Rohan's blog

Joe met Seth Godin at an event where he noticed that the food served was amazing. And yes, Seth remembered the event because his aim is always to serve good food. And the caterers want to serve regular food.

And no wonder, Seth earns a living by doing a remarkable job. But what does Seth do anyway? Let’s find out.

What Seth Godin Do For A Living?

Seth considers himself as a teacher. Most of the things are apparent, but he helps people see a thing. And he teaches people how to make a difference.

Most of the times, you put yourself in a box on what defines you. Mostly because you want to be picked. Since Seth has earned the attention of a lot of people, he doesn’t need to worry about getting picked. He can serve them and choose what he is.

Daily Blog

Seth blogs daily at his blog. And he doesn’t do it because its something he needs to do. But something he gets to do wants to. And the best thing to see your day is to find the art. So you can spend time doing more of art, and you will feel awesome. Compared with work which you do little of because it’s work and not you want to do.

Showing up every day for an artist is an opportunity to share something.

Merely Shipping

Seth proposes the idea of merely shipping. Not doing a minimized version of something nor maximized version. Something which you do with focus, care and love and then ship it facing the scariness of the people.

In no way, this is an excuse for sloppy work. You do your work in the best possible way but don’t get in the way of shipping. Don’t try to be perfect, merely ship it.

What Is Good Work

When you do something out of generosity. And not manipulate, you try to make a difference. That’s when the magic happens.

Do the work, not for the pay – do it to make a difference. And guess what, you will be paid because of making the difference.

Good Enough

If you are hiding from doing your work because you want to be perfect, then you are hiding. You are scared or lazy or both.

Never aim for the perfect, nor is anyone expecting it from you. Make a promise, keep it, show up and that’s good enough. And for being better, you can keep doing it as long as you show up and find your audience.

There is no mass market, there are niche markets. Find them and once they say – you have kept your promise then that’s good enough.

Smallest Viable Audience

If you have no one who will laugh at your joke or cross the street to watch you then maybe you aren’t that competent to do the job. Find that 10 people with your craft.

And then delight them, so they tell others. And your audience grows. Once, you know you got the maximum possible audience say 400 – understand them and try to delight them. And you can live your life with the craft, your audience will support you.

Also, if you listen carefully even to yourself, you can learn some good things. You don’t have to keep talking, you have to take better notes.

Confidence, Courage And Assurance

Confidence is a placebo which you can use to perform better. Keep repeating the narrative, and it works. Courage is something different. It requires you to do something which won’t work, and you still do it because its important.

Assurance from others is futile because it wears off and you are looking for it again.

Better to work with no external reassurance. Risk in giving a speech or writing a blog is less. It feels risky, like a lion is chasing you. So doesn’t matter if you fail, do it again better. Shut down your noise in your head or dance with it.

One Per Cent Better

There are so many ways to interpret one per cent better. If you measure on the same metric as yesterday, then it becomes an industrial process.

Seth doesn’t compare himself to self. Because he won’t be better than yesterday as a metric. So he is mindful of the current moment and delivers his work.

And that’s when the magic happens. He is trying to get more of readers, sales or money – just doing new and risky and better work.

Narrative

There are constant noises in your head which tells you to behave in a certain way, you lost, or you need to be jealous.

But consider this – you are reading this, so you have the internet and a computer. You have more connection and resourceful than the last king of France. And if you lose your mind on what couldn’t get for holidays, then you feel bad.

You have enough – it’s all about narrative. And how you see things.

How Does Seth Feels About Inspiring Others?

In 1979, Seth tried to make life better for 10, 15-year-olds. And it felt amazing, so he aimed to do it for a lifetime.

The opportunity to gain enrolment from someone who wants to go somewhere is a privilege. And everyone has done a little. The question isn’t can you, it is can you commit and how long can you do it.

How To Do Work

Earlier, there used to be gatekeepers who would insult you, and now there is a direct insult from the audience. Either way, it is a difficult path.

The internet is a gift so don’t waste it watching cat videos. Go make something and show it to the public. If they don’t like, then go make something else.

What Seth Godin Does

It doesn’t help to know which pencil Seth uses. If you are looking for a method, then that’s a wrong approach.

The best advice Seth gives is to have a daily blog where you make assertions. Not because it is amazing or somehow might find it. Do it for yourself. And sooner, it will make you a better person. You will end up making a better assertion.

New Year

Seth doesn’t plan for the new year. There is no annual plan – just doing the craft.

He loves to eat chocolates, listen to music and doing his craft. His AltMba and The Marketing Seminar are his current workshop to make the change. Also, for education – the responsibility is with the person to ask – what is a school for?