Six Significant Takeaways-

Poke the Box- Seth Godin

Poke the Box was written to encourage the creation of new ideas. Throughout the book Seth
Godin provides thoughtful and clear advice that guides readers in their creative thought
process. Godin emphasizes the idea that we were all creative at a young age and helps us
to overcome the tribulations that suppress our creativity. Below I will cover the most
interesting topics discussed in this book.
Poking Doesn’t Mean Right, It Means Action

Being the huge Starbucks fan that I am, this section of Poke the Box stood out to me. Godin
uses Starbucks as an example to prove that just because a business idea is not perfect in
the beginning, it can be molded by innovation. Starbucks was originally a store that was
created to sell coffee beans and herbs. Although Starbucks struggled originally, Godin uses
this to explain that if Starbucks would have ended at that moment, and decided that their
business idea wasn’t “right” they would have never grown to see the success of what they
are now. Although Starbucks' original idea was not successful, the action towards creating a
niche coffee brand led them to success. This example teaches us that creativity is not a
straight line, we need to allow ourselves to be creative without always expecting immediate
success.

The Lizard Brain

I have always struggled with fear and anxiety. For me, fear is not something that I feel, but it
is also something I can physically observe. For example, my palms begin to sweat, my apple
watch tells me to take deep breaths, I can see my hands shake, and I can see my face
changing colors. Since I have experienced these physical signs of fear on a daily basis due
to my anxiety, I found this section of Poke the Box particularly interesting. Godin explains
that fear is an innate part of the human experience. He suggests that by recognizing fear as
part of your brain you can become acquainted with fearful responses better. Godin calls
fear “the resistance”, by naming the fearful response in your brain, you can become more
aware of your fearful thoughts. By identifying our fears we can have better control over
allowing fear to restrict our creativity.

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The Right Thing to Do

This section of Poke the Box compares innovation to a moral obligation. We all know about
moral obligations such as, treating people nicely, honesty, and fairness. However, what if
we also described innovation as something equally moral. If you have the ability, skill, and
creativity to create amazing things, then you are potentially holding on to something that
could positively affect your life and the lives of others. Without using your abilities to create
is a huge injustice to society. This perspective opened my eyes to the power of innovation.

The Act of Starting

“The act of starting” is a phrase that I had never actually thought about until reading Poke
the Box. Of course we all know that it is difficult to start anything, a paper, a recipe, a piece
of artwork, but why is starting such a challenge for us. Perhaps it is because we were never
raised in an environment that encouraged us to start. Godin uses public schools as an
example to explain how our creative process could have been damaged through the school
system. Schools do not allow innovation, but rather they see compliance as an achievment,
instead of innovation. We should encourage children to be innovative in their learning
process to protect their natural creative nature.

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How Being Late Inhibits Creativity

Godin describes being late as “expensive”, not monetarily, but rather creatively. Running
late was never something I would have thought could be damaging my creative process. In
Poke the Box, running late is not just seen as rude or irresponsible to others, but it is an
injustice to yourself. Godin explains, “Late gives us cover; it permits us to trample forward,
without creativity or panache. ‘Can’t you see I’m late’, we shout, as we do what we have to
do, without even pausing to think about what we could do instead.” Giving ourselves ample
time to complete tasks will allow us to be more creative in our daily lives.

The Boundary

In this section of Poke the Box, Godin used his dog to describe how our brain forms creative
boundaries that restrict our innovation. His dog wears an invisible fence collar that
restrains her within his yard. The funny thing is that the fence has been broken for a year;
however, his dog still stays in the yard because it associates the fence with a shock. This
reference is symbolic to the restraints that we put on ourselves that inhibit our creativity.
By acknowledging that our brain has created certain boundaries, we can identify how to
overcome and conquer those boundaries.

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