Faith Venture

How To Read a Book is a book by Mortimer J. Adler. It was required reading for incoming freshmen at the University of Dayton when I was a high school senior. Dad bought the books for me at that time. I remember there were three books on the list. I don’t remember the other two. This one was worth reading.

(Oh, dad wanted me to go to UD. He went there for one semester. Majored in going to the movies. Wound up in the Army. But was a life-long fan of UD basketball. I went to the University of Cincinnati. Big mistake. That’s another story.)

Mortimer J. Adler was a philosophy professor. He was notable for editing a set of books called The Great Books of the Western World. I bought that set with my second paycheck after college and still have it. The first paycheck went toward a good guitar–once again, that’s another story.

Adler was also the foil of Robert Pirsig at the University of Chicago in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

This book was mentioned in a recent podcast interview I heard, and that brought all these thoughts out of hiding.

Oh, how to read a book? (This is a good thinking skill.)

You will not want to do his entire methodology for every book. But if you pick a few books a year with some meat to them (and I hope you do), try this.

Every good writer has an outline. How do you figure out her outline? Check the Table of Contents.

Then scan the book. Look, for example, at the first and last paragraphs of each chapter. You will then have an idea of where the author is taking you.

As you read, write your version of the outline including important points to remember. I also tend to stop occasionally and recheck the TOC to get a sense of where I am, where I’ve been, and where I’m going.

Think of the argument the author is making and whether it is sound or has some gaps of logic.

Think about the book when you finish.

I believe the thinking part is the important part. It allows you to digest the information and consider the validity of the argument.

Oh, yes, and I’ve read almost all of the Great Books set. Some several times.

So, think clearly and exercise self-control. Peter, the Apostle.

I just finished a weekend of youth soccer tournament and am preparing for a second one. Then watching a baseball tournament the following weekend.

Once again, as I have observed since calling my first baseball game as an umpire at around age 15, a few parents/coaches/bystanders who could well try applying Peter’s advice.

Not that anyone is perfect. I have the type of personality that sometimes has flashbacks of stupid things I’ve done or said where I could have exercised a bit more self-control. Well, OK, a lot more self-control. And I am embarrassed by the thought, even now 30 years later.

Exercising that self-control muscle takes time and practice and reflection. It is not just experience but reflection on experience that helps us improve.

It is a practice not unlike Yoga or Tai Chi or hitting a baseball or serving at tennis. No one nails it the first time. It takes time and effort and attention. Or did the first cake you ever baked turn out perfectly? Or the first time you flipped an omelette?

I’m only using sports as a metaphor. We need to exercise self-control with relationships, food, exercise, church, business, whatever. I’ve been observing way too much pride and ego within the Christian church lately. It’s probably always been there but just more called out lately. That falls into this broad category, too.

My practice begins now. How about you?

Executive Director of non-profit agency to job candidate, “Congratulations. I would like to offer you this position. Can you start Monday?”

Candidate, “First before I accept, my mother must interview you.”

She didn’t get the job.

I’ve written, probably many times, about my experiences assigning soccer referees to games over the past 25 years.

I’ve tried “Rachel needs to call” or “Jeremy must go to this website and fill out the form” or whatever.

That’s too subtle. Mom never gets it, and sometimes is offended that I suggest that her precious darling actually show some initiative to get the games. After all, I’m expecting them to be professional arriving at the site, making decisions, helping manage the game.

Earlier this season there was a young, new referee who obviously didn’t want to be there. Probably was told there was money to be made. I wouldn’t be surprised if I found out that dad or mom did the online course work before the classroom session.

So, I was told about the “snowplow” parent who goes beyond hovering like a helicopter into the territory of removing all obstacles. Researching that term, I discovered another term–“lawnmower” parenting. Same idea.

This does the kid no good. It’s a good way, I guess, to breed dependency. But that’s a bad thing. Who wants a society of weak, dependent people?

I guess they never took to heart the ancient story of the butterfly.

A child brought a cocoon to a wise guru. “What is this?” The guru told him. And he continued, “Watch this cocoon and soon you will see a beautiful butterfly come out. But you must not help it when it is leaving the cocoon.”

Later the child brought the cocoon and a dead butterfly to the guru. The guru said, “You helped the butterfly get out, didn’t you? You see, child, the butterfly must struggle and beat its wings against the walls of the cocoon in order to gain enough strength to leave the cocoon and fly.”

So it is with us. It is in the facing and overcoming of obstacles and challenges that we become stronger–physically and spiritually.

It was brought home to me in a dream. We humans sometimes work together, yet we are all also independent actors.

I observe politicians and business, non-profit, and religious leaders acting as if their actions only impose their will or opinions on others. There seems to be no consideration, bringing on later shock, that those other people are also independent agents who can and often do react to the situation.

Observe people. Notice how many do and say things that are only for their own desires or emotions with no regard that other people around them are affected by their behavior.

Heavy elements of narcissism are everywhere to be seen.

Consider that other people are not stupid. They will do things that amaze you, yet it is the most reasonable thing in the world to them.

Remember this as a team leader. You must forge and lead a team (singular entity) while also being sensitive to the needs and desires of each individual member of the team.

Humans will work together for the greater good when it also aligns with each individual’s self interest.

Awareness of others is a spiritual discipline worthy of intense cultivation. Tend that garden well and it will bring you much peace.

Heraclitus lived even before Socrates in Ancient Greece. He perceived that everything changes. “You cannot set foot in the same river twice.”

Indeed, we see in our lives constant change. The kids grow. Jobs change. We must learn to adapt and, in this sense, go with the flow.

On the other hand, seen from a different perspective, say from 30,000 feet in an airplane, the river is where it has been more or less for millennia.

While everything changes, the Spirit never changes. It is always around.

We can read the thoughts of humans from 4,000 years ago or even longer and they were in touch with the Spirit.

Everything changes except for the important thing which never changes. The Spirit is a constant.

The need and desire for getting in touch with the Spirit is what makes spiritual practices so foundational.

For decades, the most popular magazine in America was devoted to helping people decide what to watch on TV from among three choices (TV Guide).

How do you decide today? There are too many shows, yet not enough quality. And the quality is spread among too many carriers.

I am upset at the sudden large increase from Spectrum for TV service. I’d like to cut the cord. How many subscriptions will I need to replace it? Will the cost of Netflix plus Amazon Prime plus a new Disney streaming channel plus many more in the end cost more than cable?

Seth Godin calls it cognitive overload in this blog post.

Try shopping at the local “super” grocery store. I’d like to buy a box of cereal. Not so simple.

From Seth—

Here’s my list, in order, of what drives behavior in the modern, privileged world:

• Fear

• Cognitive load (and the desire for habit and ease)

• Greed (fueled by fear)

• Curiosity

• Generosity/connection

The five are in an eternal dance, with capitalist agents regularly using behavioral economics to push us to trade one for the other. We’re never satisfied, of course, which is why our culture isn’t stable. We regularly build systems to create habits that lower the cognitive load, but then, curiosity amplified by greed and fear kick in and the whole cycle starts again.

That is where spiritual practices such as meditation and breathing come to our rescue. We slow down, focus, breathe, meditate. Slow down Seth’s eternal dance until we can handle it.

There is an equally critical factor for success in companies: Teams that act as communities, integrating interests and putting aside differences to be individually and collectively obsessed with what’s good for the company. Research shows that when people feel like they are part of a supportive community at work, they are more engaged with their jobs and more productive.

Thus begins the book that you should read next. Trillion Dollar Coach: The Playbook from Silicon Valley’s Bill Campbell, by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, and Alan Eagle. (The three authors were senior leaders at Google / Alphabet–and coached by Bill.)

Bill Campbell’s journey took him from head football coach at Columbia University, to the top sales and marketing job at Apple, to CEO of a couple of technology companies (Intuit and GO). Then he became a coach. He coached Steve Jobs at Apple. The three leaders and then many more at Google. And more than 80 other Silicon Valley CEOs and leaders. And his middle school football team that he coached at the same time.

He was most likely the most influential and respected man in Silicon Valley.

And his values and teaching are appropriate to all of us no matter the organization we’re with.

For example, he let everyone know his blocked time for coaching his football team of 13- and 14-year-olds. He wouldn’t answer his phone if you tried calling. One person, though, would ignore the time and call. Bill would pull his phone out of his pocket and look at the caller ID. The kids around him would look, also. They would see the name Steve Jobs, and then see Bill decline the call. They all knew that when Bill was with them, he was with them.

Read this book–and put the principles into practice in your life. You may not be building the next Google. But you can be the determining influence in someone’s life.

Diet–a word that scares some people and causes others great anxiety. From the Greek diaita which has connotations of a way of living.

I worked in a factory for a year while I was in college and then again for several years after. We had two 10-minute breaks for using the restroom and grabbing a snack and 30 minutes for lunch. Then we would grab a sandwich, play cards, use the restroom, and get back to our station.

I learned to eat quickly. And hardly mindfully.

When we eat mindlessly, we are distracted, hurried, reacting to stress, filling a need.

Eating mindfully, we bring intention of nourishment for our body. Our attention is on the quality of the food we eat–along with, perhaps, to the enjoyment of the company we are with. We bring an attitude of gratefulness for the food we have.

It is like our approach to life, to meditation, to study, to prayer.

Slow down. Focus. Intentionally approach what we are doing. Place our undivided attention on the task at hand. Become aware of where we are, our place, our companions.

Bringing mindfulness to eating helps us manage weight and health. Bringing mindfulness to daily life helps us manage stress and health.