Book Summary of The Practice
Reference Title “The Practice” Author [[Seth Godin]] Book in three Sentences (almost) ( Here’s my first stab at this, on [[February 1st, 2021]] ) If you’re not on the hook, then you are working as an #amateur or as a #hack Your daily practice is not about doing what you love but loving what you do. Author says if you are not doing for someone other than yourself, then that is also #amateur status. Also , of what you do, it will not be for everyone Work with empathy, not reassurance. Just be generous, ship that work, on a schedule. And take feedback. My questions You are serving your audience, What if you don’t have an audience yet. I understand that doing something “for someone " maybe is all you need? What if it’s a surprise to them, are you still “on the hook” then? Meaning they have not say commissioned your work. What if you ask friends for feedback about usefulness of what you are building and they agree its useful but wouldn’t necessarily use it. Are you still in amateur territory if You’re still searching for someone (other than yourself) who would use what you’re creating? Or is it enough to just “be generous” and “commit to your practice” as you continue the search for someone who is interested in your work? " Source: show up even if you don’t feel like it. I understand it still counts if you don’t get paid. Do you need a company? [[how creative should you be at work?]] So i still want to know does Seth say we should give ourselves permission to be creative both at work and in our personal endeavours. #Creativity to me means going outside your [[ComfortZone]] all the time. But I feel this can be perceived as a waste of time to put it one way since it takes longer than the “bare minimum”. This is also called the “Minimum Viable Product” and typically feels like you are “hacking something together” as opposed to say creating something you are proud of. Ok so you want to chance on higher quality work, work that helps you grow faster, that is more worth your time, more creative. So how? Feels like the answer is to be an opportunity hunter of sorts. And yea probably must stop what you are doing from time to time to address something new ,“Location 417”,“If you want to change your story, change your actions first. When we choose to act a certain way, our mind can’t help but rework our narrative to make those actions become coherent.” Ok this is like fake it til you make it i guess. I mean what are the actions available. Just got to keep trying to do do do no matter what others say i suppose. Ok so shipping work , what counts as shipping. Publicly on your github for world to judge. Does that count? Like your portfolio which you’re using to try find new clients. You’re on the hook in my mind for whether your work is chosen I suppose you some people have various commitment devices like to their friends even. Or other people have “Sunday Newsletters” I know [[person Ali Abdaal]] does this. Quotes “The time we spend worrying is actually time we’re spending trying to control something that is out of our control. Time invested in something that is within our control is called work. That’s where our most productive focus lies.” ( “,“Location 1173”,) “show up even if you don’t feel like it”. (“Location 1235”,) source “No change, no art” ( source Location 394) “Sculptor Elizabeth King said it beautifully, “Process saves us from the poverty of our intentions.”” ( “Location 261”,) this is meant to be the quote that inspired this book. “We promise to ship, we don’t promise the result.” ( ,“Location 2088” ) Concepts Links to [[planning]] [[NoEstimates]] “The time we spend worrying is actually time we’re spending trying to control something that is out of our control. Time invested in something that is within our control is called work. That’s where our most productive focus lies.” (Location 1173) Very much reminds me of the quote in [[book How to Take Smart Notes]] , [[Don’t plan be an expert]] which of course is linked to [[book Blink]] and other [[Freakenomics]] concepts like [[Do experts choke?]] and of course [[book Range]] was also about knowing what to do in an emergency and not just trying to recall some rules you learned There’s a distinction between jobs that dictate exactly what you should do and those where you shape the result actively. You play an active role. The author I think calls the latter an artist ,“Location 289”,“It’s often called “art.”” This is funny because indeed jobs don’t want artists. They want you to fit their round holes. An artist is a square peg indeed. [[thought-leader]] I remember this distinction from the [[game DreamFall]] and [[game TheLongestJourney]] they called that being a [[DreamFall/wave]]. Because well you’re either making one or riding one. ,“Location 324”,“In every field of endeavour, some people stand out as the makers of what’s next, as the voices of what’s now.” Kind of inspiring actually to think in these terms, to be that kind of change maker a as well. To always be trying to make waves etc. art is change. “Location 394”,“Art is what we call it when we’re able to create something new that changes someone. No change, no [art]” Ok so simply put this definition of art is when you use creativity to ship Something which ends up affecting someone. Like a finished product. Don’t be the victim ,“Location 412”,"“Here we go again” is an easy way to lull yourself into victimhood, a place where the work is no longer up to you.” The message is, be active in your work as opposed to passive. ,“Location 408”,“You might have one, too. And that story drives the actions that we take.” I think my story in my head is about my high standard of work and i compare that to my daily work. I always seem to want more for my career. Then I wonder if I want too much. be on the hook ,“Location 1196”,“The industrial system has trained us to avoid the hook. Being on the hook means that you can get blamed, and getting blamed means you can get fired for what you did (or didn’t do). For some of us, though, on the hook is the best place to be. It’s on you. It’s on me. Our choice, our turn, our responsibility.” What about putting your commitments online so anyone can see if you break the chain. Or what if your accountability device is your roommate who takes your money if you don’t put in your promised hours. Is getting fired like when you have someone looking forward to your work but they lose interest because you don’t deliver. But also what if you don’t yet have someone looking yet , you’re still actively looking for a client. Or what if you’re just being generous directing your generosity in a specific direction at someone but they say no they don’t want it. Did you just get off the hook. There is no muse just do the work ,“Location 1202”,“The practice is choice plus skill plus attitude. We can learn it and we can do it again. We don’t ship the work because we’re creative. We’re creative because we ship the work. No ghost is needed.” This also reminds me of the [[person David Goggins]] concept of [[Cookie Jar]] , refer to your track record of accomplishments whenever you need inspiration or motivation. don’t be a hack (Don’t lose your point of view ) to me this is like “compromising too much”. ,“Location 1240”,“Go too far to please the audience and you become a hack. Lose your point of view, lose your reason for doing the work, become a hack. Focus only on the results, become a hack.” Keeping to your reason for doing the work is the biggest struggle at my day job. It makes me feel like a hack to sometimes or often play a role at work thats boring and uninventive. I have to fight tooth and nail to get work through that i feel is truly worth doing. that paradox “generous vision” as opposed to being like an autocrat. ,“Location 1242”,“On the other hand, if you ignore what you see and simply create for yourself, you’ve walked away from empathy. If there is no change, there is no art. The professional understands the fine line between showing up with a generous vision and showing up trying to control the outcome. The best way through the paradox is by working. Ship creative work. On a schedule. Without attachment and without reassurance.” But again ship creative work okay but what does taking criticism look like. How does the feedback loop look like. And again what if you are using yourself as a proxy for what you think potentially other people would find desirable. the work is the client ,“Location 1398”,“The work is your client. It’s hired you to help you make a change happen. Getting paid for our work can confuse us, because it might seem that all we need to do is serve the person with a check book. But that’s the strategy of a hack—and it rarely leads to the contributions we set out to make in the first place.” Ok well when you put it this way it almost reads like if the work is the client and the work is for the client then the work is for work itself haha. But it does take on a life of its own i suppose. being your idiosyncratic self means you’re memorable and not replaceable ,“Location 1280”,“Today, the best work and the best opportunities go to those who are hard to replace. The linchpins, the ones who are likely to be missed. And, delightfully, at the very same time that the economy is rewarding idiosyncrasy, we’re discovering that it’s also the way we were meant to be.” Idiosyncrasy is memorable. The recipe for the opposite of homogeneity. Fun. Opposite of boring. Doing what you love. Adventure. Breaking the rules. And still making an impact. But the impact, although it is important , needs to be diluted with Whatever makes the work worth doing. ,“Location 1309”,“When the client wants a cheap, easy building, the architect’s desire to do great work is rarely achieved. And when the client wants something important, she knows that hiring a merely good architect is a mistake. It’s tempting to blame the clients. But the commitment to be a great architect also requires the professionalism to do the hard work of getting better clients.” Yea for a while I thought it was up to me to challenge people to think bigger and better. I still try but I’m thinking more and more you need to find different people not change people. start small ,“Location 2065”,“First, focus on making something worth sharing. How small can you make it and still do something you’re proud of?” Ok something worth sharing. So this slightly more cements for me the author believes you will not necessarily have a client as you are starting out. You have things “for someone” sure. And then you share them. get feedback. This is super important nuance.