The Icarus Deception p.200-250

In this section of the Icarus Deception by Seth Godin, he writes of the importance nature of one reflecting on his or her work; both the successes and failures. Godin believes that awareness is one of the key elements of success. In the process of creating a product, one needs to surround themselves and their business with the right people. Whether it be potential clientele, or potential business assets (workers, investors, etc.) it's important that one understands the significance of a connection. One must have the awareness to understand that people can only succeed when they're surrounded by the best possible resources. Godin writes that it's important to treat everybody with respect, and dignity, because you never know when and who you might need on your side come a business proposal or investment opportunity.
Godin believes that awareness is key because it allows one to effectively reflect on their work. Reflection is key to success in the future because it allows people to evaluate the work that they have done, thus being able to plan their work for the future. A lack of awareness would cause someone to ignore their past mistakes, making them possible in the future. Likewise, they could be just as likely to forget what they did that ended up working. This is just as hindering because that person still lacks the advantage that they should have from past experiences. Rather than building on a technique that worked, the project is susceptible to start being built on a blank slate, rather than a tried and true method.
Going forward I need to focus on trying to be more aware of myself and my actions. All too often I find my responses to certain questions or situations to be impulsive and not thought out. If I can teach myself to be more aware, my interactions with people, my responses to challenges, and my overall presence will be enhanced to make me a more effective business man and person.

The Icarus Deception p.150-200

In this section of the book, Seth Godin writes about a couple of traits that he associates with successful people. One of those is to write every single day. Another is to meet new people at every chance one gets.
In terms of the idea to write every day, Godin believes that many of the problems that weigh heavily on our moral and emotional well-being, are more times than not relatively minute. He believes that humans tend to transfix themselves physically and emotionally on incredibly insignificant issues. This can cause us to stress so greatly, that it interferes with our ability to preform, whether it be in the workplace, school, athletics, etc.  An example of this could be male pattern balding. There are many men, who experience male pattern balding, who are able to function as they did when they were younger and had a full head of hair. They don't stress or feel emasculated or insecure. Oppositely, there are many men who put so much emotional effort and thought into their male pattern baldness that they lose all confidence in themselves. They invert and become depressed in certain cases. In cases such as these, Godin feels that man's best tool to silence their inner instinct to protect itself (introvert; lose confidence), is the pen. In writing out one's inner most and personal thoughts and worries, many times that person will be able to identify the minute characteristics of that stressor. I've applied this to my life, and keep a daily journal where I write down anything from what I did that day to one thing that made my laugh or upset. I've found that in most of the cases where I write about a certain stressor from that day, my entry won't even take up an entire page. Sometimes the issue that I wrote about is something that stressed me so greatly that I spent the overwhelming majority of the day thinking about it, making the me stress more worse. When all I need is a couple of sentences to thoroughly describe what I'm feeling, I realize how small that issue is relative to the rest of the things that I deal with in life. I find it relaxing and soothing to write, and always feel a certain weight has been lifted off of my shoulders after I put my thoughts into words. Additionally, Godin writes that just as important as writing every day, is meeting new people. Godin writes in the new market economy connections are the most important factor of success. Whether or not its advantageous to know a particular person, in meeting them and talking to them, you are marketing yourself. You are practicing an important trait that will help later on in life. It's important to know how to communicate with other people, and by meeting as many people as you can you are refining that skill. This is something that is very applicable to my life in the next couple of months, whether it be other students, teachers, or coaches, I'm going to have to meet new people and market myself.

The Icarus Deception p.100- p150

In this section of the book Godin writes about a trend he notices in the successful people who he knows. He notes that one of the most visible skill sets of those successful around him is their ability to focus on their surroundings and notice intricate details of life. He writes that people who don't produce art, or the ones who aren't truly successful, are those who fall into a mundane cycle of aiming their goals too low. He believes that these are the people who repeatedly go through the motions of life without actually noting and appreciating the details. Godin writes, "A lifetime spent noticing begins to turn into the ability to see what others can't." I think that this explains in a lot of ways why successful people aren't always the ones who take as "straight" a path as those who go through all of college and graduate school to become a middle manager. The successful people are the ones who didn't fall into the cycle of focussing on what schools provided for them, but rather, the people who learned from their own experiences. Many of the greatest artists of all time dropped out of school at a young age; Einstein, Eminem, and Zuckerburg did. In many cases, Godin believes, this is because those people are the ones with ambition who create things. They are inherently successful because rather than pursuing what other people want them pursuing, they instead pursue their true and genuine interests.
The idea of this excites me, because going into college I'm going to have the opportunity to expose myself to many different opportunities and classes, and find my true interests. Rather than assuming I want one profession now, one that I may believe could be fulfilling and lucrative, I can harness my skills and interests and find the subject that applies and become as talented and apt in that field as possible. According to Godin, the potential to succeed is much higher in the case where that person has a true desire or interest.
Godin writes another interesting quote that sticks out to me. He writes that shame is not something that can be brought forth by somebody onto us, we must accept shame to actually experience it. This quote resignates with me because its something that can be applied to my life. I should be relying on myself an my gut as I approach work, keeping all my energy positive by not accepting the shame that a failed project or proposal might bring. One has to persevere the hardships and learn from their mistakes to succeed.

The Icarus Deception p.50-p.100

In this section Godin examines the effects of people aiming their goals too low, as well as discusses the importance of myths in the function of a society. Godin believes in the importance of humans producing art. He does not define art as a painting, or song, but as any piece of an individual human creation. An app for a phone, an innovative company, even a new way of thinking is considered art by Godin. He writes that all humans have the ability to produce art, but many don't because they fear failure. These are generally the people who look for formulas for success in life, i.e. Ivy League schools, managerial positions, etc. Godin believes that these people have been influenced through societal propaganda to believe that they are safer off as some financial manager than someone producing something new. Godin believes the strong members of society are the ones who are innovative and do something new. Those are the people, he believes, who confront their fears head on. They don't rely on a map to go through life, they rely on their gut and their morals and intuition. He believes that creating art is a lifestyle and not a decision that humans can make at some points in time, and reject at others. The majority of art, Godin writes, is failure, and our abilities to learn from that failure and stay the course determine the true grit and success of someone. Godin references the significance of myths in society when he discusses this notion of producing art. Godin writes that myth tend to be seemingly larger than life figures acting very human. The story of Icarus is a myth because his father and he transcended our concept of aviation, but allowed his hubris, a very humanlike trait, to cause his downfall. The stories of the Greek gods are ones of Gods acting childishly, lovingly, or hatefully, as all humans do. Godin believes that to be human is to act "godlike" in the sense that humans are capable of achieving unimaginable things, so long as they recognize and utilize their abilities. Godin believes that anyone's legacy can be passed on as a myth.
Additionally, Godin writes that the most important piece of developing art is sticking to ones intuition. He constantly refers to the idea that art is in the eye of the beholder. He writes to appreciate the criticism that continues to challenge your art, and be weary of the people who simplify the art. He never says be willing to change your art because someone else didn't like it. Godin feels that its never worth compromising the integrity of ones art because someone doesn't like it, because there will always be someone who does. Art is about connection, and only through ones purest display of art can he be a true artist. Godin's ideas resinate with me because I feel strongly that people should be true to themselves in all that they do. Not everyone will appreciate what you're doing, but if you can change the life of just one person, then you have made a difference.

The Icarus Deception p.1-p.50

The book that I am reading for quarter 3 is called, "The Icarus Deception" by Seth Godin. It's an incredibly interesting book that teaches mindsets, specifically ones that counter a lot of what we are taught at young ages regarding our goals and what we set out to accomplish. Icarus is a character from an old Greek myth, he flew too close to the sun with his wings held together with wax, and fell to his death when they melted. Seth Godin writes that despite the allegory from this story: don't fall victim to your hubris, a key piece of the story is typically left out when its told. The whole story is that his father, who told him not to fly too high, also told him not to fly to low, or risk falling into the Icarian Sea because there wouldn't be enough wind that close to the water. Godin writes that it's far too common for people to fear "flying too close to the sun" or aiming their goals too high, because they are afraid of failure. He states that people are just as much in danger of failing by "flying too close to the sea" or doubting their talents and aiming too low. He believes that as the economy, and technology develops, there is less and less room for people to assume that they will succeed by doing the things that everyone before them has done. As we move from an industrial economy, to a more interconnected economy through technology, Godin believes that success for the next generation will be found in our individual endeavors and feats. Godin writes that no longer will an Ivy League degree dictate success, as it did some thirty years ago. He quotes Einstein in a section, "Everyone is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will go through life believing its stupid." I like this quote because it promotes individuality. Everyone is different, and talented in different ways. By conforming to the idea that there is only one way to succeed in the growing economy, through means of an Ivy League school, or a law degree, or old money, we are setting ourselves up for failure. In attempting to "play it safe" we are manipulating and superficially generating success. He writes that a company of people who work for pay will ten times out of ten be trumped by a company of people who love what they do. In saying this Godin is implying that everyones path for success is different, and true success lies in humans producing a product that they love, not something that they feel compelled to do solely through capital gain. I like this mindset because it reassures me that so long as I find my niche in life I can succeed, no matter the college that I go to or my economic upbringing.