Last time I saw my uncle, he told me he had read a life-changing book. A read-three-times-in-a-row kind of book. An everyone-should-read-this kind of book.
What is the book, I practically screamed.
(We like to tell dramatic stories in my family…ones that can go off the rails by the constant interruption of cousins/sons/brothers.)
I was completely surprised to hear the title: Linchpin, by Seth Godin.
The only Seth Godin book I haven't read.
I thought the book was about being an indispensable employee…so I had skipped it. I'm not an employee and I'm pretty darn indispensable in my business of one.
But I trust my uncle, so I got the book from the library.
And devoured it this week.
It's a great book for employees and entrepreneurs alike, but here's what blew my mind: Seth talks, at length about the need to…make your own map. (I'm sorta into you making your own map, remember?)
He has an entire chapter on There Is No Map and here's how it starts:
What does it take to lead?
The key distinction is the ability to forge your own path to discover a route from one place to another that hasn't been paved, measured, and quatified. So many times we want someone to tell us exactly what to do, and so many times that's exactly the wrong approach.
Right?
This is what I'm talking about.
This is exactly what I'm passionate about:
You, getting comfortable with your youness.
You, recognizing that your distinct talents (Seth calls it your genius), your amazing thing (or Seth likes to say, your art) are what your Right People are begging for.
You, getting clear, getting obvious, gettin' jiggy with your youness is what I want for you.
So whether you're working for the man, or your own womanly self – be honest: