Surprise comes from defying expectations. Seth Godin More Quotes by Seth Godin More Quotes From Seth Godin Stop trying to find the formula that will instantly make your idea into a winner. Instead of being scientists, the best marketers are artists. They realize that whatever is being sold is being purchased, because it creates an emotional want, not because it fills a simple need. Seth Godin emotional artist simple There's no life-work balance. I think you have to have the discipline to have the life you want to have. And if you are stealing from one part of your life in order to make the other part work, you are going to pay for it. Seth Godin discipline order thinking Reject the tyranny of picked. Pick yourself. Seth Godin poke mind-your-own-business tyranny I was amplifying the negative at the expense of the positive, not to serve any useful function, not to make my writing better, but to destroy it. The lizard brain, so attuned to people laughing behind our backs, was on high alert for this sort of criticism and would do anything it could to stop me from writing again. I haven't sought out and read a review or a tweet since. Seth Godin work writing life Great marketers don't make stuff. They make meaning. Seth Godin marketers stuff The brand of the future...is patient, consistent, connected, and trusted. The new brand is based on the truth that only comes from experiencing the product, not just yelling about it. Word of mouth is more important (by a factor of 20) than TV advertising, and the remarkability word of mouth demands comes from what we experience, not from spin or taglines or a campaign slogan. Seth Godin yelling campaigns important It will take you less time and effort to do a thing the difficult way than it will to buy, try and discard all the shortcuts. Seth Godin effort trying way If you want customers to hear about you, make something worth talking about. Seth Godin customers want talking You have to find a group that really desperately cares about what it is you have to say. Talk to them. They have something I call otaku. It's a great Japanese word. It describes the desire of someone who's obsessed to, say, drive across Tokyo to try a new Ramen noodle place 'cause that's what they do, they get obsessed with it. Seth Godin care desire trying Leading is a skill, not a gift. You're not born with it, you learn how. Seth Godin born skills Courage doesn't always involve physical heroism in the face of death. It doesn't always require giant leaps worthy of celebration. Sometimes, courage is the willingness to speak the truth about what you see and to own what you say. Seth Godin work motivational life The biggest takeaway for anyone seeking to write is this: don't go looking for the way other authors do their work. You won't find many who are consistent enough to copy, and there are enough variations in approach that it's obvious that it's not like hitting home runs or swinging a golf club. There isn't a standard approach, there's only what works for you (and what doesn't). Seth Godin home writing running Here's conventional wisdom: Success makes you happy. Happiness permits you to be generous. In fact, it actually works like this: Generosity makes you happy. Happy people are more likely to be successful. Seth Godin generosity successful people Making an average pitch to average people, or having an average gala for average people isn't going to scale anymore. You've got to find the people who care. Those people are worth all of your time. Seth Godin who-cares average people We are too focused on avoiding criticism and not enough on making a difference. Seth Godin making-a-difference differences criticism Sure, compare. But compare the things that matter to the journey you're on. The rest is noise. Seth Godin journey matter noise More and more people now have jobs that require them to confront the risk of appearing stupid on a regular basis. Seth Godin stupid jobs people What we most need in our lives, though, is something worth doing, worth it because we care. Seth Godin our-lives care needs Sooner or later, the ones who told you that this isn't the way it's done, the ones who found time to sneer, they will find someone else to hassle. Sooner or later, they stop pointing out how much hubris you've got, how you're not entitled to make a new thing, how you will certainly come to regret your choices. Sooner or later, your work speaks for itself. Outlasting the critics feels like it will take a very long time, but you're more patient than they are. Seth Godin regret choices long Art is a human act, a generous contribution, something that might not work, and it is intended to change the recipient for the better, often causing a connection to happen. Seth Godin connections might art
