“The Practice” by Seth Godin is a once-in-a-lifetime read for creative professionals and creative wannabes. The only caveat I have to the above statement is that I feel you have to be on a creative journey to understand the book honestly.
This book touched me profoundly because I am fresh into my life, or career, as a creative professional. I wasn’t always a writer; I am a US Marine- and I thought this defined me. To some extent, it does. However, I feel deeply passionate about writing.
“The Practice” is about the art form and work of being a creative professional. The author does not give creative people an excuse not to ship their work. That is the power of reading this book. Sometimes we want to use words like “writer’s block,”- but this is not a thing. To do the work, you simply have to do the work.
I never read a book that challenged a writer or artist to keep producing work. I have read many books about making money from writing, music, or videos, but this book is about the actual work. As a creative, you must share your work. It is your job. Only so many people on this earth can withstand the criticism attached to putting yourself and your work into the public space. If you have this calling, you must do it- no excuses. Let’s get into my takeaways before I write a book about this book. It is that moving.
1) Trust the practice. The practice is where and how you create your work- this is your space, time, and energy combined into a process. I write an article a day. I love it. But a more significant challenge for me is to write two articles a day. It will challenge every ounce of my soul, but I feel that I am up to it after reading this book.
2) Don’t focus on results. Too often, we focus on the outcome or results of our work. If I am a blogger, I may want to get a certain amount of post views. A YouTuber may need a certain amount of likes. However, by focusing on the practice, we are our best selves. We can do our best work, release it, and move on to the next project.
3) Don’t wait for flow. Flow is a deep state of creative being. I have been under the influence of flow. It takes over your keyboard strokes, and you just write and write. You look up, and you don’t even know what you have written. It is impressive- however, you can’t wait for flow to happen to start writing. Flow occurs when you begin to write, you don’t wait for flow to begin writing.
4) What is a hack. A hack is a person who caters to what the audience wants. I was disappointed when I found out that so many authors use ghost-writers. Many people are making money on the Kindle platform use ghost-writers. More concerning to me was that most people look up popular keywords first and then create a book around them. I prefer to write what I want, how I want. Of course, they will make more money than me, but I want something I can proudly leave to my children.
5) Not all criticism is equal. Sometimes you present your work to the wrong audience. No matter what you did, the audience would not be satisfied. The best criticism comes from those who want to go on your journey with you. Your tribe will give criticism then look forward to your work to continue on the path- together.
I highly recommend this book to anyone on the path of creative pursuits. I do not know if someone who is on the edge of beginning to do their work will understand how deep this book goes. I have released a few books, and now I consider myself a creative professional.
This book has opened the floodgates to continue my work indefinitely. I am not allowed to stop because I have challenged myself. We fear that we will run out of ideas, but that is the challenge of the practice and why this book touched my soul. When you run out of ideas, you keep writing until having a vision. “The magic is that there is no magic.”
This link is to a physical product. The link above is to the digital book. Sorry. I get no credit for digital product links.
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