Create remarkable work

Purple cows from this point forward / Issue 1,129

Oh, hi friends! 

I finished listening to Seth Godin's book Purple Cow this weekend.

It changed my life. 

It’s a marketing book, but isn't really.

It's also a call to action to create remarkable work.

A purple cow makes you stop and stare.

A purple cow is unimpeachably good. 

A purple cow is remarkable. 

Frieze of Dancers, c. 1895. Edgar Degas. The Cleveland Museum of Art. 

I took lots of notes — I’m a big fan of Seth's and modeled this newsletter's daily cadence off his long-running daily newsletter — but one of the big takeaways, which I thought might be useful to you, is…

Find things that are not done in your industry — and do them. 

I started thinking about what this might look like. 

People don't give away their debut novels for free.
People rarely publish daily, whether that's articles or podcasts or newsletters.
They may not share connections or data with their frenemies.
They don't premiere three new musicals every year or live-stream their auditions.
They don't say "I charge a flat rate of $1,000 per article."
They don't create one-sentence resumes.
They don't cold contact 500 people with a warmhearted email.
They don't make experiences exceptional, even though that's all anyone wants — remarkable, exceptional experiences.
To be moved. To feel.

This book hit me at exactly the right time in exactly the right way, which is surprising and wonderful, since it was first published in 2003.

Because, wow.

I miss major-league creativity. 

I miss taking big swings. 

I miss aiming for purple cows.

Do you miss this, too?

Leaving you with a few of Seth's main principles:

1. Don't be boring.

2. Safe is risky.

3. Design rules now.

4. Very good is bad.

This week, I’m starting to urge myself — and you — to not be good, or even very good. 

Let's go bigger.

Let's find things that aren't done — and do them.