Blog luuurve: Jon Jorgenson and The Anima Series

I love reading. Anybody that spends any amount of time with me will know this. I just love it. At times I read to a point my head hurts and at other times I get overwhelmed by the amount of information I am exposed to daily. But then comes along a writer that just hits me like a gust of wind … whoosh. Just knocks me out of my seat. I want to gobble everything they've ever written and devour it. It consumes me. I want to tell everybody about it. The first time this happened to me was 16 years ago 1998. The Book, “7 Habit of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey”. I think this was one of the times that my mum started to wonder about me. I didn't just read this book; I took notes, summarized it and carried it with me everywhere.  I have been blessed to have read a number of books. I beg borrow buy but never steal. Some books are just crap and it’s like yuck, others are ……magic. However, as difficult as it is to admit, Books can be expensive. Now, they have to go on my budget, go through my approval process before the funds are allocated and then I search online for the books. Then I order and wait and wait. When it finally arrives I smell it, look at it, caress it…… Yes. All this reminiscing has me salivating ….. generating thoughts. Book clubs, book swaps…. Anyone out there!!

My current book wish list: Mandela, Oprah and Ofili.. simple and short.

But this isn't about Books… I digressed. This is about Blogs or rather one blog in particular… Jon Jorgenson’s blog and the Anima Series.

I first heard about the Anima Series from a colleague.Almost like I have been living under a rock. Shame on me. The first videos I watched was "I Am Awesome" for women , "The Wall" and "Not Qualified" and I was hooked. I wanted to know who did this. Who are these people? Cue in Google, And that’s when I stumbled upon Jon Jorgenson and his message of creativity. Inspiring and bringing hope to this generation in a clear concise and interesting medium. Beautiful, Brilliant….

Alan Bennett says it perfectly. These best moments are not only in reading any longer, in watching, in listening even in tasting. 

Here are a few of his quotes that just tipped me over …

"Creative people are not any smarter than the average person, but they’re ten times more curious. They aren’t afraid to ask questions, to ponder ridiculous solutions, and to risk looking silly. Creative people don’t have to be naturally gifted; they just have to drop their inhibitions. "       Jon Jorgenson

"Art is a work produced by human creative skill and imagination. 
The memo that changed the way your company does business…art.
The fundraiser organized by the twelve-year-old to support cancer research…art.
The mother who holds a Wednesday afternoon “book club” in order to make her kid’s mandatory summer reading more fun…art."   Jon Jorgenson

"In this life, needles come at us in the form of challenges, trials, and setbacks. These challenges constantly poke at us to see what we’re really made of, to see if we’re puffed up on our own knowledge, or if we’re building what we have on love. Knowledge is a powerful tool, and it can puff up some pretty impressive balloons. But without love, knowledge will never be anything more. If our identity is found in what we know, or what we’ve achieved, then we’ll never create anything of lasting significance."  Jon Jorgenson

"What no one tells you about achieving your dreams is that it's hard.
What no one tells you about achieving your dreams is that it takes 99.9% work for .1% celebration." Jon Jorgenson

You only need to read a few of his posts to know that you can create, you have to create, you need to create and that you are not alone in this journey of life.

What books, Music,Videos, Blogs are currently inspiring you? Please share…. 

Love Zansi

Please feel free to explore Jon Jorgenson’s blog here and the Anima series videos here… and watch out for my own spoken word series soon *winks