An Expert View:
Don't Expect Applause
Don't Expect Applause
In today's Expert View, I share advice from one of the most insightful experts on the planet: Seth Godin. Seth has written over a dozen worldwide bestsellers. He is recognized as one of the most innovative thinkers of our time.
Here is one of my favorite bite-size morsels of wisdom from Mr. Godin: Don't Expect Applause. I call it a morsel, because I encourage you to not only read it, but to chew on it for a bit. A change in perspective about seeking applause... may just change your life.
But when you expect applause, when you do your work in order (and because of) applause, you have sold yourself short. That's because your work is depending on something out of your control. You have given away part of your art. If your work is filled with the hope and longing for applause, it's no longer your work-the dependence on approval has corrupted it, turned it into a process where you are striving for ever more approval.
Who decides if your work is good? When you are at your best, you do. If the work doesn't deliver on its purpose, if the pot you made leaks or the hammer you forged breaks, then you should learn to make a better one. But we don't blame the nail for breaking the hammer or the water for leaking from the pot. They are part of the system.
Who decides if your work is good? When you are at your best, you do. If the work doesn't deliver on its purpose, if the pot you made leaks or the hammer you forged breaks, then you should learn to make a better one. But we don't blame the nail for breaking the hammer or the water for leaking from the pot. They are part of the system.
'Here, here it is, it's finished.' If it's finished, the applause, the thanks, the gratitude are something else. Something extra and not part of what you created.
To play a beautiful song for two people or a thousand is the same song, and the amount of thanks you receive isn't part of that song." (Seth Godin, 2012)
Bottom Line
Today's Expert View tells us to consider doing great work simply because you want to, and because you can. Striving for approval is a vicious cycle. The less you think about what you'll get in return, the better your work may actually be. Play a beautiful song whether anyone is listening or not. Applause often comes when you least expect it, and it always grows in volume when it's truly deserved.
More soon,
Lisa
For more on Seth Godin, visit him on the web at http://sethgodin.typepad.com.
To play a beautiful song for two people or a thousand is the same song, and the amount of thanks you receive isn't part of that song." (Seth Godin, 2012)
Bottom Line
Today's Expert View tells us to consider doing great work simply because you want to, and because you can. Striving for approval is a vicious cycle. The less you think about what you'll get in return, the better your work may actually be. Play a beautiful song whether anyone is listening or not. Applause often comes when you least expect it, and it always grows in volume when it's truly deserved.
More soon,
Lisa
For more on Seth Godin, visit him on the web at http://sethgodin.typepad.com.
