Book Byte #26 "Linchpin" by Seth Godin
Are you Indispensable?
📣 Curious Quote from the Author:
“The job is what you do when you are told what to do. The job is showing up at the factory, following instructions, meeting spec, and being managed.
Someone can always do your job a little better or faster or cheaper than you can.
The job might be difficult, it might require skill, but it's a job.
Your art is what you do when no one can tell you exactly how to do it. Your art is the act of taking personal responsibility, challenging the status quo, and changing people.
I call the process of doing your art 'the work.' It's possible to have a job and do the work, too. In fact, that's how you become a linchpin.
The job is not the work.”
“Art is a personal gift that changes the recipient. The medium doesn't matter. The intent does.
Art is a personal act of courage, something one human does that creates change in another.”
“The secret to being wrong isn't to avoid being wrong! The secret is being willing to be wrong. The secret is realizing that wrong isn't fatal.”
“An artist is someone who uses bravery, insight, creativity, and boldness to challenge the status quo. And an artist takes it personally.”
“If you are deliberately trying to create a future that feels safe, you will willfully ignore the future that is likely.”
The lizard brain is the reason you're afraid, the reason you don't do all the art you can, the reason you don't ship when you can. The lizard brain is the source of the resistance.”
“Perhaps your challenge isn't finding a better project or a better boss. Perhaps you need to get in touch with what it means to feel passionate. People with passion look for ways to make things happen.”
“At the age of four, you were an artist. And at seven, you were a poet.”
“Here's the truth you have to wrestle with: the reason that art (writing, engaging, leading, all of it) is valuable is precisely why I can't tell you how to do it. If there were a map, there'd be no art, because art is the act of navigating without a map. Don't you hate that? I love that there's no map.”
“Transferring your passion to your job is far easier than finding a job that happens to match your passion.”
“If you need to conceal your true nature to get in the door, understand that you'll probably have to conceal your true nature to keep that job.”
“Discomfort brings engagement and change. Discomfort means you're doing something that others were unlikely to do, because they're hiding out in the comfortable zone. When your uncomfortable actions lead to success, the organization rewards you and brings you back for more.”
“The tragedy is that society (your school, your boss, your government, your family) keeps drumming the genius part out. The problem is that our culture has engaged in a Faustian bargain, in which we trade our genius and artistry for apparent stability.”
“...treasure what it means to do a day's work. It's our one and only chance to do something productive today, and it's certainly not available to someone merely because he is the high bidder. A day's work is your chance to do art, to create a gift, to do something that matters. As your work gets better and your art becomes more important, competition for your gifts will increase and you'll discover that you can be choosier about whom you give them to.”
“As our society gets more complex and our people get more complacent, the role of the jester is more vital than ever before. Please stop sitting around. We need you to make a ruckus.”
“Not only must you be an artist, must you be generous, and must you be able to see where you can help but you must also be aware. Aware of where your skills are welcomed.”
“...the greatest shortage in our society is an instinct to produce. To create solutions and hustle them out the door. To touch the humanity inside and connect to the humans in the marketplace.”
“The combination of passion and art is what makes someone a linchpin.”
“Art is never defect-free. Things that are remarkable never meet spec, because that would make them standardized, not worth talking about.”
"Over 5 days Russell, and a host of elite entrepreneurs, will show you exactly how to build your first funnel. From idea to launch day, turn your motivation and passion into a business you’re proud of."
📚 Cognition of the Book’s Big Idea:
A lot of good content in this book. We all know those High Performers, we’ve seen them get promoted over us before. While we may at the time think it was because of luck or because they were buddies with the executives, in reality it doesn’t matter. If they go the job under nefarious means they are going to continue doing the job under nefarious means and it won’t work out for them in the long run. What’s important is your Art, the way you express you talents everyday. Even if it never goes noticed, it doesn’t matter. As long as you’re expressing your…