I recently started reading and doing The Work laid out in Julia Cameron’s masterpiece, The Artist’s Way.

Last Sunday I got to Chapter 4: Recovering a Sense of Integrity. One of the weekly exercises is Reading Deprivation.

The idea is simple and powerful. For one week I’ve stopped reading stuff like: the bajillion newsletter I’ve subscribed to; Yahoo news; Google’s RSS feed; the dozen or so Blog’s I frequent; the forums I belong to; the books on my To-Read Shelf; the, well, you get the point.

An interesting experiment.

I’ve realized just how much crap I read… that I don’t need to.

I’ve had a few small burst of creative ideas and energy.

I’ve enjoyed just staring out the window and watching the clouds scud across the sky as they turn orange, red, and purple following the setting Sun.

I’ve also been to see how I try to justify sneaking in a few ‘reads’.. "Oh! I just have to look at this e-mail to see if its important." HA!

I think I’ll do it again… next month.

Oh, and boy am I going to cancel a few subscriptions!

I’ve been slowly savouring Larry Ackerman’s newest book, The Identity Code: The 8 Essential Questions For Finding Your Purpose and Place In The World, for the last 2 weeks.

I’m hooked.

But, then that’s not surprizing I’ve been interested in the question of Life Purpose for decades. Sometimes I think I emerged from the womb thinking, "Why AM I here?" I know I sure as heck wondered that when I was a kid. That and, "Who ARE these people?"

Ackerman is an identity and brand consultant and bills himself as a leading authority on organizational and personal identity. My reading of the books suggests he’s been consumed by the question of identity for decades.

Rather than reveal the 8 questions, I’ll point you to TheIdentityCode.com where you can discover the questions and read excerpts of the book.

If you are a dreamer, an artist, a creative, or anyone who cares about understanding your Life Purpose I’d recommend you give the book a read.

Check it out here at Amazon:

I wish I’d had Marti Olsen Laney’s "The Hidden Gifts of the Introverted Child" when my son was small.

You see my son is(was) an Introvert. Poor lad grew up with 3, count ‘em 3, Extraverts.

At the time I thought he was just shy and quiet and thoughful.

Then when I learned about the MBTI I realized he was Introverted. But, by that time he was 14 … and I sure could have used Marti’s advice when he was younger

This book is a must read for Extraverted parents who have Introverted kids.

Learn what to do… and what not to do — like dragging them out to social events and MAKING them appear in public to do those EXTRAVERTED things.

Even though my son is an adult now… I learned a lot from reading this book.

Be sure to check it out.

I first began struggling with the question, “What do I want to be when I grow up?”
way back in 1984, pre-World-Wide-Web. That struggle was ‘resolved’ when my
employer gave me a Platinum Parachute and said in effect, “go away. We don’t love you anymore!”    

I decided to go back to school and enrolled in the MSOD program at Pepperdine University.    

A year after graduating, I first became interested in
helping professionals find more suitable careers. That’s when I first
discovered the bible of career books, Richard Nelson Bolles’ “What Color is Your Parachute?”     

WOW! A veritable treasure chest of career advice, it was
love at first read for me. I began adapting the advice on job search to my own
search for contracts and contacts. When my son turned 18 and was ‘encouraged’
to leave home (by his parents) I gave him that volume of “Parachute” as a
companion for his job search.    

Since then I’ve purchased a new copy of “What Color Is Your Parachute?” about every four years. I hang on
to my “old” copies because each and every year Bolles substantially revises the annual! What blows my mind is that Bolles
hand sets the type. I still have my copies of the 1996, 2000, and 2002 editions
– to say nothing of Bolles’ other career advice books (The Three Boxes of Life, How to Find Your Mission in Life, Job Hunting
on the Internet, How to Create a Picture of Your Ideal Job or Next Career, and
both editions of the What Color is Your
Parachute Workbook).    

So, when I wondered into my favourite independent bookstore,
Owl’s Nest, a couple of weeks ago, I was pleased to discover the “What Color is Your Parachute? 2007 edition”     

So, what’s new in the
2007 edition of “Parachute”?    

I decided the best way for me, Mr. Detail-Impaired, to see
What’s New was to compare the 2007 edition to the 2002 edition.    

Here’s what stands out for me:    

1. The annual has now been divided into 3 logical parts:  Part I: The Thing School  Never Taught us About the Job-Hunt”, “Part II: When the Unexpected Happens How to Deal With Change”, and “Part III: Resuming the Search to Find Your Dream.” Looks like a great division to me!!  

2. Part I covers some critical Job-Hunt skills, including:   

1. “The Five Best Ways to  unt for a Job” – is Bolles’ new take on his favourite theme: the BEST way to find a job and NO, it’s not looking in the classifieds. Once again he focuses on THE BEST way to job hunt. Believe me IT WORKS!
2. “How Much Help is the Internet” – Bolles looks at the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Best piece of advice, “Use the Internet as part of your job search NOT all of it!”
3. “How to Deal with Handicaps” – including great advice for Shy people (wish I’d had that one!)
4. Plus the regular good stuff – the nature of the job-market, resumes, interviews, and salary negotiations. 

3. Part II covers some critical Change Management skills, including:
   1. “On This Restless, Unpredictable, Ever-Changing Earth” – or, what to do when Hurricane Katrina washes away your dog, cat, house, and job!
   2. “In This Restless, Unpredictable, Ever-Changing Job-Market” – or, how to choose a new career.
   3. “In the Restless, Unpredictable, Ever-ChangingWork life of yours” – or, how to start your own business or create your own private practice.   

4. Part III covers critical Job Search skills, including:
   1. “What Did You Come Into This World to Do?” “What the World Most needs From You”, and “Why People Fail To Find Their Dream Job” – or, a careful  look at why you need to Find Your Mission in Life.
   2. “The Flower Exercise” – Bolles perennial (pun intended) favourite. I use this tool regularly with my clients to help them capture on 1-page the essence of their career
            dreams.
   3. “How to Find Your Mission in Life” – practical steps you can take to find your vision and purpose.   

Want to know more. READ THE BOOK. 

Click here to order a copy (and send a few pennies my way

You’ve heard to them. You maybe even know one. 

The Starving Artist. 

Brilliant. Gifted. Maybe a little eccentric. But, creative
as heck. 

And, poor as a church mouse. 

Why does it seem that following a path of heart means
following a path of poverty? 

Or, does it have to? 

A new book, by spiritual marketer and fourth-generation
entrepreneur, Mark Silver, promises an answer. 

If you’re following a path of the Heart… and need to make a
living, take a look at Unveiling the
Heart of Business. 

This gem of a book marries the wisdom of the ages with the
business acumen of today. Silver starts his book in the heart of his reader. He
recognizes that true success in business comes by first focusing on Spiritual
Alignment. 

These first two sections of the book contain critical
exercises to help you tap into the guidance of your heart. Exercises like The Remembrance
and Unveiling Your Jewel get at the essence of you and your purpose. 

With these firmly in mind Silver invites us look at that
tough issue: money. His chapters on the Heart of Money are pure gold (pun
intended). Silver outlines strategies to help you understand the real source of
abundance and how to create a new reality around money. 

Then section of Marketing and Sales provide heart-centered,
spiritual practices for drawing people to your business. Silver uses the analogy
of journeys to describe the steps your prospect must pass through on their way to
becoming your client. Then he shows just how, in spiritual, heart-felt way, you
can carry on a “sales” conversation that doesn’t smack of, well, selling. 

Finally, Silver wraps it all up with advice on how you can
use his book and the ideas he’s shared to walk a spiritual path in business and
create abundance for others. 

As Silver says, “If you want to make a difference but need
to make a living” then this is the book for you. You can learn more or purchase
copy at Silver’s website.