Linchpin Sessions – A great introduction to Seth Godin

I you have been following me at my other site Greyscalegorilla, you may have noticed that I have been obsessed with the latest book from Seth Godin, called Linchpin.

I have read the book four times now and every time it gets better and more relevant to my situation. If you want a quick introduction to Seth and some of the ideas in this incredible book, you can start by listening to this MP3 recording of one of his Linchpin Sessions that he had recently in NYC. If any of what he says speaks to you, go buy the book. Or, do one better and get the Audiobook Version because Seth reads it himself. I love it when authors read their own books.

There is no competence shortage. If all you have is competence to offer, then why on earth would we pay you extra?

Listen carefully to the first section of this MP3 about the sugarcane. It speaks heavily to where all creative industry is going. When everyone has a sugarcane processor (AKA: A laptop with all the software) then it’s what you do above and beyond that makes you special and valuable to the market.

Listen to the Linchpin Sessions

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  • Dude. This might sound a little man-crushy but you are an inspiration. Just realized that you ran this blog on top of developing two killer iPhone apps and rockin the Gorilla site (plus Reel Roulette). The Multi-Disciplinary Machine! Congrats and continued success.

  • I totally enjoyed the second section of the session.

    The perception of not needing a permission (aka college degree or whatever) to do the things that you love and having a generous mindset satisfies my opinion.

    Because to me it doesn’t matter where someone gets his knowledge and experience from as long as he’s having fun learning his craft and doing great work that he and his clients like. 🙂

    Does anyone know where I could find Seth Godin’s other Linchpin sessions?

  • Great keynote talk from Seth Godin.

    You’re right – people are willing to pay a premium for passion, but if you’re only doing the bare minimum you can’t expect to be rewarded for it.

    Loved his comment on “give people a mile and they’ll take an inch”.

    Brilliant.
    –Phil

  • Hey Nick,
    I can’t thank you enough for recommending Linchpin in your videocast a few weeks back… Before that, I was like “I’m a freelance guy, I’m self employed, I don’t need to be an indispensable employee” whenever I saw the book, even though I’m already a big Seth Godin fan. But when you said you just finished the 4th time through the audio book and were starting it again (and knowing that you’re fulltime freelance as well), I thought I’d better check it out. The audiobook recommendation was super as well, because I have a hard time finishing books, but I burned through the audiobook over the course of a week. And it rocked my world. It made me come up with a ship date for the iPhone/facebook game I’ve been working on since last fall (June 28th, “ready or not”) — because Real Artists Ship… and it really changed the way I look at myself and what I do and what I have to offer other people. I really appreciate it.

    Oh, and a sneezer is from Seth’s Idea Virus book — it’s someone who spreads the word about something (like spreading it out when you sneeze).

    Thanks again for mentioning Linchpin and keep on making the coolness, buddy.

  • Any recommendations on the audio book? unabridged or not?
    Thanks

  • Hi Nick! First off, You are totally my designer/entrepreneur hero. I too just realized you had this blog even though I’ve been checking out GSG since you were still at DK.

    Anyways, thanks for recommending Linchpin, I just finished reading it (like half an hour ago) and I feel like it’s just what I needed. Since going freelance at the beginning of this year I’ve been trying to figure out what I want to do next and its helped me see what’s really been holding me back. I wish I had read it earlier!

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