How Rush led to Rand...

I attended a concert last night by the Canadian rockers Rush. I think this was the third live viewing for me, although the last was undoubtedly a good twenty-some years ago.

Anyway, it got me thinking about the influence this band had on the direction of my life. Sometimes funny or odd things can have a major impact, and Rush is no exception.

I think I was in eighth grade when I first noticed the band. It was during a time where I was having some difficulties in school with, well -- bullies (that's a simplification, but it's too long to go into here). Rush had just released an album called "2112", which contained some angry music, as well as some intellectual stuff. I would listen to it at home at top volume when I was by myself.

The "A" side of the album was a kind of rock-opera that I loved. As I poured over the lyrics and album art, and noticed an acknowledgement -- "to the genius of Ayn Rand". When I finally figured out she was an author, I picked up a copy of a short novella called "Anthem" and read it. After that, I was hooked.

Interesting connection.

Now the band members are in their late 50's, and its a bit harder to pull off the youthful angst thing that they had going in the 1970's. Still, it was a fun trip down memory lane for me, and to their credit, the band members appear to be doing what they love, and appear to not be the pampered ogres many famous people become (although who can be sure??).

Why Ethiopia?

My daughter Emily put together a video montage that expresses why we have such a strong affinity for Africa and the problems there. She is in the process of trying to get her sorority at Iowa State University to sponsor a child.

While adoption might not be the right answer for many families, there are five million children in Ethiopia alone who are orphans in need of help. Please watch the video, which is on Paula's web site, and decide if you can help the struggling children of Africa in some way.

giving-heart

Was that the Positive Reinforcement I was Looking for?

Received my first offer of representation from a literary agent today for LEVERAGE. Got to admit, it felt pretty good.

Having read a few things in blogland about agent agreements, there will be some added work in this -- it sounds like most agents will request some revisions to the manuscript. I hope they aren't extensive, however, as I could end up with three projects all progressing simultaneously if they are! I'm bracing myself.

On a separate note, I posted part of the first draft of INCENTIVIZE on my blog this week. I'll get the rest of it out there over the next few days. It takes extra time, as I can't just copy and paste from Word -- needs some formatting. Rules for INCENTIVIZE are the same as for LEVERAGE -- if you want to read it, send me an email requesting access, and I'll give you permission, but be warned: INCENTIVIZE is in first draft only, and there are a number of plot errors that will need to be corrected in the next draft (not to mention loads of spelling, grammatical and other errors).

Now I'm just beginning to design a new novel -- DELIVERABLES (tentative title). More on that later, as it takes shape.

I'm just short of six months into my Sabbatical, and the writing direction is taking off. It will take off even more if I can get LEVERAGE published.

But I'm also going to have an opportunity to try my hand at management consulting. I've got a trip planned for early September. Hopefully I will get a taste of the consulting world as well, and be able to measure the pluses and minuses of each.

That Rand Craze

I'm sure I'm not the only person who's life was substantially impacted by something they read in their youth. For me, two novels by Ayn Rand -- The Fountainhead, and Atlas Shrugged -- did just that.

Prior to reading them, I was sort of floating along in school, not really putting out a lot of effort. Afterwards, I was certain that I wanted to some day be Hank Reardon or Francisco d'Anconia (hope I remembered those names right!). I had a goal and a purpose, and I cleared the decks in preparation to direct most of my energies toward achieving that goal.

Although I was more comfortable with Literature and writing, I set that aside and focused on science and math (truthfully, I always did like science, too). I used the drive created by the goal to shape my efforts and achievements.

Along the way, though, something happened. The drive petered out. Maybe it was a realization that the author of my fantasy, Ayn Rand, wasn't the kind of person she wrote about. Maybe it was the realization that the characters I fell in love with were, at best -- abstractions, or at worst -- fantasies. Maybe it was realizing that the business world did not really work the way it did in her novels. For sure it was realizing that leaders (at least of public corporations) lacked the freedom to act in the way the characters did in her stories.

The funny thing is -- I accomplished a lot along the way, much of it good. I felt I was true to my standards and ideals. But the victories (if you want to call them that) feel hollow.

I wonder how unique my experience is. Certainly others have been strongly motivated by something they read at some stage. Even a few perhaps by Ayn Rand.

Leverage - a novel

I finally figured out how to post my entire first novel, chapter by chapter, on Blogger! I'm quite excited about this feature, as it should allow me to easily share a copy of my work with friends or other interested readers.

Leverage is set up as a new blog. The URL is http://leverage-anovel.blogspot.com/, or you can get there by clicking on Leverage here.

Since I don't want to open the novel up to the entire world yet (Hey, I'm trying to sell the darned thing to a publisher), I've made access pretty restrictive. You will need to get on my "approved reader" list in order to view the blog. To do that, send me an email at tspears62@gmail.com saying that you'd like to see Leverage. I will put you on the approved list, and send back an email to you. From then on you should have free, and unencumbered access.

All I ask is -- if you have any comments or observations (or see any errors), please comment on those after the appropriate chapter. And please don't copy or otherwise remove any of the material without asking.

Happy reading.

Crossing a Finish Line, of sorts

Finished the first draft of my new novel today, and am currently celebrating with a tropical cocktail.

The cocktail, which I learned how to make in a cocktail mixology class on our recent vacation, is called a sunken treasure. It's coconut rum, midori melon liquor, cointreau, orange juice, pineapple juice, a splash of sprite and some blue curaco to make it look nice. Mix with ice in a shaker. Shake and strain, then add the sprite and blue curaco. I highly recommend it!

The name of the novel is Incentivize. Yes it is that "word", which isn't really a word, but is used daily in companies all over the nation. In this case "Incentivize" refers to Incentivize LLC, a company set up by four managers in Matrix Corporation to allow the diversion of profits.

In the story a young geologist attached to the corporate audit department discovers something is amiss at a remote mining site in east Africa. When she pushes too hard, the managers involved in Incentivize decide to make her go away. The novel is about her struggle to escape back to civilization and bring down the corrupt managers involved in Incentivize LLC.

In the novel are: a terrorist bombing, a Navy SEALs raid, a Somali warlord, modern-day nomads, and government officials who collude with the bad guys. All of this is primarily set in Ethiopia and Somalia.

The novel is a bit rough right now (Hey, its a first draft), but I'm pretty excited about it. If I can find a way to do it, I'll post a chapter or two and provide a link.

Does Work Control Your Life?

Being on vacation was a little different this summer. In the past, on the last day of the trip, maybe the last two, I would be getting crabby thinking about all the stuff that would hit me when I got back to the office. Usually some stinking presentation that I didn't want to prepare for, and didn't want to give. This year -- I was only worried about how tall the grass would be, and if the mower would be able to get through it without stalling.

Making this observation caused me to notice some other things that were different. I didn't try to sneak a peek at my email ten times a day. I didn't need to get up early to take care of some problem, or work on a deal. There were no conference calls I needed to participate in.

All this caused me to think further about how intrusive my career was on my life in general. It wasn't just on vacation, in fact, it was ever present. Working late or going in early only to be exhausted later. Evenings spent at dinners and other events that I really had no interest in, but had to attend. And on top of all, there were the ever present demands that work made on my mind -- I think it was always taking 50-70% of my bandwidth, even when I wasn't there.

Don't get me wrong -- much of the fault for this was mine. I allowed myself to be ruled by work. It was giving me status, income, and a sense of importance and accomplishment, but in exchange it was demanding a lot, too. Many of the demands were, however, subtle.

It's one thing to devote time to something you're passionate about, and quite another to devote it as an obligation. Somewhere along the line, passion was mostly replaced by obligation. Obligation inspired resentment, and resentment got me to where I am now.

Can work be a passion that doesn't grow into obligation? Can it be prevented from controlling your life? Probably not in a typical large public corporation, especially if your commitment is being overtly measured by your willingness to sacrifice your life to the company. Yes, they provide a lot, but they may ask for everything but your soul.