Book Byte #267 "The Practice" by Seth Godin

Shipping Creative Work

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📣 Curious Quotes from the Author

“The only choice we have is to begin. And the only place to begin is where we are. Simply begin. But begin.”

“Writers write. Runners run. Establish your identity by doing your work.”

“The magic of the creative process is that there is no magic. Start where you are. Don't stop.”

“As Susan Kare, designer of the original Mac interface, said, “You can’t really decide to paint a masterpiece. You just have to think hard, work hard, and try to make a painting that you care about. Then, if you’re lucky, your work will find an audience for whom it’s meaningful.”

“It’s insulting to call a professional talented. She’s skilled, first and foremost. Many people have talent, but only a few care enough to show up fully, to earn their skill. Skill is rarer than talent. Skill is earned. Skill is available to anyone who cares enough.”

“Your work is too important to be left to how you feel today.”

“Shipping, because it doesn’t count if you don’t share it. Creative, because you’re not a cog in the system. You’re a creator, a problem solver, a generous leader who is making things better by producing a new way forward. Work, because it’s not a hobby. You might not get paid for it, not today, but you approach it as a professional. The muse is not the point, excuses are avoided, and the work is why you are here.”

“Before you are a “bestselling author,” you’re an author, and authors write. Before you are an “acclaimed entrepreneur,” you’re simply someone who is building something.”

“You are not your work. Your work is a series of choices made with generous intent to cause something to happen. We can always learn to make better choices.”

“The same is true for learning. True learning (as opposed to education) is a voluntary experience that requires tension and discomfort (the persistent feeling of incompetence as we get better at a skill).”

“There’s a practice available to each of us—the practice of embracing the process of creation in service of better. The practice is not the means to the output, the practice is the output,”

“We’re not born to be selfish. And the economics of living in community make it clear that short-term hustle rarely benefits anyone. But when you’re flailing and looking for something (anything) to stand on, there’s pressure to choose the selfish path. To a drowning man, everyone else is a stepping-stone to safety.”

“Practicing how to throw. Getting good at throwing. If you get good enough at throwing, the catching takes care of itself.”

“You can’t really decide to paint a masterpiece. You just have to think hard, work hard, and try to make a painting that you care about. Then, if you’re lucky, your work will find an audience for whom it’s meaningful.”

“The Bhagavad-Gita says, “It is better to follow your own path, however imperfectly, than to follow someone else’s perfectly.”

📚 Cognition of the Book’s Big Idea

Being creative can feel impromptu, enchanted, and, regrettably, unexpected for those in the creative industries. However, you can truly increase your creative output and control your creative process with discipline and strategy. Making informed decisions about your goals, target market, and skill set will put you on the road to long-term creative success.

Have no fear of being rejected.

When New Yorker cartoonist Drew Dernavich posted a picture of two heaps of paper online, it went viral. Rejected cartoons made up one pile. Cartoons were acceptable as the other. The reject pile was far larger than the other one. Prosperous artists nevertheless face rejection. Simply put, they submit more.

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