Undeniable Accessible Human Longings - And The Workings of Inspiration
Posted: Monday, October 17, 2011
by Christofer French
Rain Dancer Associates, LLC
|
|
Since the change of the name at WriteStuff, and the way friendships at WriteStuff, and sharing writing ideas have all kind of come together for me, recently; I am noticing a kind of uplifting of my heart and my head, as I read others works and craft my own. The word synergy comes to mind. I have been considering larger works – book or novel; and yet while the seed sprouts I put together thoughts in unusual ways. Ways that have not been familiar to me until the fire and smoke of recent days. This article is about how Jennifer’s article led me to Gladwell, which led me not only how to view the creative process, but also how to see in myself the workings of inspiration through my being. This has lifted me like no other time in my life. I think of the scripture that describes wine moving and bubbling and being the elixir of altered states.
So, Jennifer Stewart of WriteStuff’s Success article leads me to comment on Gladwell. Three of Gladwell’s books come to me. The connections of “Blink”, “Tipping Point” and “Outliers” start to merge with each other more and more for me and lead me to the titular reference: “Saul of Tarsus on the Road to Damascus”, which I will explain.
What Hath Jennifer Wrought?
Jennifer’s paragraphs wring a new thought out on my kitchen table. What does this mean? I unpeel a banana and slowly consume. While I am sure that this is something that Gladwell has done in his own mind, it strikes me like a large round Chinese Gong. Not only do these books stand alone, they stand together in a special way. But then I noticed the very thinking of this series of connections led me to the connections of Gladwell’s books themselves. It seems that in a “blink”, after the “tipping point” of fruitful consternation, I came to think about what success really is and that perhaps these ideas could be used as component parts of a creative process, becoming an “Outlier” was indeed possible to feel and desire. (Not that you wish blindly for greater success, but that you gather the heart to strike out into places previously unknown to you).
I have been pondering ideas for a new book, and because I am involved with WriteStuff in general, my mind is now used to the wine of inspiration sparkling in the cup. Wonderful Jennifer with her marvelous energy and tenacity helped me gaze at the wine. Her article quizzing about success, she made the wine sparkle in the cup. I then thought of Gladwell and his inventive books “Outliers” “Tipping Point” and “Blink” and amazingly, I drew on all three of these books and I took a big gulp. I was familiar with his “10,000 hours approach” and how it might communicate something to me. Achievement by true outstanding outliers arises from immense, sometimes secret, amounts of time on a discipline or training on an instrument.
What hath Jennifer wrought? I read from SqueezedBooks and noted a possible reason that the wine moves and creates a special taste. I saw myself a solitary soldier moving above the canopy of aspiration for a glimpse of hope. If Gladwell’s writings helped provide a new way to think about my aspiration, then perhaps in this astounding moment I could experience a Blink (A Rapid Cognition of Adaptive Unconscious).
On the Road to Damascus
This “all at once” instant perceptive power is like “Saul on the Road to Damascus”. I equated that story, not from a religious perspective, but the historical moment of a furious vengeful prosecutor became a strikingly halted individual. For those of you not familiar, a violent murderer of his stated religious enemies has a blinding experience that changes him permanently.
Saul’s instant recognition and insight leapt from his Adaptive Unconscious and set the whole world up for a religious Tipping Point. Paul became the ultimate Outlier in that handful of men tipped the world over with the power of their blinking mindsets. In the “Law of the Few”, this movement becomes something only an Outlier could do. And Saul, with a name change to Paul takes on the streets of the Roman Empire, the Greek cities, his own people, the Jews and his new converts.
Was This a Descriptive Breakdown of Accessible Human Longing?
To create in a Blink a conceivable Tipping point, that which an Outlier, might grasp and then storm a wall, or stand in a breach ---- these all seemed to be undeniably accessible human longings. “Each in itself a fabled silver bullet to success. Each an aberration, a mirage, masking the valley of success of its obstacles and challenges.” In using this quote, I felt particularly muddled and happy, noting the red substance was doing a little bit of new magic in the netherworld of my own secret hoping and wanting.
I wanted to reach out and thank Jennifer and praise Gladwell for conjuring up ideas and fertile soil that seemed so inextricably bound to Divine Wonder.
And then, I said - So what! There are lots of truths out there, and we all collectively experience them here and there, and intimately and loudly. In song, or a kiss, or mutual laughter, we are all dancing a bit with the Divine, and yes, sometimes we even feel it and call it that; instead of some idiopathic nuanced human psychological state that we can so conveniently understand if we call it something else.
And after my drunken sobriety, I turned to writing on a Sunday evening pondering again these 3 books and how they might stir me to stand in a new state: As Peter said, “Help thou my unbelief”.
And I do say that, and I have said that. But still, I want to be an “Outlier” who with a “Blink” will undergo a new “Tipping Point” for myself.
To the man on the ground, the path to success may seem treacherous and vast. Malcolm’s works represent a collection of bird’s eye views, bringing the solitary soldier above the canopy for a glimpse of hope -- A new way to think about his challenging aspiration.
These frames of reference, these new ways of thinking about success are made of lovingly crafted analogies and honest speculation. I love the lovingly crafted analogy. I think those analogies out like enjoying chocolate chip cookies, and I start to become less afraid of “honest speculation” because darn it, if that also is not what I try to boldly do with finger-twitching trepidation.
No Grandiosity Just a Boy’s Desire to Pull Excalibur out of the Stone
Lightning Insight, (the Blink), gave me insights how “Tipping Point” (epidemics or movements) could take place. I could see a process at work that Gladwell was touching on in his three books. And perhaps the WriteStuff and Bruce and Jean and Jennifer and all my mates constituted the potential wave of influences that could make me more amenable to an adaptive unconscious experience – The Blink. And thus, with grandiosity taken out of the process; (We are not trying to be McCartney or Gates), we are simply trying to acquire a bravery of spirit and an originality of heart that actually desires to pull the sword from the moist cold stone in the Wood).
Outlier Components That Open Tipping Possibilities Using The Adaptive Unconscious
- Hard work is critical to success, but,
- Successful people were often lucky to be in the right place at the right time, AND
- 10,000 hours of working on skills seems to be a rule of thumb
- Because of deep study, your adaptive unconscious becomes more finely tuned;
- Because of deep sympathy and intimacy with a movement or drive, you become more deeply allied, and thus more able to affect movements, opinion and public sentiment.
In this they are highly accessible. (like a drug without any side effects). Outliers is no different - the key concepts of the book are that yes, it takes a lot of hard work to be successful, but that there’s some luck involved in getting to be in a place where that work counts for something, or is even possible.
To be an Outlier, to reach a Tipping point and to create in a Blink, each is an undeniably accessible human longing. Each in itself a fabled silver bullet to success -- A new way to think about one’s hopes and goals. For me, this whirlwind of perception has left me thinking that formerly unfamiliar thoughts could now move into my domain as useful tools, and the inebriation of newness can be a part of my “useful vocabulary”.
And maybe, it’s even simpler than that!
And Maybe the Power You Gather is Just the Strength Not to Throw in the Shovel
But when you’re deep in the trenches fighting with all your strength losing sight of the goal on an empty tank, these words gathered together may help just when it matters most. Maybe the gift, and the sparkling spiritual wine gives just a glimmer of hope to refresh your directive, before you have a chance to throw in the shovel.
Thanks Jennifer Stewart of WriteStuff and Saul of Tarsus on the Road to Damascus and Malcolm Gladwell.
http://www.squeezedbooks.com
http://www.gladwell.com
This Article has been viewed 164 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)It is interesting to learn while traveling life's odyssey that sometimes our greatest "success" (when we grow, learn and become more like Jesus) are considered to be a time of "failure" by the world's standards. Paul might have fallen off his horse and been blinded but the eyes of his spirit were opened and he could finally see. Excellent observations and "tie ins"....
Hey, Jennifer, you did a great job getting this man to write his thoughts after your encouragement!I figured you would have a "Saul/Paul" comment. And yes, Jennifer put me on a new path. Thanks for your appreciation. I was going to put her name in the title, but I did not want to be "embarrassing".
Thanks for mentioning me in such glowing terms, Christofer, it's a really nice stroke! I feel honored, truly. I'm glad that what I wrote contributed to your inspiration. Your last paragraph is so beautiful and I'm sure it will light a spark for anybody who reads you and who is running on an empty tank.Yes. That was a sentence intended to inspire those who just want to not quit. Which is many, including me.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.