Why We Should All Poke the Box

My interns at Mobilize.org know on their first day I recommend they sign up for Seth Godin’s daily doses of thoughtful inspiration on how we see ourselves, the world, ourselves within the world of work and our ability to make a difference.

I was up pretty early one day last week and finished reading Seth Godin's latest book, Poke the Box. In this super quick read, Seth writes about the importance of innovating, starting, failing, and starting again, and emphasizes the power in what he calls "shipping", which is starting a project or launching an idea, finishing, letting the chips fall where they may, and realizing your success is not always in if it succeeds, but in the lessons you've learned along the way.

We've all heard this before, but to me, Seth frames it in ways that don't seem so hypothetical.

As I read, I couldn't help but to think of my own experience within the book's context. The sometimes experimental nature of working for social change; connecting people and ideas, building programs and projects that help strengthen communities, and using media to share our success, could be quintessential Poke the Box case studies.

Anyway, in an effort to inspire you and keep us all motivated to go "make something happen", I thought I'd share my favorite Poke the Box highlights:

• Be someone who starts something, who initiates, who is prepared to fail along the way if it helps you make a difference.
• Imagine the world had no bosses and no one telling you what you couldn't do. Think about what you would do, then go do that.
• A kid sees a buzzer box and starts poking to see what happens. Life is a buzzer box. Poke it.
• Human nature is to need a map, but the world rewards those who draw maps. If you're brave enough to draw a map, draw one, people will follow.
• Aimless is where we end up when we don't care so much about where we’re going, or we try to hide or limit our contributions. Don't be aimless, be aimful.
• Avoiding failure is counterproductive.
• Ego is not always a bad thing, it forces us to seek acceptance, to make a difference, and to push the envelope. But the real win is when you see something get shipped, not getting the credit when it does.
• Excellence isn’t about working extra hard to do what you're told. It's about taking the initiative to do work you decide is worth doing.
• Be curious and pursue your curiosity. It often leads to opportunities you never thought you'd have.
• When in doubt, look for the fear. That's almost always the source of your doubt.
• Reject the tyranny of picked. Don't wait for someone to pick you. Pick yourself.

I hope this is helpful to you, it certainly was to me.

To learn more about Seth Godin, visit him at http://www.sethgodin.com and follow him on Twitter @ThisisSethsBlog.

Now go, start poking and make something happen.

You can follow Ayofemi on Twitter @Ayofemi.