Last week I met with Roy Petitfils. He’s a local guy, a speaker and author and we have been trying to meet for ages. Last week we made it happen.
He was exactly what I expected (and I had quite high expectations). A genuine, easy to talk to guy, living his dream. I was inspired, it’s so nice to meet someone locally who is following the same career path and is as open to sharing as I am. I am hoping he will make our meetings a regular occurrence. He’d make a great accountability partner and I bet we could do some great stuff together (I haven’t asked him yet though).
At the end of our meeting Roy handed me a copy of Linchpin by Seth Godin, a book I’ve been meaning to read. He told me he’d been sent an extra copy.
It’s an excellent read (I’m 3/4 of the way through) and although I have never thought of myself as a cog I’m really enjoying and learning from the bits on fear and your lizard brain. It’s definitely changing what I tell myself and affecting my productivity, for the better. There was a letter inside the book, I had been using it as a bookmark for a few days when I finally read it. It said
“Generosity is a key piece of being an artist. It gives each of us a chance to connect, to make a difference, and to do indispensable work.
You were generous enough to make a donation to Acumen Fund, an organization that focuses on trade, not aid, building communities that work because each member contributes more than they get.
A few weeks ago I sent you a preview copy of Linchpin, as promised. Now, in recognition of your generosity, I’m giving you another. I hope you share this one with someone you care about.
Thanks for the art you bring to your work every day.
Seth.”
This made me smile. What a great way of living what you preach. I have decided that when I finish my copy of Linchpin I will pass it on to someone else. (I will be going and buying me a copy to keep). It will be in the next few days. If you would like to be the person who helps me continue this generosity please leave a comment below. I will pick someone randomly and send them the book. (I will have your email, so will email the winner to ask for a mailing address).
I will not be adding you to any mailing lists or anything like that, just want to pass on the generosity and a great book!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I would love to read Seth’s new book… pick me!
So far it seems that nobody wants the book. Maybe they already read it and I’m the only one that hasn’t. . . . . I feel so out of the loop.
I recently listened to a Seth Godin interview regarding Linchpin. It was amazing. I immediately called my husband and described the podcast. If I’m lucky and receive Linchpin, it’s a two for one deal! I will share the knowledge with my husband who’s also my business partner! Thank you for sparking the idea to share our libraries.
SO good to see you sky rocketing your path to success through your synergistic and infectious networking, Aileen. I hope the accountability partnership does take place. There’s nothing like it. I totally agree with the principle of paying it forward and after reading many biographies of very successful people I have realized that’s the main characteristic trait that they all have in common; generosity. You are sure to succeed because it’s in your nature to be kind and giving. I’m reading Crush It recommended by Lynn Terry [pause for applause] and saw Godin’s book listed and curiously [sounding British yet?] I have heard so much about it since noticing on AZ’s upsell page. I’d love a copy.
I’ve been thinking about getting that book soon myself. You guys are great!