For many of us, the last time we learned a new skill was during childhood. Today we live in an age that looks up to any kind of expertise but looks down on the beginner. Upon entering adulthood and middle age, we begin to shy away from trying and learning new things, instead preferring to stay with the tried and tested.
Tom Vanderbilt is a writer who covers the worlds of design, technology, science, and culture. A contributing editor of Wired (U.K.), Outside, and Artforum, you may have read his articles in The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, or The New York Times Magazine. In 2008 his book Traffic, which looked at why we drive the way we do (and what it says about us), became a New York Times bestseller. His latest work is called Beginners: The Joy And Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning and seeks to explore the curious power of lifelong learning.
In the book, he asks the question: why are children the only ones allowed to experience the inherent fun of facing daily challenges? In fact, it is just possible that we could all benefit from embracing new skills, even if we’re initially hopeless? In the book Tom sets out to find the answer, setting himself the goal of acquiring several new skills under the expert tuition of professionals, including drawing, juggling, surfing and much more. Malcolm Gladwell said that ‘Beginners belongs on the list of books that have changed the way I understand my own limitations.
Tom and I discuss the value of having a beginner’s mind, Takumi’s, traveling on a journey of not knowing, and why having intellectual humility opens us up to new experiences.
My guest today is Seth Godin. Seth is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, and speaker. In addition to launching one of the most popular blogs in the world, he has written 19 best-selling books, including The Dip, Linchpin, Purple Cow, Tribes, This Is Marketing, and What To Do When It's Your Turn (And It's Always Your Turn). His latest book is The Practice: Shipping Creative Work. Brian Koppelman, co-producer and co-creator of the hit TV show Billions says that The Practice “is a skeleton key specially molded to unlock the most creative version of you. Read it, and find yourself free to be who you know you really are.”
Godin’s work covers a range of subjects, from the post-industrial revolution to being remarkable, and from the spread of ideas to knowing when to quit. He introduced the concept of “permission marketing” in the early days of the internet – recognizing and respecting the power of the consumers. A champion of talent, Godin proclaims that lack of creativity in the post-industrial world means we should all treat our work as a form of art.
In 2013, Seth was one of only three professionals inducted into the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame. In an astonishing turn of events, in May 2018, he was inducted into the Marketing Hall of Fame as well. He might just be the only person in both.
Seth and I talk about how he found his voice as a writer, non-attachment, Seth’s creative process, why diversity matters, and better ways to learn and ship creative work in a post-industrial world.
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I'm James Taylor. And this episode is going to be a little bit different. I'm going to let you into coming backstage, behind the scenes, there are some changes, big changes we're making here. And I want to give you the reasoning behind them. And I want to share with you some exciting developments, some exciting things that are going to be coming up really soon
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