The Icarus deception is a call to action. It persuades the reader on the importance of exploring your art. Art here implies creating and exploring what you love without an explanation, embracing fear and avoiding the tendency to conform to principles from the industrial age. The Icarus deception- A Greek story where Icarus lost his wings to the sun by flying too high ignores the fact that Icarus was also warned not to fly too low to avoiding the water from ruining his wings. Seth explores the connection and relationship economy, the importance of Hubris and insights on FEAR.
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What are you afraid of?
The old rules: play it safe. Stay in your comfort zone. Find an institution, a job, a set of rules to stick to. Keep your head down. Don’t fly too close to the sun.
The new truth: It is better to be sorry than safe. You need to fly higher than ever.
In his bravest and most challenging book yet, Seth Godin shows how we can thrive in an economy that rewards art, not compliance. He explains why true innovators focus son trust, remarkability, leadership and stories that spread. In addition, he makes a passionate argument for why you should be treating work as art.
Art is not a gene or a specific talent. It is an attitude, available to anyone who has a vision that others do not, and the guts to do something about it. Steve Jobs was an artist. So were Henry Ford, and Martin Luther King Jr.
To work like an artist means investing in the things that scale: CREATIVITY, EMOTIONAL LABOUR, and GRIT. The path of the artist is not for the faint of heart- Godin shows why it is your only chance to STAND UP, STAND OUT, and MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
The time to seize new ground and work without a map is now. So what are you going to do?
Notes on the Icarus Deception.
- The world is filled with ORDINARY people doing EXTRAORDINARY things.
- The VALUE we create is directly related to how much VALUABLE INFORMATION we can produce, how much TRUST we can earn, and how often we INNOVATE.
- ART is frightening, risky, and difficult. It is also the only option we have if we choose to care.
- COURAGE is telling our story, not being immune to CRITICISM- Brene Brown.
- Everybody is a GENIUS. However, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is STUPID- Albert Einstein.
- ART has no RIGHT ANSWER. The best we can hope for is an INTERESTING ANSWER.
- Have PATIENCE with everything unresolved in your heart and try to LOVE the questions themselves- Rainer Maria Rilke.
- MANAGEMENT is about generating yesterday’s results, but a little faster for a little more cheaply
- Holding back is so close to stealing- Neil young
- If you want access to my attention, my gratitude, and my soul, you will earn it with your emotional labor.
- How much responsibility are you willing to take before it is given to you.
- To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you someone else is the greatest accomplishment- Ralpho Waldo Emerson.
- Aren’t you tired of pretending you can’t make a difference?
- CORRECT is fine, but it is better to be INTERESTING.
- It is what we wrestle with every day: The intersection of COMFORT, DANGER, and SAFETY.
- Everyone is lonely. CONNECT.
- MYTHS and DREAMS come from the same place. A myth is the society’s dream.
- HUBRIS is the enemy of the ruling class. Hubris means you have the voice to challenge authority and the guts to stand up and speak out.
- You have no idea what you are doing. If you did, you would be an expert, not an artist.
- Until we have a HUMILITY shortage, then the problem is this: we continue to fly to low. We are afraid of demonstrating hubris, so afraid of the shame of being told we flew too high, so paralyzed by the fear we won’t fit in, that we buy into the propaganda and don’t do what we are capable of.
- When the journey does not support your art, you can change it without changing your commitment to the journey.
- What is needed, rather than running away, controlling, or suppressing or any other resistance, is understanding FEAR; that means, watch it, learn about it, come directly into contact with it. We are to learn about FEAR, not how to escape from it- Jiddu Krishnamurti.
- Everyone knows that you are not likely to die on a roller coaster. It is far more dangerous to drive to the amusement park than it is to get on the ride.
- If not enough people doubt you, you are not making a difference.
- I want them to discover that they are artist; everyone is an artist, a creator, and a refiner of sensibility without knowing it- Yves Klein.
- Anyone who cares and acts on it is performing an ART.
- COMPLAINING is stupid. Either act or forget.
- FREEDOM is not the ABILITY to do whatever you want, it is the WILLINGNESS to do whatever you want.
- A problem is a chance for you to do your best and the connection economy creates nothing but problems.
- You do not make ART after you become an ARTIST. You become an ARTIST by ceaselessly making ART.
Four common mistakes that help you hide
Busy is the same as brave.
A mentor is going to change your life.
Waiting to get picked is the next step.
There is a secret and you will soon learn it.