The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly?

by Seth Godin

What’s scarce is trust, connection, and surprise. These are three elements in the work of a successful artist.

the connection economy has made competence not particularly valuable and has replaced it with an insatiable desire for things that are new, real, and important.

We have embraced industrial propaganda with such enthusiasm that we have changed the very nature of our dreams.

Just because you’re winning a game doesn’t mean it’s a good game.

What matters now: Trust Permission Remarkability Leadership Stories that spread Humanity: connection, compassion, and humility

And yet the itch comes back. The itch to provoke or risk or stand up. The itch to test, to prod, and to stand out.

He focuses on filling today’s need at the highest yield. The artist, though, is obsessed with connection and thus change.

Sit alone; sit quietly. Learn something new without any apparent practical benefit. Ask individuals for bold feedback; ignore what you hear from the crowd. Spend time encouraging other artists. Teach, with the intent of making change. Ship something that you created.

They get out of the water, run to the steps, climb right back up, and do it again. Safety zone adjusted, comfort zone aligned. For now. And the opportunity is to make it a habit.

the grind is part of what makes the work interesting, a challenge, worth doing. If there were no grind, you’d need no grit.

because while someone can attempt to shame you, shame must also be accepted to be effective. We can’t make you feel shame without your participation.

Great reminder

The resistance is not something to be avoided; it’s something to seek out.

You need to know the conventional wisdom inside and out. Not to obey the rules, but to break them.

How to See and Finding the Guts to Make Important Work

memento mori, a Latin term that reminds us that we’re all going to die.

You probably have enough. You probably want more.

funktionslust. It describes the love of doing something merely for the sake of doing it, not simply because it’s likely to work.

The goal is to keep playing, not to win.

It’s entirely possible that there won’t be a standing ovation at the end of your journey. That’s okay. At least you lived.