Grit and Ira Glass.

I just finished a fantastic book called “Grit” by Angela Duckworth. The book is SO good that I actually read it twice, back to back. The first time I extracted some awesome quotes like these:

“Each of the basic requirements of deliberate practice is unremarkable: A clearly defined stretch goal, Full concentration and effort, Immediate and informative feedback, Repetition with reflection and refinement.”

Angela Duckworth

“To be gritty is to keep putting one foot in front of the other. To be gritty is to hold fast to an interesting and purposeful goal. To be gritty is to invest, day after week after year, in challenging practice. To be gritty is to fall down seven times, and rise eight.”

Angela Duckworth

“Gritty people do more deliberate practice and experience more flow.”

Angela Duckworth

The second time I read the book, I took the time to pause during certain moments and really reflect on how Duckworth’s advise could be applied to my own professional life.

“Passion for your work is a little bit of discovery, followed by a lot of development, and then a lifetime of deepening.”

Angela Duckworth

I’m going to grow up to love my work as much as you love yours. I won’t just have a job; I’ll have a calling. I’ll challenge myself every day. When I get knocked down, I’ll get back up. I may not be the smartest person in the room, but I’ll strive to be the grittiest. In the long run, grit may matter more than talent.

Angela Duckworth

One of the most interesting exercises was to think who represents Grit to me. And Ira Glass, the well-know host of “This American Life” was the first one to come to mind.

I’ve watched this video by Glass endless times. I’ve used it on some of my “Storytelling” online courses and workshops. And I’ve shared it with more students than any other video. Why? Simply because in 5 minutes we condenses the process all creative people go through, not only once or twice, but pretty much every time we push ourselves, get our of our comfort zones and try new things.

On a more recent interview on “Without Fail“, the host Alex Blumberg (who worked for Glass for many years) shared a little bit of Ira’s process. If there’s no “Grit” on that, I don’t know where to find it!

If you want to learn more about Ira Glass and his creative process, I’d highly recommend watching this hour-long interview at Google.

And last but not least, I’ll leave you with one more quote by Angela Duckworth:

Grit has two components: passion and perseverance. This consistent pattern – perseverance scores more often topping passion scores – is a clue that passion and perseverance aren’t exactly the same thing.

Angela Duckworth

4 days left to buy Adobe Premiere Pro half price.

 

Adobe has been trying hard to get as many editors and photographers to play with Premiere Pro, their video editing software. To sweeten the deal, they have been offering a 50% off Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Production Premium or Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5 software. There’s even have a page dedicated to promote switching from Apple Final Cut Pro or Avid Media Composer!

How does that 50% translates into real numbers? A full license of CS 5.5 Production Premium Suite (which includes Photoshop, After Effects, and Flash, among other applications), can be bought for $849.50.  If you are only interested in Premiere Pro CS 5.5 , it is yours for only $399. 

What’s the catch? None really.
– You have to own Apple Final Cut Pro or Avid Media Composer.
– You need to use the offer code SWITCH.
– The software has to be purchased through the Adobe Store.
This seems pretty reasonable to me. But hurry up! The offer ends October 31, 2011.

If you want to know more before making the jump, check some free tutorials on Adobe TV, or get one of their excellent Classroom in a Book series.

Related, but unrelated, there is a 30% discount off a full or upgrade version of Adobe Lightroom when purchased with Adobe Photoshop CS5, Photoshop CS5 Extended, or any Creative Suite 5.5 edition. Not as good as the 50% off, but it is something. The Lightroom offer endsDecember 31, 2011.