Book Review: Poke the Box by Seth Godin

The Author

Seth Godin is the author of a wildly popular blog and thirteen books.  Though his professional background has been in marketing, his advice spans product development and personal development as well.  Mr. Godin has built his career on thinking big and changing everything. His newest book is an evolution on that theme.

Poke the Box

Do something.  Try it out.  See what happens.  See if you get what you want.  If you are wrong, make some adjustments and try it again.  This is the main lesson in Poke the Box.  We, as a people, have forgotten how to start things.  We have become very good at turning the crank and supporting the status quo, but have become nearly incapable of trying something new.

Read the rest of my review... after the jump. 

The Worst Case Isn’t That Bad

If we try something, we might fail.  We might be wrong.  We might not succeed.  That’s not so bad, though, the author contends.  Not trying anything is worse than trying and failing.

The author gives a long list of celebrities including Oprah Winfrey and Steve Carell.  One thing that ties them all together, aside from their fame and success: they have all failed.  A lot.  We forgive them for their failures because we have since seen their successes.

Pick Me

Musicians, authors, screen writers

There is a long list of job options that put a person into a wait-to-be-picked mode.  Musicians waiting to be signed by a record label.  Authors waiting for a book deal.  Screen writers waiting to have their scripts picked up. 

Instead of waiting, why not do something?  Musicians can go on tours and generate their own fan base.  Authors can write blogs or self-publish their books.  In each case, the person may not be starting as big as they would like, but starting small is better than not starting.

“It isn’t supposed to be that way”

For me, one of the most powerful examples given was when the author suggested to some children that they start their own club that addressed their interests, rather than choose from the clubs that had been organized.  “But it isn’t supposed to be that way!” they responded.  Though the author doesn’t say it, he makes the point very clearly: “Yes it is supposed to be that way.” 

We should all be doing what we want to be doing. We should all be trying things out and frequently failing.  We should not wait to be chosen.  We should be poking the box to see what happens.

Poke your career
The application of these ideas in our own careers is pretty obvious.  We shouldn't be waiting for promotions or expecting our education to drop us into the job of our dreams.  We need on a regular basis to come up with ideas for ways to improve our lives and better accomplish our jobs.  We need to try things with the expectation that eventually, something will work.

Have you tried and failed?  Have you tried and succeeded?  Join the discussion in the comments!