Seth Godin’s Roadtrip visit to Boston

Seth Godin: Thoughts on the media revolution, entrepreneurship, education − Boston edition

By Alexandra Smith of Designated Editor

The Revolution: It’s the biggest of our time, the biggest since Henry Ford

• We used to work toward and with a tangible product that wore out eventually – not anymore.
• What you do all day at work is being constantly shaped by the revolution.
• It will never go back to the way it was.
• What are you doing during the revolution?

Entrepreneurship

• There’s a shift in what it means “to work” in the world we live in now.
• Doing work that provides a gift changes you, similar to service work.
• A steady job with a predictable income is old school.
• What makes something remarkable is people wanting to make remarks about it – This is why people talk about advertisements, because they are funny, not because they’re all that great.

Education

• School simply teaches us to be good at school and to do what we’re told.
• Problem-solving is missing from traditional education.
• We need people who don’t just simply listen to and document a problem, but those who can solve it when it is presented – this is what we do in business.
• We aren’t trained to be the best at one thing – we are trained to be competent at many things.

Godin’s advice for adapting

• Don’t listen to your lizard brain. (Godin used a lizard prop to represent the part of our brain that controls our fear of taking  leaps, which drives us to do things that are safe and protected).
• Very few people can accomplish creative work while their lizard brain is freaking out.
• The cost of failing has never been lower.
• You know it’s your lizard brain talking if it’s like fearing your will plane crash – it’s irrational.

Godin on spam

• Don’t spam people to get your ideas out.
• Earn the right to be an expert.
• Spam doesn’t work as well as it used to.
• Talk to those who want to be talked to with relevant messages.
• Earn the right / gain enough knowledge to get in to talk to people in your niche about your ideas.

Godin on your work

• Your job should be to come as close as possible to being fired every day.
• If they don’t embrace your new ideas, leave.
• Who would miss you if you left?
• If you’re a go-getter, team up with a visionary, or vice versa.
• “My boss won’t let me” is bogus. You’re not asking the right way.

Resources

More Seth Godin wisdom

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