Seth Godin is one of my favorite marketers of all time. I’m grateful to his work for showing me the beauty, value and true essence of marketing. Instead of seeing the tainted version of marketing that others have portrayed and whose value they have tried to diminish to evil, selfish or any other self serving corrupt adjective. The value of marketing is clearly presented in the market and always will be because, it is human nature.
Seth Godin, in his book This is Marketing reveals the concept “Love what you do. ” Emphasis on the do. Today, I woke up early and practiced my flexibility and tango. It felt good to accomplish this and it got me thinking about the relationship between activities that require intimate action and a sense of loving the doing part. Leaving the results as nothing more than an afterthought. And, that in doing that, there’s a chance the results will be a success. If what you care about is the doing of something then your care and attention goes there, the results become less relevant. The success rate and the results are not guaranteed and they do not matter. That is the risk, challenge and courageous act being taken.
Risk, challenge and courage are the foundations of a fulfilled, high reward or high loss, and free life. Actually to think about it as high reward or loss is wrong because it doesn’t factor in with this concept. Just because something doesn’t factor in does that mean it doesn’t count? Because you are interconnected to the people around you, your reward or loss also affects them. But your not attached to fulfillment or reward of any kind or a free life.
How is it that these oxymoron’s exist? By loving what you do, you are taking on risk, challenge and consequently being courageous. These are traits highly valued because it’s not common. High demand, low supply. What about being courageous in a way that matters? If you take a risk and lose, is it because you were courageous about something that didn’t matter or that others did not see the value in it until is was written plainly?
Do all courageous acts matter? I think yes, but why? Because every effort to move forward in the face of fear, no matter the intentions brings out the human spirit, to be resilient and upward moving. It is an effort to overcome, to achieve and triumph over obstacles.
If not, what are the courageous acts that matter and what courageous acts don’t? The only way for a courageous act not to matter is if the definition is replaced by something it is not. The courageous act must be repeated indefinitely for it to matter to more than just the individual.
Does wanting a courageous act to matter make it not so? I don’t think so, but why? Who will matter to? Who are we trying to appeal to? No matter the intention a courageous act will ask more than you might be willing to give, but you will give it. Maybe in its completion you will see why that courageous act was valuable. Either way courage always teaches and it is always a fair trade.
Trading value for value is what we do. Everything has a price especially courage.