I was so mad that Friday.
At 6:40, I was hustling off to my 7pm House dance class, wearing my dowdy, full-length black down coat and all kinds of other thermal layers. I’d walked a block thinking, “Only for Cebo’s class do I go out in this cold.”
Cebo is my teacher’s “dance name.” (All the house dancers have them.) His real name is Terry. He makes every class the best class you ever took.
When people ask, “Would you ever live in LA in the winter?” I say, “In a heartbeat. Except no, because LA doesn’t have Cebo.” It’s like that.
After about a block, I remembered to pull out my phone and register for class online so I wouldn’t have to check in with the people who always make me spell my name out loud.
And there it was on the schedule: SUB FOR CEBO.
Let’s be clear: There is no substitute for Cebo.
The subs all go at the level of the slowest person in the class. They forget their own routines. They make you do sit-ups. They stop in the middle and lecture about street-dance culture, while you have to be the freak who jogs in place if you care about cardio. I finish their class with a dry t-shirt.I want to go home with a t-shirt that’s extra heavy in the old Murray’s Cheese bag I plop it in after class. Woe to anyone who thinks there’s cheese treats in there. Ooh, brie? No, not brie.
I want that shirt so soaked that I have to put newspaper underneath it when I hang it at home on the bathroom door, where it makes Steven gag.
That’s a post-Cebo tee. Dry tee: unacceptable.
I looked at the Saturday schedule. That one too. SUB FOR CEBO.
So I had to come to terms with a weekend of no Cebo.
There are greater tragedies in the world (thank you, all of 2016), but I was pouting.
Then, on Friday night, my friend Selena Soo tagged me in a Facebook post:
“Anyone want to go to this with me tomorrow?”
The image was a big photo of Seth Godin. The “this” was an all-day Seth Godin event at an FIT auditorium 15 blocks from my house.
Seth is my favorite thinker and speaker. He’s more than that, he’s like my lucky bottle cap. Any time I’m feeling stuck creatively — like I don’t have anything new to say, or anything worth writing — I listen to a podcast interview with Seth. It’s like rubbing his bald head and having a magic genie come out to give me ideas.
Now, thanks to the SUB FOR CEBO tragedy, I didn’t have to choose and have FOMO about one or the other.
The ticket was 600 dollars. I didn’t think twice about it. Automatic yes. Even though it meant being somewhere by 9am, which is when I normally wake up.
In a nutshell:
The day flew by. 9-4. Seth opened with a 1-hour or so talk that was riveting and full of stories, and then most of the day was Q and A where people presented their business challenges.
He solved most by asking “What’s it for, who’s it for, and what is the change it makes?” Most people had at least one of those things screwed up.
They served lobster rolls and whitefish sandwiches for lunch. Plus, pastries from Seth’s wife’s gluten-free bakery, By The Way Bakery.
Everyone got copies of a bunch of his books and a water bottle that says “There’s no such thing as writer’s block.” (Seth claims it was invented in the 20th century.)
I also went home with this action figure. (Considering taking it out of the plastic so I can rub its head.)
Here are my other takeaways.
Some are from Seth’s head, some from mine. (Mine’s the one with hair.)
Reuse, recycle, repeat.
Most of what Seth said, I’ve heard him say in some form on a podcast or on his blog. But I liked hearing it again, especially in person. I found myself scribbling down things I already knew, and getting new ideas as I did.
Meanwhile, I always think, “Oh, I can’t write that, I’ve written it before. What if someone catches me?” Just like I’m afraid someone will see me in an outfit twice. What am I, a Kardashian? Who cares?
Not only is it OK to repeat your material, we want you to.
Give people a story to talk about. That’s how your idea spreads.
Tony Robbins would’ve been just another motivational speaker – though a massively tall one with a huge head – speaking in musty-carpeted Sheratons. But he filled a 50-foot trench with coals and walked across it. He got people to follow him. When you ask someone after a Tony Robbins event about their weekend, they have a story: “I walked on coals.” You will never, ever catch me telling this story about my weekend. My feet have been through enough trauma after running 10 miles a day in college. But I get why people love it, and why it spread.
Other examples:
“When we left, Gramercy Tavern gave us coffee cake for the morning.”
“The Soup Nazi won’t serve you if you even stammer when you get to the front of the line.”
“Seth Godin not only answered questions brilliantly all day long, but gave out all his books and Seth Godin action figures and fed us lobster rolls.”
Be for the weirdos.
I know this. We all know it. If you’re for everybody, you’re for nobody. Go for the smallest, weirdest possible audience. Stop worrying about that person who might not like what you do, and focus on the person who’ll love it.
“This might not appeal to millennials.” “I don’t want to alienate the working moms.” “I’m going to turn off people who love dairy.” That’s fine. Don’t worry about all those people, worry about the ones who will be your die-hard fans.
I don’t care a whole lot about Star Wars. Is the Star Wars franchise creating a guest role for Bethenny Frankel from Real Housewives so people like me will start loving Star Wars? No. Star Wars is for Star Wars people. It’s a huge business, the Star Wars business, but that’s because they keep it Star Wars-y for their Star Wars weirdos. (Now watch them come out with a Skinnygirl Light Saber.)
On the other hand, I do care about Cebo’s class. (Ya think?) It’s at EXPG, a street-dance gym in the East Village. They do hip hop, house, popping, locking, b-boying. Do they also offer tap, ballet, contemporary interpretive to get a broader crowd? No. They’re for the street-dance weirdos like me. On a side note, they’re backed by Japanese money and have Toto toilets in the bathrooms. Bonus points for fancy rear-cleaning mechanism.
Price is a story we tell ourselves about who we are.
You’re in a fancy hotel that charges $150 for a massage. Down the block, you can get a perfectly decent $30 massage. From a place with a disturbing foot rub video in the window, but still decent. So why do you spring for the hotel one? Because you’ve told yourself, “I’m a fancy person. People like me spend the extra to have the massage in the nicer place.”
Be so awesome, we skip the sales page.
Seth didn’t say this. I’m saying it. All I needed to know was, All-Day Seth Godin Event. I didn’t even look at all the things promised on the Eventbrite sales page. I knew what Seth is, I knew I wanted more of that, and so I wanted in. For 600 bucks. That’s a lot for a day. That’s a flight to LA, or a seat at Hamilton, though probably Mezzanine. That’s really nice shoes or an iPad.
When you keep creating and writing and letting people know who you are, the ones who love it won’t even think what else they could do with the money, or need to look at the sales page.
If what they get is you, that’ll be enough for them to take out the credit card. Or, in my case, recite it from memory. I know two credit card numbers by heart, it’s not good.
There are actually good gluten-free baked goods.
I’ve been scarred – and scurred – for years by a mealy gluten-free cupcake I had at someone’s birthday. Those By The Way Bakery desserts would’ve fooled me in a blind “gluten or not gluten” taste test. And the almond cookie? I’ve waited till now to curse: Holy Fucking Shit.
I bet I’m the only person who’s ever said the following:
Seth Godin substituted for my House dance teacher.
I wish I had more takeaways and examples to share. The biggest one is that I take terrible notes and forget all the good examples.
Now you.
If you have a business, do you keep it weird for your weirdos? Or do you get tempted to make it for everyone?
What’s something you spend extra on, and what’s the story it lets you tell?
Have you skipped right past the sales page and sprung for something big-ticket, sight unseen?
Are you a Seth weirdo like me?
What’s your Cebo – something you’re so fanatical about that it dictates your schedule, and there is no sub?
TELL ME IN THE COMMENTS.
Oh my goodness, you are the freakin best! I love seeing your name pop up in my inbox, and I read every word you write because you’re funny, honest, down-to-earth, and I love your perspective. You’re my go-to when I need inspiration.
You are my bald genie!
Um, i loved ALL OF THIS.
Also, I’m delighted that you didn’t take more thorough notes, because this was the perfect amount of information for me to digest without being overwhelmed.
In particular, “Reuse, recycle, repeat” is a HUGE lightbulb moment for me.
It’s so easy to get caught up in thinking everything has to be NEW NEW NEW and forgetting that even my most ardent fans haven’t read EVERYTHING I’ve written. Or, even if they have, they like hearing it again.
Thank you!
OPEN THE PACKAGE. You’ll end up rubbing Little Seth’s bald spot for luck which will become a ritual/memory! Maybe rubbing that little noggin’ will land you your most dazzling client, yet. Or maybe your huzz can hide Little Seth around your office/the coffee pot like an Elf on the Shelf kinda deal. Fun!
… or keep it sealed. Have a pristine package that you occasionally have to dust. You’ll only get a small taste of having a Little Seth, because you’ll be limited to peering at him through the plastic. Bleh. Makes me think of the plastic tracks my mom put from the front door to the kitchen when we moved into a house with white carpet when I was seven. No fun.
Perfection is so not fun. Just my two cents.
This is a great post. I so needed to read it. I am trying to write for everyone and therefore, am writing for no one. I particularly liked the line, “disturbing foot massage” (still laughing). Now, there’s a mental image! Thanks!
It’s so tempting to write for everyone. So much more satisfying to write for the one person who goes nuts and says “this is exactly what I needed to read.”
Someone will always disagree or get mad because they don’t know what you’re talking about. A friend made a point of letting me know on a facebook post I wrote about Jon Hamm that she doesn’t know who Jon Hamm is. That’s fine. It wasn’t for her.
Loved this blog post! Thank you for sharing! You’re amazing! <3
Thanks, Giovanna!
Definitely bookmarking this! I’ve not heard of Seth Godin before, but I’ll have to check him out! I’ve heard of focusing on your niche and keeping your target audience narrowly defined, but “weirdo”? Haha! For as much of a geek and a nerd as I am, I really like that! Gotta remember that.
BE FOR THE WEIRDOS!
Beth, start with his blog: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/
And my favorite podcast interviews of his might be the ones with Brian Koppelman:
http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/the-moment-podcast-brian-koppelman-and-seth-godin/
http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/the_moment/2015/07/seth_godin_on_expectations_tension_and_buzzer_management.html
http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/the_moment/2016/09/seth_godin_doesn_t_believe_in_writer_s_block.html
Awesome story, Laura!
I’m a Seth Weirdo. I was part of his Triiibe when he launched his book Tribes, and organized a conference in New York for our online gang. Seth took us out to one of his favorite strange food places where they don’t speak English. And went around during dinner to chat with each of us individually. I’m his Boeing guy.
I tried to convince my brother to take me to this New York event, but the costs didn’t make sense to him (travel from the West coast to the East coast for a one day event?) But if I had known you were going to be there, I might have been more convincing. In fact, I’ll bet there were a lot of Seth Weirdos there that many people would know.
Just like some hip party, “Who’s going to be there?”
Anyway, I’m loving his Titan, which is another sign of Seth-ness. He even endorsed my unboxing video: https://youtu.be/6okalfq7Cio
You’re right, how many fans do you need? Only enough who care.
Wow – that book is a BEAUTY. I’m jealous.
What I wish he’d publish is a mixtape mp3 of every podcast interview and talk he’s ever done. There’d be repeats, but of course that’s ok.
Also, I wish you’d been there (and I’d known you were there). I wonder who else i know-but-don’t-know was there?
I want that Seth Godin action figure. There, I said it. I am one of the weirdos. What would I do with a Seth Godin action figure? No idea. But I WANT IT.
I don’t blame you.
This is brilliant. I needed to read this today. Thanks Laura!
Thanks, B!
So I just bought tickets to the Harlem Globetrotters. yeah but not just for my 10-year-old. For all of us. And his cousin. And his aunt & uncle. And I got the special half-hour pre-show magic passes on top of that. Because, Harlem Globetrotters! They’ve been on Scooby Doo for God’s sake! And my kid’s never seen them. Turns out his aunt’s never seen them either. I super duper love sales pages but I get what you’re saying. Sometimes you just know. It’s that jittery excited child-like *SPOILER ALERT* bucket-full-of-confetti-that-you-thought-was-gonna-be-water feeling. So anyway, if I could make my weirdos feel like they just had a *SPOILER ALERT* bucket-full-of-confetti-that-they-thought-was-gonna-be-water moment, I would be thrilled. I guess I should get working on that. Or a theme song. With whistling. Now that’s definitely something my business needs. I’m gonna start working on that too. Do you know anyone who can whistle?
I know someone’s my generation when they mention Harlem Globetrotters on Scooby Doo.
Wow – you super duper love sales pages, huh? Interesting.
Thanks for sharing your takeaway! Helpful.
And you got a deal! I paid $800. But that’s the power of Seth. He’s worth it.
Xx
There was a discount if you buddied with someone. Selena and I tried to find more people, but were happy with our 2-fer break. The funny thing is, nobody asked for tickets! Notice that? Could’ve walked in for free. I guess the power of Seth is such that he can trust people not to steal from him. Who would?
I 100% keep it weird for the weirdos, since I’m the biggest weirdo I know.
Whenever I feel like I’m straying for that, from who I really am, I remember folks like Seth (and you too!) who keep it awesomely weird.
You are 100% weirdo. With your rodents and your vegetables and your brilliance. I’m so honored to have you leaving a weirdo comment here. You give me weirdo-spiration, too. Sorry, that’s a terrible portmanteau.
Paul Jarvis, you are everywhere – or so it seems. Love your work!
You’re great. Love reading your stuff.
Thanks, Robin!
Several years ago I sprung for a round trip flight to London because the four original surviving members of The Zombies were reuniting for a Britain only tour to perform “Odessy and Oracle” (sic) in its entirety. It was a no brainer. I had no reason to read any sales page. The concert on Saturday was so great that when I returned to my hotel I purchased online a ticket for the Sunday show. The problem is I thought this would be a once in a lifetime event. It turned out that they subsequently brought this tour to the States. And they’re doing it again (for probably the last time ever) next year. In fact, I’m seeing them do it this March at Town Hall.
As far as street dancing, I don’t get the appeal of seeing people on the street dancing. In fact, I probably find it annoying.
I have Seth envy so bad right now. I want to memorize this whole blog post, from “What’s it for, who’s it for, and what is the change it makes?” to “Seth Godin substituted for my House dance teacher.”
Now, I have no idea what House dance is, but I am definitely a Seth weirdo. I’m a weirdo for some other business stars as well, although I didn’t sign up for Michael Hyatt’s new live event.
I probably will next year, but I’m booked the weekend he’s doing it. Thanks (every time) for making me feel just a little closer to normal!
Lyne, go to my instagram and you’ll see what House looks like: https://www.instagram.com/p/BLcpAi4A48A/?taken-by=lbelgray
It’s a video from Cebo’s class. I’m in it.
Glad you like the post! I hear great things from people who are in Michael Hyatt’s mastermind.
Bruce – something I learned from some TED podcast is how thoroughly our enjoyment of an event is shaped by what happens AFTER the event. Doesn’t that suck? It was worth the price when you went, and then devalued later.
By the way, you know you’re way ahead of the Millennials, who are known for spending money on experiences rather than stuff. You’ve always done that.