“But I hope you won’t.”
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Notes
The world (“dominant industrial system”) “conspires to hold us back”:
- Pushes the belief in talent or magic
- Wants us to stand by quietly
- “status-driven recipe of insufficiency, compliance, and applause”
The practice:
- Less noise (“chatter,” hustle)
- More meaningful connection, positive leadership
What we need: “your contribution.”
Thoughts
Given Seth’s image of the “endless dance of selflessness and ego,” I expect a lot of overlap between the previous section, “Trust Your Self,” and this one, “Generous.”
The first section might be interpreted as focusing primarily on giving ourselves permission to get started and do the work. Of course, part of that self-permission comes from trusting our intention, so there was a significant focus on generosity, as well.
But in this chapter, the focus does seem to shift a bit. It’s not just that you can or should trust yourself because you have generous intentions. Here, it’s that we need each person’s “contribution.”
And for that contribution to be generous, it needs to work against the “noise” or the “pitches”—”idle chatter” and, perhaps, a selfish form of self-promotion.
The creative work that Seth encourages us to ship (recalling the title) serves to connect us.
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.