. You may not realize it, but you’ll be participating in one of the great Athens traditions: today, it could be Reptar, thirty years it ago it could’ve been R.E.M. Twenty years from now, who knows? One thing is certain – it will rock. |
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