David Goldstein: Books Are Shared

I’m an author, advisor, artist, researcher, speaker, entrepreneur, and dad – a different answer depending on the project and whom I’m trying to help. Each of these hats is worn under the wide umbrella of creativity.

With my frequent public speaking, hosting large parties, and inclination to connect people – those who know me well – as well as people who just meet me seem surprised if they learn that I’m naturally introverted. It takes plenty of energy to be putting myself “out there,” but I do it to learn and share.

I aim for information from the best sources that could be found. I tend to read need-to-know nonfiction to understand my world along with some fiction to escape into other worlds. Curiously, I need to get up to speed on time travel and black holes to better curate the interests of my son. Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku was recommended by a young docent at the Smithsonian. Only a few chapters left! It’s opening my mind and preparing me to talk with my ten year old.

As I child I liked The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe*,* and Johnny Tremain by Esther Hoskins Forbes. These were part of the common culture and all my friends seemed to be reading the same books.

I fell in love with the idea of reading before I knew how. I had to wait until I was old enough because my parents didn’t want to teach me the wrong way. My grandmother visited once a week and gave us books. Her lesson was “You can own a toy but books are shared,” so my siblings and I would take turns reading all the books she brought.

That would be Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing by Margaret Livingstone. Many years ago, I happened across this while browsing through the Central Library in Hong Kong. It wasn’t directly relevant then, but I saw potential and added it to a wish list. As an artist, I’m now interested in better understanding our visual system to design paintings that are pleasing to the eye. I’m expecting this book will give me some ideas.

Dream conditions for me are to read in a dry place near a body of water – like a bench by a river, hammock by the lake, or a covered porch on a rainy day by the ocean all with the luxury of clean blocks of time. In real life, unfortunately, reading is ideal for 12 ½ minutes in the carpool lane.

If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland, written in 1938, has inspired me by showing that everyone is talented, original, and has something to say. This is a theme I’ve been building on as I try to show everyone they can act creatively. We all have some ideas and we all can learn techniques to express our ideas.

As clear as mud, Education Through Art by Herbert Read, written in 1943, looks at children’s drawings to show different styles and temperaments. I’ve returned to his book many times in libraries before deciding I had to own my own dusty copy – that’s now stuffed with my fresh post-it notes.

I’ve enjoyed The Book of Mistakes by Skip Prichard. It’s a story that teaches life lessons toward success and I’ve underlined something useful on practically every page. I gave a pile of them away to all the millennials in my family.

Of all the things I’ve done, I’m most proud of the creative types model that I’ve developed with Otto Kroeger. We show there are many different ways to be creative and we all can find the ways that work best for us by understanding our own personality strengths. I thought it would take six months to develop, but instead, it took six years. I’m honoured that our ideas have reached many thought leaders and I appreciate hearing frequently from readers about how these ideas have improved their work and home life. With constant change around us, everyone needs to act creatively and helping others act creativity is my single biggest contribution to make the world a better place.

I have a different way of thinking about this and I don’t use books to impress. I do have a copy of my own book Creative You: Using Your Personality Type To Thrive on the coffee table. Not to boast but to signal that I’m willing to be part of a conversation about how they can better act creatively.

All books cast a light into our humanity. For a primer, I’d hand the following three to our new friend. First, the human capacity to be creative and generate humor sets us apart from other forms of life as well as from Artificial Intelligence. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein uses creativity and humor, in his approachable poems for children. These accessible poems can show our garden visitor that it’s best to sleep late if you’re a worm surrounded by early birds.

Secondly, Hawaii by James Michener is a story following the development of the civilization on the islands – starting with the first puff of smoke from an undersea volcano. Against all odds, all life on the islands made its way across the Pacific. Cultures were mixed and fused in a multi-generation story that shows struggle, opportunity and achievement. And thirdly, I’d give a more serious side of humanity with Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl. Through his own experiences, he shows the human propensity for pure evil as well as the incredible ability for us to survive.

Clearly, Type Talk by Otto Kroeger and Janet Thuesen had a profoundly positive effect on me – and a million other people too. I learned about myself, about how to manage my own strengths plus how to understand the behaviour of the people around me. It was my go-to book for decades whenever there was a crisis and Otto’s words have been the secret sauce on my trajectory from almost rags to almost riches.

I’ve always been the guy that people come to for advice. I realized early that what’s best for me, isn’t always what’s best for them. What I learned from Otto gave me an intuitive framework for this and I saw the tremendous power for helping others. Type Talk planted the seeds for my greatest honour in working with Otto. Expanding the human behaviour model to include what I call our “creative differences.”

Our health is everything and can be actively managed. I’ve found The Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson to be a simple way to improve all my numbers and I recommend this to everyone. Of course if anyone who wants to amplify a message has not read Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath they should do so right away.

Through answering your questions, I noticed my old copy of Don’t Stop The Carnival by Herman Wouk. I remember enjoying it very much – and now enough time has passed that I don’t remember all of the story, so I’ll looking forward to finally re-reading it this summer!