Seth Godin‘s speech on finite games & doing things that matter #inbound15

The two ideas at once, it might work or it might not work. Have to be held in your mind at the same time. Hold onto and embrace opposing viewpoints in your mind.

Do something that matters

If you want a bestseller. Build something for some people. Not all people. Even the best books get 1-star reviews. Of course they get 1-star reviews.

Make something that certain people will NOT wait in line for so that it’ll be something that other people WILL wait in line for.

John Cage, Jackson Pollock — Made art that was hated. But they made it anyway.

There is no such thing as writers block. The lizard brain doesn’t want you to be responsible for what happens if you do write.

What do we do instead? We seek reassurance. We go to the pre-VC meeting and say “Tell me what to say?”

“The less reassurance people can give you, the more important the work is.”— Seth Godin

Infinite games

Finite games are the normal games we are familiar with. It has a beginning and end.

Juggling is an infinite game; playing catch with your kid is an infinite game.

In a connection economy we want to play the infinite game. I’m throwing this ball so you’ll throw it back. I’m giving you this so you’ll give it to someone else. Together we create value.

Find little threads of people we’re interested in and help them. Amplify them and connect them to each other.

It’ll always feel too soon to take the leap

When Gutenburg built the printing press only 7 percent of the European population could read.

I can notice things, imagine things, connect people. And then do things that actually matter.

Here’s how to become qualified, do things you aren’t qualified to do.

Everyone who’s done something that has impacted you was not qualified before they did the thing.

“I’m no longer quite sure what the question is, but I do know that the answer is Yes.” — Leonard Bernstein