Ebook: Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? How to Drive Your Career and Create a Remarkable Future

Why are some people easily outsourced, downsized, or freelanced into obscurity, while others have their pick of opportunities? In his most powerful book yet, Seth Godin argues that it's more essential than ever to become indispensable - and the key to being indispensable is overcoming the fears that hold most of us back. Fear or change, fear of authority, fear of embarrassment all come from the most primitive and powerful part of our brains. Godin shows how to overcome that internal resistance, so you can unleash your greatest art, passion, insight and generosity at work.

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Exclusive: Hugh MacLeod Reviews *Linchpin*

Hugh MacLeod is an artist, cartoonist, and Web 2.0 pundit whose blog, gapingvoid.com, has two million unique monthly visitors. His first book, Ignore Everybody, was an Amazon Top Ten Business Book of the Year and a Wall Street Journal bestseller. Read his exclusive Amazon guest review of Linchpin:

This is by far Seths most passionate book. Hes pulling fewer punches. Hes out for blood. Hes out to make a difference. And that glorious, heartfelt passion is obvious on every page, even if it is in Seths usual quiet, lucid, understated manner.

A linchpin, as Seth describes it, is somebody in an organization who is indispensable, who cannot be replacedher role is just far too unique and valuable. And then he goes on to say, well, seriously folks, you need to be one of these people, you really do. To not be one is economic and career suicide.

No surprises therethats exactly what one would expect Seth to say. But heres where it gets interesting.

In his best-known book, Purple Cow, Seths message was, Everyones a marketer now. In All Marketers Are Liars, his message was, Everyones a storyteller now. In Tribes, his message was, Everyones a leader now.

And from Linchpin?

"Everyones an artist now."

By Seths definition, an artist is not just some person who messes around with paint and brushes, an artist is somebody who does (and I LOVE this term) emotional work.

Work that you put your heart and soul into. Work that matters. Work that you gladly sacrifice all other alternatives for. As a working artist and cartoonist myself, I know exactly what he means. Its not what you do, its the way that you do it.

The only people who have a hope of becoming linchpins in any organization, who have any hope of changing anything for the better in real terms, are those who have the capacity to do emotional work at a high levelto be true artists at whatever they set their minds on doing. The guys who just plod around the office corridors, just turning up for their paycheck.... Well, those guys dont have a prayer, poor things. The world is just too interesting and competitive now.

And Seth then challenges us, the readers, to become linchpins ourselves. To make the leap. To become artists. To do emotional work, whatever the sacrifice may be. Its our choice, and its our burden. Seth wont be there to catch us if we fall, but to become the people we need to be eventually, well, we probably wouldnt want him to, anyway.

Congratulations, Seth. You have penned a real gem of a book here. Rock on.

--Hugh MacLeod

Review

For anyone who feels trapped in a labyrinth of tradition, this book is compass, map and sledgehammer BUSINESS DESTINATIONS, February 10