Change for a Life...?

Something I've been thinking about lately is the idea that you can change your life by listening to what others say. I find this to be a great tug-of-war inside me.

On one hand, I can't say that the wisdom and lessons of others aren't worth their weight in gold. On the other hand, it's been my experience that no matter how much people tell me things, I usually don't actually learn those things until I experience them for myself.

I guess self exploration and betterment is a two-fold process. You not only have to examine the directions your life can take, but you have to support and analyze them with the help of others. If you decide that being good to others is important to you, and that it is something that needs change, what do you do about it? Do you just spontaneously think of the things you need to do and do them? Are you able to recognize what it is about you that is the problem? More importantly, to what degree do you change your own life, until that change achieves the benefit quotient you are seeking?

Okay, so I'm rambling now, but this blog has a hidden agenda. Yes, the above is important, but it leads to the following:

This may sound funny, but I've got some strange mentors in my life. I think many people would agree that having Mr. Rogers as a life mentor is not unusual, and I did, very much so. But how many people would say the character Hawkeye from M*A*S*H and his actor, Alan Alda, are common mentors? It's interesting to see how different people effect our lives, often without us even knowing it.

Alright, alright, I'll get to the point. Alan Alda has published a new memoir, called "Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself".

If you haven't heard of it, don't worry. It was just published this month, but already it's getting a lot of reads. This is especially the case because Alda's earlier memoir, "Never Have Your Dog Stuffed," was also a best seller.

I just finished reading it last night. I let it soak in for a bit. Plus I've been following each chapter with the audiobook version, which is read by Alda himself.

Read it. Listen to it. I recommend listening to it, since you get the author's tone and characterization at the same time, but either way, I insist you pick up a copy of this and absorb it. (Yes, you can find the audiobook on iTunes.)

Alan Alda has a unique viewpoint on life that is both refreshing and entertaining at the same time. His answer to the age old question of the meaning of life? Well, I won't spoil it for you, you'll just have to read the book. Trust me, you won't regret it. What I will tell you about the book is that Alan goes through his exploration of the meaning of life, by examining his own career, and in particular, the speeches he's given to various institutions and university graduations. Actually, he only gives snippets of those speeches; the bulk of the book surrounds him trying to figure out what to say, and what will have the most meaning to his audience.

So go. Buy the book. Listen to the audio book. Get going! I won't say you'll thank me for it later, because I know that even if you end up disliking the book you'll come away with something. Even if that something is a great coffee coaster.

As always: Enjoy!