Seth Godin

Natural talent is rewarded early and often. As Malcolm Gladwell has pointed out, most of the players in the NHL have birthdays in a three-month window, because when you’re 8 years old, being six months older is a huge advantage. Those kids, the skaters with good astrological signs, or possibly those performers with the genetic singing advantage–those are the kids that get the coaching and the applause and the playing time. Unearned advantages multiplied.

If we’re serious about building the habits of success, tracking is precisely the wrong approach. Talent (born with or born without) is not your fault, is not a choice, is not something we ought to give you much credit or blame for.

Godin is one of my favourite biz consultant thinker types — mostly because of how quickly he gets things that are mostly ignored by everyone else. This one is classic Seth.

Think about it: With all of the huge churches focusing on business models, growth-driven strategies of hiring and firing people like they are so many cogs in the wheel and ratcheting parishioner number/giving per/head up like they were preparing for an S&P evaluation, we mostly forget Jesus pretty much surrounded himself with misfits, outcasts, outlaws and losers.

You know, all of the people who finish last…