"Cracked Open" by a "Wisdom Bomb"

Do you listen to books when you drive a long distance? On my recent travels to Minnesota I listened to Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. On my trip back I listened to Love is the Way by Bishop Michael Curry and Break the Good Girl Myth by Majo Molfino. The combination of these books to quote the Bishop, "cracked me open"and as Molfino writes, were "wisdom bombs" just at the right time. 

Molfino, Burnett and Evans all reference the design principles from the "DSchool" at Stanford. In addition, they provide design principles to guide the reader through specific strategies for claiming their professional and personal paths forward. The books are incredibly strategic, energizing and thorough. 

Molfino adds a layer to this by looking at the myths that women learn through life. She describes the myths and then provides design strategies for overcoming them. There are five myths:Rules, Perfection, Logic, Harmony and Sacrifice. She drops "wisdom bombs" along the way to challenge and awaken women about the myths we are taught. Most importantly she gives us design strategies for overcoming them. 

Bishop Michael Curry adds another design principle, love. He shares stories of his upbringing, the loss of his mother at a young age, his youth and his journey as an Episcopal priest. His stories of the power of love were touching, empowering and at times brought me to tears. I'm not sure he would see himself as a design guru, yet his message is very similar to the design principles of Molfino, Burnett and Evans. 

How do these three books intersect?

If you are like me, these past 8 months have been a time of reflection. I hear so many people mulling about purpose, goals, the future, and living an authentic life. Much has been written about redesigning our work, home and communities post pandemic.

What these four authors did was provide language and strategies for living a life of an authentic self. 

Mafino helped deconstruct some of the barriers that hold women back. Burnett and Evans provide a strategy for moving forward. Curry creates the container for it all to happen. He uses love as the greatest design principle in our tool kit.  

I was cracked open with joy, tears, laughter and wisdom during these books. There were some challenging content yet as I looked into my cracks of vulnerability, Bishop Curry filled them with love.

Thanks to these four authors, I clocked in a plethora of "wisdom bombs". I'm hoping they are enough to help me as I design an authentic life for the coming weeks and year. 

What has cracked you open in the past few months? What has filled these open cracks so you can see a new path forward? 

Can you see or feel a path of authenticity, purpose, and joy? Maybe a little love is a way to begin.