Seth Godin Quotes

Kickstarter eliminates the risk that publishers and booksellers face. They have limited resources and limited shelf space, and Kickstarter is proof to them that something is going to work.

Habits like blogging often and regularly, writing down the way you think, being clear about what you think are effective tactics, ignoring the burbling crowd and not eating bacon. All of these are useful habits.

In a crowded marketplace, fitting in is a failure. In a busy marketplace, not standing out is the same as being invisible.

The internet was supposed to homogenize everyone by connecting us all. Instead what it’s allowed is silos of interest.

Kickstarter isn’t a profit center, it’s an organizer and an instigator.

The minute there’s a map, there is no art. Paint by numbers is not art. Paint by numbers is a mechanical activity.

Habits like blogging often and regularly, writing down the way you think, being clear about what you think are effective tactics, ignoring the burbling crowd and not eating bacon. All of these are useful habits.

This notion that it is up to each person to innovate in some way flies in the face of the industrial age, but you know what, the industrial age is over.

A bully is playing a game, one that he or she enjoys and needs. You’re welcome to play this game if it makes you happy, but for most people, it will make you miserable.

And it turns out that tribes, not money, not factories, that can change our world, that can change politics, that can align large numbers of people. Not because you force them to do something against their will. But because they wanted to connect.

Being a leader gives you charisma. If you look and study the leaders who have succeeded, that’s where charisma comes from, from the leading.

My blogging life is basically goalless. I like the zen nature of that, and paradoxically, it improves results.

If you’re going to buy a real book, a paper book, there better be a good reason. Perhaps scarcity is one of those reasons.

Being a leader gives you charisma. If you look and study the leaders who have succeeded, that’s where charisma comes from, from the leading.

Most people have bosses who hire them to fill a slot in the work chart and to do what they are told. And most people who are doing what they are told feel safe; it feels reliable.

The minute there’s a map, there is no art. Paint by numbers is not art. Paint by numbers is a mechanical activity.

I think that the economics of book publishing favor hits with long book runs. You make all your money on the last bunch of books, not the first.

I intentionally abandoned the hard stuff early on because not only do I think it’s useless, I think it’s a distraction.

I learned that a long walk and calm conversation are an incredible combination if you want to build a bridge.

I find that I have about six bloggable ideas a day. I also find that writing twice as long a post doesn’t increase communication, it usually decreases it. And finally, I found that people get antsy if there are unread posts in their queue.

If you’re going to buy a real book, a paper book, there better be a good reason. Perhaps scarcity is one of those reasons.

I made a decision to write for my readers, not to try to find more readers for my writing.

I think that the economics of book publishing favor hits with long book runs. You make all your money on the last bunch of books, not the first.

We’re not going to outgrow our need for information.

The danger of the Web is that you can go from idea to public announcement in under ten minutes.

If a product’s future is unlikely to be remarkable – if you can’t imagine a future in which people are once again fascinated by your product – it’s time to realize that the game has changed. Instead of investing in a dying product, take profits and reinvest them in building something new.

Dig your well before you’re thirsty.

I learned that a long walk and calm conversation are an incredible combination if you want to build a bridge.

The future of publishing is about having connections to readers and the knowledge of what those readers want.

Marketing is a contest for people’s attention.

A bully is playing a game, one that he or she enjoys and needs. You’re welcome to play this game if it makes you happy, but for most people, it will make you miserable.

Permission marketing turns strangers into friends and friends into loyal customers. It’s not just about entertainment – it’s about education. Permission marketing is curriculum marketing.

The future of publishing is about having connections to readers and the knowledge of what those readers want.

What tribes are, is a very simple concept that goes back 50 million years. It’s about leading and connecting people and ideas. And it’s something that people have wanted forever.

Normal is fading away. Governments and industries and schools like normal, because it’s easier, it scales and it’s profitable. But people don’t like it – we want to be who we are, not who some marketer tells us to be.

When enough people care about autism or diabetes or global warming, it helps everyone, even if only a tiny fraction actively participate.

In a crowded marketplace, fitting in is a failure. In a busy marketplace, not standing out is the same as being invisible.

The thing about information is that information is more valuable when people know it. There’s an exception for business information and super timely information, but in all other cases, ideas that spread win.

I was lucky enough to co-found a business in college that ended up with 400 employees, and I launched 20 different projects while I was there – a project a week.

One reason I encourage people to blog is that the act of doing it stretches your available vocabulary and hones a new voice.