How To Get Rich According To Seth Godin

There are a million ways to make a million dollars, and this is how Seth Godin did it. His extensive collection of best-selling books and his daily blog are treasured resources for anyone looking to elevate their marketing, leadership, and life. He's a master of concise, impactful wisdom, and he's got a unique ability to inspire action and spark significant change. Seth Godin's work is all about how to build a career that matters and how to make a lot of money in the process.

Welcome to alux.com. So here's how to get rich according to Seth Godin, a series by alux.com. First up, you gotta become indispensable. In a rapidly changing world, being just another cog in the machine isn't going to get you very far. Seth Godin, in his revolutionary book Linchpin, introduces a crucial concept: become indispensable. Linchpins are the individuals who bring humanity, connection, and art to their work. They don't just follow the instruction or the manual; they invent, lead, and connect.

Godin believes that in any organization, linchpins are the people you can't live without. They're not defined by their job titles but by their actions, the choices they make, and the energy and passion they bring to their work. For Godin, being a linchpin is about taking initiative. It's the act of self-starting, of seeing a problem, and deciding it is your job to fix it. It's about creating a unique interface between members of the organization; it's a personal commitment, not a business strategy.

Godin encourages you to become a linchpin by giving yourself freely to your work, by caring deeply and genuinely about your colleagues and your customers, and by being brave enough to stand out and to challenge the status quo. Then, you gotta ship your work. Seth Godin is a firm believer in the idea of shipping, which means completing your projects and sending them out into the world. He argues the world is full of great ideas, but what really counts is the ability to execute those ideas and make them a reality.

In Godin's words, "real artists ship." It's not about perfecting every detail; it's about finishing your work and sharing it with others. Fear of criticism, fear of failure, and the fear of standing out can all act as barriers that prevent you from shipping. Godin suggests you should change your perspective here. Instead of seeking to avoid criticism, you should view it as evidence you're doing things that are challenging and outside of your comfort zone. It's a sign that you are indeed shipping.

Godin encourages us to set deadlines that we share with others, creating a form of social commitment that makes it more likely that we'll actually ship when we say we will. Because shipping is scary, it exposes you to the world and its potential criticism. But it's also the only way to improve and make a difference. It's also not about being reckless, but understanding that waiting for perfection means never shipping, and never shipping means never making the change that you seek to make.

Embrace the lizard brain. Seth Godin frequently discusses the concept of the lizard brain—our primal instincts that control our fears and responses to the world around us. This part of our brain is wired to protect us from danger, but in the modern world, it often holds us back from trying new things due to the fear of failure or embarrassment. Godin argues that instead of allowing our lizard brain to dictate our decisions, we need to recognize when it's taking control and consciously decide to push past that fear it creates.

Godin doesn't suggest silencing this instinctual part of ourselves; instead, he believes that we should use it as a compass. When we feel resistance, it's often a sign that we're on the brink of something significant. Rather than running from that discomfort, we should lean into it, understanding that it's a sign of doing meaningful work—work that challenges the status quo. Godin's advice is practical: anticipate the resistance that comes with bold, innovative work and don't let it deter you. Instead, use it as a signal. The stronger the resistance, the more important the work.

Thus, instead of avoiding our fears and insecurities, we can embrace them as signs that we are on a path worth pursuing. And look, okay, a lot of things are really scary, especially when it's your first time doing it: starting your own business, changing industries, learning something you've never done before. These are all daunting tasks, and every fiber in your body is going to tell you to stop. But these are the moments where it's important to recognize what's fear and what is common sense.

Seek out the smallest viable audience. This is one of our favorites taken from Seth Godin's wisdom. You see, just like when you're trying to be liked by everyone and you end up being liked by no one, when you try to serve everyone, or when you try to sell something to everyone, you end up hurting your business. It's very, very hard to create something that everyone loves or has a use for, and that should not be your aim.

Instead, Godin suggests you should look for your smallest viable audience and cater only to them. By targeting a smaller, more defined audience, you can create tailored products or services that genuinely solve a specific problem or meet a specific need. This leads to a deeper connection with your audience, as they feel understood and valued. They're not just another customer; they are the customer. With this kind of connection, the people you serve become your biggest advocates. They trust you, and they talk about you favorably. Of course, they help your work to spread, often in the most organic and trustworthy manner through word of mouth.

You see, not everyone needs to hear what you have to say. You should only be caring about the right people hearing it. Be remarkable. Now, in Seth Godin's philosophy, being remarkable is not just a slogan; it's a strategy and a call to action. In a world cluttered with noise and drowning in choices, being average doesn't cut it anymore. An average product, service, or idea is invisible in the crowded marketplace, but a remarkable one stands out and captures attention.

Remarkable, as Godin emphasizes, doesn't necessarily mean huge or grandiose; it means being worthy of being remarked upon, worthy of drawing attention. It's about creating something that people can't help but talk about. Being remarkable begins with a commitment to doing things differently, to challenging the status quo, and to having the courage to take risks. For Godin, it's not about being different for difference's sake but about being different in a way that adds genuine value to people's lives.

Now look, being remarkable is pretty hard. Very few people have the drive to make something so good their customers do the marketing for them. But in Godin's eyes, that's what you need to aim for with everything you do. If you really want to make it, you simply just can't half-ass it.

Tell a story that resonates. In Seth Godin's view, telling a story that resonates is an essential principle for anyone looking to make an impact. It's not just about fabricating a narrative, but about authentically connecting your product, service, or idea with your audience. Godin believes that marketing isn't about the products that we sell, but the stories we tell. These stories are the narratives that give context to our products and services and make people actually care about them.

Now here's a deeper dive into this principle. First, Godin emphasizes understanding your audience deeply—their needs, their fears, their aspirations, and their worldviews. This is foundational because a story that resonates is one that's tailored to the specific group of people you are seeking to serve. Secondly, telling a story means crafting a narrative that is both authentic and emotive. It's not enough for a story to be true; it needs to feel true to the listener, to touch them on an emotional level.

For example, the story that we tell you: the alux service—that in every generation there is one person who will break the poverty chain, and that person can be you. It's both true and emotionally impactful. We know it can happen because we've done it ourselves.

Embrace the dip. We're sure many of you have gone through this; some are currently in it right now. It's when the enthusiasm fades and the hard work becomes a pure grind. This is the point where most people give up on a project, a career, or a learning curve. Seth Godin calls it the dip. It's the first time you're exhausted; you scrape that energy barrel in hopes of gathering enough strength to make it through another day. It's also the time when many competitors will give up, leaving a more significant opportunity for those who do push through it.

Godin sees the dip as a natural and expected part of the process, not a sign of failure. He thinks that not all hard work is equal. It's the hard work you do in the dip, the persistence through the tough times, that is the most valuable work. Think about going to the gym. The first few reps are fairly easy, right? You're only starting to warm up properly. But after a short while, those weights seem heavier and heavier, and your whole body starts to shake, and you want to give up. That's when the work is the most valuable; that's where you see the most benefit, and that's the area that most people avoid.

Godin suggests you should expect the dip, because it is coming, and you need to prepare for it. Embrace it, push through it, and come out the other side a stronger person.

Build a tribe. This is a central theme in Seth Godin's work, and it refers to the idea of creating and nurturing a community of people who share a common interest or passion. Godin's notion of a tribe goes beyond traditional concepts of a customer base or an audience. It's about forming a group that's engaged, connected, and actively participating in a shared story or mission.

Godin emphasizes that a tribe is not just about numbers; it's about genuine connections and engagement. It's not necessarily about having the biggest following; it's about having a following that deeply cares about the work that you do or the product or service you provide. These are your true fans—the ones who will stay with you, advocate for your work, and spread your ideas. Pretenders chase likes and followers; genuine people chase other genuine people.

Practice emotional labor. This is something we hear very few people talking about. You see, most people who get stuck in their professional lives usually do the following: they wake up every day, do a series of tasks that have been delegated to them, they reach inbox zero, and then they log off. The next day is kind of like a rinse-and-repeat situation. They are mechanically performing a set of tasks with no personal involvement. They don't care about their own work nor the people they interact with.

Many would argue that it's how it's supposed to be because your work is not supposed to be your family and your boss is not your uncle. But Godin argues otherwise. He thinks you should intentionally exert emotional energy in your work, often in the service of a positive experience for others. In essence, emotional labor means choosing to care, making a difference, and doing the extra that's not outlined in a job description. It's about the teacher who stays after class to help a struggling student, the customer service rep who listens deeply to a customer's concerns and makes them feel heard, or the leader who understands the personal and professional challenges of their teams and responds with empathy and support.

In Seth Godin's eyes, emotional labor is the key to creating work that is fulfilling, meaningful, and impactful. It turns your job into a form of art, and it also makes you irreplaceable.

And last but not least, don't build cheap. Okay, some people believe the secret to succeeding in business is to build something better and cheaper, but the reality is better and cheaper cannot coexist in the same room. Godin argues that being the cheapest is a refuge for those who don't have the ability to design something worth paying for. If you can't build something remarkable—something people actually find valuable and useful—your only option is to build something cheap. And there will also be someone out there who can do it cheaper than you.

Look, okay, you cannot compete on cheap prices because it's just a losing game.

And lastly, we've got a bonus for those of you sticking with us until the end. Seth Godin believes that money isn't the goal. No, no; money is the result of the great work that you're doing. When you make yourself indispensable, remarkable, and you put your heart and sweat into the work that you're doing, the money will come naturally. And that's because people want good work in their life; they want quality stuff, and they're more than willing to pay for it.

If you liked this video, you'll love the one we did on Tim Ferriss in the same series. You can check it out right here by clicking the link in the description. We'll see you back here next time. Alux, take care.