Guy Kawasaki asks Seth Godin five questions, including “What are the five things that enabled you to be successful?”. Seth answers:
- No ulterior motive. I rarely do A as a calculated tactic to get B. I do A because I believe in A, or it excites me or it’s the right thing to do. That’s it. No secret agendas.
- I don’t think my audience owes me anything. It’s always their turn.
- I’m in a hurry to make mistakes and get feedback and get that next idea out there. I’m not in a hurry, at all, to finish the “bigger??? project, to get to the finish line.
- I do things where I actually think I’m right, as opposed to where I think succeeding will make me successful. When you think you’re right, it’s more fun and your passion shows through.
- I’ve tried to pare down my day so that the stuff I actually do is pretty well leveraged. That, and I show up. Showing up is underrated.
I really, really like each of these, and what we have here might as well be the beginnings of a manifest for honest business. What runs through each of Seth’s five points is a certain ego-lessness, a sense that business is not about me or what I can get but about what I can contribute.
Being in business for the giving rather than the getting is a great approach and a sure path to a happier and more fulfilling work life. And success.
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