Will You Poke The Box?

Seth Godin has written a book that will challenge you to start...initiate...begin...GO!
This is a manifesto about starting. Starting a project, making a ruckus, taking what feels like a risk.
This is not a book about thinking about it or making a plan.
It is about going beyond the point of no return...leaping...committing...making something happen.
This book is about having the guts and the heart and the passion to ship. The challenge is getting into the habit of starting. The desire to move forward.

Mr. Godin puts it this way in his new book, Poke the Box;

Imagine that the world had no middlemen, no publishers, no bosses, no HR folks, no one telling you what you couldn't do.
If you lived in that world, what would you do?
Go. Do that.

Mr. Godin believes the fear of failure is the reason many people hold back and hesitate to start a new endeavor. It might be only a temporary failure, but that doesn't matter so much if the very thought of it shuts you down. Risk is avoided becuase we have been trained to avoid failure. Many people are stuck with the status quo because they are afraid to make any kind of change.

The author believes that avoiding failure is counterproductive. We will learn from our failures. All great people in history have learned from their failures and moved forward. The more you do, the more you fail.

It is time to take the initiative to do work you decide is worth doing. What is your calling? There are no instructions or lists. Mr. Godin is very passionate when he says,

Please stop waiting for a map.
We reward those who draw maps, not those who follow them.

This book is a call to action. It should be a kick in the pants to all who are waiting, planning, hesitating and evaluating. The time to get started is now. Poking doesn't mean right. It means ACTION. And remember, starting means you're going to finish. If it doesn't ship, you've failed. You haven't poked the box if the box doesn't realize it's been poked.

Will you poke the box? Will you change your way of thinking to allow yourself to take a risk? Will you focus on the work, not on the fear that comes from doing the work?

Mr. Godin is daring you to do the work you're capable of, the work that matters. You can't lose. GO!


Will you poke the box? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.