The Night Circus is magical

An ode to the book The Night Circus

Perhaps it was Toronto’s cold weather and grey skies, but last week I really needed an escape from the reality of the November gloom and my nasty head cold. Ironically, it was a nocturnal world of black and white and shades of grey that was able to transport me out of my funk. The Night Circus, the new novel by Erin Morgenstern is a magical story that lifted my spirits. Sure it has all the right elements every good fairy tale should: magical powers, cruel parenting, a battle to-the-death, and true love, but the reason why I voraciously consumed this book is the author’s delicious use of language. As I read it, my stuffy nose could smell the scents of caramel and cinnamon that wafted through the circus air.

Sounds yummy, doesn’t it?

HELL YEAH!

Have you ever had a mentor? Some of the best mentors I’ve had in life are people I’ve never even met; people who have shared their experiences and wisdom with me by writing a book.

One mentor of mine is Derek Sivers the author of Anything You Want. This book is for entrepreneurs, but his simple, very direct advice can be helpful to all of us who want to feel excited about work and life.  This quote from Derek really made me stop and reflect on my own little distractions:

 “Don’t be on your deathbed someday, having squandered your one chance at life, full of regret because you pursued little distractions instead of big dreams.

You need to know your personal philosophy of what makes you happy and what’s worth doing.”

So how can we tell what’s really worth doing?

Derek suggests that when we’re deciding to do something, if we feel anything less than “HELL YEAH!” about it, then we should simply say “no”.

Sure, I know that’s not so simple. We all have things in life we must do that aren’t exactly thrilling:

• Hell yeah! I’ll cook dinner.
• Hell yeah! I’ll pay my Visa bill.
• Hell yeah! I’m off to the dentist.

But there are lots of things we commit to doing, just because that little voice in our head tells us “I should”.

I wonder. If we busy ourselves doing all the “right” things, that in the end leave us feeling frazzled, who are we really making happy?

We can’t please everyone in life, so at the very least, please yourself. Now that’s something I can emphatically say “HELL YEAH!” to.

Is anyone with me?