My friend Sam wrote another book. I think he may write a lot more of them. We worked on one together for nonprofits called Stories That Need Telling.
Using a method that helped him find his life’s passion – and then create his life’s work – Sam offers a way for the reader to ask himself or herself the hard questions needed to focus on finding and living one’s passion. 50 Things Your Life Doesn’t Need will help you get rid of what doesn’t matter so you can focus on what does.
When Sam asked if he could visit this blog to talk about One Thing Nancy VanReece Doesn’t Need I was not sure what he’d come up. I can think of a lot of things I don’t need, but what would he think of? Read more of his guest blog posts tour
One Thing Nancy VanReece Doesn’t Need: Weeds
I’m no gardener, but Nancy is. This is something that’s mentioned in her online bio, but it’s easy to miss it, especially since she does so much with social media for so many great causes.
I’ve seen Nancy’s garden. She invited me over for brunch once. Joan cooked. It was delicious. I was in awe of her small plot of land and her dedication to keeping it looking great and growing well. Nancy is sure to tend to it regularly (when not painting, speaking, or tweeting). Doing so keeps it on track, healthy, and improving.
She weeds it when needed, I imagine.
There’s a lesson for those of us here who are looking to find and live our passion. Once we find it, we’ve got to take care of it in order for it to continue to grow well.
I firmly believe the world needs more passionate people. This is one of the main reasons I wrote 50 Things Your Life Doesn’t Need. Using the occasion of getting rid of what doesn’t matter so we can find that which does, I use the book to highlight a process that worked for me in finding my passion. The trick, of course, is to keep tending to it once you’ve found it. Help it grow and thrive so others can enjoy it.
That’s the best thing about a passion. It will bring a lot of joy to you. But when you take care of it well, it will enrich the lives of others.
Kind of like a garden.
Other things (actually in the book) that Nancy VanReece doesn’t need:
#2: Small dreams
#12: Pictures that don’t mean anything
#29: Regret
Sam Davidson is a writer, entrepreneur, and dreamer who believes that the world needs more passionate people. To help people find and live their passion, he has written 50 Things Your Life Doesn’t Need. He is the co-founder of Cool People Care and Proof Branding, and lives in Nashville with his wife and daughter.
One of the most delightful things about this book is the positive way it helps identify negative items and flips them into opportunities. One of my favorites is #12 Pictures that don’t mean anything. Part of living an artful life includes recognizing that your home is your gallery. Each object should carry a story of how it was curated, this personal provenance of objects is so much more meaningful than something produced from mass duplication. If you keep this book for your library shelf, be sure you have a story to tell about where it came from.
Nancy VanReece
Online marketing strategist, artist, writer, speaker
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