Are You a Linchpin?

I’ve been traveling a lot over the last month. When I travel, I invariably find myself reading a lot more (which is a good thing). Lately, the books that have been catching my eye have been (mostly) about marketing. I’ve caught up on some of Seth Godin’s most recent books and I must say that they have been provocative and challenging.


In Godin’s latest book Linchpin, he says the following:

“One day, people are going to remember what you did. They might remember that you did what you were told, and that you were good at being responsive to instructions. Perhaps, though, we’ll remember that you made an impact, a connection and a difference.”

This quote is from the introduction to that book. He makes the argument in the book that each and every one of us has an inner artist who has certain skills and talents that we can bring to the workplace. He argues that we must embrace our inner artist and become leaders in our peer groups, our workplace and our communities. Part of the reason that the US economy is in such dire straits is because we have been brainwashed, repeatedly, to follow along with the crowd, to be happy stamping out “widgets” on an assembly line and to smother our God given talents and abilities so as to not challenge the status quo.

This book, Seth Godin’s Linchpin, is an important book. You need to read it. You need to hear what Godin has to say. Then you need to decide if you are happy just being one more person on the assembly line of life, or if, you want to embrace what makes you special and begin to lead those around you.

This book challenged me. It made me think about what I can do, both in my show and in my business, to share something special with those around me.

Imagine what would happen, in your life, your community and your workplace, if you fearlessly stopped worrying about the status quo, forced yourself out of your comfort zone, and challenged yourself to be excellent every day. It’s quite a challenge, but I believe that it’s worth it.