Book of the Quarter: The Practice: shipping creative work

The Practice: shipping creative work, by Seth Godin; Copyright © 2020 by Do You Zoom, Inc.; Penguin, New York

On the fifth Tuesday of each quarter of the year, I share a book I’ve read recently. I highlighted “mustard seeds” which impressed me. I hope you find one or two that will be helpful to you.

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Creativity is a choice, it’s not a bolt of lightning from somewhere else (page 3, Kindle Edition).

If you want to change your story, change your actions first. When we choose to act a certain way, our mind can’t help but rework our narrative to make those actions become coherent. We become what we do (page 19, Kindle Edition).

The trap is this: only after we do the difficult work does it become our calling. Only after we trust the process does it become our passion. “Do what you love” is for amateurs. “Love what you do” is the mantra for professionals (page 22, Kindle Edition).

Trust is not self-confidence. Trust is a commitment to the practice, a decision to lead and make change happen, regardless of the bumps in the road, because you know that engaging in the practice is better than hiding from it (page 36, Kindle Edition).

Problems have solutions. That’s what makes them problems. A problem without a solution isn’t a problem, it’s simply a situation (page 54, Kindle Edition).

We’re not born to be selfish. And the economics of living in community make it clear that short-term hustle rarely benefits anyone. But when you’re flailing and looking for something (anything) to stand on, there’s pressure to choose the selfish path. To a drowning man, everyone else is a stepping-stone to safety (page 85, Kindle Edition).

Worrying is impossible without attachment. No one worries about the weather on Saturn, because no one is counting on the weather to be a certain way. The time we spend worrying is actually time we’re spending trying to control something that is out of our control. Time invested in something that is within our control is called work. That’s where our most productive focus lies (page 99, Kindle Edition).

A professional is not simply a happy amateur who got paid (page 105, Kindle Edition).

“You have two options,” she told Rolling Stone, “You can stay the same and protect the formula that gave you your initial success. They’re going to crucify you for staying the same. If you change, they’re going to crucify you for changing. But staying the same is boring. And change is interesting. So of the two options,” she concluded cheerfully, “I’d rather be crucified for changing” (page 108, Kindle Edition).

We have a meeting at 4:00 p.m. Okay, what’s it for? Well, we always have this meeting … So, the “what’s-it-for” is: It’s easier to maintain the status quo than to risk not having the meeting. What the meeting is for is making sure that the people who like having the meeting aren’t upset (page 143, Kindle Edition).

Each step is movement on a journey that we can only hope will continue. The infinite game has no winners or losers, no time clock or scoreboard. It is simply a chance to trust ourselves enough to participate (page 168, Kindle Edition).

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