Seth Godin is one of my all-time famous marketing authors and experts. He’s a legend in the space.
From building a brand to connecting deeply with customers, I’ve learned countless lessons from Seth that have changed how I conduct business.
That’s why I’ve compiled a list of Seth Godin quotes from his content and interviews that will inspire you to become a better marketer and entrepreneur.
Enjoy!
Seth Godin Quotes on Marketing
- “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.”
- “People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories, and magic.”
- “Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers.”
- “The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing.”
- “Change is not a threat, it’s an opportunity. Survival is not the goal, transformative success is.”
- “Marketing is about spreading ideas, and spreading ideas is the single most important output of our civilization.”
- “In a crowded marketplace, fitting in is failing. In a busy marketplace, not standing out is the same as being invisible.”
- “Being aware of your fear is smart. Overcoming it is the mark of a successful person.”
- “Authentic marketing is not the art of selling what you make but knowing what to make.”
- “Our job is to connect to people, to interact with them in a way that leaves them better than we found them, more able to get where they’d like to go.”
Seth Godin Quotes on Branding
- “A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories, and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.”
- “If you need to persuade someone to take action, you’re doing marketing. If you’re only trying to maintain the status quo, you’re doing branding.”
- “Your brand is a story unfolding across all customer touchpoints.”
- “A brand that stands for what all brands stand for stands for nothing much.”
- “People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories, and magic. That’s what a brand is all about.”
- “The brand is a story. But it’s a story about you, not about the brand.”
- “Great brands are built on dissatisfaction. Indeed, if you are truly satisfied with things as they are, you’re not going to be looking to make things better.”
- “In a battle between two ideas, the best one doesn’t necessarily win. No, the idea that wins is the one with the most fearless heretic behind it.”
- “Brands that want to create customer loyalty need to be transparent and authentic.”
- “A great brand raises the bar – it adds a greater sense of purpose to the experience, whether it’s the challenge to do your best in sports and fitness or the affirmation that the cup of coffee you’re drinking really matters.”
Seth Godin Quotes on Change
- “Change is not a threat, it’s an opportunity. Survival is not the goal, transformative success is.”
- “In a world of change, the learners shall inherit the earth, while the learned shall find themselves perfectly suited for a world that no longer exists.”
- “The secret to being wrong isn’t to avoid being wrong! The secret is being willing to be wrong. The secret is realizing that wrong isn’t fatal.”
- “If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’re going to keep getting what we’re getting.”
- “Lack of change is a bigger threat than change itself. Comfort can lead to complacency, and complacency kills.”
- “The key to failure is trying to please everybody. The key to success is to realize you can’t please everyone and to have the courage to make changes that may initially upset some.”
- “The only thing worse than starting something and failing… is not starting something.”
- “If you want to make a permanent change, stop focusing on the size of your problems and start focusing on the size of you!”
- “Status quo is Latin for, ‘The mess we’re in.'”
- “Our economy is no longer about making stuff – it’s about connecting with each other, creating ideas, and engaging in a world that’s always changing.”
Seth Godin Quotes on Art
- “Art is what we call… the thing an artist does. It’s not the medium or the oil or the price or whether it hangs on a wall or you eat it. What matters, what makes it art, is that the person who made it overcame the resistance, did it, and made something worth making, something risky, something human.”
- “Art is a personal act of courage, something one human does that creates change in another.”
- “Art is a personal gift that changes the recipient. The medium doesn’t matter. The intent does.”
- “The artist is not a special kind of person; rather each person is a special kind of artist.”
- “Art is not in the … eye of the beholder. It’s in the soul of the artist.”
- “To be an artist means never to avert one’s eyes.”
- “Making art is about the act of generous contribution, not the assessment of the quality of that contribution.”
- “Art is the generous act of making things that might not work, shared with people who might not care.”
- “Art is the product of emotional labor. If it’s easy and risk-free, it’s unlikely that it’s art.”
- “The purpose of art is to change the recipient for the better, to make them feel, think, and act differently.”
Seth Godin Quotes on Creativity
- “Creativity is an act of defiance.”
- “The only way to get creative work done is by starting at the beginning and then continuing to do the work until it’s finished. It’s a cycle of fear and bravery, fear and bravery.”
- “Art is a personal act of courage, something one human does that creates change in another. The same can be said for creativity.”
- “Creativity is the generous act of solving an interesting problem in a way that helps or delights someone else.”
- “You are not your resume, you are your work. Creativity and contribution make the difference.”
- “In a world that relentlessly races to the bottom, the only way to thrive is to leap toward the top, to do work that matters, to create something of value, to be creative.”
- “Creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value. It is a process; it’s not random.”
- “The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing. Inaction stifles creativity and innovation.”
- “To be a good artist, you need to be comfortable with your fears about what other people might say or think. It’s this fear that can fuel creativity.”
- “Ideas in secret die. They need light and air or they starve to death. Share your ideas, get feedback, and watch your creativity grow.”
Seth Godin Quotes on Leadership
- “Leadership is the art of giving people a platform for spreading ideas that work.”
- “A leader is someone who can bring people together to achieve a common goal. It’s about alignment, not command and control.”
- “The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow.”
- “Management is about persuading people to do things they do not want to do, while leadership is about inspiring people to do things they never thought they could.”
- “Leadership, it turns out, is not about being in charge. It’s about taking care of those in your charge.”
- “Leadership is the most powerful form of marketing. What you do is more important than what you say.”
- “The leader’s job is not to be in charge but to take care of those in their charge.”
- “True leaders don’t create followers. They create more leaders.”
- “Leadership comes when you find a path that benefits others and you decide to follow it, regardless of who is following you.”
- “Leadership is the generous act of helping others become who they seek to become.”
Seth Godin Quotes on Failure
- “Failure is an event, not a person. Yesterday ended last night.”
- “The person who fails the most wins. Because if you’re not failing, then you’re not trying hard enough or taking enough risks.”
- “If failure is not an option, then neither is success.”
- “Every failure is a learning opportunity. We get to learn something new, which is one more step toward success.”
- “The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing. Inaction is the breeding ground for fear and stagnation.”
- “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. The fear of failure is the biggest barrier to success.”
- “It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.”
- “Failure doesn’t mean you are a failure… it just means you haven’t succeeded yet.”
- “The most successful people are the ones who learn from their mistakes and turn their failures into opportunities.”
- “Failing is one of the greatest arts in the world. One fails toward success.”
Seth Godin Quotes on Tribes
- “A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea.”
- “For millions of years, humans have been seeking out tribes, be it religious, ethnic, economic, political, or even musical. It’s our nature.”
- “Tribes make our lives better. And leading a tribe is the best life of all.”
- “The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow.”
- “Tribes need leadership. Sometimes one person leads, sometimes more. People want connection and growth and something new. They want change.”
- “You can’t have a tribe without a leader – and you can’t be a leader without a tribe.”
- “The internet has eliminated the barriers of geography, cost, and time. All those blogs and social networking sites are helping existing tribes get bigger.”
- “Human beings can’t help it: we need to belong. One of the most powerful of our survival mechanisms is to be part of a tribe, to contribute to (and take from) a group of like-minded people.”
- “Tribes thrive on connection and shared ideas. The leader’s job is to help tighten these connections and amplify the shared ideas.”
- “The market for something to believe in is infinite. We are all looking for a tribe. We’re all looking to connect, to be part of something bigger than ourselves.”
Seth Godin Quotes on Social Media
- “Social media is a symptom, not a tactic. The fundamental change is about connection, not the tools that enable it.”
- “Being always connected, doesn’t mean you’re always aware. True awareness in social media comes from engagement, not just exposure.”
- “Social media is the ultimate canary in the coal mine. It gives us a glimpse of the future and offers a chance for those who are willing to engage.”
- “In the connected age, what other people say about you is more important than what you say about yourself, and social media amplifies this.”
- “The challenge of social media is to be authentic and genuine, to make it about connection and engagement, not just broadcasting.”
- “Social media is not just an activity; it is an investment of valuable time and resources. Surround yourself with people who not just support you and stay with you, but inform your thinking about ways to WOW your online presence.”
- “Social media marketing is a lot like a beach ball. You have to keep it up to keep it going.”
- “Your social media posts are a symphony of who you are, not a horn to attract attention. It’s a narrative, not a notice.”
- “Don’t use social media to impress people; use it to impact people.”
- “Social networks do best when they tap into one of the seven deadly sins. Facebook is ego. LinkedIn is greed.”
Featured image credit: Nordic Business Forum
