There is this little bookstore tucked away in Grand Central, right by the Rite Aid convenience store called Posman Books. Quaint little shop, and always busy with traveling readers looking for the perfect companion. (It’s also apparently a hang-out for some of Grand Central’s “residents.”)
One afternoon, I happened to walk in, in an attempt to kill time before going to dinner with friends.
I’ve found it a little challenging lately to find books that I know I’d really read. And then I came across Hugh MacLeod’s Ignore Everybody.
Ignore Everybody is not just a self-help book. I’m not even sure MacLeod would refer to it as such. It is, however, a pocket-sized confidence booster. It is for the artist who is second-guessing his work, and is in complete disarray, for the floundering business mind that needs clarity, and for the uninspired writer that is experiencing a massive creative blockage.
When I found the book, I was the latter of those three types. I had such a writer’s block that it sapped the life out of you.
And then I found the book. I finished it in an hour, sitting on the far corner in Posman, next to a British lady looking at the literature section, and a homeless military veteran reading the Da Vinci Code.
MacLeod started scribbling on the backs of business cards one day, trying to create an artistic outlet for himself in a unique way. And lo and behold, he found it on a 3.75 x 2.25 open space.
And in 2009, he wrote the book that has found its way into the hands of any and all who want to succeed in the entrepreneurial world. It is a short read, truth be told, and what makes the book so good is the humor that MacLeod supports his points with.
So if you are looking to be inspired, or for something to add to your summer reading list, Ignore Everybody should be number one on it.
Unless you’re one of the 50 Shades of Grey enthusiasts. There’s just no winning with you people.
Kidding.
