Top 10 Quotes & Messages from Poke the Box by Seth Godin

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I’m a Seth Godin junkie. His books are thought-provoking and fun to read. If you haven’t picked up and read a copy of Seth Godin’s last book, Poke the Box, then I want you to imagine me standing on a stage with a hot pink megaphone covered in glitter yelling, “You need this in your life.”

If that fun little picture didn’t convince you yet or if you want a reminder of the little gem that this book is, I’ve put together my favorite 10 quotes/messages from Poke the Box. Enjoy!

1. “The challenge, it turns out, isn’t in perfecting your ability to know when to start and when to stand by. The challenge is getting into the habit of starting.”

2. “Oprah has had failed shows, failed projects, failed predictions. She starts something every day, sometimes a few times a day, and there’s a long, long list of things that haven’t worked out. No one keeps track of that list, though, because the market {and our society} has such respect for the work she’s done that has succeeded.”

3. “In short: show up.”

4. “The connected economy of ideas demands that we contribute initiative. And yet we resist, because our lizard brain, the one that lives in fear, relentlessly exaggerates the cost of being wrong.”

5. “Please stop waiting for a map. We reward those who draw maps, not those who follow them.”

6. “Change is powerful, but change always comes with failure as its partner. ‘This might not work’ isn’t merely something to be tolerated; it’s something you should seek out.”

7. “Action is easy once you have a plan. Formulating a plan, however, is a rare and valuable skill.”

8. “When was the last time you set out to be promiscuous in your failures?”

9. “Instead of propositioning everyone within reach of your email box, invest some time and earn the right to ask. Do your homework. Build connections.”

10. “Forward motion is a defensible business asset.”