Notes from ‘The Practice’

A few months back I read a book titled ‘The Practice’ by Seth Godin. I loved it a lot and made some notes from it. They are some profound lines from the book which spoke to me.

Here is a list of some of them:

When you choose to produce creative work, you’re solving a problem. Not just for you, but for those who will encounter what you’ve made. By putting yourself on the hook, you’re performing a generous act. You are sharing insight and love and magic. And the more it spreads, the more it’s worth to all of those who are lucky enough to experience your contribution. Art is something we get to do for other people.

If you get good enough at throwing, the catching takes care of itself.

The desire for outcome is deeply ingrained, and for some, this is the moment where they give up. They simply can’t bear a process that willingly ignores the outcome.

Our work is about throwing. The catching can take care of itself.

And so, too often, we walk away from a creative life, a chance to be generous, an opportunity to solve problems.

[Making the world a better place through art] is the highest attainment of the specialization.

Art is what we call it when we’re able to create something new that changes someone.

And you’ve been told that if you can’t win, you shouldn’t even try (but now you see that the journey is the entire point).

Art is the generous act of making things better by doing something that might not work.

Waiting for a feeling is a luxury we don’t have time for.

I have a story in my head, all about how things are supposed to be.

Flow is a symptom of the work we’re doing, not the cause of it.

The trap is this: only after we do the difficult work does it become our calling. Only after we trust the process does it become our passion. “Do what you love” is for amateurs. “Love what you do” is the mantra for professionals.

Our commitment to the process is the only alternative to the lottery- mindset of hoping for the good luck of getting picked by the universe.

The world’s worst boss might very well be you.

The practice has nothing at all to do with being sure the work is going to be successful. That’s a trap.

The search for a guarantee is endless, fruitless, and the end of possibility, not the beginning.

The very nature of innovation is to act as if— to act as if you’re on to something, as if it’s going to work, as if you have a right to be here. Along the way, you can discover what doesn’t work on your way to finding out what does.

Worse, if you need a guarantee you’re going to win before you begin, you’ll never start.

The alternative is to trust the process, to do our work with generosity and intent, and to accept every outcome, the good ones as well as the bad.

Do the work, become the artist. Instead of planning, simply become.

Trust earns you patience, because once you trust yourself, you can stick with a practice that most people can’t handle.

At some point, the professional has to bring home the fish. That’s the fuel that permits the professional to show up each day. But the catch is the side effect of the practice itself. Get the practice right, and your commitment will open the door for the market to engage with your work.

You might seek a shortcut, a hustle, a way to somehow cajole that fish onto the hook. But if it distracts you from the process, your art will suffer.

The career of every successful creative is part of a similar practice: a pattern of small bridges, each just scary enough to dissuade most people.

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