By the time you read this article, there will undoubtedly have been way more than 6,000 people who’ve attended Linchpin Meetups all over the world. I attended my first such event in Columbus, OH, on June 14 — The First International Linchpin Meetup Day.
Meetups allow people to form groups with like-minded individuals.
But what is the ONE REASON you should attend a Linchpin Meetup in your area?
EASY ANSWER . . .
You will meet, mingle with, and befriend some exciting artists who are changing the world.
Introducing Columbus Ohio Linchpins
Janine Moon
Janine’s art shows how careers are shaped and developed to better align with the 21st century workplace.
“More than merely employees, organizations need partners — workers who align themselves with strategic direction and dance with the changes of a global economy.”
Her model of Career Ownership is a leading-edge approach to creating a “win-win” for today’s organizations and workers. Janine”s Linchpin delights?
“Career Ownership is a map for going after the Work that is your Art. I love that my new model for 21st century careers is right in line with how Seth Godin sees the world.”
URLs: http://careerowners.wordpress.com; http://workforcechange.com/careerownership
[In the photo above, Janine is on left and I’m on right]
Randy Murray
“I fully connected with being an artist and giving first. I’ve embraced being on my own and this book is one I’ll be giving to friends.”
Randy helps businesses and organizations tell stories that convince and sell. He writes materials that pierce the complexity and that present people, companies, and products in a way that’s easy to understand, and more importantly, compelling and entertaining. Over more than 25 years, he’s developed a unique approach to business marketing that’s based on business need, technical clarity, and skilled and practiced writing. Randy’s website: Who Writes For You
Matt Herrmann
“The biggest thing I take away from Seth overall is the desire TO DO. Instead of merely being pulled along, it’s the act of doing or striving towards a goal. And I love it! I also love that Seth responds back to my emails.”
Me in two sentences: (1) Style meets sustainability. The problem is that sustainable items are either too expensive or look awful, Conservance is my attempt to change that: Matt’s website (2) “The one who acts with restraint and wisdom, who chooses to allow others freedom, is truly the strongest of men.”
[Matt designed t-shirts just for the meetup]
Kim Hendrix
Ship! Be an artist, too, but ship my work. Nothing is more important to my ultimate effectiveness at helping make the world a better place for all.
Mary Rose Maguire
Real Artists Ship!
Bootstrap Graphic helps small businesses and entrepreneurs design their unique selling proposition. She does this through brand identity, visual and multi-media design, and communications.
Srinvasa Kalindindi
Linchpin is not one word, but many lessons. It teaches how basic aspects of discipline and perserverance can be tied up with any individual’s goals. To be a linchpin is to lead the life you want. It’s not about things — money or other materialistic-oriented accomplishments. It’s about Passion, Results, and Making A Difference.
Glenn Sewell
“My biggest take-away is that any of us can be an ‘artist.’ We can learn to do anything.”
[Glenn Sewell on left and Brian Lockrey on right]
Wendy Hollinger
“I’ve allowed a portion of my business to be commoditized, which can only contribute to a “race to the bottom.” We’re Problem Solvers, and that is worth more than a day’s pay — something definitely worth promoting.”
Wendy is a creative problem solver who enjoys connecting people. Her business, Phoenix Graphix, has provided exceptional design, marketing, and publishing services for over 20 years.
Benjamin Atkinson – Meetup Organizer
From my conversations with Linchpins at the Columbus Meetup, I see a group of folks who’ve taken Seth Godin’s message to heart. They’ve been given permission to ‘ship’ and they’re on their way. This is dangerous for established companies and industries that prefer the status quo. Many would prefer these Linchpins keep their head down and do a ‘normal’ job. Too late. To Linchpins, work has become their art and art has historically been a powerful rebellion.
MY OWN TAKE-AWAY NOTES
Here is just a “taste” of Seth’s ideas for our Brave New World
1 – The only way to get what you’re worth is to stand out, to exert emotional labor, to be seen as indispensable, and to produce interactions that organizations and people care deeply about.
2 – Linchpins turn each day into a kind of art.
3 – The death of the factory means the entire system we have built our lives around is now upside down.
4 – The linchpin is an individual who can walk into chaos and create order, someone who can invent, connect, create, and make things happen.
5 – The new dream isn’t about obedience; it’s about vision and engagement.
6 – You weren’t born to be a cog in a wheel; you were trained.
7 – We are surrounded by bureaucrats, note-takers, literalists, manual readers, TGIF laborers, map followers, and fearful employees.
8 – What factory owners want is compliant, low-paid, replaceable cogs to run their efficient machines.
9 – Outsourcing, automation, and new marketing punish anyone who is merely good, merely obedient, and merely reliable.
10 -People want to be told what to do because they are petrified of figuring it out for themselves.
11 -The NEW AMERICAN DREAM: Be remarkable. Be generous. Create art. Make judgment calls. Connect people and ideas.
12-If you are a linchpin, doing the job that’s not getting done is essential.
13- In a world that relentlessly races to the bottom, the only way to win is to race to the top.
14- Being taught to “fit in” does not earn you what you deserve.
15- Here’s what schools should teach: taking initiative, becoming remarkable artists, questioning the status quo, and interacting with transparency.
CONCLUSION TO THE BEGINNING NOTES: Linchpins see the truth, understand the situation, and make things happen.
Now get a copy of the book and read more about (a) art, (b) gifts, (c) emotional labor, (d) attention, (e) passion, (f) feedback, (g) jobs vs. art, (h) edge of the box, (i) lizard brains, (j) shipping, and (k) success
Then put in your own two cents: If you’ve also read Seth’s book, what did Linchpin mean to you?
FURTHER READING: 7 abilities of the Linchpin
I do feel that to achieve the New American Dream, you must “Be remarkable. Be gorgeous. Create art. Make judgment calls. Connect people and ideas.”
And, “T” — how do you personally make this happen?
A Linchpin sounds like a powerful individual who can be orderly when situations are messy. The person could be a leader and have people listen to the wise words he or she says.
Linchpins look out for others in the group while knowing how to deal with matters at hand. He or she can prioritize to rank the more important issues to solve first. The inventing factor is within the individual to create new products that can better help society.
In addition, the person will be praised for his or her effort to improve situations to becoming more positive. Linchpins have the ability to relate to others and help people to a higher degree.
#10- It’s seems to me that “people want to be told what to do because they are petrified of figuring it out for themselves” and I’m speaking from experience.
#2- Linchpins turn each day into a kind of art.
I picked this statement because it made me smile and because I try to look at every new day as a good thing. Now I have not yet looked at any days as art, but I do try to live my life on the bright side.
Myalisha, can you think of any way to do something that makes a day into ART?
4 – The linchpin is an individual who can walk into chaos and create order, someone who can invent, connect, create, and make things happen.
This strongly speaks to me. It reminds me of great leaders and innovators who make changes. It’s about ideas, goals, ambitions and achievements.
I like this thought because it says something about the person behind it as a risk taker, innovator, and thinker.
“Taking initiative, becoming remarkable artists, questioning the status quo, and interacting with transparency.”
I do believe that schools should teach children this but what happens when you do business outside the countries? What is the US’s custom becomes more hands on while everyone stays the same? Does it hinder business?
These are thing that we need to look into if we want to change the next generation’s way of thinking.
Then there are students who are just not artistic and cannot access that artistic mindset, “becoming a remarkable artist” should not be taught as students will receive a negative kind of pressure to fulfill that goal.
If we decide that the above quote includes the things that we need to learn — the expectations of a student — then we have set a template that the student needs to “fit in” that criteria.
So it seems very situational and dependent on the student. I believe that the lesson should be, “Always attempt to better yourself and become active.”
#13- I refuse to be “in a world that relentlessly races to the bottom, the only way to win is to race to the top”. I love it because it’s so true if you want to win you need to be on track for the top.
Can people admit that they were blinded by society at some point in their lives?
“Linchpin” clearly states that being taught to fit in won’t get you want you deserve.
Most people don’t admit to the purpose of striving to follow a trend is to be accepted in society. Rather than doing what you really want in life, you’re setting yourself to be like the next person.
In to regards of “The new dream isn’t about obedience; it’s about vision and engagement.”
I find this remarkably true. To dream is to visualize the future but still obey your intuition of things needed to be done; yet you have to continuously engage into your passions to make your dreams come true.
Everyone is slowly following the new American dream and adjusting to the values that now exist, but people have to be remarkable to stand out in order be known. Being like everyone else will not make someone special.
Generosity is key because when one person helps another, other rewards will come back to that individual. Being kind may be worthwhile if also seeing people happy is satisfying.
Everyone enjoys art since it is all around us and makes people wonder. Art expresses emotions of all kinds and can tell a story. In addition, decisions have to be made in the path for the American dream because wrong choices can lead to unwanted places. There are times when making bad judgment calls means no turning back when there were mistakes made and hurt feelings.
The last point is connecting with people and ideas because with more working together goals and aspirations can be achieve.
5 – The new dream isn’t about obedience; it’s about vision and engagement.
I agree with this statement because nothing will change unless you take action.
#5 – The new dream isn’t about obedience; it’s about vision and engagement.
I picked this statement because I agree with it. A person who has a dream may need to go above and beyond ordinary expectations to see his or her goals through. If you just obey everything you’re told – by everyone you talk to — you may be either misled or side tracked.
# Everyone thinks the new world is about obedience, If you have a new vision and you engage into it, you can be successful with anything you put your mind to.
10 “People want to be told what to do because they are petrified of figuring it out for themselves.”
This statement is true. Some people are afraid to lead because they are afraid to take the risk of possible failure in the pursuit of excellence.
5 – The new dream isn’t about obedience; it’s about vision and engagement.
This reminds me of the dreams of men like Martin Luther King, Ghandi, and President Obama — the dream of people coming together. If we have a vision, and we engage in it you will obtain your goal. If you remaiin obedient you can sometimes lose sight of your vision.
6 – You weren’t born to be a cog in a wheel; you were trained.
This is a good point because you are not here just to learn the basics, but your are here to be trained to the fullest to your ability.
#14 I like the idea of doing what I like but not what somebody tells me to do.
I do believe that people do want to be told what to do for the most part. For those that don’t are not petrified at all and know what they want to do and get done. Also those are probably the people telling others what to do.
14-Being taught to “fit in” does not earn you what you deserve.
I believe that society teaches us to lose our individuality at an early age. This happens because at some point in our lives we tend to conform to groups of religion, fraternities/sororities, friendships, clubs, and even sports. In order to combat that, we find groups of common interest to somehow feel like we are fulfilled.
#13. When the world races to the bottom, getting up from falling is the only way to win the race.
#13
compititon is here and there, in every day of our life, and we are expected to take part in the contest. I believe in Darwin’s theory, “Survival of the fittest.”
I believe that people are petrified of figuring things out and rather be told what to do because they fear experiencing confusion, defeat, and any hardships they might encounter.
6 – You weren’t born to be a cog in a wheel; you were trained.
When people are born, they know nothing. The things that you learn throughout life result because someone has trained you. If you are doing something wrong, it is because someone trained you wrong. Life is a learning experience that someone has guided you through.
#12. going above and beyond the call of duty — I try to be that person because at the end of the day you’ve learned more and you have step out of yourself for the greater good.
people have a fear of getting rejected. people don’t like to struggle so they do everything together.
Very true, Jorge
#5 – “The new dream isn’t about obedience; it’s about vision and engagement.”
Reaching for your dreams requires you to take action. In order to take action, you have to know where you are going. You have to have vision in order to charge forward. Once your vision is set, you will naturally engage it through actions because you know what your dream is. You will do whatever it takes to get what you want which often times requires you to break rules, not obey them.
“People want to be told what to do because they are petrified of figuring it out for themselves.”
People are afraid to be wrong — that’s why they’d rather be told what to do.
If someone is given directions, they know that there is no room to mess up, but what people don’t realize is that mistakes are a good thing because we learn from them.
Good thoughts, Tawana. Unfortunately, too many people are afraid of making those mistakes, so they don’t try to figure out solutions on their own.
It is true that we are surrounded by beaurocrats, note-takers, literalists, manual readers, TGIF laborers, map followers, amd fearful employees. We should not allow ourselves to be cast into these groups. Instead we must strive to look at things under every light to see through the bullshit and find our own ways to peace and happiness.
I agree that everyone is on a constant race to the bottom,the only way to win is race to the top i.e.,make your way to the top
I think most people want to be told what to do not because they are petrified of figuring it out for themselves, but because they are too lazy to.
In life many people seem to have many fears that they make up consciencely that restrains them on visualizing and engaging what they want to acheive. The dream shouldn’t be to obey and live how society wants us to, but to understand we are capable of reaching our dreams by being confidence and hard work.
I want the New American Dream to be my dream! I want to show my true potential and worth!