Linchpin focuses on being indispensable. Whether you are in an organization or a tribe, your contribution should be significant insomuch as being irreplaceable. With the advent of more advanced technology, this couldn't be more relevant today. As technology advances, more menial tasks that are usually done by manual human labor are now being replaced by machines.

A machine can do rote and mundane tasks, but only a person can have the insight and creativity. That is why in this book, Godin encourages us to be artists.

I read this book after reading Steven Pressfield's "War of Art". It felt as if somehow Linchpin echoed and even expanded on the ideas on War of Art. Whereas War of Art was more of a manifesto, Linchpin like and essay expansion on being true artists. It magnifies the idea on overcoming resistance and listening to your muse in order to create.

To be an artist means that you create. Instead of simply following the rules, you must create them. That's what distinguishes replaceable members of a tribe to a linchpin. Godin expands on this idea so much that it had my head spinning. That's the only thing that I didn't like from this book; his goes on so much on expanding his ideas that it loses its focus on the main premise.

What I liked about this book is that I became inspired to contribute more in my job without feeling like I'm pressured. I genuinely enjoy my job now compared to when I was thinking only on fulfilling my job description.

Ultimately, this book shows us that those who had the most impact in their respective fields were not only doing things from a sense of obligation, but instead they followed that passion and creativity within them to serve.

I read Steven Pressfield's 'The War of Art' at a time when I was in the height of my consumption binge. I've worked from home since last year so I had all the perks. The TV, Playstation, bed and all the creature comforts that I dreamed I could access by working from home.

Even though I had all the comforts, I felt miserable. All of a sudden I was losing sleep. I was getting lonely. And I would constantly supplement to be able to sleep. I wondered, what was this feeling inside me? I had this brooding feeling of dissatisfaction in my life.

Then I remembered, I promised myself that I would be productive during this pandemic. I would lose weight, start my blog, learn more, be more. But I never took action.

In one of Joe Rogan's podcasts, I heard him mention this book to overcome that "inner bitch" he was trying to conquer. And I wondered, I have the same bitch voice in me nagging. It was like an impostor living my life sabotaging my would-be masterpieces and by never bringing them into existence. I barely recognize my fat and lazy self in the mirror. So I got curious and read the book.

Pressfield's "The War of Art" is a revelation.

This book genuinely gave me the chills.

It made me aware of this thing he calls "resistance" that is present within us and how it manipulates us into submission.

At first I got uncomfortable reading it because it was like an attack on me and my ego. I was made aware of how I'd let my resistance control me for a long time. It made excuses, it broke promises, and it made me uncreative.

Three ideas stood out to me:

1. ‘Resistance’

Resistance has no strength of its own. Every ounce of juice it possesses comes from us. We feed it with power by our fear of it. Master that fear and we conquer Resistance.

A force within you that prevents you from creating.

2. Doing the work

Remember our rule of thumb: The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.

Doing the work means so much more than complying. It means that we must apply ourselves fully but bringing forth our creativity on each activity that we have. This is the anthesis to consumption.

3. Becoming a pro

The amateur plays for fun. The professional plays for keeps. To the amateur, the game is his avocation. To the pro it's his vocation.

Becoming pro is really becoming your vocation. The purpose that you have within you is meant to impact people on deeper level. This is the idea that your work, isn't simply a superfluous output but something that your soul expresses so that you can connect to another being.

You don't work to consume. You work to express your whole being into the universe.

"The War of Art" is a must read for anyone who's sick of self-sabotage. It is for artists, doctors, lawyers, writers or anyone putting in the work (or resisting).

Let's face it majority of people think walking is boring. They'd rather take a ride to get from point A to point B. I was one of those people. Then I found the magic of walking.

Just this year, I noticed I was getting knee pain from being extremely overweight. Just 2 years ago I finished my first marathon by using the run/walk/run method. I would run for a brief period and I'd walk with the same amount of time. It was disheartening going from that bearable amount of fitness to what I have right now. I couldn't run for more than 3 days in a row for 30 minutes because my knee, thigh and calves would nag at me at night making me lose sleep.

I wanted to find an exercise that was bearable to do for long periods of time. Something that I can do till I lose some weight and get back to running again. I saw youtube video by Ryan Holiday explaining his morning routine where he takes long walks with his kids while thinking about the day ahead. So I tried it while listening to my favorite podcasts, and it worked.

I'm now on my second week of walking 4-5 times a week for 30-45 minutes and it has given me so many benefits including the following:

1. Lost 5lbs of weight.
2. Allowed me to think about the day ahead and strategize.
3. Allowed me to reflect on how I can improve myself and serve.
4. Improves my mood.
5. Helps me listen to hour-long podcasts that gives me a lot of insight.
6. Helped me to become consistent with my exercise.

Studies have shown that exercising 5 times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes helps keep the weight off longer. This is because most people who lose weight almost certainly gains it back for only a few months after a dramatic weight loss. The intensity of the workouts could be a factor in the sustainability in a long term weight loss plan. Even though most fitness professionals value HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) over steady state cardio like walking for weight loss, it has been found to be more sustainable.

Therefore having a long term view of your health and fitness goals are far more important than that event you are getting ready for an event like a wedding, birthday or prom. Walking is certainly one of those exercises that we can do for the sustainability of our health and fitness.

My plan is to sustain walking 5-7 times a week for 30-45 minutes until my weight goes down considerably. If it does go down, over time I will incorporate running into my routine.

Overall, I think walking is really a gift. After all not all animals are able to walk upright on two feet. Moreover, it has given me the gift of sustaining a workout for a long time while having a bloc of time to think and to enjoy listening to music and podcasts.

I was pleasantly surprised by how good this book was considering it was part of kindle unlimited's free book lineup. No, its not perfect but it gave me a few good ideas about emotions.

3 Things that I took away from this book.

1. We have to be aware of our emotions.

Often times, most of us go through life not being aware of how we're feeling. Worse, some of us might even resist and deny what we feel. I can certainly say that I have at some point in my life. We try to suppress the bad and expect to feel good feelings all the time as if we were perfect. Our emotions are merely a signal that something within us is wrong. Our job is to identify it, and find out its source because it is in our interpretation that we are compelled to act.

2. Emotions are neither good or bad.

We are not supposed to be happy all the time. The reason why the pharmaceutical industry cashes in so much on emotional suppression medications is because we want to feel good all the time. This is not to deny the existence of real, diagnosed mental health issues but to emphasize that there are good and bad ways of coping. It is in the coping that most people find themselves in trouble. We can use destructive ways like food, drugs or alcohol or we can choose to channel it by helping another person in need.

3. Take accountability and responsibility of your emotions.

A quote that really hit me was "Self-acceptance is the basis upon which self-esteem develops." For the longest time I have tried to deny my emotions as if it was something to be avoided. When I used to feel lonely I would just use food as a coping mechanism. The more I denied it the more my self-esteem suffered. It was as if I had 2 people inside me fighting for control. Here I was in a limbo where I want both choices but can't seem to make one. We are all free to make mistakes and its ok to feel regret about our choices. Regret is a feeling most people avoid. But regret is actually powerful because it makes us want to redeem ourselves. It is only our ego that refuses to see that emotions are natural and it is to be accepted. That is why we have to choose the best way to express it. It can be positive or negative but we have to take accountability for past emotions and take responsibility for future ones.

Overall I would highly recommend this book to those who are wanting to understand their emotions better.

When the world went into lockdown, I rejoiced. I always thought that working from home would allow me to fulfill some of my goals like exercising more, eating healthier and reading more books. Fast forward a year later I was ordering takeout more, watching more Netflix and scrolling social media more often. I always knew that books would be a way for me to open my mind to thinking broader so that I can find ways to navigate my life.

The problem was I had no access. I found a limited number of books in my area (in the Philippines) and ordering online seemed to be too much of a waste of money and a waste of space. My filing cabinet of an apartment is squeezed tightly by boxes of books I inherited from my younger years and by books that I bought out of impulse (which are still unread). I wanted to have access to any book I want anytime without the hassle of having it shipped or worse scouring the limited number of bookstores in my area.

At first, I resolved in reading through my phone. But it would always give me migraines no matter how good the dark mode is.

With much research, enter the kindle. It had a bigger screen and a gorgeous e-ink display. I no longer had an excuse not to read.

How the kindle helped me read more

1. Convenience

Since I could just pull out any book from my Kindle I no longer had to dust of the boxes where my books where stored. This reduced the friction I had when I was reading a physical book.

2. Access

Downloading e-books made it so convenient to find any title I wanted. The Kindle store had so many books at a discounted price cheaper than its printed counterpart. Plus, other free sources like project Gutenberg or Z-library had a monster selection of free e-books that I got to download. I also subscribed to Kindle unlimited, which gave me the chance to borrow at 10 books per month. All these choices had me drooling to read and build my online library.

3. Ergonomics

The bigger and more readable screen had me reading for hours. In fact, I would lose sleep reading books for hours. With the Kindle's paper-like display, I no longer have to suffer through migraines when. Reading is such a pleasure with my Kindle.

Who is the Kindle for?

For those who still prefer to read physical books, I have no quarrel with you. If I had all the money, all the space, and all the time, I would buy hardbound books in my home library. Problem is, I don't. "But I like the smell of ink on parchment, the way I could turn the pages physically or the beautiful covers...". That's nice but you have to ask yourself: why are you reading?

If you are reading for the purpose of romanticizing the act of reading, then buy a physical book. Its the same thing for those who have the money, access and the patience to wait for their books.

If you are reading solely for the contents of the book, and the convenience that comes having an all-in-one device for your mobile library then buy a kindle now.