If you want to go directly to the Seth Godin Quotes, scroll on down to that heading. However, you may first enjoy perusing these introductory comments for context and embellishment.
More than a marketing genius, Seth Godin is a deep thinker and visionary leader and champion for creator and creativity. Scroll through these quotes by Seth Godin to reinforce your creative aspirations. You may also wish to bookmark it to return to for a daily dose of creativity, fortification and inspiration.
A Masterful Teacher
In trying to identify the shortest but most accurately descriptive byline to add to the tribute for these Seth Godin quotes, I kept wanting to use ‘teacher’, but with a capital “T”, as in Teacher. Or with the added phrase of ”Master Teacher”, or “Yoda’.
In the east a master teacher is called guru, yet these days, that term is overused and thus diffused.
Yet Seth is indeed a masterful teacher and a visionary leader, consistently, in all that he puts out there, from his books to his keynotes to his uniquely alternative courses, such as the Alt MBA. He has a gift for personalizing objectivity into powerful messages, as if he’s speaking directly to each creator personally.
Seth rarely shares personal information, unless as stories to illustrate a point, yet he magnetically connects with so many. You don’t hear much about his personal life, and yet everyone experiences him as very personable.
“My work is to figure out how to share emotions and stories with people that turn lights on for them. And the part of it that scares me is wasting the privilege… wasting the leverage… the opportunity.”
SOURCE: on The Futur, Make Something Everyday
~Seth Godin, visionary, author, speaker, teacher, b.7/10/1960
But before we get to the quotes, sharing next, how amazing it was to be able to spend a day with Seth along with 11 other entrepreneurs.
My Day with Seth Godin
Seth Godin is the real deal, as genuine in person as he is on stage, AND practicing what he teaches: bringing artistry to whatever he does.
There we were, all 12 serious entrepreneurs with bright eyes, ideas and aspirations, each at various stages of our journey.
And… surprise… Seth did more than treat us to lunch. He served us delicious, healthy, wholesome, organic food that he prepared, cooked and cleaned up himself, all while carrying on conversations with us.
The vegetarian lunch was scrumptious. And Seth also served us tea and nutritious, gluten-free wholegrain muffins and ambrosial cake made by his wife — Helene’s — highly successful gluten free bakery (with one location) across the street, called, By the Way Bakery, featuring gluten free, kosher and vegan bakery. Addicting! I’m glad I don’t live nearby for the temptation would be great!
You can read more about Seth Godin’s wife — Helene Godin’s story and ventures in this article.
Fire Alarm Fun!
Then there was a priceless moment… made all the more remarkable due to the stoicism with which Seth handled all the chaos.
As Seth was chatting with us while sautéing onions, the smoke alarm screeched awake. It went on for some time while we scurried to find a way to reach to the high ceiling to reset it. But then fire trucks came roaring up the street and next thing they were at Seth’s door.
Now we had the smoke alarm, firetruck sirens, firemen banging on the door. Then, the questions of the firemen, explanations and confusion, and people talking trying to resolve the problems all at once.
Now, you’ve got 12 entrepreneurs, and several firemen chiding him for not calling to inform them that it was a false alarm. Meanwhile, Seth is slicing avocados in the middle of all this while continuing our meeting conversations in between speaking with the firemen. It was all memorably endearing, and this… this was Seth.
Seth Cleans Too
When it came time to clean up after the meal, once again, Seth was right there in the kitchen hard at it, but with ease and grace. I’ve never seen anyone load a dishwasher quite like him… quite the “bachelor” approach there, relative to putting anything and everything into the dishwasher with no concern for matching size and shape. True to form, Seth adeptly fit the proverbial round pegs into square holes and vice versa!
Then… Seth Made Me Cry
When he told us the hard things…things we came for but maybe hoped we wouldn’t hear, it was hard. Seth coaches with direct, benevolent honesty. He won’t cater to your ego to protect his. He will push you to dig deep and to ship…to be more of who you can be and share that with the world. Because the world needs you and your unique brand of creativity.
Seth didn’t say anything mean at all. Rather, he gently revealed the truth I was afraid to hear regarding a business that I was there to try to learn to grow. Bottom line, the idea was too costly to make, and had an inevitably receding future due rapidly changing technology.
Entrepreneurs have to learn when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em. And it’s never easy.
The Yoda for Creators
I’m not a starry-eyed celebrity fan girl or faithful disciple of any guru. No thanks. Been there, done that. But I am as passionate about lifelong learning and growth as I am about creativity and mindset. These are all key elements to a well balanced dynamic life.
There are numerous prominent global thought leaders from varied backgrounds, whose wisdom and knowledge I value and regularly study. Generally, they’re rebels and out of the box thinkers. As you might imagine, Seth Godin is definitely at the top of the box… outside of it actually, regularly calling to those stuck inside, to come out and ‘Poke the Box’.
Seth Godin’s work is the “get out of jail” card for ordinary.
~LeAura Alderson, iCreateDaily.com®
Seth Godin’s Legacy
The Purple Cow of now (Purple Cow is the title of one of his most popular books), Seth knows a lot, says a lot, shares a lot and contributes so much to bridge business and art, and the artistry of business.
Seth Godin humanizes business by restoring it to what it used to be: up close and personal, through creating, caring and sharing. You know… a restoration of the human connection, good human relations and doing the right thing, all with a creative flair.
Seth won’t toss us the life ring, or a coattail. He tells us where and how to find our own (hint: Tribes!).
Seth reminds us that failures is necessary toward bringing us closer to success. In fact, failure inevitably precedes success.
Seth Godin teaches from his own journey of being different even when it wasn’t popular. He stands up, stands out, takes chances, and ships and he’s beseeching us to do the same.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder – iCreateDaily.com®
Seth is Weird
Yes, Seth is weird. Consider that weird may be good because, well, when did we decide it wasn’t? Seth says ‘We Are All Weird’, and makes a case for weird as the new norm in his book by that title. Yep… he wrote a book about it, done very creatively, of course!
Beginning in grade school, we learned quickly that anything or anyone that was different, was weird. We learned quickly how to stifle our creativity. Instead, we learned to look around to see what others were doing to know what we were supposed to do and how we were supposed to be.
The problem with that is that everyone is looking around, so, then who do we become..? Shadows of ourselves playing out on the walls of Plato’s cave. Clones of cloaked authenticity and derivatives of mediocrity.
Seth is a Linchpin
Seth is an oft quoted linchpin of business for this era, and he’s already a legend, sure to live beyond it. If you run a business, get his book, Linchpin, for yourself and every employee.
When it comes to physical exercise, we know that pushing through the discomfort is what builds stronger, healthier bodies. It’s the same for emotional and mental health. When we push beyond our comfort zone we grow. If we recoil from discomfort, our parameters of growth shrink and atrophy just like unused muscles.
Seth would say, do your work, ship it, and if it fails, recover and ship again. You can read more about Seth’s “Ship It” concept here.
Tribute to Seth Godin, Visionary Leader of Creators
Seth is a visionary leader, encourager and champion of creators.This is not a promotional letter for Seth. Rather, it is a tribute to him for calling us all out to play bigger, better and bolder. I hope this and the following Seth Godin quotes encourage you to unleash your brilliance in the world and encourage you to practice your art daily, and Ship It!
About This Quotes List
Quotes here are listed alphabetically by key concept. Some are posted under more than one subject heading to facilitate finding what’s relevant for your interest today. We hope you find lots to fuel your creative spirit.
Seth Godin Quotes
Anxiety Quotes
“Anxiety, is experiencing failure in advance.”
~Seth Godin, author, speaker, b.7/10/1960
Art and Artists Quotes by Seth Godin
Art is a tool that gives us the ability to make things better, and to create something new on behalf of those who will create the next thing.
SOURCE: Seth Godin’s book, The Practice
~Seth Godin, visionary, author, speaker, teacher, b.7/10/1960
“You know who doesn’t hold back? Artists.”
SOURCE: ConvertKit Keynote
~Seth Godin, visionary, author, speaker, teacher, b.7/10/1960
“Art… a human