On a post-first snowfall kind of day, I figured I’d seek inspiration and comfort in the latest Seth Godin audiobook ‘Tribes’ to help me to avoid the doom and gloom predictions of the financial forecasts all the while keeping me somewhat plugged in and connected to some form of media-existence.
The concept of tribes is close to my heart as I am a member of many (meetups, groups and gatherings of pug moms, allergic people, punk rock aficionados and girl geeks to name check but a few) . As a member of these groups, I think it’s just in my nature to advocate for collectively working together and helping one another.
(What can I say? I was the kid who shared my 64 pack of crayons in kindergarten.)
In his latest work, Seth Godin examines the concept that great leaders focus more so on the tribe and not solely on the self-motivated ego goals that result from actions they take. He asks us to reflect on ‘How much ego is involved with being a great leader?”- a question which I think should be asked by many who participate in the often navel gazing world of social media. It’s so easy to think that the sheer number of Twitter followers/ blog posts / Facebook friends all matter but in essence what truly matters is the footprint we leave, the number of people we impact, whether we enjoy the work that we do and if the digital traces we leave are positive ones.
This is why I’m not surprised that Seth mentions Buddhist nun Pema Chodron in ‘Tribes’. I’ve been appreciating her work for many years and found comfort in her audiobooks and writings as well. (Looks like from this interview with Seth, he has been a longtime “Pema-fan” too!)
“We work on ourselves in order to help others, but also we help others in order to work on ourselves.” – Pema Chodron
This to me, this quote exemplifies what tribes are all about.
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