Seth Godin: The Only Two Things That Matter—And How To Get Them

Recently I came across a clip of Seth Godin’s appearance on Gary Vaynerchuk’s The #AskGaryVee Show. Though the interview was a few years old, Godin’s sage advice about what two things matter most—in business, life, and thought leadership—still rings true today. In it, Godin was asked this question from a viewer:

What is the value of authority in a world where everybody is a possible thought leader? 

Godin flashed a sly smile before launching into his answer: “Semantics matter a whole bunch here. What does ‘authority’ even mean? And I think the currencies of anybody who wants to make change happen right now are attention and trust. And they’re in a virtuous cycle. You don’t get attention unless you’re trusted. You don’t get trusted unless you get attention.”

Of course, the big question is how to gain both attention and trust? Godin offered several suggestions:

Differentiate between good and bad attention.

There are myriad ways to garner attention, but not all are desirable or productive. “You can light yourself on fire in the street,” says Godin, “but you don’t earn trust doing that.” Before you do something that will shine a spotlight on you, make sure it’s something that aligns with your beliefs, and will be positively received. Ask yourself if you’d willingly want to be associated with it. In other words...

Don’t try to game the system.

Godin advises against using a power play to try to influence people. “I don’t think you get there by saying, ‘How do I hustle a content media play to figure out how to get in front of people who never heard of me, and somehow seduce them?’” says Godin. Instead, the solution is to...

Be generous.

Godin believes that those with a service mindset connect most easily to others because they offer value with no strings attached, and ultimately make the biggest impact. “I think that people tend to trust folks who step up before they have to,” Godin states. “They trust people who keep their promises, especially when it’s not convenient. They trust people who tell them the truth.” This also means that...

You can’t be selfish.

Godin cautions not to adopt a tit-for-tat mentality and to lose the idea that at some point you think it’s your turn to take—no one owes you anything. But if you lead with generosity and freely share your wisdom, those who follow you are going to tell their friends about you. The beauty of this, says Godin, is that “then you’ll get more attention and more chances to be generous. And the cycle goes and goes and goes.” And by doing this, you understand that...

Kindness and respect ultimately earn attention and trust.

In a world where you can be anything, demonstrating kindness and respect rule. “You are in this environment where you know your attention is precious, you know your trust has been abused,” says Godin. “If someone shows up and treats your attention with kindness and earns your trust every day, well, then one of the byproducts will be that they’ll want to hear what you have to say next.”

This piece was first published on Forbes.com. Find it here, and Amy's other articles here.

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?Amy Blaschka is a social media ghostwriter who helps leaders craft their stories to communicate and connect better. Contact her if you'd like her help.?

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