Free Whatcha Gonna Do With That Duck?: And Other Provocations, 2006-2012 by Seth Godin

work.
Where’s Your Platform?
    That needs to be the goal when you seek a job.
    Bob Dylan earned the right to make records, and instead of using itto create ever more commercial versions of his old stuff, he used it as a platform to do art.
    A brilliant programmer finds a job in a small company, and instead of seeing it as a grind, churning out what’s asked, he uses it as a platform to hone his skills and to ship code that changes everything.
    A waiter uses his job serving patrons as a platform for engagement, for building a reputation, and for learning how to delight.
    A blogger starts measuring page views and ends up racing to the bottom with nothing but scintillating gossip and pandering. Or perhaps she decides to use the blog as a platform to take herself and her readers somewhere they will be glad to go.
    There’s no rigid line between a job and art. Instead, there’s an opportunity. Both you and your boss get to decide if your job is a platform or just a set of tasks.
The First Rule of Doing Work That Matters
    Go to work on a regular basis.
    Art is hard. Selling is hard. Writing is hard. Making a difference is hard.
    When you’re doing hard work, getting rejected, failing, working it out—this is a dumb time to make a situational decision about whether it’s time for a nap or a day off or a coffee break.
    Zig taught me this twenty years ago. Make your schedule
before
you start. Don’t allow setbacks or blocks or anxiety to push you to say, “hey, maybe I should check my email for a while, or you know, I could use a nap.” If you do that, the lizard brain is quickly trained to use that escape hatch again and again.
    Isaac Asimov wrote and published 400 (!) books by using this scheduling technique.
    The first five years of my solo business, when the struggle seemed never ending, I never missed a day, never took a nap. (I also committed to ending the day at a certain time and not working on the weekends. It cuts both ways.)
    In short: show up.
Maybe Next Year …
    The economy will be going gangbusters.
    Your knowledge will reach critical mass.
    Your boss will give you the go-ahead (and agree to take the heat if things don’t work out).
    Your family situation will be stable.
    The competition will stop innovating.
    Someone else will drive the carpool, freeing up a few hours a week.
    There won’t be any computer viruses to deal with, and
    Your neighbor will return the lawnmower.
    Then …
    You can ship, you can launch your project, you can make the impact you’ve been planning on.
    Of course, all of these things
won’t
happen. Why not ship anyway?
    [While others were hiding last year, new products were launched, new subscriptions were sold, and new companies came into being. While others were lying low, websites got new traffic, organizations grew, and contracts were signed. While others were stuck, money was being lent, star employees were hired, and trust was built.
    Most of all, art got created.
    That’s okay, though, because it’s all going to happen again in 2011. It’s not too late, just later than it was.]
Texting While Working
    No, you shouldn’t text while driving, or talk on the cell phone, or argue with your dog, or drive blindfolded. It’s an idiot move, one that often leads to death (yours or someone else’s).
    I don’t think you should text while working, either. Or use social networking software of any kind, for that matter. And you probably shouldn’t eat crunchy chips, either.
    I don’t think there’s anything wrong with doing all that at work (in moderation). But not while you’re
working
. Not if working is the act thatleads to the scarce output, the hard stuff, the creative uniqueness they actually pay you for.
    You’re competing against people in a state of flow, people who are truly committed, people who care deeply about the outcome. You can’t merely wing it and expect to keep up with them. Setting aside all the safety valves and pleasant distractions is the first way to send