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The Practice: Shipping Creative Work
From the bestselling author of Linchpin , Tribes, and The Dip comes an elegant little book that will inspire artists, writers, and entrepreneurs to stretch and commit to putting their best work out into the world.
Creative work doesn't come with a guarantee. But there is a pattern to who succeeds and who doesn't. And engaging in the consistent practice of its pursuit is the best way forward.
Based on the breakthrough Akimbo workshop pioneered by legendary author Seth Godin, The Practice will help you get unstuck and find the courage to make and share creative work. Godin insists that writer's block is a myth, that consistency is far more important than authenticity, and that experiencing the imposter syndrome is a sign that you're a well-adjusted human. Most of all, he shows you what it takes to turn your passion from a private distraction to a productive contribution, the one you've been seeking to share all along.
With this book as your guide, you'll learn to dance with your fear. To take the risks worth taking. And to embrace the empathy required to make work that contributes with authenticity and joy.
Creative work doesn't come with a guarantee. But there is a pattern to who succeeds and who doesn't. And engaging in the consistent practice of its pursuit is the best way forward.
Based on the breakthrough Akimbo workshop pioneered by legendary author Seth Godin, The Practice will help you get unstuck and find the courage to make and share creative work. Godin insists that writer's block is a myth, that consistency is far more important than authenticity, and that experiencing the imposter syndrome is a sign that you're a well-adjusted human. Most of all, he shows you what it takes to turn your passion from a private distraction to a productive contribution, the one you've been seeking to share all along.
With this book as your guide, you'll learn to dance with your fear. To take the risks worth taking. And to embrace the empathy required to make work that contributes with authenticity and joy.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2020
About the author
Seth Godin
155 books6,153 followersSeth Godin is a bestselling author, entrepreneur and agent of change.
Godin is author of ten books that have been bestsellers around the world, and he is also a renowned speaker. He was recently chosen as one of 21 Speakers for the Next Century by Successful Meetings and is consistently rated among the very best speakers by the audiences he addresses.
Seth was founder and CEO of Yoyodyne, the industry's leading interactive direct marketing company, which Yahoo! acquired in late 1998.
He holds an MBA from Stanford, and was called "the Ultimate Entrepreneur for the Information Age" by Business Week.
Godin is author of ten books that have been bestsellers around the world, and he is also a renowned speaker. He was recently chosen as one of 21 Speakers for the Next Century by Successful Meetings and is consistently rated among the very best speakers by the audiences he addresses.
Seth was founder and CEO of Yoyodyne, the industry's leading interactive direct marketing company, which Yahoo! acquired in late 1998.
He holds an MBA from Stanford, and was called "the Ultimate Entrepreneur for the Information Age" by Business Week.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 571 reviews
December 15, 2020
I didn't actually finish this book. I got about half way through and I just kind of gave up.
It's not that its a bad book. It's just that its not really a book. It's shaped like a book. It looks like a book. It's printed like a book. But it's not actually a book. It's just a concatenation of various blog posts from him. Then those pages got organized into chapters. And then it got a cover. So now its a book. Yay!
My issue with reading the book is that when I would stop for the day, and then return another day, it wasn't like I was returning to a specific point. I could have returned anywhere in the book and not missed anything of the previous pages. You could print other versions of this book where the sequence is completely random and it wouldn't change anything. Those two separate readers could talk about the book and never know that they read something in an entirely different sequence.
I like Seth. I really do. But this book.. meh. Just read his blog every so often.
It's not that its a bad book. It's just that its not really a book. It's shaped like a book. It looks like a book. It's printed like a book. But it's not actually a book. It's just a concatenation of various blog posts from him. Then those pages got organized into chapters. And then it got a cover. So now its a book. Yay!
My issue with reading the book is that when I would stop for the day, and then return another day, it wasn't like I was returning to a specific point. I could have returned anywhere in the book and not missed anything of the previous pages. You could print other versions of this book where the sequence is completely random and it wouldn't change anything. Those two separate readers could talk about the book and never know that they read something in an entirely different sequence.
I like Seth. I really do. But this book.. meh. Just read his blog every so often.
November 27, 2020
Not so much a book - rather a set of 200+ blog posts.
My advice is that you don't do as I did and try to sit down and read this as a complete work. It will benefit you more if you decide on a passage a day. Like The Daily Stoic - a series of meditations on creativity.
As always, the wisdom is insightful and contemporary. Godin makes us think.
My advice is that you don't do as I did and try to sit down and read this as a complete work. It will benefit you more if you decide on a passage a day. Like The Daily Stoic - a series of meditations on creativity.
As always, the wisdom is insightful and contemporary. Godin makes us think.
November 2, 2020
The book I needed to read right this very second.
November 10, 2020
A call to action. A road map. An essential read for freelancers.
Go make a ruckus
Go make a ruckus
December 22, 2020
Like other people have already said, this isn't a book, just a bunch of random paragraphs slapped into a book, but if you want to be a writer you need to write says he, and he did, and he got my money, so I guess he wins this time.
This book has the odd feeling of something an AI would write, the words all seem to make sense, but when you put the words together they somewhat fall flat most of the time. Also most of the examples I read didn't even make sense like: "Creating Jazz music is the same as going to the DMV, you just have to put in the time" but that's not really true and shows a real lack of the creative process; The person that is creating jazz is willing to try new things and fail over and over until they get to a place they are happy, the person that the DMV just stands in a line.
Again, this book just feels like it was written by an AI that doesn't really understand anything about creativity, but is able to build sentences about it.
This book has the odd feeling of something an AI would write, the words all seem to make sense, but when you put the words together they somewhat fall flat most of the time. Also most of the examples I read didn't even make sense like: "Creating Jazz music is the same as going to the DMV, you just have to put in the time" but that's not really true and shows a real lack of the creative process; The person that is creating jazz is willing to try new things and fail over and over until they get to a place they are happy, the person that the DMV just stands in a line.
Again, this book just feels like it was written by an AI that doesn't really understand anything about creativity, but is able to build sentences about it.
November 7, 2020
A cross between a change agent and a psychiatrist, acclaimed marketing Guru and best-selling author Seth Godin’s latest work, “The Practice” is a small book of powerful affirmations. Mr. Godin urges his aspiring readers to abandon the outcome of their passionate calling and instead develop an unrelenting focus on the practice/process. “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, because the practice is all we can control.” Doing so would make the practioner a ‘creative’. The creative, by shipping her work to the wider world has the opportunity to make a difference and thereby effect incremental positive changes. ‘Shipping’ here refers to the dissemination of the work by a painter, writer etc to the general populace.
Mr. Godin exhorts the artist to just trust her process, go about her work with generosity and purpose, and, to accept both positive and negative outcomes with a measure of equanimity. The unmissable elements of Rudyard Kipling’s “If” may be detected in this lofty philosophy. It is not just Kipling whose seems to inspire Mr. Godin and his outlook. “The Practice” resonates with the teachings of the immortal Indian epic, Bhagavadgita, as the wisdom propounded by it permeates the pages of the book. Urging the individual to be agnostic about the outcome of her activities, and instead bestow the highest degree of concentration and respect on and to the process forms the bedrock of the Bhagavad Gita philosophy. Mr. Godin seems to wholeheartedly agree: “That’s because working in anticipation of what we’ll get in return takes us out of the world of self-trust and back into the never-ending search for reassurance and the perfect outcome. We believe that we need a guarantee, and that the only way to get that guarantee is with external feedback and results. It draws our eye to the mirror instead of the work.”
Elsa Freytag-Loringhoven, a Baroness and a formidable Dadaist, was a woman way ahead of her times. Revolutionizing the world of performing arts and lending a new dimension to painting, she was fanatical ‘practioner.’ Her relentless focus was on her art and practice and she cared a jot for ether recognition or reward. When she once procured a ceramic urinal at an industrial supply house, her friend Marcel Duchamp entered it into an art exhibit. This not only upended the domain of art but also signaled the beginning of an insidious trait on the part of Duchamp. As the art world began making progress or a transition from handmade works to the machine produced, Duchamp, exploited a benevolent opportunity magnanimously accorded to him by usurping credit for many a work of Elsa Freytag-Loringhoven. To the extent, that the world now recognises Duchamp as a pioneering figure, whereas Elsa Freytag remains a personality in obscurity. But as Mr. Godin rightly points out, it was a choice made by her. A choice to “live a life in art, to explore the penumbra, the spots just outside of the existing wisdom.”
The practice of an art has to be a perpetual, permanent and a perennial virtuous cycle. This is because the ultimate aim of practice is just that, more practice. An irreverent approach towards the outcome, not in a manner of arrogance or an irascible outlook, fuels an artist’s ability to keep going in the face of adversity. This is simply because she does not treat her results as adverse any more so than she judges her practice as absolutely necessary. As James Carse the author writes in his incredibly complicated but seminal work, “Infinite Games”, the objective of the play is only to remain in the play. The game has no end and there emerge neither winners not losers. “The infinite game is a catch in the backyard with your four-year-old son. You’re not trying to win catch; you’re simply playing catch. The most important parts of our lives are games that we can’t imagine winning. The process is infinite, if we trust it to be. We don’t do this work hoping that we will win, and the game will be over.”
How does one build up such a virtuous and uncompromising habit? How does one vigorously keep up the habit and yet not dilute her efforts? Mr. Godin offers his readers a few “tricks” in this regard: “Build streaks. Do the work every single day. Blog daily. Write daily. Ship daily. Show up daily. Find your streak and maintain it. Talk about your streaks to keep honest. Seek the smallest viable audience. Make it for someone, not everyone. Avoid shortcuts. Seek the most direct path instead. Find and embrace genre. Seek out desirable difficulty. Don’t talk about your dreams with people who want to protect you from heartache.”
For all those who are perturbed by criticism in general and vicious criticism in particular, and because of which shy away from sharing or shipping their work, Mr. Godin offers some invaluable advice and instills hope. Worst of all, criticism reminds us of the outcomes, not the process. He warns us not to reduce or dilute our commitment to the practice on account of an unkind remark or vitriolic comment. In the digital era that we find ourselves in, a proliferation of social media outlets ensures not only accessibility and voice, but also an avenue for venting out trenchant views and unpolished diatribes. However, most of the criticism “shared in the internet age is useless, or worse, harmful. It’s useless because it often personalizes the criticism to be about the creator, not the work. And it’s useless because most critics are unskilled and ungenerous.”
Mr. Godin also emphatically states that received wisdom pertaining to ‘states’ of impediment such as ‘suffering from a writer’s block’; ‘deserted by the muse’; etc are convenient myths and excuses that require busting. The lack of output is a direct effect of a shortage of practice. These are also tried and tested methodologies to hide ourselves from the vehemence of the critics. This is precisely what makes us sacrifice our identity at the altar of stereotype. We choose to discard our own voice and instead opt to make the noise of the herd. “Everyone has a voice in their head, and every one of those voices is different. Our experiences and dreams and fears are unique, and we shape the discourse by allowing those ideas to be shared. It might not work. But only you have your distinct voice, and hoarding it is toxic. Of course, you’re allowed to sound like you. Everyone else is taken.”
Mr. Godin also offers a ready list of role models to emulate if one wishes to keep the flame of practice ever alight within her. This impressive list includes, among others, Patricia Barber, Zaha Hadid, Joel Spolsky, Yo-Yo Ma, Tom Peters, Frida Kahlo, Banksy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Bryan Stevenson, Liz Jackson, Simone Giertz, Jonas Salk, Rosanne Cash, John Wooden etc.
Seth Godin is the author of 19 best seller works and the owner of one of the most popular blogs in the world. “The Practice” in more ways than one might be the most unique and impactful of books that he has authored – ‘yet’!
Mr. Godin exhorts the artist to just trust her process, go about her work with generosity and purpose, and, to accept both positive and negative outcomes with a measure of equanimity. The unmissable elements of Rudyard Kipling’s “If” may be detected in this lofty philosophy. It is not just Kipling whose seems to inspire Mr. Godin and his outlook. “The Practice” resonates with the teachings of the immortal Indian epic, Bhagavadgita, as the wisdom propounded by it permeates the pages of the book. Urging the individual to be agnostic about the outcome of her activities, and instead bestow the highest degree of concentration and respect on and to the process forms the bedrock of the Bhagavad Gita philosophy. Mr. Godin seems to wholeheartedly agree: “That’s because working in anticipation of what we’ll get in return takes us out of the world of self-trust and back into the never-ending search for reassurance and the perfect outcome. We believe that we need a guarantee, and that the only way to get that guarantee is with external feedback and results. It draws our eye to the mirror instead of the work.”
Elsa Freytag-Loringhoven, a Baroness and a formidable Dadaist, was a woman way ahead of her times. Revolutionizing the world of performing arts and lending a new dimension to painting, she was fanatical ‘practioner.’ Her relentless focus was on her art and practice and she cared a jot for ether recognition or reward. When she once procured a ceramic urinal at an industrial supply house, her friend Marcel Duchamp entered it into an art exhibit. This not only upended the domain of art but also signaled the beginning of an insidious trait on the part of Duchamp. As the art world began making progress or a transition from handmade works to the machine produced, Duchamp, exploited a benevolent opportunity magnanimously accorded to him by usurping credit for many a work of Elsa Freytag-Loringhoven. To the extent, that the world now recognises Duchamp as a pioneering figure, whereas Elsa Freytag remains a personality in obscurity. But as Mr. Godin rightly points out, it was a choice made by her. A choice to “live a life in art, to explore the penumbra, the spots just outside of the existing wisdom.”
The practice of an art has to be a perpetual, permanent and a perennial virtuous cycle. This is because the ultimate aim of practice is just that, more practice. An irreverent approach towards the outcome, not in a manner of arrogance or an irascible outlook, fuels an artist’s ability to keep going in the face of adversity. This is simply because she does not treat her results as adverse any more so than she judges her practice as absolutely necessary. As James Carse the author writes in his incredibly complicated but seminal work, “Infinite Games”, the objective of the play is only to remain in the play. The game has no end and there emerge neither winners not losers. “The infinite game is a catch in the backyard with your four-year-old son. You’re not trying to win catch; you’re simply playing catch. The most important parts of our lives are games that we can’t imagine winning. The process is infinite, if we trust it to be. We don’t do this work hoping that we will win, and the game will be over.”
How does one build up such a virtuous and uncompromising habit? How does one vigorously keep up the habit and yet not dilute her efforts? Mr. Godin offers his readers a few “tricks” in this regard: “Build streaks. Do the work every single day. Blog daily. Write daily. Ship daily. Show up daily. Find your streak and maintain it. Talk about your streaks to keep honest. Seek the smallest viable audience. Make it for someone, not everyone. Avoid shortcuts. Seek the most direct path instead. Find and embrace genre. Seek out desirable difficulty. Don’t talk about your dreams with people who want to protect you from heartache.”
For all those who are perturbed by criticism in general and vicious criticism in particular, and because of which shy away from sharing or shipping their work, Mr. Godin offers some invaluable advice and instills hope. Worst of all, criticism reminds us of the outcomes, not the process. He warns us not to reduce or dilute our commitment to the practice on account of an unkind remark or vitriolic comment. In the digital era that we find ourselves in, a proliferation of social media outlets ensures not only accessibility and voice, but also an avenue for venting out trenchant views and unpolished diatribes. However, most of the criticism “shared in the internet age is useless, or worse, harmful. It’s useless because it often personalizes the criticism to be about the creator, not the work. And it’s useless because most critics are unskilled and ungenerous.”
Mr. Godin also emphatically states that received wisdom pertaining to ‘states’ of impediment such as ‘suffering from a writer’s block’; ‘deserted by the muse’; etc are convenient myths and excuses that require busting. The lack of output is a direct effect of a shortage of practice. These are also tried and tested methodologies to hide ourselves from the vehemence of the critics. This is precisely what makes us sacrifice our identity at the altar of stereotype. We choose to discard our own voice and instead opt to make the noise of the herd. “Everyone has a voice in their head, and every one of those voices is different. Our experiences and dreams and fears are unique, and we shape the discourse by allowing those ideas to be shared. It might not work. But only you have your distinct voice, and hoarding it is toxic. Of course, you’re allowed to sound like you. Everyone else is taken.”
Mr. Godin also offers a ready list of role models to emulate if one wishes to keep the flame of practice ever alight within her. This impressive list includes, among others, Patricia Barber, Zaha Hadid, Joel Spolsky, Yo-Yo Ma, Tom Peters, Frida Kahlo, Banksy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Bryan Stevenson, Liz Jackson, Simone Giertz, Jonas Salk, Rosanne Cash, John Wooden etc.
Seth Godin is the author of 19 best seller works and the owner of one of the most popular blogs in the world. “The Practice” in more ways than one might be the most unique and impactful of books that he has authored – ‘yet’!
November 13, 2020
One hour in... and yet to hear any content?
Seth Godin is one of my favourite authors — Tribes was hugely influential for me. This book... was just meh. After one hour of listening I had to turn it off. I'm not quite sure what the point of the book was? Just seemed like random ramblings and fluff.
Seth Godin is one of my favourite authors — Tribes was hugely influential for me. This book... was just meh. After one hour of listening I had to turn it off. I'm not quite sure what the point of the book was? Just seemed like random ramblings and fluff.
August 2, 2023
The book is a collection of random sentences, hard to concentrate on.
The narration done by the author was so boring.
It is mostly based on the personal opinions of the author, which are not necessarily true!
The narration done by the author was so boring.
It is mostly based on the personal opinions of the author, which are not necessarily true!
January 1, 2021
Oof, gritting my teeth while I write this review because while I have enjoyed a lot of Godin's other books, not so much with this one. There's just not a lot of substance and it reads as a collection of his daily short blog posts, broadly grouped thematically. 10/10 on the core message, 5/10 on the delivery. I got more from the many, many podcasts and interviews Godin did for the release, as that's when he reduces the book to the key points. There's also a low-level up-sell to his Creative's Workshop online learning package at US$795.
2.5 stars
Recommended to check out from your library before buying.
2.5 stars
Recommended to check out from your library before buying.
April 5, 2021
Am ascultat varianta audiobook pe nerasuflate. Mi-a placut cel mai tare din toate cartile lui pentru ca e super actuala si vorbeste despre multe dintre lucrurile cu care si eu ma confrunt pe plan profesional. E genul de carte pe care o sa vreau sa o comand doar ca sa o am in biblioteca.
November 7, 2020
You have a unique contribution to make - work that only you can do, work that matters for people who need you. Think about all the artists - writers, moviemakers, entrepreneurs - who produce work that you love, work that you would miss if it were gone. That work is their gift, a generous contribution to our culture. Making change, by definition, means doing something that has never been done before, so it’s not guaranteed to work. Doesn’t matter; do it anyway - take the leap and embrace the practice, not the outcome. Do your work for someone, not everyone, because that will unlock you to do work that is opinionated and particular, not generic and average.
Everyone has something truly special to contribute. There is no “creative genius” - the magic is that there is no magic. The creative genius will show up when you do the work, not the other way around. So get to it! Produce tons of terrible work - it’s “practice” for a reason - and eventually the good work can’t help but show up. We need you. Letting fear stop you is selfish and it deprives us all of the work you are capable of.
Everyone has something truly special to contribute. There is no “creative genius” - the magic is that there is no magic. The creative genius will show up when you do the work, not the other way around. So get to it! Produce tons of terrible work - it’s “practice” for a reason - and eventually the good work can’t help but show up. We need you. Letting fear stop you is selfish and it deprives us all of the work you are capable of.
February 7, 2021
I thought that this book had some real nuggets of wisdom about the creative process and particularly about being a professional in a creative industry. However, I thought that the delivery of the content was repetitive and meandering making it difficult to follow and weakening the arguments the author made. Worth a read but if you can find a good synopsis or an interview with the author that might be a better bet.
August 29, 2021
For a self-help book, this gets 5 stars. As a creative always seeking motivation and a profound reason to keep writing about the environment (in the face of not-good news), I found many great ideas here. Seth Godin just pounds again and again that what matters is showing up and doing the work, what he calls "the practice," without thinking about outcome. You just do the work. The word "shipping" in the title was quite confusing at first, especially because my husband is an oil painter and he's always shipping work. When Godin says "shipping," think "doing." It means shipping it from the inside of you to the outside of you. Showing up and shipping it. I finished this book this morning & took lots of notes, including some mantras to post above my desk in my studio. I wish I owned this copy and didn't have to return it to the library. I have a feeling I'll need to read it a few more times. Now, let's get busy shipping.
November 27, 2020
A book I meant to love. Instead, it struck me as close kin to "The War of Art". Pressfield got page time and offered a blub on the back.
I did not like "The War of Art", a text that had all the thinly veiled "try harder" energy of a cis her white man who hasn't been to therapy. A one note carelessness about internal experience, a reduction in possible explanations for "resistance".
Godin offers 200+ blog post vignettes on making creative work. And seems to miss that not all art is made for the same ends or by similar processes. More work, more "shipping", is not how we navigate the fluctuations of life. Seasons matter as much for output and regularity as "merely do it".
Also. You can't go critiquing Shelley for a view of poetry you suggest is lazy when that view resulted in work that's lasted according to the parameters of value you've set out.
I did not like "The War of Art", a text that had all the thinly veiled "try harder" energy of a cis her white man who hasn't been to therapy. A one note carelessness about internal experience, a reduction in possible explanations for "resistance".
Godin offers 200+ blog post vignettes on making creative work. And seems to miss that not all art is made for the same ends or by similar processes. More work, more "shipping", is not how we navigate the fluctuations of life. Seasons matter as much for output and regularity as "merely do it".
Also. You can't go critiquing Shelley for a view of poetry you suggest is lazy when that view resulted in work that's lasted according to the parameters of value you've set out.
November 14, 2022
100 pages into the book I thought I’ll abandon it. I found it fluffy and repetitive and very motivational-quote-generator-like.
It basically said “Trust yourself and do the work”, only in so many other words and spread over a hundred pages.
Sentences like “The essence of your art doesn’t come from a rare place of genius. The magic of your art is that you choose to share it.” just made me cringe.
Although, the chapter “No such thing as writer’s block” was quite good and delivered some interesting ideas.
Nevertheless, having read only SG’s blogs before (that are typically very snappy and substantial) I was surprised by this book’s level of fluffiness and repetition.
It basically said “Trust yourself and do the work”, only in so many other words and spread over a hundred pages.
Sentences like “The essence of your art doesn’t come from a rare place of genius. The magic of your art is that you choose to share it.” just made me cringe.
Although, the chapter “No such thing as writer’s block” was quite good and delivered some interesting ideas.
Nevertheless, having read only SG’s blogs before (that are typically very snappy and substantial) I was surprised by this book’s level of fluffiness and repetition.
May 10, 2021
This was my intro to Seth Godin, and it was pretty good. While not a single, developing narrative, this is more of a bullet-point style manifesto. It extols the virtue of art: defined as "the generous act of making something better by doing something that might not work." He praises process: process saves us from the poverty of our intentions. While not every sentence is highlight worthy, several are. You will be the rare individual who reads this book and gets nothing from it.
Read
March 5, 2024I...honestly don't know how to rate this book or how I feel about it. I read it on a recommendation from an author for writers who struggle with perfectionism, and I can kinda see why, but...it is an odd book.
It's kind of about mindset, but it's not great at telling you *how* to implement mindset, just what your mindset should be. That's the gap I can't figure out how to bridge. It did have some interesting thoughts and perspectives on art and creating art. Sometimes it felt muddled, as the author tries to explain how we're supposed to both meet reader/genre expectations but not surrender to mediocrity, how we should be our unique, peculiar selves because that's what makes our art worth creating, but also authenticity is a lie because...we always have to adjust for expectations, or something? Don't settle but don't think outside the box. Don't focus on outcomes but don't create only for yourself.
Parts of this were brilliant. Parts I didn't get at all. Parts I don't think I agree with. I felt like it had an underlying possibly New Age worldview, which made it a little odd for me, as my worldview is different. It also is laid out bizarrely, in a bunch of very short sections that aren't always clear how it flows from one to the next. It almost reads like a collection of someone's "trying to be deep but not always succeeding" social media captions or something.
But at the same time, it *did* have a core of valuing and finding joy in the process of generously creating for the purpose of making a change, sharing what you've created without guarantees, and trusting yourself to be able to create art (but not the same as trusting you can affect a specific outcome) and letting "not good *yet*" be a normal part of the process, that I think if I get my mind around how to really believe and implement, would be beneficial. I did kind of appreciate his thoughts on demystifying creating art and on professionalism. Although oddly, at the same time, his talk of "the practice", which doesn't get defined until the end and then the definition is kind of vague, feels almost mystical, so... Yeah. I have no idea.
I might re-read this, or at least re-visit my copious highlights, in an attempt to better understand this and internalize the parts that seem useful.
It's kind of about mindset, but it's not great at telling you *how* to implement mindset, just what your mindset should be. That's the gap I can't figure out how to bridge. It did have some interesting thoughts and perspectives on art and creating art. Sometimes it felt muddled, as the author tries to explain how we're supposed to both meet reader/genre expectations but not surrender to mediocrity, how we should be our unique, peculiar selves because that's what makes our art worth creating, but also authenticity is a lie because...we always have to adjust for expectations, or something? Don't settle but don't think outside the box. Don't focus on outcomes but don't create only for yourself.
Parts of this were brilliant. Parts I didn't get at all. Parts I don't think I agree with. I felt like it had an underlying possibly New Age worldview, which made it a little odd for me, as my worldview is different. It also is laid out bizarrely, in a bunch of very short sections that aren't always clear how it flows from one to the next. It almost reads like a collection of someone's "trying to be deep but not always succeeding" social media captions or something.
But at the same time, it *did* have a core of valuing and finding joy in the process of generously creating for the purpose of making a change, sharing what you've created without guarantees, and trusting yourself to be able to create art (but not the same as trusting you can affect a specific outcome) and letting "not good *yet*" be a normal part of the process, that I think if I get my mind around how to really believe and implement, would be beneficial. I did kind of appreciate his thoughts on demystifying creating art and on professionalism. Although oddly, at the same time, his talk of "the practice", which doesn't get defined until the end and then the definition is kind of vague, feels almost mystical, so... Yeah. I have no idea.
I might re-read this, or at least re-visit my copious highlights, in an attempt to better understand this and internalize the parts that seem useful.
November 29, 2020
Felt a little like the non fiction self help version of the movie Being John Malkovich or Momento. It's the kind of book that you finish and think, what the heck did I just read. Let me think about it for a while. I need to flip back through and see if I missed the plot. Was there a plot, or a point? Were there too many points?
It seemed to bounce arround like a stream of consciousness leaving me to wonder what it was all about. I'll be reading one page, flip to the next, and wonder if I accidentally turned two pages. Nope, he just decided to move on to a new thread. I read it all the way through in a couple days thinking that the first 90% was some elaborate set up for the major aha moment. Yet it never really came for me, leaving me to ponder it's existence.
There were plenty of great one liners and ideas worth sharing, but it all seemed so disconnected. Kind of felt like reading his daily blog.
I finished the book, so that typically means 3 stars for me, but since I would struggle to recommend it to someone, I think I'll drop to 2 stars.
But I will give it this... The book inspired me to get off my ass, and finish a certain something that I let languish. It's time to ship it.
To sum up takeaways, to the best of my recollection:
- Everyone is born with a talent for something, but we can all develop skills... "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."
- Everyone has a story or "art" to share, and it's selfish not to "ship" it (put it out there)
- know your audience. But narrow it. You can't make something that pleases everyone, or you'll please nobody. Have empathy.
- "the first thing is making exactly what you want, for you. And the second thing is making something for those you seek to connect and change. Pursuing either is fine. Pursuing both is a recipe for unhappiness, because what you're actually doing is insisting that other people want what you want and see what you see."
- focus on the process, not the outcome.
- just start going, the the details of the outcome will emerge. But have intent. Understand what's it for.
- be proud of your work... "Because most of the time you won't go viral, it's worth producing work you're proud of, even if you don't have a hit in the end."
- "if we choose to do work for generous reasons, and not for reciprocity or a long con but simply because we can, we stop believing that we are owed by others."
- "Gratitude isn't a problem. But believing were owed gratitude is a trap."
- don't worry so much... "The time we spend worrying is actually time we're spending trying to control something that is out of our control"
- intent matters... As part of your work or art, what change so you seek to make.... "If there's no intent, it's likely that there's no change either. If there's no intent, it's unlikely that things will get better."
- "all we can do is choose the right people, bring them the right work in the right way with the right intent, and then leave it to them to shift their emotional states."
- use "what's it for" to validate the why and discover the intent. Everything has a "what's it for", the goal is to align your effort around that.
- excuses are not in the vocabulary of people that make a difference.... "The truth: if a reason doesn't stop everyone, it's an excuse, not an actual roadblock."
- Struggling is necessary to level up... "Desirable difficulty is the hard work of doing hard work. Setting up for things that cause a struggle, because we know after the struggle, we'll be at a new level."
- "you are in charge of how you spend your time. In charge of the questions you ask. In charge of the insight that you produce. In the powerful, horizontal organization, each of us decides what to learn next, who to talk with next, and what to move up in the agenda. This new freedom requires us to find a habit that will lead us to share our voices, even when it's inconvenient or frightening."
- don't let others decide for you... "Mostly: you are in charge of the change you make in the world. Who else should be? Who else could be?"
- Concludes with a cool list of where ideas come from... "Ideas rarely come from watching television. Ideas sometimes come from listening to a lecture. Ideas often come while reading a book. Good ideas come from bad ideas, but only if there are enough of them. Ideas hate conference rooms, particularly conference rooms where there is a history of criticism, personal attacks, or boredom. Ideas occur when dissimilar universes collide...."
It seemed to bounce arround like a stream of consciousness leaving me to wonder what it was all about. I'll be reading one page, flip to the next, and wonder if I accidentally turned two pages. Nope, he just decided to move on to a new thread. I read it all the way through in a couple days thinking that the first 90% was some elaborate set up for the major aha moment. Yet it never really came for me, leaving me to ponder it's existence.
There were plenty of great one liners and ideas worth sharing, but it all seemed so disconnected. Kind of felt like reading his daily blog.
I finished the book, so that typically means 3 stars for me, but since I would struggle to recommend it to someone, I think I'll drop to 2 stars.
But I will give it this... The book inspired me to get off my ass, and finish a certain something that I let languish. It's time to ship it.
To sum up takeaways, to the best of my recollection:
- Everyone is born with a talent for something, but we can all develop skills... "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."
- Everyone has a story or "art" to share, and it's selfish not to "ship" it (put it out there)
- know your audience. But narrow it. You can't make something that pleases everyone, or you'll please nobody. Have empathy.
- "the first thing is making exactly what you want, for you. And the second thing is making something for those you seek to connect and change. Pursuing either is fine. Pursuing both is a recipe for unhappiness, because what you're actually doing is insisting that other people want what you want and see what you see."
- focus on the process, not the outcome.
- just start going, the the details of the outcome will emerge. But have intent. Understand what's it for.
- be proud of your work... "Because most of the time you won't go viral, it's worth producing work you're proud of, even if you don't have a hit in the end."
- "if we choose to do work for generous reasons, and not for reciprocity or a long con but simply because we can, we stop believing that we are owed by others."
- "Gratitude isn't a problem. But believing were owed gratitude is a trap."
- don't worry so much... "The time we spend worrying is actually time we're spending trying to control something that is out of our control"
- intent matters... As part of your work or art, what change so you seek to make.... "If there's no intent, it's likely that there's no change either. If there's no intent, it's unlikely that things will get better."
- "all we can do is choose the right people, bring them the right work in the right way with the right intent, and then leave it to them to shift their emotional states."
- use "what's it for" to validate the why and discover the intent. Everything has a "what's it for", the goal is to align your effort around that.
- excuses are not in the vocabulary of people that make a difference.... "The truth: if a reason doesn't stop everyone, it's an excuse, not an actual roadblock."
- Struggling is necessary to level up... "Desirable difficulty is the hard work of doing hard work. Setting up for things that cause a struggle, because we know after the struggle, we'll be at a new level."
- "you are in charge of how you spend your time. In charge of the questions you ask. In charge of the insight that you produce. In the powerful, horizontal organization, each of us decides what to learn next, who to talk with next, and what to move up in the agenda. This new freedom requires us to find a habit that will lead us to share our voices, even when it's inconvenient or frightening."
- don't let others decide for you... "Mostly: you are in charge of the change you make in the world. Who else should be? Who else could be?"
- Concludes with a cool list of where ideas come from... "Ideas rarely come from watching television. Ideas sometimes come from listening to a lecture. Ideas often come while reading a book. Good ideas come from bad ideas, but only if there are enough of them. Ideas hate conference rooms, particularly conference rooms where there is a history of criticism, personal attacks, or boredom. Ideas occur when dissimilar universes collide...."
February 9, 2021
Great book on the creative process. Loved the punchy-soundbites-style of writing that Seth incorporates in all his books.
Time to make some noise.
Would've been a 5-star, but it gets a little too repetitive. Could've been 75 pages shorter.
Time to make some noise.
Would've been a 5-star, but it gets a little too repetitive. Could've been 75 pages shorter.
Read
March 18, 2021Ship the work.
I’ll be using this phrase for a long time
I read this book in tandem with “Art & Faith” by Fujimora. Together they formed a powerful one-two punch from both a theological and practical POV.
Soooooo many great ideas about creating. And so many of them applicable to life in general.
Highly recommend.
I’ll be using this phrase for a long time
I read this book in tandem with “Art & Faith” by Fujimora. Together they formed a powerful one-two punch from both a theological and practical POV.
Soooooo many great ideas about creating. And so many of them applicable to life in general.
Highly recommend.
December 15, 2020
Succinct in reframing how to approach the creative process in a realistic, sustainable, and fulfilling way. Impactful reading for getting out of creative ruts and establishing a system for long-term progress.
November 7, 2021
V najnovšej knihe sa Seth Godin prihovára tvorcom všetkého druhu. A robí to tak, že aj mňa, večného skeptika, to namotivovalo a nadchlo.
Búra extrémne veľa mýtov, s ktorými sa bežne stretávajú ľudia, ktorí chcú tvoriť obsah alebo podnikať - nie som v tom dosť dobrý, nemám talent, nikto to nebude sledovať či kupovať. Blbosť všetko.
Tvorivá práca je v prvom rade práca. Tvrdá, pravidelná a dlhodobá. Nemusí zaujať masy, stačí, keď ju ocení dostatočne veľká skupina ľudí. Netvoríme pre výsledok, ale pre samotný tvorivý proces, ktorý nám pomáha stále sa zlepšovať. Prečítajte si to.
Búra extrémne veľa mýtov, s ktorými sa bežne stretávajú ľudia, ktorí chcú tvoriť obsah alebo podnikať - nie som v tom dosť dobrý, nemám talent, nikto to nebude sledovať či kupovať. Blbosť všetko.
Tvorivá práca je v prvom rade práca. Tvrdá, pravidelná a dlhodobá. Nemusí zaujať masy, stačí, keď ju ocení dostatočne veľká skupina ľudí. Netvoríme pre výsledok, ale pre samotný tvorivý proces, ktorý nám pomáha stále sa zlepšovať. Prečítajte si to.
November 8, 2020
Maybe Seth’s best yet.
I not only liked this book — I needed this book. It will be one I re-read and refer to multiple times.
I not only liked this book — I needed this book. It will be one I re-read and refer to multiple times.
October 5, 2021
The Practice is a collection of aphorisms (which resemble mini-TED talks) about creating, sharing, and developing your art for distribution and consumption. The book seems meant to be taken in bites, few chapters being longer than two pages. That style is fine on its face, and there's certainly great value in brevity. But Godin lacks the depth of a philosopher, landing somewhere between dedicated camp counselor and tech bro speaking at a shareholder's meeting. Some of the lessons are worth imbibing (e.g. "Why Worry?" either something will happen and you can't stop it or it won't so don't worry), but eventually I couldn't finish this book as it seemed to collect the wisdom of other people who also said it better.
August 18, 2021
Some great anecdotes and tips here and there, but the lack of an overall narrative made it difficult and uninteresting to digest.
December 16, 2020
I can't recall the number of times I've judged, harshly, what I created. Meaning, judging the output. It's easy to judge what is easy to see — a published blog post, a published photography, a published song. I could have been more clear in this paragraph. I could have increased the contrast. I could have improved the lyrics.
It's great to analyze previous work and draw lessons for future improvements. Being critical of our own work helps us grow and tweak the process. But is it productive to be so harshly critical, we fear the "share" button?
Maybe we should be more critical towards the present hours that are not being dedicated to the practice — writing, photographing, playing. Tomorrow I will do it. When I have more time. When I learn this new thing. When the new year starts. Next Monday. When there are no more excuses.
For the times I harshly criticize the work I made — at least is published.
Are you publishing enough?
Read more here: https://www.filipacanelas.com/blog/pu...
It's great to analyze previous work and draw lessons for future improvements. Being critical of our own work helps us grow and tweak the process. But is it productive to be so harshly critical, we fear the "share" button?
Maybe we should be more critical towards the present hours that are not being dedicated to the practice — writing, photographing, playing. Tomorrow I will do it. When I have more time. When I learn this new thing. When the new year starts. Next Monday. When there are no more excuses.
For the times I harshly criticize the work I made — at least is published.
Are you publishing enough?
Read more here: https://www.filipacanelas.com/blog/pu...
May 7, 2021
Haven’t had the time or attention span lately to fully read a book from cover to cover but this is the one is the piece that’s gotten me back.
Personally have a hit or miss relationship with Seth Godin’s books and this was definitely a hit on my end.
Would recommend this book for creative thinkers as the first half of the book was heavily centered on them.
The latter half though was more generally applicable to everyone!
Anyways, this is really one of the books that should be read on a physical copy in my opinion.
I can really see myself reading this book again and again as time progresses.
Personally have a hit or miss relationship with Seth Godin’s books and this was definitely a hit on my end.
Would recommend this book for creative thinkers as the first half of the book was heavily centered on them.
The latter half though was more generally applicable to everyone!
Anyways, this is really one of the books that should be read on a physical copy in my opinion.
I can really see myself reading this book again and again as time progresses.
December 31, 2023
خلاقیت ذاتی و خودبرانگیخته، جادویی است و ممکن است همه به آن پی نبرند اما با استراتژی و نظم و استمرار، میتوانید خلاقیت خود را به کار معنادار تبدیل کنید. بررسی کردن اهداف به طور هوشمندانه، مخاطبان هدف و مهارتهایتان میتواند شما را در مسیر موفقیت هنرآفرینی قرار دهد.
یک ��وصیه:
از طرد شدن نترسید
افراد خلاق و موفق کمتر از دیگران طرد نمیشوند بلکه آنها فقط بیشتر سماجت به خرج میدهند و از طرد شدن نمیترسند.
یک ��وصیه:
از طرد شدن نترسید
افراد خلاق و موفق کمتر از دیگران طرد نمیشوند بلکه آنها فقط بیشتر سماجت به خرج میدهند و از طرد شدن نمیترسند.
March 6, 2021
There are books that enlighten the mind, feed one’s faith, or sharpen on skills. Then there are books that are kick in the pants. This book is the later. As the title suggest, it challenges the reader to focus on the practice and stop worrying about the outcome. I needed and enjoyed this book. And I highly recommend it to anyone who seeks to create something for the benefit of others.
March 8, 2021
What an excellent book! Filled with nuggets of wisdom and some fun facts here and there, like where the term "being a hack" comes from. Many of the ideas in this book have already been said by other authors, but Seth Godin always has a way of putting it all together and delivering it masterfully. This is also a great book to read during these pandemic times, will get your creative juices flowing and just give you a better attitude towards life in general.
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