Getting Unstuck | Show up

I've been writing a series for the ArtLoveMagic blog on "Getting Unstuck" and decided to post some of it here.

====================

It’s embarassing really. Sometimes our “stuckness” is our own fault. For as much as we talk about our dreams and aspirations, if we were really, truly honest with ourselves, we would have to admit that most of the time we don’t even show up. We get trapped in our heads with all of the the reasons we can’t do our art. So we fail to create.

I was reminded of this recently while reading a review of Jon Acuff’s book, Quitter: Closing the Gap between your Day Job and Dream Job. I WISH someone had given me this book in my 20′s. The advice is all the stuff I learned to be true the hard way instead of having it gift wrapped and handed to me between two covers. Here is what the reviewer had to say:

I feel like a jerk telling you to read this book. I loved reading it but hated the implications. Jon Acuff cuts right through all the crappy excuses that we put between us and our dreams. This book haunts me a month after I finished it. I can’t fritter away time on the internet anymore with a clear conscience. I wake up earlier so I can take time to write and focus my thoughts for the day. I find myself trying harder and doing more work at work. It sucks. I miss my life as a slacker.

Acuff writes from his own experiences not in a show off way but in a clever way that gives him credibility. I laughed and cried a little, but in a cool way, not an overly emotional wreck kind of way. Acuff is ridiculously likable which is probably best for him because if I didn’t like him, I might try to kick him in the shins for suggesting that a work ethic in your current job will help you prepare for your future dream job.

If you’re taking time to read this review, you obviously have time to read something more substantial like a book. Go ahead and buy Quitter. Read it yourself. Give it to your whiny friends who can’t figure out why they’re not living their dreams. Call your brother or sister and read it to them over the phone. Give it to your kid in the basement who thinks it’s normal to live with parents 10 years after graduating from college. You could also do what I did and give this book away with a break up note to your boyfriend, gently implying the relationship is doomed because he won’t put away the X Box and become a grownup. So yeah, buy Quitter once, buy it twice, buy an entire case of books. I know you know people who should read it. My guess is you might be one of them, too.

I agree with the review. If you find there is a gap between your day job and your dream job…or if you find you aren’t creating simply because you are failing to show up, this book is a healthy dose of laughing at ourselves and a great interjection of advice to be able to move forward.

:::Read more of the Getting Unstuck series.:::