By Gretchen Millich, WKAR News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-964144.mp3
EAST LANSING, MI – Scott Westerman, director of the Alumni Association at Michigan State University, says he always wanted to write a book. This year, he found the perfect opportunity. It's called "The Spartan Life", and it does include some stories about life at MSU. But mostly it's about how to find your passion in life and figure out a way to live that passion. Westerman told WKAR's Gretchen Millich that he started writing the book by accident.
SCOTT WESTERMAN: For the last year and a half, I've been writing a weekly column on my blog called "The Monday Motivator." It goes out every Sunday night, and it's a 750 to 1,000 word essay about whatever happens to be on my mind that day. I got the idea for that because I always wanted on Sunday night to have something to charge me up to face the day on Monday. Something that would make me think about positive stuff or help me face a challenge with a little bit more energy. So, I started to imagine an audience like that, and I began to write for them.
Initially, what the Monday Motivator was just a little e-mail thing that I sent out to people in my office. But I found out that there were Comcasters sharing it with other Comcasters, and it was getting out into the real world. So, I set up a private mailing list for the Monday Motivator, and that mailing list grew over a very short period of time to several thousand people who were picking it up. So, I started posting it on my personal blog at ScottWesterman.com. And one day, my executive assistant, Jennifer Decker here at MSU said "You ought to write a book." And that got me to thinking, and that's where The Spartan Life started to take root.
GRETCHEN MILLICH: Is this a self-published book?
WESTERMAN: Yes, I totally subscribe to Seth Godin's belief that you don't have to have a big publisher to have fun in publishing. I basically went to an online publishing house, one that requires you to do it all yourself. So, I had to create the manuscript, format it for the size of the book, and I had to create the front and back cover pictures. Uploaded it, never talked to a human being during the whole process, and about six weeks later, the book showed up on my front doorstep.
MILLICH: Tell me about the Lansing Happy Hour Club.
WESTERMAN: Here in Lansing there are a number of organizations that are really doing cool things that a lot of people don't know about. One of those organizations is the Lansing Happy Hour Club, and it's a group that just meets without a whole lot of organization. They have a Facebook page, and Monday morning somebody decides which bar they are going to connect at. It's an opportunity at the end of the day on Monday to network, to connect with friends and to talk about stuff that's interesting. Part of the reason that I was interested in finding these guys is that in every town where I've worked, I've always tried to build a secret CEO society. That society is a group of the real movers and shakers in town who don't necessarily get the press, but the people who really care about the community and want to make a positive difference. And in Lansing, there are that group of senior folks that everybody knows about that are the senior leaders, but what fascinates me more is the younger people, the next generation and how they're engaging. In Michigan right now, the people that have chosen to stay are staying for a reason, and that's because they're committed to making the state better. Those are the kind of people who are at Lansing Happy Hour Club.
MILLICH: There's a quote in your book right toward the beginning that says
"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." Have you found yourself going over the edge and annoying people with your positive attitude?
WESTERMAN: Well, I think you have a choice in life, a choice to be happy or a choice to suffer, and why not choose happiness? Because a positive attitude is energy that radiates, it's impossible not to be infected by a positive attitude, just like it's very hard not to be infected a negative attitude. So, what I've always tried to do in my life is surround myself with people who gave me energy, not energy suckers as I talk about in the book. Part of the thing that inevitably happens when you have that kind of attitude is there will be people who despise it, and they see you coming and they say "Oh my gosh, here comes Mr. Happy." I realize life is full of challenges, and everyday there are going to be obstacles in your road to success. But part of the energy that you need to overcome those obstacles is the right attitude, and why not have a positive attitude? If you don't, I think it's easy to be overwhelmed by the challenges that we face in everyday living.
Scott Westerman is director of the MSU Alumni Association. He spoke with WKAR's Gretchen Millich. His book is called "The Spartan Life".