“It’s possible” seems like a good place to start.
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Chapter 1: It’s Possible
Notes
The book is for people who want to do creative things: lead, write, sing, teach, etc.—”For people like us.“
Others have succeeded at the things we want to do, and, while we can’t follow their specific journey (each is unique), we can see and own patterns.
It takes courage and understanding of what has held us back—and a commitment to begin.
“And the practice will open the door to the change you seek to make.”
Thoughts
One of Godin’s strengths is his ability to connect. You can see it in public presentations, such as his TED Talk, and you can hear it in the many interviews he’s given—my favorites are with Tim Ferriss (he’s been on Ferriss’s show four times) or Brian Koppelman (I don’t even know how many times Godin’s been on Koppelman’s podcast “The Moment”). And you can hear it in the questions he gets at the end of his own podcast, “Akimbo“—lots of gratitude.
And one of the ways he connects is through lines like, “For people like us.” On the one hand, it’s a weird thing to say: Godin has a clarity of thought and a courage of action way above average—certainly way above how I see myself. On the other hand, he seems genuine, and his message is consistent with that sense that he’s one of us.
“It is possible” is thus a powerful beginning. If I—with my hazy, indistinct ideas, my burgeoning album, my sporadic writing—am part of this “us,” then perhaps it is possible. And while I’m not a big fan of “positive thinking,”, I do understand the power of mindsets. And “It is possible” evokes the growth mindset: I’m not there yet, but I’m willing to commit. (Or, at least, I want to be willing….)
Another of Godin’s strengths is his consistency. He is always developing his thoughts, coming up with new ideas and insights, but these are based in a fairly coherent set of principles. So when he begins with, “This book is for people who…,” I hear echoes of one of his foundational concepts of design thinking, which he distills to two questions: Who’s it for? What’s it for?
The Practice is for people like us. And it’s meant to build courage—the first step being to demonstrate possibility.
This series is meant to capture my thoughts as I work through Seth Godin’s The Practice. It’s a book with over 200 (very short) chapters, which I hope to work through and, I further hope, to implement over time.
If you’re interested in more of Godin’s ideas, or my thoughts about them, you can check out this collection of posts. Note that if you’re more interested in the former, you should probably get Godin’s book and read it yourself; my notes will be both incomplete and idiosyncratic, and my thoughts will relate to my own experience.
But if my thoughts resonate with you, or if you think I’m just silly, I welcome your comments.