Wrecked | Eric Christensen

I first came across Jeff Goins (Website, Twitter) a while back, and have enjoyed his writing advice. In particular, I enjoyed his books THE WRITER’S MANIFESTO and YOU ARE A WRITER. So when the chance arose to get an advance copy of his latest book WRECKED, I jumped at it. I even posted my first reactions to the book here.

When I first started reading WRECKED, I expected something similar to Steven Pressfield’s book THE WAR OF ART. And to some extent, there is a similarity there. Jeff Goins does talk about not avoiding the hard choices. Instead, he advises readers to take the hard path, to get broken by the challenge, and to find yourself in a bigger, more complex world where your life has a greater meaning.

But there were some differences between THE WAR OF ART and WRECKED. These differences are intentional, and they are important. Where THE WAR OF ART focuses on conquering resistance, WRECKED is about compassion. Jeff Goins focuses on compassion as the key to finding the courage to do the hard thing.

But I suspect that this difference will be divisive among readers. You see, WRECKED is not a manual for writers. It’s aimed at a more general audience, and it’s classified as “Christian Living/Practical Life/Personal Growth.” And, to be honest, the Christian element wasn’t for me. It was probably just a case of incorrect expectations on my part, but I found myself skipping over those parts and looking for lessons that I could apply to my writing. It was hard to reconcile my expectations and the reality of the book.

However, for those readers who know what they are getting into and are looking for some tips on how to live a more open, more courageous, more Christian life, I think this would be a wonderful place to start. It would also be a wonderful book to share with your family and church.

WRECKED comes out tomorrow, Wednesday, August 1, 2012. If you wait to buy it between August 1 and August 4, Jeff Goins has put together a a package of special offers that might be of interest. Jeff Goins has made the book available on his website and various online retailers.

This weekend my wife and I went to the driving range. We split a bucket of balls and started working on our golf swings. I finished before my wife, who was having trouble correcting a slice. Because this was a problem I had been working on recently, I decided to give her a couple pointers (husbands out there, please note that this is a very risky thing to do and will more often than not result in arguments). I told her a few things to look for, and I gave her a couple exercises that improved my golf swing. After one tip on rotation, I told her, “you know you’re doing it right, when you feel a little bit of pain on the lower right part of your back.” After a couple tries, her slice was gone and she looked up and said, “Huh, you’re right. It does hurt a little.” I joked that my next golf instruction book will be titled YOU KNOW YOU’RE DOING IT RIGHT WHEN IT HURTS.

Now, this wasn’t any big, life-changing experience. It was a golf swing. But there’s something to the idea of “You know you’re learning something when you’re uncomfortable, when things get hard, and you feel some pain.” If you keep pushing though that pain, that’s when the big changes come because you’ve pushed through your comfort zone and challenged yourself. If you’re a fan of Steven Pressfield and his idea of “resistance” from his book THE WAR OF ART, you’re familiar with this concept of seeking out those moments of pain and difficulty and pushing forward when things get hard. It’s also a part of a new book by Jeff Goins, WRECKED. Sometimes, you need to do the hard thing.

Do the Hard Thing, Wrecked, Jeff Goins

I’m still making my way through the book, so a full review is on the way, but you can get a bit more information on WRECKED by going here. Trust me, Jeff Goins covers things far more important than improving your golf swing (I know, I know, the idea is blasphemy to some). It’s about challenging yourself to do the hard thing, to face the pain, to make commitments, and to stick to them even when the initial zeal begins to fade. In other words, it’s about growing up and learning to lead a full life.

So check out the website. The book comes out in early August, so I’ll post some things between now and then. If you’re a writer or an artist or simply someone who is thinking about making a big commitment, check out the book and the other stuff Jeff Goins has put out (Website, Twitter). I’ve been a fan of the stuff Jeff Goins has written about the writing life for some time, and I’m glad to see him taking on bigger issues. I hope you will too.

Passion, Practice, Jeff Goins, Wrecked

Eric Christensen

What's in my mind is on the page.

Tag Archives: Wrecked

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