“The Practice” explains there is no magic in the magic

The Practice: Shipping Creative Work

By Seth Godin

Seth Godin is a bestselling author 18 times over. Perhaps you’ve read “This is Marketing,” “Purple Cow,” “Linchpin,” or one of my favorites, “The Dip.” When he writes a new book, it is easy for me to put it on my reading list. In fact, if you read business books, then you probably don’t need me to recommend a new Seth Godin book to you.

Yet I am here to tell you that you should read “The Practice.” Or listen to it. My favorite audiobooks are read by the author, and Seth Godin is a fantastic person to listen to. You can even check it out from our own Metropolitan Library without spending a dime.

The subtitle of ‘The Practice” is “Shipping Creative Work.” It would be easy to dismiss this book as a book for creatives (i.e., artists, writers, makers, etc.) and not business leaders. This is the reason I’m here to review this book. For a long time, I didn’t think of myself as creative. I’m logical, systematic, and process-oriented. A few years ago, I realized I was creative but not in the form of fine arts like music, art, or drama. Creativity can in many forms. Business, I believe, is one of them.

There are 256 pages with 219 brief pieces of content in “The Practice.” Only a few of the sections are longer than a couple of paragraphs. It’s like he knows our attention spans are getting shorter. Godin’s short bits of content are impactful. Without fluff, they hit fast and make an immediate impact on the reader. Many books that hit shelves today are loaded with repetitive content and extra commentary. They do this so the book can be long enough for the publisher’s requirements and the traditional formula for a best-selling book. Seth Godin doesn’t need these formulas. Luckily for us, this book is full of no-nonsense writing for us to consume.

The book is broken into eight topical chapters: Trust Yourself, Generous, The Professional, Intent, No Such Thing As Writer’s Block, Make Assertions, Earn Your Skills, and Seek Out Constraints. The content in each chapter carries the theme and expounds on the general idea. It is easy to get sucked in and read several pages at once, bouncing through the advice and anecdotes. I also found it powerful to sit and read a single passage two or three times to really comprehend what Godin was writing. He often revealed a perspective that I had never considered before.

Godin precipitates that creativity is for everyone. The first page reveals the forthright truth: “The magic of the creative process is that there is no magic.”

“The Practice” works through the method to create and hurdles that hinder most from expressing themselves and contributing to society. “Shipping Creative Work” is not just about how to be creative. The main point is to make what we create public, to share it with society. Only when we ship do we contribute value to others. Contributing value to others, and exchanging various forms of value, is what we do in business.

You might consider yourself to be creative, or you may not. The Practice provides encouragement, advice, and motivation for you either way.