Book Review: Leap First by Seth Godin

I’m a fan of Seth Godin, and have always enjoyed listening to him. Recently I finished listening to Leap First on Audible. 

When I started listing to this book, I didn’t quite know what to make of it. I always enjoy Seth’s anecdotes. At first, the book seemed more like a series of anecdotes than an in-depth treatment of the topic. It seemed to lack a continuous train of thought. I started feeling like I was listening to a collection of anecdotes from Seth, rather than a “real” book.

It’s brief: only 2 hours 6 minutes long. I started to wonder if Seth had felt the need to push out another book, when one wasn’t needed.

But Later

I was wrong.

As the book continued, a real train of thought did emerge to tie the thoughts together. I ended up quite enjoying it. The book is a recording of parts of a session that he was delivering. The audience was aspiring entrepreneurs and others. And Seth is a great public speaker.

I loved when he called us all out on procrastination, and our failure to “leap”.  Other people’s reviews were strong. “Highly recommended for anyone who might be stuck or trying to find meaningful work.”  This is where the brevity of the book might well be a good thing. I can imagine people listening to it many times, particularly when they feel the need for a “pick me up” in their work.

I loved the stories of authors reading the one-star reviews of their work, and the analysis of why they do that. I’ve seen that many times and he’s dead right.

Summary

A brief but interesting book. Don’t let the feeling that you are listening to a collection of anecdotes put you off. An message does shine though as the book continues.

7 out of 10.

2023-07-06