In no particular order, reason number one:
I just finished Apple tv’s Mr. Scorsese, and I’m captivated. These types of docs get me every time. This one like so many takes me in to the mindset of someone so very deeply passionate about his craft, a true genius, but who’s ultimately plagued by much of the same that afflicts others with this level intensity. Obsessions that block out loved ones like spouses or children, addictions that nearly kill them, and dealing with highs and lows that push them from states of depression that sometimes lead to an extreme or final ending. All while creating incredible work that will outlive their time on earth.
It’s a never ending playlist I’ve built - from books on Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Margret Thatcher, RBG, Michael Ovitz; docs on the lives of Avicii, Jon Belushi, Jean-Michel Basquiat; the heroic struggles from early abuse and poverty to success Oprah Winfrey, Tony Robbins, Eminem; the wildly persistent and defiant Jonny Iovine, Dr. Dre, Loretta Lynn; the talent that could never be suppressed from The Bee Gees, Whitney Houston; the perfectionists Alfred Hitchcock, Jiro Ono; the “so driven that ethics get lost” We Work’s Neumann, Therano’s Elizabeth Holmes, Jordan Belfort; the sufferers for (or as a result of) their art Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
These docs work like a dopamine hit to me - I usually extract one or two key messages from them and pull the thought out as needed when I’m facing a certain challenge and need to get my head in the right space.
BUT,
What I know is that these stories, while inspiring, can start to make you believe that in order to succeed, to do big things, that it requires life be lived on the edge of razor. And that by somehow not being hardcoded at birth with this outsized focus and talent, you are not real in your craft. For decades, I had accepted that some of these insecurities I harbored from these two veins of thought helped me work harder by tapping in to my competitive streak.
HOWEVER,
While the stories presented were nothing that could serve for me as a playbook - I was using them as a measuring stick, of sorts, all the same.
What I’ve come to know is that
1st: the stories at the extreme exist for a reason. Like anything in the world, whatever is the most salacious, fantastical, etc. will grab the eyeballs. Everytime. That doesn’t make what any of the incredible people I’ve mentioned any less, but what it means is that there is a huge cohort of people out there living wildly successful lives with a different set of grounding principles from which they’re working from. But I also know my boundaries and what would cross a line.
2nd: tapping in to my competitiveness and insecurities for strength was pulling me in the wrong direction. For me. And by understanding deeply not just what I wanted in life, but why, has enabled me to understand clearly the best direction. For me. And it’s put me on a path I would never have dared to dream up before, likely because it is one that just simply didn’t exist.
SO,
In Almost Reckless I lay out my story and debunk the concept of who has permission to be deemed a wild success. Understanding this is the first of many critical steps to living a life doing what you love.
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Ok, so this is just 1 of 10 reasons why I wrote the book and I think you’ll love it. And I would be so DAMN grateful if you preordered a copy. According to the big guys (and by that I mean Bria and Linda) at Penguin Random House, this is incredibly important. I shook my head and told them let’s be different, and they sat me down and said they embrace everything I say about thinking outside the box, do things differently, etc….EXCEPT FOR THIS ONE THING!!! They told me to get over it, it’s my new reality and I need to face it. Ok, I believe them - they’re right (for now). So in the meantime yes it would mean so much to me that if you are interested in the book that you preorder :)!
Also…I’ve been told by everyone from Germany to Switzerland to Spain that they’ve been able, through Penguin, to link up to their small local booksellers to preorder!
I have pre-ordered through Booktopia in Australia - looking forward to reading x
Pre-ordered my copy!! Can’t wait