Interview with Jason Seiden author of How to Self-Destruct: Making the Least of What’s Left of Your Career
August 30th, 2010 | No Comments
Name: Jason Seiden
Title of Book: How to Self-Destruct: Making the Least of What’s Left of Your Career
What are some of the main themes of your book?
Oh, you know, the typical career stuff… how to fail as an employee, how to suck as a manager, how to jam your head totally up your colon as an executive… plus I dive into other areas, like how to wreck your emotional state and alienate your friends and family. And because I have a twisted sense of humor, I also get into ways to really succeed.
What prompted you to write the book?
I literally woke up at 2:53 a.m. with the book in my head. It started as a lengthy email to a friend; after some positive feedback and requests for “more,” I decided to just go for it.
What sparks your creativity?
I try to spend as much time writing as I can. I find that if I can force myself to start, the energy picks up and things start to flow. I don’t think I’m such a great or prolific writer; nor do I very often have creative “sparks.” It’s more like, since I’m not afraid to throw stuff, I’m not afraid to write dreck. And if I’m willing to pound out a few pages of garbage and throw it away, I know I’ll have a nugget of goodness buried in there somewhere that I’ll be able to build from.
What recently sparked your curiosity and how did you satisfy it?
This is going to sound so mundane: I sat down to write a quick blog post before going for a run… and there was just something about it that unlocked that creative “gush.” I penned over 20 posts and edited a fictional short story before I finally got up to take a shower a few hours later—without ever having gone for that run.
What’s one big thing you want people to take away from your book?
People don’t fear failure. They choose to fail in ways big and small every day. When you step back and see all the ways you choose to fail every day, then—like an image in the negative—the path to success becomes that much more clear.
Join us here at the Catalyst Ranch for our next Match Books event Thursday, September 9th 2010 from 6pm to 8:30 pm, when we welcome Jason Seiden and discuss his book How to Self Destruct: Making the Least of What’s Left of Your Career. Check out our Happenings Page for all the info!
Tags: author, How to Self-Destruct: Making the Least of What's Left of Your Career, Jason Seiden, matchbooks
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