The Dip

An interesting little book produced by Seth Godin, who piqued my interest with his blog and reported personality quirks. This book is probably the only one to be found on the shelves of the self-improvement section, while the rest of his writings, which help bolster his reputation as a marketing guru, are displayed prominently at the business section. Taking a leaf from TIME's classification, this is worth a skim. Godin comes across as clearly intelligent and creative in this writing.

What he advocates is really simple (like all self-proclaimed gurus do): focus your energies on something that you have the talent for, stick it out when the going gets tough and the rest of take care of itself. The rest meaning success, money or fame. But the critical part is determining what you are really good at and that requires one to be completely honest with himself. As usual, all these are easier said than done but really the underlying principle is simple. How else can people like Godin make so much money by articulating simple things in a clear and "oh this makes so much sense" way? Really the greatest talent in people like Godin is to strip things down to their fundamentals and put them across in an engaging way.

"Persistent people are able to visualise the idea of light at the end of the tunnel when others can't see it. At the same time, the smartest people are realistic about not imagining the light when there isn't any."

He quotes from another: "You're the happiest if you play it as it comes and maximise what you're doing at the time. And do the very best job at whatever you're given to do. The rest will take care of itself."