Quotessence
Home / Authors / Seth Godin
Seth Godin

Seth Godin Quotes

Author

Filter quotes by topic

AllPeopleIfsWayMarketingArtIdeasNeedsThinkingBusinessWantMotivationalMatterImportantArt IsGivingMarketersWorldBelieveChoicesEnough

Famous Seth Godin Quotes

“What makes someone an artist? I don't think is has anything to do with a paintbrush. There are painters who follow the numbers, or paint billboards, or work in a small village in China, painting reproductions. These folks, while swell people, aren't artists. On the other hand, Charlie Chaplin was an artist, beyond a doubt. So is Jonathan Ive, who designed the iPod. You can be an artist who works with oil paints or marble, sure. But there are artists who work with numbers, business models, and customer conversations. Art is about intent and communication, not substances.”

PeopleThinkingArtHandsArtistNumbersDoubtPaintingCommunicationConversationModelsArt IsPaintFolksChinaCustomersOilPainterSubstanceVillageCharlieMarbleReproductionIpodsBusiness ModelsBillboardsChaplinPaintbrushSmall Villages
Author:Seth Godin
Create image

“But if the cow is purple, you'd notice it, OK? The thing that's going to decide what gets talked about, what gets done, what gets changed, what gets purchased, what gets built is, is it remarkable? And remarkable's a really cool word 'cause we think it just means neat, but it also means worth making a remark about, and that is the essence of where idea diffusion is going.”

IfsThinkingMeanIdeasDoneCausesChangedBuiltEssenceRemarkableCowsPurpleRemarksReally CoolNeatDiffusion
Author:Seth Godin
Create image

“Yes, I think it's okay to abandon the big, established, stuck tribe. It's okay to say to them, "You're not going where I need to go, and there's no way I'm going to persuade all of you to follow me. So rather than standing here watching the opportunities fade away, I'm heading off. I'm betting some of you, the best of you, will follow me.”

ThinkingWayNeedsBigsOpportunityStandingOkayStuckAbandonFadesTribesHeadingsFollow MeFade AwayBetting
Book:Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us
Create image

“When we think of design, we usually imagine things that are chosen because they are designed. Vases or comic books or architecture... It turns out, though, that most of what we make or design is actually aimed at a public that is there for something else. The design is important, but the design is not the point. Call it "public design"... Public design is for individuals who have to fill out our tax form, interact with our website or check into our hotel room despite the way it's designed, not because of it.”

ThinkingWayImportantBookFormTurnsIndividualRoomsImagineDesignTaxesArchitectureChecksChosenDespiteComicHotelComic BookWebsiteHotel RoomsVases
Author:Seth Godin
Create image

“I don’t think the shortage of artists has much to do with the innate ability to create or initiate. I think it has to do with believing that it’s possible and acceptable for you to do it. We’ve had these doors open wide for only a decade or so, and most people have been brainwashed into believing that their job is to copyedit the world, not to design it.”

PeopleThinkingWorldBelieveHas BeensJobsArtistAbilityDoorsDesignWideDecadesAcceptableInnateShortageInitiateBrainwashed
Author:Seth Godin
Create image

“I think it's fascinating to note that some of the most successful organizations of our time got there by focusing obsessively on service, viewing compensation as an afterthought or a side effect. As marketing gets more and more expensive, it turns out that caring for people is a useful shortcut to trust, which leads to all the other things that a growing organization seeks.”

PeopleThinkingTurnsSidesSuccessfulGrowingEffectsOrganizationNotesMarketingCaringOur TimeExpensiveFascinatingCompensationShortcutsSide EffectsAfterthoughtSuccessful Organizations
Author:Seth Godin
Create image

“Instead of working hard to keep their share of a shrinking pie, or working even harder to make sure the industry stays as is, I think the most essential thing legacy book industry players can do is set up independent ventures with great people and little interference and work really hard to put themselves out of business by starting at the bottom, not by reinforcing the top.”

PeopleThinkingLittlesBookHardCan DoPlayerShareIndustryEssentialsHarderIndependentBottomStartingLegacyPieVentureGreat PeopleInterferenceShrinking
Author:Seth Godin
Create image

“It's pretty easy to decide to roll with the punches, to look at the enormity of natural disaster and choose to hunker down and do less. It's more important than ever, I think, to persist and make a dent in the universe instead. We've all been offered access to so many tools, so many valuable connections, so many committed people. What an opportunity.”

PeopleThinkingLooksImportantUniverseOpportunityEasyNaturalToolsConnectionsDown AndCommittedValuableAccessDisasterPersistNatural Disaster
Author:Seth Godin
Create image

“The way the world works now, the way the rules of engagement operate, you can't claim to make sense out of the exterior without booking voyages into the interior. Think about it: How can you understand 'it' if you haven't made any effort to understand 'you'? Because what you're really doing is establishing a living, electrical, vital, energetic connection between it and you. You're creating both of them, simultaneously. A lot like quantum physics.”

IfsThinkingWorldWayMadeSelfEffortHavensCreatingConnectionsClaimsPhysicsMake SenseEngagementQuantumInteriorsVoyagesEnergeticQuantum PhysicsElectricalExteriorRules Of Engagement
Author:Seth Godin
Create image