Summary: Seth Godin is the author of 17 bestselling books. Hes the founder of email marketing pioneer Yoyodyne, and the charity-driven publishing platform Squidoo. And hes the selfless dispenser of daily wisdom via the most popular marketing blog on the planet. But if you had to sum Seth up in one word, it might well be impresario. The classical definition of that word refers to a promoter, manager, or conductor of an opera or concert company. The modern definition, set forth by Seth himself when hes teaching others about the prime entrepreneurial role of the connection economy, is as follows: One who gathers others together for creating art--the art of making a ruckus; the art of inventing the future; the art of important work. Whether bootstrapping a startup by building an audience first, curating content to create something vibrant and new, or assembling a tribe that changes the world, its the modern impresarios who best take advantage of the power of the Internet to turn intangible ideas into real things that really matter. Things that change lives. In this 30-minute episode Seth Godin and I discuss: How he sold 40,000 copies of his self-published book (so far) Seths early failure, and what he learned from it His training for the post-industrial connection economy The kind of business that were all in now Why its worthwhile to embrace the impresario concept How to waste your life, one simple step at a time If Seths decision to stop publishing traditionally was worth it Why every bestseller is a surprise bestseller The biggest challenge in producing his latest book The future direction of education Listen to Rainmaker.FM Episode No. 22 below ... [player] Download AudioSubscribe in iTunes The Show Notes Image by Amanda Sandlin Seths Blog The Impresario Institute on SkillShare Seths New Book: What to Do When Its Your Turn *Rainmaker.FM is brought to you by the Rainmaker Platform, the complete website solution for building your online marketing and sales platform. The Transcript Seth Godin on Stepping Up and Making it Happen Rainmaker.FM is brought to you by the Rainmaker Platform, a complete website solution for content marketers and online entrepreneurs. Find out more and take a free 14-day test drive at RainmakerPlatform.com. Brian Clark: Seth Godin, we meet again. How are you sir? Seth Godin: Im fabulous. Its so great to talk to you. Brian Clark: Yes, its great to have you back and its wonderful to see the work that you are doing, which of course we are going to explore a little bit today. Who Is Seth Godin? Brian Clark: Now Seth Godin probably doesnt need much of an introduction to most of you, but just in case, hes the author of 17 bestselling books. One of those books, Permission Marketing, was the first marketing book I ever read, thank goodness. I had nothing to unlearn and that basically set me on the path I am today. I think by far, he runs the most popular marketing blog in the world. Hes founded and sold several companies but mainly I think he thinks of himself as a teacher and hes certainly been one to me. As a reminder, Im Brian Clark, founder and CEO of Copyblogger Media and this is Rainmaker.FM. Today we are going to dig down a little bit with Seth. Hes got a new book out but I think we have got an even bigger scope of things to talk about and how it all ties together with the work that Seth is doing right now. So thats what I hope to accomplish today. How Seth Got His Start Brian Clark: Seth let me start here. I dont think this is something that weve ever specifically discussed, but you spent 15 years as a book packager. And number one, Im not sure everyone knows what that means, so lets start there. But talk a little bit about that period of your life. Seth Godin: Its fair to say
