Some Inspiration from Dan Miller, 48 Days to the Work You Love

I’m vacationing in Ogunquit Maine. Today I went to a modern art museum and two galleries and I am thoroughly inspired. On a little break, I was reading Dan Miller’s 48 Days to the Work You Love and I came upon this gem that every creative needs to consider…

“What is it that you find naturally enjoyable? If money were not important, what would you spend your time doing? When do you find time just flying by? What arethose recurring themesthat keep comingup in your thinking? What did you enjoy as a child but perhaps have been told was unrealistic or impractical too focus on as a career?

This is a tough area for most people. There is a subtle Spiritual myth that following our dreams is likely to be selfishh, egotistical and something God would frown on. That kind of thinking implies that God is totally outside of ourselves; we are simply physical robts separated from His mind and heart.

However, we are created in God’s image and as such are creators ourselves. Why would God have created us to think imaginatively and to have vivid dreams only to then squelch those dreams for practicality? Consider the possibility that your dreams are thhe voice of your soul, God’s voice within you, longing for expression through your faith in action. And as you move toward your values, dreams and passions, you will move toward being more Spiritual and more fully what God created you to be.”

If all this were true (and I believe with all my heart that it is) what would you do?

Quote of the day…

I heard this on Dan Miller’s 48 Days to the Work You Love podcast. He also answered my question on this week’s podcast by the way.

He gave this quote from Photographer, Cecil Beaton which really resonated with me.
“Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.”

What Do You Expect?

“On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister ran the first under-4-minute mile in recorded history. Doctors said it could not be done—that the human heart would explode with such exertion. Six weeks later an Australian runner duplicated that feat. Approximately 1 year later, 8 college runners at 1 track meet all broke the 4-minute mile. What changed? Did humans suddenly evolve to be faster than ever before in history? Not likely. What did happen is that the level of expectation changed. What was believed to be impossible was proven to be possible. Most of us operate under clear beliefs about what we are able to accomplish. If those beliefs are changes, the results change as well.

Zig Ziglar has a famous story about flea training. If you put fleas in a jar with a lid on it, they will desperately pop up against that lid in an attempt to escape for about 20 minutes. Then, while fully convinced they cannot get out of the top of the jar, you can remove the lid. With a perfectly clear path to freedom, those little fleas will starve to death in the jar. They tried escaping once and they believe they have no other option. I find many people living their lives within boundaries that exist only in their minds.

“The best way to predict the future us to create it.” Stephen Covey”
—Excerpted from 48 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller

I loved this passage from 48 Days but it made me wonder how many times I have stopped short of my goals and dreams because of an invisible lid or the fear that my heart would “explode” before I reached it. We get really caught up in expecting things to be impossible. How does that work for people who follow a God with whom all things are possible? I don’t think it does at all. Maybe we need to fear less and trust God more.

What do you expect? I expect God to be good and faithful. What He says He will do, He will do. What He calls me to, He’ll bring me through.