![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.blackaby.net\/members\/files\/2011\/07\/Linchpin.jpg\" "\\"Linchpin\\"")
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(<\/em>New York: Portfolio, 2010)<\/em><\/p>\n 244 pgs Seth Godin takes a unique approach to things. He is a philosopher who makes you think about what you do and how you do it. In this book, Godin argues that the Industrialized Age has depended upon factories making large numbers of commodities at the cheapest price. In an assembly line, people were merely \u201ccogs\u201d who could easily be replaced. The key to personal success was fitting in. Even the school systems prepared people to fit in to the system. However, Godin argues: \u201cBeing good in school is a fine skill if you intend to do school forever\u201d (33). Godin suggests that today we have the freedom to become \u201cartists.\u201d Godin defines art as \u201ca personal gift that changes the recipient\u201d (84).<\/p>\n Godin suggests that the recent economic downturn and high unemployment revealed how precarious it is to be a faceless \u201ccog\u201d in the industrial machinery. When times get tough, it is easy to let thousands of interchangeable employees go. The key to thriving in today\u2019s world is to become an indispensable \u201cLinchpin.\u201d These are people who creatively produce gifts of their art that are valued by others. Godin argues: \u201cIt\u2019s time to stop complying with the system and draw your own map. Stop settling for what\u2019s good enough and start creating art that matters\u201d (3).<\/p>\n Godin argues: \u201cOur society is struggling because during times of change, the very last people you need on your team are well-paid bureaucrats, note-takers, literalists, manual readers, TGIF laborers, map followers, and fearful employees. The compliant masses don\u2019t help so much when you don\u2019t know what to do next\u201d (7-8). Today, he suggests, the cheapest is not always going to be the best. The world is looking for creativity, passion, honesty, and caring. Employers desperately need people who will passionately go beyond their job description to develop answers for today\u2019s problems. Godin notes: \u201cNow the only way to grow is to stand out, to create something worth talking about, to treat people with respect and to have them spread the word\u201d (26). Godin contrasts the difference between customer service representatives and flight attendants who go the extra mile compared with those who mindlessly follow their script. People who go the extra mile always stand out and are a blessing to the human spirit.<\/p>\n Godin challenges people to consider what they can be passionate about and to invest their life in it. He laments the phrase: \u201cA day\u2019s work for a day\u2019s pay.\u201d He retorts: \u201cAre you really willing to sell yourself out so cheap? Do you mortgage an entire (irreplaceable) day of your life for a few bucks?\u201d (87). He argues that a \u201ccogs\u201d stands and waits for their next instructions (76). People with passion, on the other hand, look for ways to make things happen (92). Godin notes: \u201cThe problem with meeting expectations is that it\u2019s not remarkable\u201d (69). The challenges the world is facing today, requires people to accomplish the remarkable and to share their gift with humanity.<\/p>\n Godin gives you much to think about in this book. I am intrigued by how many people are going to work every day, hating their job and counting the days until retirement. I am also concerned with how much mediocrity permeates society. Godin suggests that genius lies within each person at some level. Peoples\u2019 gift to society is to discover their art and to share it. Godin gives some practical advice that I found helpful. He is a prolific author and he suggests that it does not matter what we are good at or passionate about if we do not \u201cship\u201d our product (103). That is, we must meet deadlines. There are people with Pulitzer Prize winning books on their laptops that will be of no good to anyone because they will never make it to a publisher. \u201cShipping\u201d is getting the product into the hands of people who can use it. Godin notes that there are a thousand distractions that will keep you from doing what is most important. He notes that activities like checking e-mail or Facebook or Twitter become obsessive to him whenever he has an important deadline looming (134). He suggests an \u201cInternet Fast\u201d where you set aside such distractions until you complete whatever important work you need to accomplish. He also suggests that you seek to produce one important work per year (135). At times, in our effort to accomplish much, we never achieve anything important. Godin also recommends: \u201cDon\u2019t listen to cynics. They\u2019re cynics for a reason\u201d (126).<\/p>\n Godin notes that sometimes the concept of \u201cteamwork\u201d is merely a means of controlling and repressing those free spirits who could bring an entirely new perspective on a problem (153). He also notes that leadership is not a gift. It is a skill that can be learned (48). He concludes: \u201cYou\u2019re gifted. But you may not be gifted at what you are doing right now\u201d (226).<\/p>\n Godin is not a Christian and this is not a Christian book. It is, in that regard, a humanistic book that believes in the power of the individual. That said, he has observed symptoms in people that are acute. Too many of us are acting extremely ordinary. We behave like the cogs in the machinery industrialists like Henry Ford created. We clamor for others to find answers to our problems. We wait to be led. We don\u2019t nurture those God-given talents and passions within us, because they are not our job or we do not know how we could make money from them. Godin is correct: the world is <\/em>changing. Those who keep hoping the world will eventually settle back down to being like it once was are sadly deluded. Society is waiting for those people willing to step up, stand out, and make a difference.<\/p>\n For those who like to have their thinking challenged, especially concerning how the world is functioning today, this will be an interesting read. As with all secular books, you ought to read this one with a Bible close at hand. The world often sees the symptoms but it does not necessarily have the proper solutions. In this case I believe the key to becoming a Linchpin is understanding that God is looking throughout for those He can strongly support, who will make a difference in their day (2 Chronicles 16:9). Godin asks a good question: Are you <\/em>indispensable?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [rating:3] (New York: Portfolio, 2010) 244 pgs Seth Godin takes a unique approach to things. He is a philosopher who makes you think about what you do and how you do it. In this book, Godin argues that the Industrialized Age has depended upon factories making large numbers of commodities at the cheapest price. In … <\/p>\n
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