Seth Godin's Blog, page 145

"No one clicked on it, no one liked it..."

These two ideas are often uttered in the same sentence, but they're actually not related.

People don't click on things because they like them, or because they resonate with them, or because they change them.

They click on things because they think it will look good to their friends if they share them.

Or they click on things because it feels safe.

Or because they're bored.

Or mystified.

Or because other people are telling them to.

Think about the things you chat about over the water cooler. It might be last night's inane TV show, or last weekend's forgettable sporting event. But the things that really matter to you, resonate with you, touch you deeply--often those things are far too precious and real to be turned into an easy share or like or click.

Yes, you can architect content and sites and commerce to get a click. But you might also choose to merely make a difference.

            

Going to the edges

The best restaurant in Omaha doesn't serve steak. And it's not a chain.

The Kitchen Table is run by two people who care. Colin and Jessica aren't trying to copy what's come before and they're not trying to please everyone.

When they first opened, people wanted to know why everything wasn't $5. (You can get a large dinner for two for $30 here). Instead of dumbing down the menu and averaging down on quality, they went the other way. There might be other restaurants in Nebraska that serve homemade dukkah on their salads and homemade sourdough bread with their sandwiches, but I don't know of any. And I think homemade watermelon rind pickles are scarce even in New York.

It helps that the rent is (really) cheap on the big city rent scale. It helps that the two people behind the restaurant live upstairs and are willing to put their hearts into it.

Now, the place is jammed most days for lunch, and dinner is almost as busy. Now, it's an 'of course', not a crazy scheme. It's a restaurant for people like us.

The reason that this is possible now, though, is that the 'us' in "people like us do things like this," can now more easily communicate with each other. A few clicks on the magical phone in your pocket and you can find this place... if you're looking for it.

And that's the secret to thriving on the edges: Build something that people will look for, something that people will talk about, something we would miss if it were gone.

Not for everyone.

For us.

            

Sloppy ties

It's easy to visualize the efficiency of precise ties.

Every phone call goes through.

The marching band executes every turn, on cue. The entire band, each and every one of them.

The fabric in that sari is flawless.

Today, we're seeing more and more sloppy ties, more things created by apparently random waves than in predictable outcomes.

Maybe that email doesn't get through or that text isn't answered. Maybe the individuals you thought would spread your idea, don't. Maybe turnover increases in your organization or the provider you count on changes his policies...

But the number of connections is so great, it all works out. The haystack doesn't fall down, the nubby wool sweater doesn't ravel, the idea still spreads.

Precision ties are still magical. But we shouldn't avoid sloppy ties if they're going to get the job done. Substituting sloppy ties without sufficient mass, though, gets us nothing but disappointment. {9}

            

Alphagrams

It turns out that competitive Scrabble players always arrange the letters on their rack in alphabetical order.

The reason makes sense: By ensuring consistency, the patterns appear. You've seen this before...

That same discipline works in most kinds of problem solving. Develop a method where you organize all the inputs, the assumptions and the variables in the same order. Consistently grouping what you see will make it ever more clear that you've seen something like this before.

History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes.

            

Promotion, demotion and opportunity

You can learn a new skill, today, for free.

You can take on a new task at work, right now, without asking anyone.

You can make a connection, find a flaw, contribute an insight, now.

Or not.

In a fluid system, when people are moving forward, others are falling behind.

The question, then, isn't, "when am I going to get promoted?"

No, I think the question is, "will I grab these openings to become someone who's already doing work at a higher level?"

Act 'as if'. If the people around you don't figure out what an asset you've become, someone else will.

            

Sometimes, you have to believe it in order to see it

In a hyper-rational world, this sounds like voodoo. Persuading ourselves in advance is no way to see the world as it is.

But what if your goal is to see the world as it could be?

It's impossible to do important innovation in any field with your arms crossed and a scowl on your face.

Missouri might be the show-me state, but I'd rather be from the follow-me state.  {12}

            

Bikes and cars

Bikes should give way to cars:

Cars are bigger
Cars are faster
Cars are powerful
A car can hurt a biker
Cities are built for commerce, and powered vehicles are the engine of commerce
It's inefficient for a car to slow down
I'm in a car, get out of my way
I'm on a bike, I'm afraid

Cars should give way to bikes:

Bikers need a break
Bikers are more fragile
Bikes aren't nearly as powerful
A car can hurt a biker
Cities are built by people, and while commerce is a side effect, the presumption that cars are the reason for a city is a bit... presumptuous
It's a lot of work for a bike to stop and start again
I'm on a bike, get out of my way
I'm in a car, I see you

This dichotomy is, of course, a metaphor, a Rorschach that tells each of us a lot about how we see the world. 

            

On feeling like a failure

Feeling like a failure has little correlation with actually failing.

There are people who have failed more times than you and I can count, who are happily continuing in their work.

There are others who have achieved more than most of us can imagine, who go to work each day feeling inadequate, behind, and yes, like failures and frauds.

These are not cases of extraordinary outliers. In fact, external data is almost useless in figuring out whether or not someone is going to adopt the narrative of being a failure.

Failure (as seen from the outside) is an event. It's a moment when the spec isn't met, when a project isn't completed as planned.

Feelings, on the other hand, are often persistent, and they are based on stories. Stories we tell ourselves as much as stories the world tells us. 

As a result, if you want to have a feeling, you'll have it. If you want to seek a thread to ravel, you will, you'll pull at it and focus on it until, in fact, you're proven right, you are a failure.

Here's the essential first step: Stop engaging with the false theory that the best way to stop feeling like a failure is to succeed.

Thinking of one's self as a failure is not the same as failing. And thus, succeeding (on this particular task) is not the antidote. In fact, if you act on this misconception, you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of new evidence that you are, in fact, correct in your feelings, because you will ignore the wins and remind yourself daily of the losses.

Instead, begin with the idea that the best way to deal with a feeling is to realize that it's yours. 

            

Choose your impact

Is it that simple? Can you choose to make an impact?

Of course it is. You can choose to merely do your job, to meet spec and to follow someone else's path.

Or, you can dig in and transform your contribution. You can level up, taking advantage of the world-changing array of tools and connections our new economy is making available.

Access to tools is a small part of it. Mostly, it’s about taking control over where you go and what you do with your gifts.

The dislocations of our time are significant, the sinecures are disappearing, there is real stress and pain as the world changes. We can't control that, but we can control how we respond to it.

Those changes open the door for those that choose to stand up and learn to contribute. A chance to be put on the hook instead of let off of it.

The altMBA is a workshop designed to push you to see more clearly, speak more effectively and create change that lasts. It’s an intensive online group experience that works. You don’t have to travel, but you do have to be prepared to work hard.

When I set out to create this process, I decided to push it uphill. Not to make it easier or faster, but to make it more difficult, to have it take longer. Not to make it more digital and scalable, but to make it more handmade and require a smaller scale. Mostly, not to let people off the hook, but to create a process that would help a few people transform themselves.

This $3,000 workshop is for people who want to move up to leadership in their current organization, accelerate their indie projects and take control over their agenda. It’s designed to be the most significant lever for change we could create. This is our third session, and I can say with confidence that it's working.

You have far more potential than people realize. You have something to say, a mission to go on, a contribution that matters. I’d like to help you unlock that potential.

If you know someone who needs this sort of opportunity, I hope you'll share it with them.

There are {15} days left to apply. I’ll post {reminders} now and then over the next two weeks. I hope you’ll get a chance to check it out, but even if you don’t apply, go ahead and use this moment, right now, to make a choice.

Level up.

            

SUSDAT

Abbey Ryan has painted a new painting every day for 8 years.

Isaac Asimov published 400 books, by typing every day.

This is post #6000 on this blog.

Writer's block is a myth, a recent invention, a cultural malady.

More important than the output, though, is the act itself. The act of doing it every day. When you commit to a practice, you will certainly have days when you don't feel like it, when you believe it's not your best work, when the muse deserts you. But, when you keep your commitment, the muse returns. When you keep your commitment, the work happens.

It doesn't matter if anyone reads it, buys it, sponsors it or shares it. It matters that you show up.

Show up, sit down and type. (Or paint).