Addicted to Books

"The (person) who does not read good books has no advantage over the (person) who can't read them." Mark Twain

When I tell people that I read too much, they give me that indulgent smile that I save for skinny people who complain about not being able to gain weight and say, “That’s great!” Then they tell me it isn’t possible to reach too much. They have no clue.

Last year, I read a book with the irresistible title, So Many Books So Little Time by Sara Nelson. The author made the bold decision to read a book a week for a full year and write about it. Her friends warned her that her goal was overly ambitious, as if nobody could possibly read 52 books in 52 weeks. Ha!

I’ve been reading an average of ten books a month, more than twice Ms. Nelson’s goal. My selection is a mix of fiction (mostly mysteries) and nonfiction. Right now I’m reading The Milagro Beanfield War by John Nichols, which Mayor John Hickenlooper picked as this year’s One Book One Denver entry. It’s one of my favorite books and one I haven’t read for almost thirty years. I also love the movie by Robert Redford.

I’m also reading several business books: The Everything Blogging Book by Aliza Sherman Risdahl, Multiple Streams of Internet Income by Robert G. Allen and Success Secrets of the Online Marketing Superstars by Mitch Meyerson. For my spiritual side, I have Flow-dreaming by Summer McStravick and the audio version of Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. A true addict never reads just one book at a time.

And a true addict stockpiles books. I go to the library about three times a week and usually have 15-20 books checked out at a time, with another 20 or so on hold. Addicts never want to stand the chance of running out. I visit amazon.com several times a day and the legendary Tattered Cover bookstore in Lower Downtown Denver every week.

I devote about three hours a day to reading. You know it’s a problem when your habit begins to interfere with the rest of your life. Sometimes it seems like I would rather read about life than live it.

I’m trying to cut down, but here’s my problem. About 50,000 books are published in the U.S. every year and I only have time to read 100 or so of them. That means there are 49,900 books that I can’t read every year. And every year another 50,000 come out. That makes me crazy.

©2006 Dixie Darr. All rights reserved.

Let’s Get Together

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead

This morning is my idea group. We’re down to two members right now because Jane took a fulltime job. Kathy, the remaining member, is a professional speaker and a colleague at the University of Phoenix, where we both teach. She’s funny and a little bit wild, a real right-brainer.

We meet at coffee houses or libraries and talk about what we’re working on, share information and get ideas when we are stuck. We also cheer each other on. For those of us who work alone at home, isolation can be a serious problem. Getting together regularly with like-minded friends is a great cure. I also meet every other week with my friend Maureen to talk about business issues and with a writers’ group twice a month to critique one another’s work. Professional, service or networking organizations provide another social opportunity. You can learn about these groups in your local newspaper or professional publications. Meetup.com lets you connect with others who share your interests both locally and online.

As an educator, I like to get together with others by taking classes, where we can all learn something new and valuable as we get a little face time. However you decide to get out into the world, one of the best reasons to do it is offered by author Barbara Sher—because when you put yourself out there, something can happen to you.

©2006 Dixie Darr. All rights reserved.

Four Things Everybody Wants from Work

"The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity." Dorothy Parker

Four things make the list of what everybody wants from work, according to career counselor and author, Howard Figler: money, people, challenge, and meaning

Self-employed people would rank control pretty high, too. Specifically, we want control over how we spend our time, but we also control and have the responsibility for the other things on the list.

1. Money. How much money you make is up to you. How hard and how smart are you willing to work? You reap the rewards.

2. People. What kind of people do you want to associate with? You can fire unpleasant customers and join professional groups of people you like to be around.

3. Challenge. Being self-employed is a constant challenge, using all of your skills, knowledge and abilities and pushing you to learn more. If you get bored, you can always start a new project.

4. Meaning. How does your work contribute to society or make the world a better place? Does is it express your values? Is it the work you were born to do?

No matter how you answer these questions, you have the power to change or improve any aspect of you your work. That is why self-employment is scary, overwhelming, exciting and rewarding all at the same time.

©2006 Dixie Darr. All rights reserved.

Skating Through

Last night I found some figure skating on television and watched the whole competition. The combination of beauty and athletic skill fascinates me and makes this my favorite sport to watch. It has a number of similarities to self-employment. Here are a few:

1. When you start out, you’re not very good. It takes practice, years and years of practice, before you get really good.

2. Having a coach or mentor helps.

3. Find a community of like-minded people.

4. Getting good requires sacrifices.

5. Sometimes you fall down, but you can’t stay down. You have to get back up and get on with the program.

6. You will probably not be able to do everything you need to do to become successful unless you love what you’re doing.

©2006 Dixie Darr. All rights reserved.

Unstuck in Time

I’m feeling a little disoriented today, a situation that is likely to continue for several days until I get acclimated to the time change. This morning, my cat Radley woke me up before 4. It is very annoying, but it isn’t his fault because he thought it was 5 o’clock, when I normally get up. He doesn’t understand daylight savings time and, frankly, neither do I. Now I hear that next year, they are extending it from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November. Why? In fact, why can’t they just leave it alone so we don’t have to deal with this lost in time feeling twice a year?

It was nice to have an extra hour yesterday morning so I could take a good long walk before church. I was amused Saturday night to hear the TV newscasters warning people to be sure to set their clocks back or they would be late to everything in the morning. Wrong. If they didn’t set their clocks back, they’d be early to everything.

So for the next several days, I am doomed to waking up at 4 and going to bed at 8. This is another reason to be happy that I work at home on my own schedule. If I want to do my work at 4 in the morning, I can.

©2006 Dixie Darr. All rights reserved.