Books to inspire: Not Knowing
This book is explicitly aimed at ‘the world of work’ and has positive recommendations from the movers and shakers of business, economics and leadership areas. Do no let that put you off! Although many of the case studies are taken from people working at often quite high-level positions in management, the main concepts in the book translate into all areas. Fundamentally this book hopes to prod people out of their safety zones, helping them to re-frame the concept of uncertainty and to embrace ‘Not Knowing’ as a positive force for opportunity.
The interconnectedness of things
A while ago, on a Saturday morning, I visited the Oxfam bookshop and walked out with three books: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, Manage your day-to-day by 99U and Quiet by Susan Cain. I read them all by the end of the weekend.
As is often the way with such trips, you cannot presume you will find what you want, but you do sometimes find what you need. I wonder if the Oxfam bookshop, or the library, is a kind of subconscious lucky dip: you take a punt and may end up with a prize. But in this case the prize is often something you have been looking for anyway.
How we thrive when we connect
With degree shows in full swing, and New Designers opening today, I feel in a reflective mood. I graduated from my BA (Decorative Arts at Nottingham Trent) three years ago and, as is the way with such things, the time feels like it has disappeared incredibly quickly and yet it also feels like an age since we were setting up for the degree show. It’s been a twisty turny journey; I feel like I have learnt so much but also feel like there is much still to be figured out. If someone had asked me, back then, where I saw myself in three years’ time I don’t think I would have imagined where life has taken me, but then again, I never really have a plan so I suppose I would have been open to the possibilities.
Books to inspire: Meditations
This book, written over a thousand years ago, by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius is a wonderful touchstone for when things get a bit too much. It is a proto self-help book, but unlike modern self-help which is written for an audience, and aims to be instructive, this text was written by Marcus Aurelius privately, for no-one else’s eyes. These are his notes to himself, reminders of how to keep going, reminders of things he’s learnt along the way.
Books to inspire: Big Magic
Ok, so you may have noticed that the book choices are becoming less about making specifically. But bear with me. This book deals with creativity and the impulse we all possess to be curious, to create. It tries to unpick the narrative that we have all inherited that creativity is mysterious and that the artistic way of life should be fraught with worry and suffering. The author believes in the paradoxes of the creative life: “Creativity is sacred, and it is not sacred. What we make matters enormously, and it does not matter at all. We toil alone, and we are accompanied by spirits. We are terrified, and we are brave. Art is a crushing chore and a wonderful priviledge”. But she also believes in Big Magic. Big Magic is what happens when you live an authentic, creative life (and creative is incredibly broadly defined here), when you have the courage to honour the things that are hidden within.