Linchpin_ Are You Indispensable_ - Seth Godin [100]
Today, there are more ways than ever to share your talents and hobbies in public. And if
you're driven, talented, and focused, you may discover that the market loves what you do.
That people read your blog or click on your cartoons or listen to your MP3s. But, alas,
that doesn't mean you can monetize it, quit your day job, and spend all day writing songs.
The pitfalls:
1. In order to monetize your work, you'll probably corrupt it, taking out the magic, in
search of dollars; and
2. Attention doesn't always equal significant cash flow.
I think it makes sense to make your art your art, to give yourself over to it without regard
for commerce.
Doing what you love is as important as ever, but if you're going to make a living at it, it
helps to find a niche where money flows as a regular consequence of the success of your
idea. Loving what you do is almost as important as doing what you love, especially if you
need to make a living at it. Go find a job you can commit to, a career or a business you
can fall in love with.
A friend who loved music, who wanted to spend his life doing it, got a job doing PR for a
record label. He hated doing PR, and eventually realized that simply being in the record
business didn't mean he had anything at all to do with music. Instead of finding a job he
could love, he ended up being in proximity to, but nowhere involved with, something he
cared about. I wish he had become a committed schoolteacher instead, spending every
minute of his spare time making music and sharing it online for free. Instead, he's a
frazzled publicity hound, working twice as many hours for less money and doing no
music at all.
Maybe you can't make money doing what you love (at least what you love right now).
But I bet you can figure out how to love what you do to make money (if you choose
wisely).
Do your art. But don't wreck your art if it doesn't lend itself to paying the bills. That
would be a tragedy.
(And the twist, because there is always a twist, is that as soon as you focus on your art
and leave the money behind, you may discover that this focus turns out to be the secret of
actually breaking through and making money.)
Calling Ellsworth Kelly
Here's an artist's dream:
The Art Institute of Chicago hires world-famous architect Renzo Piano to build an
extension to their building. Together, they reach you on the phone by conference call.
"Ellsworth, we'd like you to create a huge mural for our new museum. You can do what
you want, call us when it's done, and we'll send a check today."
Artists want their bosses to act like this. And perhaps, when you're famous and eighty-six
years old as Ellsworth is, it will happen. Until then, understand that your boss is unlikely
to come through.
The system we work in is changing, but it's an evolutionary change, not a revolutionary
one. Organizations rarely give linchpins all the support and encouragement they deserve.
Which means that your efforts won't always get what they need to succeed.
There are two tactics that can help you if you're not Ellsworth Kelly:
1. Understand that there's a difference between the right answer and the answer you can
sell. Too often, heretical ideas in organizations are shot down. They're not refused
because they're wrong; they're refused because the person doing the selling doesn't have
the stature or track record to sell it. Your boss has a worldview, too. When you propose
something that triggers his resistance, what do you expect will happen?
2. Focus on making changes that work down, not up. Interacting with customers and
employees is often easier than influencing bosses and investors. Over time, as you create
an environment where your insight and generosity pay off, the people above you will
notice, and you'll get more freedom and authority.
Don't ask your boss to run interference, cover for you, or take the blame. Instead, create
moments where your boss can happily take credit. Once that cycle begins, you can be
sure it will continue.
The Endless Giving