What’s the difference between you and Seth Godin?
by Tyler Hayes, August 4, 2009
Name 3 things right now that differentiate you and Seth Godin. I’ll go first:
- He’s a vegetarian. I eat meat.
- He wears green glasses. I wear blue glasses.
- He’s bald. I have hair.
- He’s old. I’m young.
The first three statements involve choice. Both Seth and I make choices in life about how what we value and how we would like to lead our lives. The fourth statement does not involve choice. I cannot choose to be older, but I can choose to stop eating animals, buy funkier glasses, or grab the hair buzzer from under my sink.
Unintentionally, we often mix these statements up depending on what’s happening in our lives, whether it be work, school, family, or the economy. We twist these situations into negative influences and forfeit our element of choice. We give up.
Here’s a two-step process I think will help you:
- Instead of giving up and saying “Seth is successful/smart/whatever” try to identify whether your statement has an element of choice. 99% of the time, you will have a choice.
- Decide whether you want to do anything about it. Recognize that there are times you will choose to do nothing, but at least then you can know that you’re choosing it rather than feeling like the world is forcing it on you.
Choice begets change. You might be surprised at just how much more often you choose to change yourself once you identify how many choices you really have.
My name is Tyler Hayes, and this is my blog.
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