Seth Godin

Nobody says, 'Yeah, I'd like to set myself up for some serious criticism!' And yet, the only way to be remarkable is to do just that.

If you love writing or making music or blogging or any sort of performing art, then do it. Do it with everything you've got. Just don't plan on using it as a shortcut to making a living.

Listen to your fear but don't obey it.

A business owner is the boss, but it's a job, a place that is stable and profitable. An entrepreneur is an artist of sorts, throwing his/herself into impossible situations and seeking out problems that require heart and guts to solve. Both are fine, but choose.

Things that look like shortcuts are actually detours (disguised as less work).

Busy does not equal important. Measured doesn't mean mattered.

The problem with the race to the bottom is that you might win

Instead of working so hard to prove the skeptics wrong, it makes a lot more sense to delight the true believers. _x000D_ They deserve it, after all, and they're the ones that are going to spread the word for you.

Art isn't only a painting. Art is anything that's creative, passionate, and personal. And great art resonates with the viewer, not only with the creator.

The future isn't so much about absorbing or tolerating change, it's about making change.

Understanding the mythology of your partner, your customer and your audience is far more important than watching the instant replay of what actually happened.

You are far more likely to do your best work if you are willing to delight a few as opposed to soothe the masses.

No more than six words on a slide. Ever. There is no presentation so complex that this rule needs to be broken.

The purpose of an elevator pitch is to describe a situation or solution so compelling that the person you're with wants to hear more even after the elevator ride is over.

Copy, not from your industry, from others. You have to go where there is no competition.

You can listen to what people say, sure. But you will be far more effective if you listen to what people do.

Do your art. But don't wreck your art if it doesn't lend itself to paying the bills. That would be a tragedy.

A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stores and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer's decision to choose one product or service over another.

There's a big difference between not settling and not starting.

Great marketers don't make stuff. They make meaning.

You can use social media to turn strangers into friends, friends into customers and customers into salespeople.