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Find the humility to walk away from those who don’t get it

January 19, 2014

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Author, entrepreneur, and marketer, Seth Godin (@thisissethsblog), writes this morning that “finding the humility to happily walk away from those that don’t get it unlocks our ability to do great work.”

Having practiced as a trial lawyer for almost 20 years, I’m not wired to accept “No, I don’t get it.” The judge or jury needed to “get it” or my client would lose their case.

Lose a jury trial and I was dying inside. “How did that happen? What did I do to make the jury not like me? My client will never have another chance.”

The true artist, per Godin, is prepared to walk away from a critic panning their work or a prospect that doesn’t buy. The artist will respond, “that’s okay, it’s not for you.”

She doesn’t wheedle or flip-flop or go into high pressure mode. She treats different people differently, understands that she is working to delight the weird, not please the masses, and walks away.

Is it arrogant to respond “perhaps this isn’t for you?”

No. It’s arrogant to assume that you’ve made something so extraordinary that everyone everywhere should embrace it. Our best work can’t possibly appeal to the average masses, only our average work can.

It’s hard to walk away from prospects when armed with a new product or service. It’s hard to walk from contrarians when armed with a blog, social media, and speaking engagements.

It’s also very hard not to modify your service or your product to appeal to prospects who don’t get your dream.

I am speaking from experience.

I’d be well served to remember that networking through the net in a real and authentic fashion is not for every lawyer or law firm. Solutions and services LexBlog offers are not for those who don’t get it.

And that not very blogger, reporter, or other influencer criticizing me online gets the value of relationships and reputation earned through online engagement. I need not always try to get the last word in to convince them I am right.

Be humble. My best work cannot possibly appeal to the masses.

Thank’s Seth.

Image courtesy of Flickr by Boston Public Library.

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