I just read Seth Godin’s Linchpin book on the iPad Vook app. So I’ll address how I felt about both in one Blog. If you will indulge me that luxury.

First, I must say I’m a big fan of Seth Godin. I can’t always grasp or use the concepts he promotes. I just think the beauty of his words is just art form in its own right. The man can flat out write. Just amazing. I read his blog religiously and I’m always amazed at his creativity and ability to come up with new content.

First on the book. I liked it. Yes things are certainly different these days out there in the wild. The same old way of doing things is not going to work these days. What really hit home to me first was his explanation of the Lizard brain and how it effects our success and happiness. It’s the part of the brain that came first in our evolution. It’s the source of anger, fear, and can take over our lives if we succumb to it. Is this BS one may ask? I have to look close to home at my own history. Certainly this is tune I’ve heard coming from my own brain. You can let it take over or fight it back with rational thinking (coming from the more civilized parts of our brain). How many times has this sabotage occurred?  Too many I fear. (Bad choice of words for this subject).

The two other things I picked up from the book were the focus on Art and Generosity. He’s telling the reader to let their artistic side lead their new endeavors. That will be the difference maker. He also tells the reader to be generous and that will come back to help you in the near term.  It all makes sense. We live in an age where the old ways of factory workers, bureaucrats, and cogs in the wheel will not work anymore. He talks several times about programmers and even once mentions Electrical Engineers. I am both so it really hints to me that he thinks our business has really changed. Not a surprise if you are in it like us every day.

One final note is his emphasis on shipping.  Ship it. Don’t worry about perfect he preaches. I think its good advice as I look at the projects sitting around here that are on the shelf. Guilty as charged. Of course I do ship, but maybe we it comes to the creative artistic stuff around here its not enough. So that hit home pretty hard. Expect to fail he says. (Been there – doing that). Find a “way”. It might not be the big VC funded project you want, but there are ways these days to get it done. So thats a little inspiration for the entrepreneurs out there.

This is the first book I read on my iPad besides Winny the Poo. I really liked the Vook. It has an opening video clip before each chapter. I really started looking forward to the clips to come at the end of each chapter. They were professionally done with excellent quality. The content in the videos set you up nicely for the chapter to come. Reading a book on the iPad was enjoyable, but I still might miss paper if it were gone. It might be gone.

Any negatives? The stuff in the book is and will be hard to do. Failure is an option. This path has the possibility to make your life miserable. You might just have been just as happy being that factory worker. Take it from me. But go for it. This isn’t a dress rehearsal after all!