An important premise, which serves as epigraph for the whole book: “The magic of the creative process is that there is no magic.”
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This is where Godin begins: with the notion that creativity is not magic; it’s a choice, and it’s available to all of us.
Trust Your Self
Notes
Shipping Creative Work:
- Shipping: “it doesn’t count if you don’t share it.”
- Creative: generous, problem solving, leading forward
- Work: approached as a profession, not a hobby (regardless of whether it makes money)
The practice is a choice:
- The result of desire and commitment
- Available to everyone
- “What we do, whether or not we’re in the mood”
- No muse, no bolt of lightning
All we can control is our commitment.
Thoughts
Being familiar with Seth’s work might make some of this a little less surprising for me, but no less useful; it’s not like I’ve mastered, or even fully understood, everything he’s teaching.
This introductory section (“Trust Your Self”) seems to be in conversation with Steven Pressfield, the author of The War of Art. On the one hand, Godin’s notion that creativity is a choice and requires commitment is in line with Steven Pressfield’s ideas. On the other hand, Godin’s claim that “the muse is not the point” challenges Pressfield’s invocation of the Muse—a mystical/metaphorical personification of inspiration, “where ideas come from.”
I’ve also struggled with Pressfield’s metaphysical bent, whether it’s a literal or metaphorical metaphysics (I’m not always clear on that point). Pressfield’s description of “Resistance” matches my experience disturbingly well, but I could never quite connect with his solution. Even though he explicitly claim that this “Muse” isn’t magic or miraculous, the metaphor nonetheless takes over for me.
And that’s a major reason for my interest in The Practice. I know that Godin’s philosophy is much more in line with mine. Of course, this might be dangerously close to confirmation bias—and I’d probably be concerned, if it wasn’t for the fact that Resistance is so strong that my agreement with Godin hasn’t really borne that much fruit. (Yet?)
In the end, the concept that most grabbed my attention is shipping: I agree that it doesn’t count if you don’t share it. There are so many reasons not to share things!
But at the foundation of it all: since I lack a practice, I don’t finish work. And without finishing, there’s is nothing to ship.
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.