25 & Trying

Linchpins, Anyone?

Normally, I would reserve my book reviews and thoughts on the latest reads for my books section of this blog (saving the non-book lovers the experience of reading every book I read in a given month…) BUT Seth Godin is a blogging figure that I knew would relate to many of the things that we discuss here and among many bloggers online.

The career network many of us belong to (here, and if you aren’t a member, you should join) focuses around work and how our networks can thrive. Seth Godin, whose blog you can find here, is one of the most widely read bloggers of all time about this subject – and in the unique way that only HE can do it.

He has created buzzwords in a lot of his different books (The Purple Cow, The Dip, Tries), and uses that word as a tool throughout the work to describe his ultimate point. In Linchpin, Godin talks about our need to make ourselves indispensable- both in life, and in work, but he obviously focuses on work.

This can be achieved through any number of ways and Godin spends little time actually trying to TEACH you what it is you can do to do this. For him, this misses the point. We all have to find our own art, whatever that contribution may be, and start creating it.

I know many people can get bogged down in the buzzwords and in the fact that he writes without specifics. Many pick up this book thinking they’re going to get the Holy Grail of career advice. And it can be – if you’re willing to do the work. The book takes the ideas of gift-giving (not expecting money in return for things, wanting to expand your network through genuine interaction), art creation, and overall living your life in a way that combines being ZEN with being constantly in creation, to give inspiration to those people looking for a push.

For me, Godin’s most compelling point is The Lizard Brain. I’ll spare you the brain anatomy lesson – but basically, this part of the brain is nervous, afraid of rejection, telling the rest of you the reasons not to do things (read: me most times of the day.) I almost randomly started talking to someone in Starbucks about the implications of this yesterday. It was THAT thought provoking.

Haha. Kind of an irony. I am too shy/scared of rejection to talk to strangers most of the time, so reading about The Lizard Brain was enough to ALMOST get me there. But The Lizard Brain stepped in and stopped me.

Either way, this lizard situation is definitely the thing holding me back most of the time. I think about the finances, the personal/professional implications, and I just don’t do. In my head, I’ve created 5 nonprofit organizations, and remained a dedicated and passionate person. In my practice, I am scared.

Seth kicked my ass a bit. I DON’T WANT TO BE A COG IN A MACHINE. I won’t say I’m a changed human being, but I am thinking about starting my week tomorrow on a Seth Godin note.

The de-Lizarding process starts now.