Graceful

by Seth Godin

In this 32-page short eBook, New York Times bestselling author Seth Godin presents 30 ideas for making a difference in a world that needs you.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Leadership, Self Help, Personal Growth, Buisness

45 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 13, 2010

About the author

Seth W. Godin, also known as "F. X. Nine", is an American author and a former dot com business executive.

Reviews

[Ecapris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seth Godin's rise to the cultural/marketing/intellectual elite allows him to say or write pretty much whatever he wants; in response, his readers raise up a fist and cry "Hear, hear!" When I put it this way, it sounds terrifying (at the least, unnerving). And maybe it is. But not because Godin has all our attention, but because what he's saying is relevant and smart.

In "Graceful," a shorter ebook released six months ago, Godin discusses the attitude, lifestyle, and aura of the new revolutionaries: the gracefuls.

"Graceful is artistic, elegant, subtle and effective. Graceful makes things happen and brings light but not heat."

Godin's "Graceful" is an inspiring read, not only because of its discussion of how consumers will gravitate towards art instead of stuff, but because his advice for assimilation into this new world is based on values and virtues.

Don't let the word "virtues" turn you off. He doesn't preach; he's not even up on a soapbox. The fact of it is, being graceful makes you a linchpin; grace is achieved with generosity, authenticity, intregrity, and other forms of emotional labor.

"...No one is born graceful. It's not a gift, it's a choice."

Authenticity, genius and integrity are in short supply, considering we're still mucking through a system that "rewards" cogs in the machine and thoughtless drones. Sure, we're seeing examples of the revolution popping up all over the place - innovative workplaces and the exaltation of the creative - but the mentality of the industrial revolution is slow to die.

The graceful, the linchpins, fill the niche of this scarcity.

"Scarcity creates value, and the linchpin understands this."

A linchpin also understands that he wasn't created overnight. He made a choice and took affirmative steps, every day, to express grace.

"No one is a genius all the time. The goal is to be a genius once. And then perhaps again.

Small steps."

Stated differently, being valuable once is an incredible advantage over never being valuable at all.

Further on, Godin goes into detail about this new scarcity.

Grace, an umbrella for Generosity, Happiness, Kindness, and Connection is the new ideal. Confronting fear and allowing yourself to experience "the new" (even if you don't particularly delight in it) are ways to nudge yourself out of the drone and towards the music.

"If you're going to grow, you can't insulate yourself from that food you eat or that person you meet or that situation you dive into, because the insulation prevents you from making the change and finding the understanding you set out to achieve in the first place."

Also, if we don't initiate these uncomfortable moments in a quest for growth, we will be overwhelmed with discomfort when the world starts changing around us. We can't ignore anymore that old systems are changing and we should be proud of the fact that we are "bringing it."

"Industry is changing. The race to the bottom is ending, the search for cheaper, cheaper, cheaper is coming to a close. People are having trouble storing all the things they bought last year, and more trouble still finding the money to buy even more. And as a result, consumers (what a great word that is) are realizing that they can't find more pleasure so easily, that buying more stuff might not be the best plan. We've always been lonely - everyone is lonely - but now the loneliness is harder to mask in a life of manipulation (doing what the boss says) and consumption (doing what the marketer says).

People seek meaning."

So...give it to them.

I've only touched a few points that Godin makes in this short ebook. He packs a punch, that one.

Some of the other topics he discusses are:

Creating a culture of connection
Finding the one-sided coin
Rejecting mediocrity
Failure
Deniability
The new creativity
and Gifts
I certainly recommend this short ebook for anyone that's interested in Godin's philosophy, his idea of the Linchpin, or an update on where our society is going.

(Small Warning: If you're the type that can't handle typos, steel yourself. Or attempt to accept them in grace. Or kindly ask Godin to recruit one of his followers as a proofreader.)

[Danielius Goriunovas · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Jei nepavyksta parduoti, ore tvyro baimė. Jei nenusiseka rinkodaros susirinkimas, ore tvyro baimė. Jei žmogus niršta, sulaužo pažadą arba nebendradarbiauja, įsipainiojusi baimė. Baimė mus kontroliuoja. Juk būtent ji mūsų protėvius gelbėdavo nuo mirties. Baimė užgožia kitus jausmus, nes svarbiausia yra ne kas kita, o išlikti gyvu."

🕺 Jei nori būti sėkmingas kūrėjas - turi būti lankstus, drąsus ir nepakeičiamas.

- - -

Nujaučiu, kad stipriausi Seth Godin kūriniai priklauso nuo jų ilgio. Trumpi, kasdieniniai, priminimai... Arba ilgi šių priminimų komplektai. Pirmuosius gali rasti Seth tinklaraštyje, o antruosius - jo pilnose knygose. Šioje, knygos "Linchpin" ištraukoje, pritrūko kiekio, kad idėjos susijungtų į dainą.

Seth idėjos geros, bet didžiausia šios knygelės silpnybė - jos neritmiškumas.

Galima skaityti norintiems motyvacijos užsiimti kūryba, pradėti naują kūrybinį projektą.

[Shirley Spain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although written over a decade ago, the information is thought-provoking and as pertinent as ever.

[Mr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has similar ideas to Seth Godin’s other book Linchpin. But hey, this is a very quick read and I enjoyed being reminded of how unconventional yet profound Godin’s teachings are. His analogy of tourists being in a new place, exposing themselves to a new culture and environmental, yet going back home as the same people is apt (although not all tourists are like this). The tourist analogy is how Godin views the majority of the workforce at their jobs. You are doing “a job” but not being changed by it. It could be the wrong person-job fit but safety is usually preferred because we have fear and anxiety as our best friends. So how does one become an immersive tourist? The one who becomes a different person from a trip? Well, Godin suggests to look at fear and failure, and give them high fives. They are your best friends so use them as guides. They’re your tourist guide! As Godin states, “When you learn to listen to your fear, you’ve a compass that can show you what matters. When you learn to listen to your fear, you can ship your best work, not leave it on the shelf with a sigh of relief.” The same goes for failure. Failure brings us closer to success, so why avoid it? When companies become successful they think that they are invincible and are disappointed when the quarterly earnings are poor, or they delivered a poor product. Nevertheless, it is ironic that the genesis of any company is failure (most of the time). You start with a thesis, build a product, and hope it catches on. If it doesn’t, you modify the product or ship another one. Failure is inevitable and we should embrace it.

Seth Godin is such a great thinker. We need more unconventional thinkers like him.

And oh, I gave this book four stars because I thought this was similar to Linchpin. Linchpin is much more comprehensive, but this is still a good book!

[Joel Blacker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief inspirational read, encouraging us to go beyond what is easy, safe and expected of us, to question everything and take a chance on creating something more meaningful for others.

Whilst at times this book like much of Godin's work, feels like his daily musings have been thrown at a page, I cannot help but feel his daily musings are founded in a lifetime of deep thought and experiments. Worth a read, particularly for those in business.

[Will Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This quick read is typical Seth Godin. Pithy, to the point, no bs. Strikes me as a small collection of his blog posts with s theme of what it means to be ‘graceful’. Classic Seth Godin, ‘ideas the spread win’, linchpin. connection economy, resist fear.

[Muhammad Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only takeaway from this book is that be graceful do more than what is expected from you and what you expect from others. Infact, I think the key here is to don't do things whilst expecting from others in return

[Tony Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Make the time to read this

Make time to read this book. Concepts are presented in a simple easy to understand manner. Concepts in this book are life changing if you dare to embrace them. It's a quick read, but application takes courage. I loved the book.

[Sean Keet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

Seth is always inspiring and a true idea machine. His relentless commitment to connection and creating meaningful lifestyles. He always challenges you to be better and want to be better.

[Frieda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and motivating, but also a sense of déjà vu.

[Rachel Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple genius

A series of short messages, much like his daily emails. Boiling down the importance of connection and generosity in business and art. Loved it.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good. Small snippets of ideas

I kind of hate to 20 word minimum on these reviews.

This is a good book. Short. To the point. Gives you some ideas.

[Apostolos Kritikos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short e-book. Easy to read. Inspiring.

[Manuel Martín-Vivaldi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short and free. But valuable ideas could be told in a couple of pages.

[Binati Sheth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think this is the last Seth Godin book I read.

[Kony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aaaaand yet another series of blog posts packaged as a book. Seth Godin is one of the best bloggers around, though, and if anyone can get away with peddling blog posts in this format, it's him. It's not so much that the writing is brilliant, but rather each concise post is like an artful grace note, reflecting the abnormally high concentrations of wit, wisdom, and insight in his mind. He writes about how to do business and marketing, and yet he's also addressing how to do art and relationships and life -- effectively, sustainably, and with integrity. He pulls no punches and wastes few words. His metaphors and analogies are not always perfectly apt, but they're always thought-provoking.

[Lance Willett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and impactful, 30 blog posts from Seth compiled into readable format. I find myself dipping into it like a devotional reading guide.

My favorite is "Mastery, connection, and then grace" — https://sensible.blog/2017/11/05/and-...

[Sarah Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think I've ever read a Seth Godin book (or blog) that I didn't like but Graceful was particularly inspiring for me. Not only was it a great 'commuting read', this short e-book (30 pages) managed to eloquently articulate the true value of being graceful - in work and in life.

For those that have read a few of Seth's books, this won't tell you any new theories per se. What it will do is underpin the foundation of all of his writing. Business built on industrialization is over and what is left is ours to shape - but only with conscious, generous and graceful effort.

[Zach Ellerbrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know how some authors just say the same old crap over and over, just trying to change some words here and there? Well, Seth Godin says the same stuff over and over, but it's the opposite of crap. It's really good stuff! I rarely read the same book twice, so it's good to be reminded of solid principles in business, work, and life with each new book. I like his attitude, especially because he keeps me playing the role of the unicorn in the balloon factory.

[Derrick Jeter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Godin has written another manifesto. As is typical of Godin and his writing, "Graceful" is a quick read of pithy ideas intended to motivate. Nothing to explain and no words wasted here. Godin muses on thirty ideas to kick you in the seat of the pants and do something worthwhile ... something graceful. If you need an easy read and a little motivation to do work that's meaningful, then "Graceful" is filled with grace.

[Antoinette Perez · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've read Seth's other books the past 5 years or so, you'll see how they all fit together, like puzzle pieces, in his bald dome. And it makes sense. This is totally not a how-to book. It's a why book. Motivational / inspirational, if you need a boost to get past fear to try something new, push your own personal envelope.

[Preston Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleasantly short and inspirational, in Godin's typical style, though notably lacking thought regarding any specific way to actually BE that graceful, idyllic leader: that is, aside from criticizing the status quo. Thoughtful? Yes. Constructive in any tangible way? No.

[Jason Dyba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, eloquent thoughts about being proactive, taking risks, standing apart from the crowd, finding courage, and resisting apathy. It's classic Godin-style writing (with a lack of proofreading). You could read this in one-sitting if you wanted to. It's worth the cost.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief essay that invites contemplation and consideration, Godin's _Graceful_ frames issues explored in later work: courage to and acceptance of failure as part of living creatively, the changed economy, and living artistically.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short little book that I read entirely on my phone, while waiting. Waiting for my food to come, waiting for the bathtub to fill, waiting for traffic to clear. It's a perfect tiny book, in that regard--filling spare corners of time with invigorating ideas-- about generosity and abundance.

[Kimberly Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful, thoughtful, and yes, graceful

I love this little book. It's a breath of fresh air in a culture (especially a business culture) that's repetitive and stagnant. This one's a keeper!

[Joshua Crowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

At ~45 pages, this book has the most punch per pound of any book I've read on the subject.

I just finished Kingdom Calling by Amy Sherman and wondered what to start next. Following that great one with this powerful one made for an amazing cocktail.

Take an hour. Read it.

[Katwarren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do not let this slip of a book fool you. There’s a lot of intense, brilliant observation and thinking they went into this 40 page book. So much so, that I reckon, you’d have to read it as many times as it has pages, to truly understand it.

[Richard Bravman]

Simple (for some, alas not for many), important, timeless. Must reading for the some.

[Glenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, a little bit "sound-bite-ish" but concepts I appreciate and value.