Through the Keyhole

Ragamuffin irreverence

It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it. 

– Jacob Bronowski

Technology or magic?

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

 – Arthur C. Clarke

 

Uneven distribution

The future is already here - it is just unevenly distributed.

– William Gibson

Fight the forces of mediocrity

The forces of mediocrity.

Maybe it should be, "the forces for mediocrity"...

There's a myth that all you need to do is outline your vision and prove it's right—then, quite suddenly, people will line up and support you.

In fact, the opposite is true. Remarkable visions and genuine insight are always met with resistance. And when you start to make progress, your efforts are met with even more resistance. Products, services, career paths... whatever it is, the forces for mediocrity will align to stop you, forgiving no errors and never backing down until it's over.

If it were any other way, it would be easy. And if it were any other way, everyone would do it and your work would ultimately be devalued. The yin and yang are clear: without people pushing against your quest to do something worth talking about, it's unlikely it would be worth the journey. Persist.

 – Seth Godin, The forces of mediocrity

The forces of mediocrity.

Maybe it should be, "the forces for mediocrity"...

There's a myth that all you need to do is outline your vision and prove it's right—then, quite suddenly, people will line up and support you.

In fact, the opposite is true. Remarkable visions and genuine insight are always met with resistance. And when you start to make progress, your efforts are met with even more resistance. Products, services, career paths... whatever it is, the forces for mediocrity will align to stop you, forgiving no errors and never backing down until it's over.

If it were any other way, it would be easy. And if it were any other way, everyone would do it and your work would ultimately be devalued. The yin and yang are clear: without people pushing against your quest to do something worth talking about, it's unlikely it would be worth the journey. Persist.

 – Seth Godin, The forces of mediocrity

Sorting out demand

Gavin Potter says, “The 20th century was about sorting out supply, the 21st is going to be about sorting out demand.”

Think about that one for a second. Not about maximizing demand, but about sorting it out. When your messages reach the right people at the right time in the right way, magic happens. It's not about forcing or pushing or attacking or targeting or closing.

This is a huge step forward in how you can think about your customers and how they act.

– Seth Godin, Sorting out

Gavin Potter says, “The 20th century was about sorting out supply, the 21st is going to be about sorting out demand.”

Think about that one for a second. Not about maximizing demand, but about sorting it out. When your messages reach the right people at the right time in the right way, magic happens. It's not about forcing or pushing or attacking or targeting or closing.

This is a huge step forward in how you can think about your customers and how they act.

– Seth Godin, Sorting out

Technology doesn't care who you hate

Encyclopedia salesmen hate wikipedia…

And CNET hates Google
And newspapers hate Craigslist
And music labels hate Napster
And used bookstores hate Amazon
And so do independent bookstores.

Dating services hate Plenty of Fish
And the local shoe store hates Zappos
And courier services hate fax machines
And monks hate Gutenberg

Apparently, technology doesn't care who you hate.

– Seth Godin, Encyclopedia salesmen hate wikipedia…

And CNET hates Google
And newspapers hate Craigslist
And music labels hate Napster
And used bookstores hate Amazon
And so do independent bookstores.

Dating services hate Plenty of Fish
And the local shoe store hates Zappos
And courier services hate fax machines
And monks hate Gutenberg

Apparently, technology doesn't care who you hate.

– Seth Godin, Encyclopedia salesmen hate wikipedia…

Hope and cynicism

It’s too easy to criticize hope.

And in the end, cynicism is a lousy strategy.

– Seth Godin, It’s too easy to criticize hope