I’m a huge fan of Seth Godin. Why? Because he continues to come up with downright practical concepts that relate to many areas of life. If you’ve never heard the name, Seth Godin is the author of Tribes, The Dip and All Marketers Are Liars among many others. They’re small books with big ideas. They’d come in quite handy if you’re trying to run a Leadership development effort, teach high school or college students, become a better supervisor, promote your business or cope with a personal or professional change.

I like to find books that relate to many areas of life. Personally, I’m tired of authors recycling the same old concepts (or the same old companies) as examples of how to do things. Despite the fact people say there are no new fresh ideas, there ARE a million fresh new applications!

One of the newest applications are social media and social networking tools. But they’re not for everyone and as Seth says in the interview below, it’s smart to be choosy because you can’t be good at them all. You’d have to give up the time and energy you spend on what you are good at in order to become, at best, mediocre in those other areas.

So watch the video below, listen carefully and take notes. Then scroll down for 10 reasons why I think Seth Godin rocks!

Reasons Why Seth Godin Rocks

Because he (and I) believe that…

1. It’s better to be a meaningful specific than a wandering generality. People need to know how to “frame” you so they’re not surprised, so they know how to approach you, so they know what you stand for, so they know how to use your skills, talents, products or services.
2. It’s difficult to get people to listen AND to care. Avoid listing the features of things. Focus on the benefits and outcomes instead. How do you help them improve their condition, how do you make them feel?
3. You may need to change your message to give ‘em what they need. You may be the most skilled salesperson, recruiter or presenter in the world, but your talking points will not move them to act unless you address what’s on their mind, what stresses them out, what’s costing them time, or what’s wasting them money.
4. You shouldn’t spend your time or money trying to attract people (clients, customers, employees) who are boring.
5. Boring people aren’t enthused about the benefits you offer. They dance around the fringes of your “tribe”. They siphon off your energy and distract you from focusing on your loyal members. They are rude, inconsiderate and do not see you as a serious player.
6. Better to spend time in personal, specific communication with smaller groups of people who “get” you than wasting time trying to be heard and valued by larger groups of anonymous others.
7. Create the thing you want to be part of, something worth talking about
8. Choose to be remarkable at one or two key skills, strengths, competencies. Not everyone has a face for radio.
9. Leverage another hobby, strength or passion if something doesn’t work out. Singer/Actor Doris Day was a very talented dancer in her youth – before the car accident that seriously injured her legs.
10. Research shows that remarkable people get that way after 10,000 hours of practice, so get busy. Time’s a wastin’!

Writing from 6711 ft. above sea level