1.3 282 The truth about addiction (?)
John 14:27. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
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SETH GODIN Long-term selfish
Everyone is selfish. We do things that increase our chances of survival, help us achieve our goals and give us a story we can tell ourselves about our role in the community.
But short-term selfish is something we try to grow out of.
Short-term selfish runs a red light because we’re in a hurry. It dumps waste into the river because it’s cheaper than disposing of it properly. It cheats in order to win.
But none of these things help us reach our long-term goals. None of them are resilient or reliable, because when others also play the short-term game, we all lose.
Short-term selfish is against the minimum wage, while long-term leaders understand how much value it creates over time. And long-term selfish seeks an environment where we’re most likely to thrive.
August 14, 2024
1.2 274 coach or catalyst (?)
Luke 17:21 … behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
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SETH GODIN Multiple choice
“None of the above” is often the best option.
We’re regularly confronted with multiple-choice questions. The foundation is already established, the options are already limited, do you want this or that?
But the real questions lie in the assumptions that happened before you were even asked.
When a developer brings you six website options, they’re skipping over critical questions about structure, upkeep, user experience and whether or not a site is the answer to your problem.
When the bank offers you three choices on how to borrow money, they’ve almost certainly found three that benefit the bank.
It’s impossible to have a productive day when every challenge and question leads to a full-on brainstorming session. But it might be worth rejecting the multiple-choice options when the outcomes really matter.
August 13, 2024
1.1 275 Day 1, Week 1 (year 12)
Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
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SETH GODIN Mediocrity and perfectionism
It’s surprising to realize that they’re the same.
They are both places to hide.
When we ship average work, it’s not our fault. We’re simply doing what the manual says, and if you don’t like it, blame the culture and the system.
And when we hold back on shipping because it isn’t perfect, we’re also hiding. Who can blame us for refusing to sign off on something if we can find something (anything) that could still be discussed or improved?
If it doesn’t ship, it doesn’t count.
The work is to establish a standard and then meet it. To ship it when it’s good enough (which we get to define in advance). Don’t ship junk, but ship.
August 12, 2024
4.6 278 Journey or destination (?)
John 10:30 “I and the Father are one”
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SETH GODIN Living in the future
In a bad 1950s science fiction movie, you might see flying jetpacks, invisibility cloaks and ray guns.
What we got instead is a device that fits in our pocket. It allows us to connect to more than a billion people. It knows where we are and where we’re going. It has all of our contacts, the sum total of all published knowledge, an artificially intelligent computer that can understand and speak in our language, one of the best cameras ever developed, a video camera with editor, a universal translator and a system that can measure our heart rate. We can look up real time pricing and inventory data, listen to trained actors read us audiobooks and identify any song, any plant or any bird. We can see the reviews from our community of nearby restaurants or even the reputation of a doctor or lawyer. It can track the location of our loved ones and call us a chauffeured vehicle at the touch of a button.
And of course, we use it to have arguments. And to watch very short stupid videos.
August 10, 2024
4.5 278 what's the categorical imperative anyway... (?)
Luke 12:48 For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
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SETH GODIN Adjacent but not relevant
There’s a sale on band saw blades, including a really good deal on one that fits the saw you owned years ago.
The folks who live next door to the house you used to live in are having a raucous party.
A guy with a name just like yours wins the lottery…
These adjacencies can capture our attention, but they’re simply a distraction. We are easily triggered by things that feel close, but come out ahead when we focus on the things that are actually relevant.
August 9, 2024
4.4 273 the little guy
John 15:12 ESV — “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
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SETH GODIN Silence vs noise
When a group comes together, noise is easy. Just a few people have to make a commotion for noise to happen.
But silence requires everyone to be in sync.
August 8, 2024
4.3 267 The "actual" secret of success (!)
Galatians 6:9 Don’t give up
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Daily prayer Let’s pray…
Jesus said, "Repent, and believe in the good news! The kingdom of God is in your midst; it is within you."
Let's use that presence seeking the power and audacity to imagine better versions of ourselves and our communities:
-- To love God with all our Heart, and mind, and soul;
-- To love one another as Jesus loved us; and
-- To love ourselves with no conditions.
Let's nurture and share that presence, seeking the courage to go to the margins to join those whose burdens are more than they can bear because, it's the only way that we'll stop throwing people away,
Let's remind ourselves that we belong to one another.
In the name of the father, son and holy Spirit,
Amen.
4.2 267 How to reverse engineer your big goal
Let’s pray…
Jesus said, “Repent and believe in the good news; the kingdom of God is in your midst, it's within you.”
Let’s nurture and share that presence, seeking the power and audacity to imagine better versions of ourselves and our community:
People who love God with all our Heart, and mind, and soul;
People who love one another as Jesus loves us; and
People who love themselves unconditionally.
Let’s cultivate the wisdom and courage
To pray for those who persecute us;
To pray for us who are living on the margins of society, especially in inhumane conditions;
may we not be overlooked by institutions and never considered of lesser importance.
Amen.
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Prayer Let’s pray…
Jesus said, “Repent and believe in the good news; the kingdom of God is in your midst, it's within you.”
Let’s nurture and share that presence, seeking the power and audacity to imagine better versions of ourselves and our community:
People who love God with all our Heart, and mind, and soul;
People who love one another as Jesus loves us; and
People who love themselves unconditionally.
Let’s cultivate the wisdom and courage
To pray for those who persecute us;
To pray for us who are living on the margins of society, especially in inhumane conditions;
may we not be overlooked by institutions and never considered of lesser importance.
Amen.
4.1 256 Talent vs. discipline
Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
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SETH GODIN Learning in August
What better time? An hour a day for a month and you can learn a skill you’ll have forever. Beach reads are a fine way to chill out, but a month spent to learn a skill is a fine way to take advantage of a quiet time.
My brand new course on Strategy is now live. It’s 30% off this week if you use this link. I’ve workshopped it with 300 people around the world, and we’re finding it powerful and effective. More than forty video lessons, it’s the basis for my new book, out in October.
And I’m also bringing back a discount on my most popular course, the Marketing Seminar with 9,000 students on Udemy. Only in August.
Also, here’s a shorter course on value creation and the process of figuring out which projects are worth doing. You can see the eight most popular courses here.
Learning creates possibility. Once we learn to see how the world works, we can show up to make things better.
August 5, 2024
3.6 G.school 253 #59 Jesus vs. Paul #1
Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
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The seven spiritual works of mercy:
Counsel the doubtful: Offer advice to people who are unsure of what to do
Instruct the ignorant: Share the faith and knowledge passed on to us with others
Admonish the sinner: Admonish those who sin
Bear wrongs patiently: Do not become bitter about wrongs done against you
Forgive offenses willingly: Forgive those who have offended you
Comfort the afflicted: Comfort those who are suffering
Pray for the living and the dead: Pray for those who are living and those who have passed away
3.5 252 First follower or lone nut (?)
James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
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SETH GODIN Infamy
We’ve gotten so hung up on famous that it’s easy to forget that there are two kinds of renown.
Being known for lowering the standards of discourse, cheating, or whining is a choice, but why would you trade your reputation to become infamous?
August 2, 2024
3.4 249 magical science (?)
Matthew 12:30 NIV — “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
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SETH GODIN Stopping a runaway train
It feels urgent because it is.
But by the time the train is running away, it might be too late.
The better strategy is to not sign up for trains that are likely to run away.
The first principle of risk reduction is to figure out if you can stop it later. If you can’t, don’t start.
August 1, 2024
3.3 248 EPW 1.1 What do you want to do (?)
Mark 5:36 …don’t be afraid, just believe
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SETH GODIN The tooth fairy
Make a list of things you used to believe. Fervently, certainly, completely.
Things that you were sure of, but now, with the passage of time and the benefit of experience, you know to be incorrect or incomplete.
Of course, it’s not just mythical creatures beloved by children. It’s our adherence to a social norm, loyalty to a leader or the structure of a point of view.
We’re pretty good at allowing our incorrect certainties to slowly fade into the background, without a crisis or reckoning. We gradually move on, now even more certain about the other things we’re certain of.
Resilience can be found by holding onto our certainties just a little less tightly. One way to do that is to remember just how often the old ones fade away.
July 31, 2024
3.2 237 who was Chuck Norris before he was Chuck Norris?
Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
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SETH GODIN The last little bit
Important hills usually get much steeper at the top.
99% of the training in competitive athletics is devoted to the last 1% of performance. A tenth of a second.
The same is true for squeezing the last bit of performance out of a car, a grape or a semiconductor. And healthcare, luxury goods and science as well.
As soon as we declare it important and invite the world to compete, the problems become more difficult.
Our experience tells us that more input leads to more output, but in asymptotic conditions, where competition is seeking to go to the very end of the curve, this rule is often suspended. The entire point of the competition is how extreme the last few steps are.
The options are pretty clear:
focus on activities where you’re in the sweet spot of the curve, where more preparation, focus and effort lead to huge benefits. This means walking away from competitions against people who are committed to being unreasonable.
embrace the unreasonable and accept that your competitors will as well.
While the unreasonable is thrilling, it’s difficult to build a sustainable career around it.
July 30, 2024
244 3.1 the secret of success (?)
John 15:12 ESV — “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
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SETH GODIN What are you thinking about?
A philosopher can spend a month, a year or a career thinking about one knotty problem.
Making assertions, testing theories, understanding how others are thinking about it as well.
But this exercise shouldn’t be reserved for academics.
What are you working on? When will you change your mind? What can you learn, what can you challenge?
It’s better when we’re on the cusp.
July 29, 2024
2.7 247 G.school #58 Radical Hospitality is step 3 of 4
Matthew 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.
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SETH GODIN “It seems…”
What a simple verb. A five-letter modifier that opens the door to discussion.
If we state something as a fact, we’re asking for an argument.
But seems opens the door to learning and discussion.
What are you seeing that I’m not seeing?
July 28, 2024