Resources for The Apprentice Gathering Workshop


Thank you for joining me in the Thursday intensive at The Apprentice Gathering. Below you’ll find many of the books and resources referenced during our time together as well as others that weren’t referenced directly but that have informed my own work and enriched my life over the years.
Every month I send out a letter to my readers and share the books I’m currently reading as well as first-word news and any upcoming projects I’m working on. If you’d like to be included on that list, sign up below:

Recommended Books:

Vocation
Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker J. Palmer
Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation by Ruth Haley Barton
 The Listening Life: Embracing Attentiveness in a World of Distraction by Adam S. McHugh
 
Productivity
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
Deep Work: Rules For Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
The Accidental Creative: How to be Brilliant at a Moment’s Notice by Todd Henry
 
Faith and Art
A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live by Emily P. Freeman (okay fine, I wrote this one)
Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeleine L’Engle
 Scribbling in the Sand: Christ and Creativity by Michael Card
 
Process
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield
Steal Like An Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon
Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orland
Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys to Creativity  by Hugh MacLeod – A great book about doing the work meant for you and ignoring everything else (heads up: this one has some bad language. You’ve been warned.)
 
For Writers
Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg
The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing and Life by Marion Roach Smith
The Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation Into the Writing Life by Julia Cameron

Articles, Blog posts, and Podcast Episodes

The Tim Ferriss Show Episode 121: Creative Process, Handling Rejection and Good Comedy: The entire conversation between Tim Ferriss and BJ Novak of The Office. (This podcast has some . . . adult language. You’ve been warned.)
The Lazy Genius Podcast Episode 9: Soul Whispering Boss Lady: My friend Kendra heard the above Tim Ferriss episode first and we talk about it together along with more about work, the Blue Sky Period, and powering up.
Jeff Goins interviews Seth Godin – Here is the entire interview referenced in the morning lesson.
John Ortberg interviews Dallas Willard – Here is the original source of the “What’s bothering you?” video
How to Tell If You’re Following Your Calling or Just Feeding Your EgoDr. Shelley Provost writes a fascinating essay on the difference between ego and calling. My favorite two lines: “Ego needs anxiety to survive. Calling needs silence to survive.”
Why I’m Listening to Jerry Seinfeld – I wrote this in semi-response to Dr. Provost’s article, asking myself (and you!) even more questions about what we’re really doing with our work and, more importantly, why we’re doing it.
Ship It by Seth Godin – Here is the original Ship It guide you have in your handouts. Seth makes it available online for free to anyone. It could be a great resource for either this project or a project you want to do in the future.
Digital Marketer’s Customer Avatar Worksheet – Geared toward marketing, but still helpful to think about the person you are serving.
Know Your Why with Michael Junior – A video about the importance of knowing the “why” behind your project.
Here’s the Thing Podcast: With Alec Baldwin and Guest Lorne Michaels
The Real Job of a Writer: A post I wrote reflecting on the Alec Baldwin/Lorne Michaels interview
Discern + Decide: An online course I created to help you create a personal and communal rhythm of life

The Next Right Thing podcast – Here’s where you can find all the episodes from the very beginning.