{"id":494,"date":"2014-12-12T19:37:44","date_gmt":"2014-12-13T00:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sallybsedgwick.com\/conversation\/?p=494"},"modified":"2014-12-13T09:55:29","modified_gmt":"2014-12-13T14:55:29","slug":"the-question-of-quests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spiritmoxie.com\/conversation\/the-question-of-quests\/","title":{"rendered":"The Question of Quests"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Chris<\/a>When I\u2019m offered free books I almost always bite. Despite overfull shelves and access to one of the best libraries in the country, I\u2019ll gladly hold and support the work of friends and colleagues — and occasionally even books being purged from the shelves of the homes I visit. So when Chris Guillebeau<\/a> offered to send a prepublication copy of his new book\u00a0The Happiness of Pursuit: Finding the Quest That Will Bring Purpose to Your Life<\/a>\"\"
\nI responded with an enthusiastic \u201cyes.\u201d Of course, the offer came with the expectation of a good review for Amazon, but I\u2019ve done that before. So with a month or so to go, I figured why not?<\/span><\/p>\n

One of Chris\u2019 passions is travel and as I\u2019m not really happy unless I have a pending airplane ticket, I figured we at least shared a similar wanderlust, So I began to read the book and found Chris\u2019 definition of \u201cquest,\u201d a concept that forms the heart of the book. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Don<\/a>A quest according the The Happiness of Pursuit<\/i>:<\/span><\/p>\n

1) Has a clear goal and a specific end point. I was already in trouble: the passion I share through Spirit Moxie is promoting how we can change the world through our day-to-day actions, which certainly sounds vague. What and when would be the end point? World peace? Honest news? Less pollution? Nope, \u201cchanging the world\u201d is simply not measurable.
\n<\/span>2) Involves a clear challenge \u2014 clear? Certainly \u201cchanging the world\u201d is a challenge, but where is the clear part? Maybe to get others involved, but that\u2019s not \u201cclear\u201d either.
\n3) Requires a sacrifice of some kind Well, up to now, Spirit Moxie has involved some financial sacrifice for me, but otherwise? Where is the sacrifice in being called?
\n4) Is often driven by a calling or sense of mission. Now that fits.
\n5) Requires a series of small steps.Maybe that could mean \u201clittle things that can change the world?\u201d But I don\u2019t think Chris and I mean the same kind of steps. Besides, while they are small (e.g. \u201csmile<\/a>\u201d), they aren\u2019t really steps…<\/p>\n

The more I read Chris\u2019 book, the more I felt a failure in the quest arena. I don\u2019t set clear goals (I\u2019m the despair of financial advisors who always want me to give a concrete money goal answer,. \u201cI don\u2019t know. An extra $1,500 a month? $5,000-10,000 would be fun. What could we do with 6 or 7 figures?,\u201d etc. And now, as we approach the end of 2014, we\u2019re beginning the challenge of making concrete goals for 2015. Sigh.). I make lists only under duress (so sometimes they do refocus me) or when planning a major party or event. <\/span><\/p>\n

Plus I\u2019m a great believer in things coming together or \u201cfalling into place.\u201d The closest thing I currently have to a list based quest is to at least set foot in every state in the United States. It\u2019s been a casual pursuit. If this were a quest I\u2019d be plotting how to make getting to every state happen. But the game for me has been seeing how things just sort of show up. My last two states were New Mexico and Hawaii and I\u2019d gotten frustrated enough to start investigating New Mexico time shares to coordinate with a friend\u2019s schedule. <\/span><\/p>\n

That didn\u2019t happen. But out of nowhere, last April, I got the opportunity to represent a group at a conference in Albuquerque. So now I have just one state to go. If you have the \"Book<\/a>perfect invitation or opportunity for me in Hawaii, send me a note! I was recently invited to a conference on one of the islands, but it was the wrong conference for the wrong price. But that should mean something should show up soon. <\/span><\/p>\n

However none of this sounds like Chris\u2019 quest guidelines.<\/span><\/p>\n

So I gave up. Or at least didn\u2019t finish reading the book before its publication date or respond to the \u201cwe need your review and extra publicity now\u201d emails. However I usually do finish what I promise so I kept reading. And slowly I started saying to myself, \u201cyes, that fits! That\u2019s interesting\u2026” <\/span><\/p>\n

The stories of other people\u2019s quests are fascinating and engaging. And I learned that The Happiness of Pursuit<\/i> is as much about a calling as it is about a quest. Even if I failed (or even cared if I failed) as an organized, list-making, clear goal setting, quest pursing person, I did fit the \u201chaving a call,\u201d claiming a dream profile in spades. <\/span><\/p>\n

Quest, goal, calling… for me one gift of this book was realizing that I do have a stubborn streak that kept me reading. Another was the realization that I don\u2019t need to follow Chris Guillebeau\u2019s definition, or even embrace the concept, of quest to be adventurous. I learned that for me the importance was call. And that some of the same principles apply. <\/span><\/p>\n

That not following a call is as painful as failing in it. <\/span><\/p>\n

That while regret comes for some if you don\u2019t walk across the United States or sail the globe (both stories in this book), regret could also come if you have a dream to help people engage in the little things that can can change the world and don\u2019t offer them that vision. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Quest<\/a>So buy your very own copy (or give one as a present to that complacent or adventurous friend). [You can find it here <\/a>\"\" ] Come see where you fit with quests, callings, and challenges. What The Happiness of Pursuit<\/i> seems to offer most is some choices for truly living beyond one\u2019s current day-to-day activities. You can engage in a full blown quest with goals, plans, lists, mini-steps, and challenges. You can embrace your calling as you finally figure out where your true self is guiding you. You can make and pursue a \u201cbucket list\u201d or life list as it is named in the book. You can take up a cause that seems overwhelmingly crucial. <\/span><\/p>\n

It will be slightly different for everyone. But if you follow that pursuit, you will change just a little and the little will be part of changing the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

And meanwhile you, too, may dare be part of doing the little things that can change the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

________________________________
\nPhoto credits from top:<\/p>\n

Happiness of Pursuit in Irvine with 106 Miles. October 1, 2014\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Dennis Cabarroguis
\n075\/365 – Don Quixote<\/a> (figure of paper and wood) \u2014Gabe AKA TheRogue
\nBuried on a desk \u2014 Spirit Moxie
\nRider: Knight on the Quest \u2014Hartwig HKD<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I\u2019m offered free books I almost always bite. Despite overfull shelves and access to one of the best libraries in the country, I\u2019ll gladly hold and support the work of friends and colleagues — and occasionally even books being … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asides"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6DJHl-7Y","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spiritmoxie.com\/conversation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spiritmoxie.com\/conversation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spiritmoxie.com\/conversation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spiritmoxie.com\/conversation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spiritmoxie.com\/conversation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=494"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.spiritmoxie.com\/conversation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":509,"href":"https:\/\/www.spiritmoxie.com\/conversation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494\/revisions\/509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spiritmoxie.com\/conversation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spiritmoxie.com\/conversation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spiritmoxie.com\/conversation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}