Book Review: Tribes by Seth Godin

I just finished reading Tribes by Seth Godin.  It was published in 2008, so it's not exactly hot off the press, but many people I respect have recommended Godin's books to me, and I found it inspiring. While Tribes is nominally sort of a business/self-help book, many of its insights can be applied to self-transformation.  Here are a few gems I encountered:
"A fundamentalist is a person who considers whether a fact is acceptable to his religion before he explores it. As opposed to a curious person who explores first and then considers whether or not she wants to accept the ramifications."
If you replace "religion" with "values" or "assumptions" then this is what "heretics" and non-conformists run up against pretty much every time we open our mouths. Fundamentalists of all stripes simply can't adjust their preconceptions to reflect the world we inhabit.  Understanding this can help us understand the resistance we seem to meet every time we express ourselves.
"Magic only happens in a spectator's mind. Everything else is a distraction... Methods for their own sake are a distraction  You cannot cross over into the world of magic until you put everything else aside and behind you - including your own desires and needs - and focus on bringing an experience to the audience.  This is magic. Nothing else."
If you change out a couple of words on this, you get a slightly more lucid version of Crowley's "Pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every is every way perfect".  This also highlights that we need to be focused on the destination, not the road or the vehicle we take to get there. If we remain goal focused, then it suddenly doesn't matter if you mix Hinduism with Chaos Magick.  All that matters is whether it works.
"You should never use the word "opportunity". It's not an opportunity, it's an obligation.  I think we have an obligation to change the rules, to raise the bar, to play a different game, and to play it better than anyone has any right to believe is possible."
Hell yeah!  You have no right but to do thy will. When you see something you want to do, that is within the realm of possibility to achieve, then you owe it to yourself -and the world - to give it a shot. Don't be afraid to fail - it is better to fail a thousand times than to never try.
"If it's about your mission, about spreading the faith, about seeing something happen, not only do you not care about credit, but you actually WANT other people to take credit."
Wrap your mind around that concept for a second.  Can you imagine what the world would be like if we didn't all squabble about whose idea it was?  This is also about mentoring and team-building - the worst leaders are the ones who want to take credit for everything.  There should be plenty of laurels to go around if you actually get things done, and there will be even more if you are able to inspire others to get things done, as well.  However, people won't get things done for you for long if they don't get credit. So you really have to ask yourself "Is this really about the mission, or is it about me?"  If it's really about you, then you have some soul-searching to do, because you have an ethical obligation to share credit with your tribe.
"Contrast the BIG YES with the little no. The little no is easy to find and hard to avoid.  It's like swatting a gnat.  (It) avoids a distraction, keeps you away from a possible hassle. There are tons of little no's everywhere we look.  The BIG YES is about leadership and apparent risk.  Mostly it's about leverage."
Little no's are what keep us from taking chances to do the things we really want to do.  Fear is the mind killer. If we don't  fight the little no every day, we rarely get off the couch to start anything, and we never finish what we start. It's not easy - you have to force yourself into the BIG YES over and over. You have to push your fear aside and go for what you want, what you know is possible in your life, without fear of failure or criticism by the people on the couch.  So much of life is about getting to YES.  

I'm not going to claim that any of this is particularly new or revolutionary, but Godin lays out some solid principles in clear and  inspiring terms. At less than  150 small pages, Tribes is a quick, worthwhile read.

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