Seth Godin and the Concept of “Enough”

So far, I’ve run into Seth Godin downtown in the “town that time forgot” twice in the last seven days.  Both times I was shocked–the first time because even though I knew he lived somewhere in Westchester County –his blog is listed right near mine on the rivertownsguide.com, which I think is hilarious–I had no idea he was my neighbor.

The second time I ran into him, I was sitting outside the farmer’s market with my dog and he walked by and said “what a cute dog”.  I just sat there on the library steps blubbering…I only managed to mutter  “thanks.”  It was morning and I couldn’t imagine having an intelligent conversation with anyone, let alone Seth Godin.  So when I run into him again–and I know I will…I’ll have a little something to say because I’ve been paying a lot more attention to his blog.  Yesterday’s post in particular gave me a little food for thought.

Not Publishing Any More Books

He announced for the second time this year that he won’t be publishing any more books.  The publishing industry, like the record industry ten years ago, is on the verge of collapse and their business model is totally outdated.

He said this:
All a long way of saying that as the methods for spreading ideas and engaging with people keep changing, I can’t think of a good reason to be on the defensive. It’s been years since I woke up in the morning saying, “I need to write a book, I wonder what it should be about.” Instead, my mission is to figure out who the audience is, and take them where they want and need to go, in whatever format works, even if it’s not a traditionally published book.

Seth spoke with many publishers about this idea–only to be met with massive resistance.

To be succinct: I’m not sure that I serve my audience (you) by worrying about how a new approach is going to help or hurt Barnes & Noble.

I totally agree.  He’s out to serve his audience, not the book business.   Letting go of the way things have been done to make space for a new innovative solution is the optimal mind set for a business person.  Doesn’t hurt to take this approach in life in general either.

Going with the flow
It’s easy for him to go with the flow–he has the freedom to let go of the traditional publishing format because he’s already an established entity.  Regardless of the platform he uses to spread ideas, people will listen.

I’ve been talking about the emotional counterpart to this for months and I refer to it as the feeling of having or being “more than enough.”
He has more than enough money, notariety, respect, and authority which enables him to take big risks.

Being/having more than enough
How would being more than enough and having more than enough translate in your business?   In your life?  What risks would having that security allow you to take? .  How would it change your day? How would it affect your interactions with every person you encounter?

What if thousands of people were waiting with baited breath for your blog posts and checking out your website?

I am fascinated by the concept of “more than enough” and I invite you to examine it for yourself.

I’m talking about embracing the emotional security that affords that luxurious feeling:  doing your thing and knowing no matter what, you couldn’t fail…or that it didn’t matter if you did.  The emotional security that allows you to go out on a limb, because as Shirley Maclaine said so many years ago…baby, that’s where the fruit is.

Maybe it’s time we started coming from “more than enough” so we can experience the freedom to access our deep creativity, instead of running our businesses in survival mode.
You just might come up with the world’s next great idea.