The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly?

This book is exceptional! In the sense that anyone who felt enslaved by the system, upon reading it, would harness the courage to break out and embark on a journey, in an upward trajectory, that would positively define their next phase of career(and life). Key ingredient = Grit. Without it, you won't make the cut.

Seth Godin is one of my favorites authors, and I'm also a big fan of his blog entries . . . so that is why I rushed to get hold of his latest book, THE ICARUS DECEPTION: HOW HIGH WILL YOU FLY? (Portfolio Hardcover).It did not disappoint!The author challenges many of the old rules: Play it safe. Stay in your comfort zone. Find an institution, a job, a set of rules to stick to.Rather, he contends there's a new truth; i.e., it's better to be sorry than safe. To succeed, you need to fly higher than ever.What makes THE ICARUS DECEPTION so worthwhile is the fact that Godin uses lots of real examples in driving home his points . . . for example:* The value of information became obvious when TV Guide (the magazine with information about when certain shows were on) sold for more money than the networks themselves were worth. Information about the content was worth more than the content.He also emphasized not only the arts, but a wide variety of other fields:* A doctor's call or e-mail message can't help the patient with the physical pain, but it can provide information, solace, or just a reminder that everything is going according to plan. Does it change the surgery itself? Of course not. Does it change the outcome of that surgery? Certainly.Lastly, he gave some specific techniques with dealing with a myriad of problems--including writer's block . . . he even contends that it isn't hard to cure:* Just write. Write poorly. Continue to write poorly, in public, until you can write better.Everyone should learn to write in public. Get a blog. Or use Squidoo or Tumblr or a micro blogging site. Use an alias if you like. Turn off comments, certainly-you don't need more criticism; you need more writing.Do it every day. Every single day. Not a diary, not fiction, but analysis. Clear, crisp, honest writing about what you see in the world. Or want to see. Or teach (in writing). Tell us how to do something.If you know you have to write something every single day, even a paragraph, you will improve your writing. The resistance, of course, would rather have you write nothing, not speak up in public, keep it under wraps.If you're concerned only with avoiding error, then not writing is not a problem, because zero is perfect and without defects. Shipping nothing is safe.My favorite part of the book was in the Appendix . . . it contained true-life stories of 14 artists that showed me it is possible to fly higher than ever.

Für einen Motivationsschub in die Staaten zu reisen ist im Moment leider nicht drin, also lese ich Seth Godins Buch. Ich lese auch regelmäßig seinen Blog. Respekt! der Mann schreibt wirklich fast jeden Tag etwas zu den klassischen amerikanischen Themen wie „Du kannst es!“, „Wovor hast du Angst?“, „Sei mutig!“ und „Mach'dein Ding!“.So auch in Icarus Deception: Die Ikarus Lüge besteht darin, dass wir immer nur einen bestimmten Teil der Sage erzählen – den, wo Ikarus entgegen seines Vaters Rat zu nah an die Sonne fliegt, das Wachs aus den Flügeln schmilzt und Ikarus tot ins Meer stürzt. Die Lektion aus der Geschichte: Gehorche deinem Vater (König, Boss) oder du stürzt ab. Dass der Vater auch den Rat gibt, wegen der Wellen nicht zu tief zu fliegen, wird meistens unterschlagen. Zu tief zu fliegen ist aber viel gefährlicher als zu hoch, denn man fühlt sich sicher. In unserem kollektiven Bewusstsein besteht die Ikarus Sage aus der Warnung „Fliege nicht zu hoch!“Seth Godin formuliert daraus die Aufforderung „How high will you fly?“. Er motiviert die Leser/innen sich aus der Bodenhaftung zu lösen, abzuheben, erst einmal hoch, weit hoch und bei der Sonne sind wir dann noch lange nicht.Wofür brauchen wir diesen Anschubser? Geht es um wichtige Lebensentscheidungen? In der Tat: Es geht Seth Godin darum, guten Ideen und vor allem den Menschen, die sie haben, eine Chance zu geben: hauptsächlich im Beruf, generell aber für eine möglichst große Übereinstimmung der persönlichen Komfortzone und der gefühlten Sicherheitszone. Sich selbst verwirklichen. Authentisch sein. Schräg sein. Sich Peinliches getrauen. Dem eigenen Witz vertrauen. Auf seinen Bauch hören. Godin nennt es Kunst, weil Kunst immer die Möglichkeit bietet, subversiv, authentisch, schräg, peinlich und witzig zu sein. Und weil wir „den Künstler in uns“ nicht mal eben so aus dem Ärmel schütteln, brauchen wir Starthilfen.Ich mag die Art von Leichtigkeit, wie Seth Godin das gelingt. Wie er Duke Ellington, Ray Bradbury, James Joyce, Keith Richards und Krishnamurti zitiert. Ohne Leuchtmarker in der Hand braucht niemand dieses Buch zu lesen, anstreichen! markieren! Wem das Pathos darin nicht gefällt, hat wahrscheinlich von vornherein die Hände davon gelassen, denn das Cover leuchtet in neongrün mit neongelb. Mir gefällt`s und ich empfehle es allen, die sich selbst Mut machen wollen.

This book is like marmite. You'll either love it or hate it. I loved it because it made me think. It was food for thought and the ideas that Seth puts forward stayed with me long after I finished reading the book.The essence of the book is "You Choose." You pick whether you do something well or not. You no longer need to wait for someone else to pick you. Don't queue in the long line of people waiting for the buffet table of life which has all the good things on. Or sit aggressively waiting for the phone to ring. The power is in your hands. You decide. Do you want to do what you want? Or will you just do what you are told to do?Seth writes, "The rules keep changing and we might as well enjoy the process of changing them."The ideas in this book resonated with me. In fact, I think that "The Icarus Deception" is even more relevant now than it was a year ago. And from my limited knowledge of marketing, I think it applies more than ever. It explains the world the next generation are growing up in.In this brave new world, public relations no longer means a one-way communication with the public. It can be heavily affected by the public. And social media is the new voting system, so if you want your product or service to be found, you need to be social. Your role in this brave new world is bigger than you think. As a consumer but mainly as a producer. Embrace this new responsibility.This means tearing up the old rule book. Seth Godin gives us instead some of his new rules:"Learn to sell what you've made.Say thank you in writing.Speak in public.Fail often.See the world as it is.Make predictions.Teach others.Write daily.Connect others.Lead a tribe."Do you see what I mean now? He may not be right. Love him or hate him, but the ideas Seth Godin puts forward in "The Icarus Deception" will give you something to chew on.I would recommend this book who is struggling to understand the rules of the world their children are growing up in, or anyone who is open minded to the fact the rules have changed and needs inspiration on what to do about it.

Interesting read, seems like it was written in a bunch of short text that were eventually combined so it does get repetitive at times but it helps get the point across. This book will definitely challenge what you think and "know" about many subjects