Vacations don’t have to be about getting away from work. Seth Godin has said “Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.” I think that’s a terrible way to think about vacations and work. Sure, I get what he’s saying that you should be doing what you love so you don’t feel the need to escape. Or even set up your life so you can work, travel and live anywhere you want. Come on, we all can’t do that. We have family, friends, clients and people who need us here. 

No matter how much I love what I do, I like to step away from that and take a breath. I enjoy traveling and would love to do it more if I was somehow independently wealthy. But those vacations aren’t about escape, at least not for me. Those vacations allow me to not just re-charge but also gain new experiences that will influence my life. They also remind me why I’m doing what I’m doing and how much I love it… how much I need to get back at it and keep working. Life isn’t all about work, even if you enjoy your work, you need to shake up your routine every once in a while. Sometimes getting away from the desk is that change in perspective that you needed for your next creative breakthrough. 

So don’t feel bad if you’re thinking about planning a vacation or taking some time off. A week or two here and there isn’t going to put a huge dent in your overall goal. 

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.”
John F. Kennedy

If you’re part of the motion graphics field or any technology driven field you know that change is constantly happening. You have no control over it and it can’t be stopped. New software is released, faster computers become available, new techniques are discovered, and jobs are moved and downsized. One thing that you can always count on is that each day is going to be different and that things are not going to get stale or remain the same. You can try to resist them and ultimately you will fall behind and be tossed aside like yesterday’s leftovers. Once you are no longer innovating and growing you become disposable. The best practice is for you to embrace these changes that are happening with welcome arms. Don’t resist, instead cooperate with change, adapt to change, and benefit from change. Knowing that you can be ready for it and embrace it when it happens.

One of the problems I see occur when doing design work is that you become set in a style or technique. Once this happens it becomes harder to change because it’s easier to just stay the same. There’s a part of the human mind that is often referred to as the “lizard brain,” Seth Godin, talks about this extensively in his books. The lizard brain is concerned with survival; it likes the tried and true, so it’s likely to pipe up when you’re presented with a challenge or change, flooding you with adrenaline warnings of “Danger!” as you veer off course. The lizard brain doesn’t want you to change, it wants to take the easy way out. You must learn how to resist the call of “lizard brain,” and try something new.

But change isn’t all about huge moves it’s also about learning. As I’ve said before it’s important to keep learning. Personally I like to be challenged when working. If it’s too easy then it’s not going to be fun and I’m not learning. The challenge of change drives me.  If you want to stay ahead of your competition you must change. Think about it if you learn one new trick or technique a day or even a week your skill level has changed. You are that much better then the person who hasn’t changed. I recently just finished Tony Hsieh book Delivering Happiness and I really liked Zappos’ second core value: Embrace and Drive Change. The word embrace suggests not only that you are ready for change but you look forward to it.  There is no time like now to explore what it is that you really like or want to do. Change keeps us fresh and energized. Experience change as an opportunity for creative growth and new experiences. The ones that embrace and drive change are the ones that move ahead and become leaders in the field.

Linchpin is the latest book from Seth Godin, I haven’t read any of his other books or too much of his blog so I’m not that familiar with his work. The book was recommend by Nick Campbell and I figured I’d give it a go. I was very impressed by this one and I’m sure I’ll be checking out some of his other stuff. Now this is going to sound like a self-help book, and really it kind of is. I’m not a huge fan of self-help books I don’t need another person telling me what I should be doing. But every once and awhile I find myself checking one out. Sometimes that extra motivation is what you need to push you through. For me there wasn’t anything life-changing, game altering or groundbreaking in the book, it’s just a lot of great ideas and advice. Godin tells it like it is and in a way that is so obvious that you’ll wish you had thought of it. He explains that being a Linchpin is what it takes to become indispensable in the workplace whether if you are working for someone else or if you are self-employed. And why it is that business owners should want Linchpins working for them. Godin also talked about the idea that you should ship and ship often. The constant shipping and doing allows you to work smarter and quicker. You only continue to improve with the more you produce and ship. But there is more then that to being a Linchpin, anyone can just work work work… In order to be a linchpin, you must be socially intelligent. You need to connect with other people through genuine human interactions not just social media. This real life connection helps make you indispensable. This is a point I strongly agree with and seems all the more important now that there is so many ways to connect with people virtually. You will get to know the person and their values over just a couple drinks more than you would for months over the internet. If doing these things, working hard, meeting people, sharing you knowledge feels threatening, Godin explains that it could be that your lizard brain, is trying to sabotage your best efforts. If the lizard brain perceives something as being too risky, or hard it will try and stop it. Godin says that the lizard brain does this by making you hesitate, compelling you to do things that allow you to avoid the situation and undermining your confidence. After first showing you how the lizard brain tries to stop you, Godin tells you how to thwart it. He provides a lot of great ideas to help you focus in order to get the job done. This book is about realizing that every person is responsible for their actions. It’s up to each of us to control our own destiny and make choices that help us reach the goal we want.

Over all it’s a good book. Linchpin is fast, easy and entertaining, I’d check it out if you’re a fan of Seth Godin’s work or looking to give him a try. I have a feeling I may pick it up again in a year and check out some of the ideas again. Godin encourages you to step outside of the boundary and create your art. It’s up to you to get the engine running and put your passion to work.