Yesterday, I decided to start a book club to meet the 1st Thursday of every month @ 10 AM. I’m not sure why. It just seemed like a good thing to do 🙂
I decided the first meeting would be next week which doesn’t give folks much time to find, buy, and read the first book, so I decided to keep it free and simple by making our first book be free and downloadable from the internet.
Wherever you are, you can participate in this book club by reading the books (I’ll announce each one in a blog post) . . . and perhaps inviting others in your market to join you to discuss.
If the shoe fits, wear it!
Seth Godin practices what he preaches. Most of his “preachin'” is as one of the world’s most read Bloggers . . . and he writes books – Simple books with BIG meaning.
I have always liked his work because he says a lot without all of the words many authors feel they need to write . . . and what he says just makes sense.
On the surface, what Seth writes about is marketing (and how traditional marketing is no longer effective) . . . Underneath, his message is all about “shipping” . . . That is . . . doing the right things to have a marketable product and build a brand that is desirable.
I’ve always been a believer that we cannot create loyal, long-term clients by “SELLING” them our wares & services. Better to find out what the market wants (that competitors are not offering well) and build a brand that ATTRACTS the right people.
Towards the end of 2009 when the economy was clearly dysfunctional and many folks were in search of new and interesting ways to “skin the cat” (similar to how many people feel today), Seth Invited 70+ GREAT BIG THINKERS (not big people – just big thinkers) to write a page for a book entitled:
Seth agreed to put the book together and distribute it FREE to his loyal following through his blog site. That book is still available as a PDF download (click the link on the Title). Our book for Jan 6
The assignment was that Each Author would simply write a page about a word . . . It’s nothing short of a magnificent gift.
Seth’s word is “GENEROSITY” . . . and he clearly practices what he preaches – always coming from contribution.
An excerpt:
“we’re rewarded for being generous. Generous with our time and money but most important generous with our art.
If you make a difference, people will gravitate to you. they want to engage, to interact and to get you more involved . . .
This year, you’ll certainly find that the more you give the more you get”
I launched a new real estate firm in Nashville, TN a few months ago – Pareto Realty. I chose “Pareto” as the name because Vilfredo Pareto was the Italian economist who theorized the 20/80 principal – that 20% (the Vital few) of the people/work yield 80% of the results . . . and conversely 80% (The Trivial Many) of the people/work yield 20% of the results.
I believe that The Vital Few are the “Performers” . . . That is, the most successful folks who understand generosity as Seth Godin describes it and come from contribution.
These performers also understand that what they are doing and how they are living is truly an art . . . a life rhythm.
If things aren’t going as you wish, don’t be so hard on yourself . . . just take a step back and focus on your art and you’ll take one giant step closer to making a REAL difference in the world.
I live in a world of invitation – that is, I invite people in and believe that whoever comes (shows up) are the right people.
I wish you the best of success in 2011 and hope that you will practice your art with generosity.
I’m just sayin’
Best,
b