Sprints by Seth Godin

A sprint

Most of us have two speeds.

There’s the grind, the day after day, a marathon, work work work.

And there’s the recovery, the sleep in, Netflix and chill zombie state that we compartmentalize into a day like today.

But what about sprints?

Not sprints because the boss or the client insists.

Sprints that we take on merely because they energize us and remind us of how much we can do when we get out of our own way. Sprints that build our capacity. Sprints to embolden us.

The best way to improve your marathon is to learn to sprint now and then.

Maybe you can’t sustain a sprint for a day.

But what about this afternoon? What could you learn or build or teach or contribute? What can you ship?

False averages

Some people like really spicy food. Some people like bland food. Building a restaurant around sorta spicy food doesn’t make either group happy.

It’s tempting to look at pop music, network TV and the latest hot fashion and come to the conclusion that the recipe for success is to focus group everyone, average it up and make something that pleases the big hump in the middle, while not offending most of the outliers.

But few things are up for a majority-rule vote. Instead, the tail keeps getting longer, and choice begets more choice. As a result, people don’t need to abandon their hump to head to the non-existent middle.

Yes, there are true averages (like how high to mount a doorknob). But more often than not, trying to please everyone a little is a great way to please most people not at all.

Screenshot 2017-09-16 14.30.48

source: sethgodin.com