Book Review: Say Yes And

Say Yes And By Avish Parashar

Week in and week out I preach the message of “yes and” on this blog.  It will change your life, it will take you to new places, and it will make you happier.  Recently, I received an advance copy of the book “Just Yes And” by Avish Parashar, and it was great to sit back and read a book walking right along my philosophy.  Following the improv theory about staying in the moment, Parashar encapsulates the idea of life being a series of moments where we get to navigate through with the positive movement of “yes and” or the not so positive outlook “yes but.”

This book clocks in at a solid 89 pages, highlighting one of its best attributes, the ease of reading.  I knocked it out on a flight from Chapel Hill to Chicago and felt like I had the time to take it all in.  The pages flowed quickly and the thoughts came rapidly, making it an enjoyable and thoughtful read.  This book focused on one main concept, changing from a “yes but,” to a “yes and” philosophy, which brings it to its greatest weakness a bit of repetitiveness along those lines.  On the flip side, it is great to really delve into one portion of your thoughts and theories. I recently took an improv workshop on initiatives, and we spend4 ½ hours just doing them, and boy did it push me to the limits of learning on that skill.

The crocks of the whole book highlights how Parashar shifted into the “yes and” mindset, highlighted by his first story.  Parashar was unwilling and uninterested in going to see his college improv comedy team perform, eventually a stubborn friend forced him there, and the rest was history, and his life was changed.  It is amazing how those small moments can sometime pass us by, and we might never walk down that path of unleashing a new life journey.

Some of the most important points highlighted the idea of how we “yes but” out of control, this lets us stay in our little bubble.  We “yes but” out of fear, because we are afraid to take the trip down the path less traveled.  In all of those instances the communication with ourselves is almost just as important as our communication with other people.  Parashar talks about how to “yes and” yourself a dilemma we all find ourselves in from time to time as the gateway to pushing the yes and philosophy into the outside world.

The part of this book that really made sense to me was the section starting on page 48 where Parashar discussed how to become a superstar.  He talked about Seth Goodin in the book, and this section particularly reminded me of my favorite book Linchpin by Goodin, but took it to the next level of inserting the “yes and” philosophy into those theories.  Parashar describes, “saying ‘yes and’ is how you get the reputation for reliability.  That is how you become a superstar.”

As with all philosophies there is the shadow side.  How do I become a “yes ander” and not become a push over, or become overwhelmed.  Parashar has some great antidotes to help with that also.  Each of his chapters feature simply described to do lists on how to take his ideas and put them into practice.  He also describes how, “being skilled in the art of redirection is not about being a pushover.  It’s about being one of those rare people who helps others get what they want while still getting what you want.”

Overall Say Yes And is an excellent little read, which takes the art of improvisational comedy and drops it into the modern world of work, family, and relationships.  A simple read that will put a positive spin on your current processes of getting things accomplished in an easier and more positive way.  The book is being released today February 28^th, and if you order through amazon today, you can submit your order number to receive $200 of downloadable bonuses.  Also check out Parashar’s website www.SayYesAnd.com for more information about the different services he offers.

Book Review: Well Being: the Five Essential Elements

I am a big fan of the Gallup Organization, namely their work with Strengths.  If you have not taken their assessment on your top five strengths, go do it!  This book is written by Tom Rath and Jim Harter and focuses on a bit of a different area theme, personal well being.  This book is not directly about improv, leadership, or creativity, but I think it is the path to all of those things.  If I am not feeling good or not taking care of myself appropriately, my improv suffers, and this book can tell you why!

As usual with Gallup, after tons of research and years of analysis they have come up with the solution.  They spent a long time asking people about their wellbeing and what makes life worthwhile, and they narrowed it down to five simple areas: Career, Social, Financial, Physical, and Community Wellbeing.  This book goes through and breaks down each area and their vital importance to living a happy and enjoyable life.

I really want to delve into the ideal of financial wellbeing.  I found this chapter really interesting, and probably a head fake for most people.  In my experiences, when society works through the paradigm of financial wellbeing the concepts revolve around being rich or having more then you need.  That is not the point of this node of the Wellbeing tracker.  Financial wellbeing is all about feeling like you have enough to live a comfortable life, and not having to worry about paying the bills and feeding your family.  This does not mean you should never think about the cash flow, but setting yourself up in a way where the constant need for cash is not always affecting and bringing down your life.

I also really enjoy the idea of community wellbeing.  I work in housing, where everything is about building a strong community where people feel safe and comfortable, and this book really solidified the importance of those human needs.  The first portion of this chapter discusses feeling safe and comfortable in your community.  The Wellbeing survey was administered worldwide, and a large number of participants in the United States and abroad commented on how they don’t feel safe in their community.  Once that basic need is met, this chapter really goes on to point out how connected you feel to your community, are your interestes valued by your community and the people around you.  If you want to hike on a regular basis are you close enough to a park to get it done?  Through living in multiple places around the country, I have seen this difference first hand, and can agree community is an important path to wellbeing.

As with Gallup tradition, there is an online assessment provided with the book.  It allows you to enter your current life situations and it calculates your wellbeing based on their wellbeing scale and it also compares you with peer groups across sveral categories.  The survey is set up to provide a short daily survey that can be taken to measure your wellbeing over time, and to create action plans to improve your wellbeing.  I didn’t find the online surveys as useful as other Gallup assessments, i.e. Strengths!  I got more out of reading the chapters and analyzing my life through the examples given.

Overall this is an enjoyable book, and a simple read.  The appendices provide lots of extra data and the research metrics.  Obviously I skipped that section, but for my analytical friends out there I am glad it was included.  While this book does not provide the great real life and fun examples as some other past Gallup books I have read, it does really wet the whistle into thinking about personal wellbeing, probably something we do not think about very often!  As always I learned I need to sleep more, but also to really think about how my daily choices affect my personal wellbeing, and how that relates to my success in all areas of life!

Book Review: Bossypants

One of the most recent books to hit the improv world is Tina Fey’s Bossypants.  This book is definitely marketed like a memoir, but that definitely is not what is between the covers.  While Fey does utilize her life story as the subject for many of the chapters, the book reads like an improv show.

This book was the most hilarious book I have ever read!  I have never read a book where I laughed out loud while reading, literally.  I read part of the book while I was on a plane, and I really had to work to suppress my laughter so not disturb everyone around me.  Sometimes when you read comedy books it reads like standup, while this one seems more like great improv.  As I was reading, Bossypants poured out the keys to comedy, repetition and contrast, scene beats, action in three’s, and buttons at just the tright time.  If you are in for a laugh, this is definitely the book to read.

I really enjoyed page 84 where Fey outlined the rules of improv, which she explains will change your life.  It was also amazing to read how simply she can explain the rules of improv.  Throughout the rest of the book Fey outlines all of the places where improv made a difference in the comedy she was writing and her everyday life.  Tina and I must be two peas in a pod as I feel like she was describing my philosophy as her own.

The book starts off explaining how Tina was just like you and me, living a normal life as an awkward nerdy child.  I love the reality of her world, and the feeling you could just as easily step into her world.  Three of my favorite chapters happened later in the book where Fey describes her time on SNL, creating 30 Rock, and her time portraying Sarah Palin.  It was great to hear her pitch on feminism, and see how she worked through the process of becoming a head writer on SNL.  The 30 Rock chapter outlined which jokes written by her staff were the funniest and why.  This was an amazing opportunity to get into the mind of a comedic genius.  Last but not least her chapter on playing Sarah Palin was incredible.  I hope one day I get to experience the zone she was in during that period of her life.  She was playing a character with her friend, totally hitting the zone, through great writing and the whole world wanted to see more!

Overall Bossypants was a hard to put down, comedic ball of fun.  I would recommend it to any improviser, but moreover to anyone who just wants a satisfyingly fun book to read.  The book makes Fey seem like even more of a regular person, and brings you into her simple world.  Prior to reading Bossypants, Tina Fey was on the top of my favorite funny people list.  After reading this book, I feel like I know her life philosophy, and it makes me respect her even more.  Bossypants is a must read!

Book Review: The Creative Habit

Over the next couple weeks I want to gather some book and article resources surrounding improv and creativity, and create a resource list for justimprov. To start that off I am going to review and recommend books I have read. The first one to start off that process is “The Creative Habit” by Twyla Tharp.

I just finished this book a couple days ago, and was really impressed with the knowledge presented. Twyla is a professional choreographer from New York City, and has been in the business of creativity her entire life. Some of her biggest accomplishments include choreographing Hair the movie, several major ballets, and creative producing the broadway show “Movin’ Out” based on the music of Billy Joel.

Twyla does a great job laying out the specific work she does in her creative process. She preaches a very regimented and directed process. I love the way she looks at how creativity happens within the systems we set up. I think most people envision the creative process being very free flowing and lacking direction. This is not the case when it comes to Twyla, and she really believes that productive, successful creativity will be most successful through a organized process. I can relate as the most creative times in my life were spawned out of organized situations with major deadlines to be met.

I also love how this book looks at the different stages of creativity. There is a major difference in the processes that go into the first days of creating a new project, in comparison to the final days before a show is launched. In the beginning we get to “scratch” and discover whereas in the end we need to build off of the “spines” of our created work!

This book also delves into the art of improvisation. She has two chapters based on the idea of putting ideas out into the space, and the positivity of failure. As in improv these are the moments where we learn the most, and really develop our creative identities. I also really enjoyed learning how the dancer improvises. As with all forms of art, improvisation starts the process and sparks the ideas for future success!

In her last chapter she discusses how the artist needs to go into the bubble to meet their ultimate creativity. She does’t promote a removal from society, but there is almost a suggestion that could be the best course of action. I believe a lot of art is collaborative and doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and as an extrovert, that might not be my method of choice. But I can really see the benefit of this type of work. This summer I needed to move into another apartment until August, and as I moved in it felt like I was moving into the bubble, we shall see what creative products come from this experience.

I recommend this book to all artists. Even though this book was written by a dancer, Twyla does a great job connecting her ideas across the different creative forms. This book did an amazing job of outlining what a creative process can look like, and gives the reader tasks to complete along the way. This was the best an most comprehensive creativity book I have read, and in the best recommendation that I can give to Twyla and her book, I started a box!!