WOW… all of my life I’ve been saying to folks who are trying to be perfectionists or working way too many hours thinking “no one else will/can do it like THEY do”, to remember that no one is indispensable, even presidents die and the country continues. hmmmm

Seth Godin’s book Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
 has me reconsidering this response. But more importantly, he’s given me a new look at the character of “indispensable.” This oft repeated quote from Seth Godin’s book says it all:

Every day I meet people who have so much to give but have been bullied enough or frightened enough to hold it back. It’s time to stop complying with the system, and draw your own map. You have brilliance in you, your contribution is essential, and the art you must create is precious. Only you can do it, and you must.

At first reading you might be thinking, “Well, I’m no Einstein, Mother Teresa, Ghandi, Mandela or even a Steve Jobs or a Bill Gates.” If you just did that, then you absolutely must read this book.

Seth Godin is not talking about the reported brilliance we read about  or see in movies or television. He’s not saying we should go for the Pulitzer Prize or Olympic Gold. Nor is he  saying you should do all the ‘busywork’ that prevents us from being our best selves.

He’s talking about the gift each of us has. Yours may be a better system for the production plant where you work. Possibly it’s a vision you have for reworking the displays in your employer’s store. Or maybe you’re sitting on a business idea that you’re just too afraid to move forward on. So you don’t invest time in creating a plan.

What he’s not talking about is ego, making millions, or even being noticed. Instead, if I can even come close to digesting this wonderful book, he is asking each of us to discover our ‘art.’ That’s right: our art! Yours – and – mine!

Art isn’t only a painting; it’s anything that changes someone for the better, any nonanonymous interaction that leads to a human (not simply a commercial) conclusion.

He goes on to discuss the ‘gift’ in art. Then takes that concept and moves through various paths to our economy, our work, our community, our sense of satisfaction.

The result of this art, these risks, the gifts, and the humanity coming together is both wonderful and ironic.

Now read the book. Tilt your head slightly and consider a different perspective. Discover your art and choose to make a difference. Hold fast to your vision and no longer wait for something to change. As Capt. Picard says in Star Trek: The Next Generation,

“Engage.”

There is no map because it is your vision. No one knows the gift you can give better than you know. So step into the universe and “Make it so.” (Picard on Start Trek: The Next Generation.)

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