Because Tricia and Rob are recording this on Day 47 of Quarantine, they noted that this is just one of many new podcasts from which listeners can choose.  They’re glad to be part of that list and plan to be around for much longer than the quarantine will!  Rob notes that 80% of podcasts drop off after Episode 3—so, since this is episode 5, clearly they’ve already shown some staying power! 

 

Rob offers great advice about setting benchmarks in new efforts, so that you know you have provided a solid start for a new venture, while Tricia also offered encouragement to authors who wonder if their new book will be lost among the many other new books being published in any given year.

 

Spoiler Alert!

Tricia just finished reading a book that she highly recommends: The Followers, by Megan Angelo. – science fiction. Though she rarely reads the science fiction genre, but every now and then, a book catches her attention, and this one did.  If you don’t want to know about the plot of the book, read no further!

 

Author Megan Angelo designs the plot of the book around this question: What would it be like if those who have the most followers who have the most influence? And should they?  The plot revolves around a point in time when people wake up one morning to learn that everything that could be plugged in has been altered: everything is wrong, all the clocks say the exact same time, and the phones, computers, everything shuts down—the power is off.  As the power gradually returns, every person experiences…

[And this is where Rob inserts the spoiler alert!  If you want to know the plot of this novel, you’ll need to return to the podcast.  We’re not including it here!]  Tricia highly recommends the book.

 

Tricia and Rob offered helpful counsel on texts and emails that need to be deleted just so you can put it behind you. “Put the praise into writing so it can be re-read and remembered by those who will benefit from what you say.  If you must speak negatively or deliver a message that will be difficult for someone to hear, say it; don’t type or write it.  Because either way, they’re going to read it again.”

 

“Was this for me?”  A helpful question to ask when something that you read personally offends you, and what to do next.

 

Rob has been reading The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer.  The author asked his mentor, Dallas Willard, “What do I need to do to become the me that I want to be?”

Willard answered, “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life…Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day.”

Eliminating hurry seems pretty easy in our current quarantine.  But this is a good time to ask ourselves: “When the hurry begins to creep back in, what do I want to ruthlessly eliminate from my life? Is there a way to do life in ways that are not hurried?” Rob and Tricia share ideas about how hard it can be to make lasting life changes in this everyday struggle with busy-ness and hurry.

 

Recommended Reading:

Megan Angelo, The Followers

John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry