Friday, October 23, 2009

The "Pissed Off Gene"

I am reading this great little book by Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity. Quite frankly, I have not ever read a book that makes more sense to me than this book does. The 18th key to creativity is “Merit can be bought. Passion can’t” (MacLeod, 2007, 73). In this section, MacLeod discusses what he calls the “Pissed off gene.” Without pissed off people, nothing gets done.

I’m not sure that pissed off in this context has as much to do with anger as it has to do with passion.

Being pissed off involves passion.

It involves recognizing that we live in a screwed up world that needs each of us to step up and take action.

Everyone knows about the glass being half empty or half full. I used to feel bad about having such a hard time seeing the glass as half full. I’m not sure that seeing it half full is the right way to look at things anymore. Seeing the glass half full conveys a sense of complacency. Seeing the glass half full conveys a sense that things are really okay.

No, things really are not okay.

Things are broken.

Things have to be fixed.

So let’s see the glass as half empty, get pissed off, and fill it up.

Maybe even let it overflow.

1 comment:

smiles said...

Todd, after reading your last couple of posts, I would like to suggest a great book. The name of the book is Great Boss, Dead Boss by Ray Immelman. I know that the title of the book is somewhat of a turn off, however after reading the book I purchased a copy for everyone that reported to me. And we started implementing the key points with great success.

Trents Dad