I liked this book for the same reason that I like Seth Godin's The Dip. Both books are an antidote to that little voice in your head that questions why you're doing something different. Wouldn't it be so much easier to do what's expected? Why not just fit into the mold and sail toward a comfortable middle management type of position? Why can't you just be competent? that little voice asks. Why do you keep working on all of this other stuff? Well, for me, that other stuff is the only reason I go to work each day. I would love to dump the office and just do my thing in the middle of the Texas sticks, but, unfortunately, my work requres more than some drawing supplies and great ideas. I do the work that's required by my company to provide the opportunity to satisfy my creative drive.
Hugh's work, this book, his blog, his cartoons, offer steady reassurance that doing what feels right will not come easy, and that's what makes it worth doing. He presents a compelling vision that each of has the opportunity to do work that matters. The pursuit of this opportunity does not require a fancy degree or acceptance into a high profile internship. Just start doing it. It will take guts, passion, and a willingness to sleep rough on occasion, but a little sacrifice is not so bad if it means you get to keep doing what you love.
Mediocrity, meeting everybody else's expectations, that stuff is easy. Making a difference, doing something that matters, and following your own vision, that's tough. Hugh's book makes it a little easier.
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