Best of Rich Roll Podcast 2023: Top Life Lessons

TL;DR

To do meaningful work, be a "meaningful specific" rather than a "wandering generality" — pick one thing and do it the best you can for a defined audience. Winning on the long tail means being a tiny drip in a giant bucket that is still enough, and the key to personal issues is embracing love and taking responsibility for yourself.

Transcript

be specific not this mediocre generalist the key to all of our issues is love just keep stacking days as long as you keep stacking days you will see the change don't aim to be the best aim to be the only the single most powerful force for adolescent mental health is strong relationships with caring adults we through the spirit ual baby out with the... Read More

Key Insights

• Being a "meaningful specific" beats being a "wandering generality" — you have to say clearly "this is what I do" instead of trying to be everything, because saying "and and and" gives you an excuse for everything being average.
• Focus compounds into mastery: if someone is more focused than you, they put in more cycles, learn more, and eventually become better, so competing requires saying no to attractive distractions.
• Seth Godin avoids Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and nearly all travel because reconsidering each choice would waste huge numbers of cycles, and getting good at Twitter would force him to become mediocre at blogging.
• Anonymous one-star reviews teach nothing about improving the work — a one-star review only tells you it wasn't for that reader, so Godin stopped reading his Amazon reviews 11 years ago.
• Winning on the long tail means being a tiny drip in a giant bucket, and that's enough — Godin has had 20 bestsellers in a row, none selling to more than 1% of the US population.
• Putting yourself "on the hook" for a specific audience is how you get funding, hire people, and get a job, versus vaguely hoping lots of people will like your work and waiting for a lucky break.
• Chef Babette insists on taking full responsibility for herself and her feelings instead of finger-pointing or playing the victim, treating everything as a learning experience on the human journey.
• Babette, on the cusp of turning 72 after roughly 30 years of an organic, predominantly raw plant-based diet, is a living, aspirational example that it's never too late to change, having gone plant-based in her 40s and started a restaurant in her 50s.

Questions & Answers

Q: What does Seth Godin mean by being a "meaningful specific" instead of a "wandering generality"?

Godin says a whole generation has become "wandering generalities" rather than "meaningful specifics." To be a meaningful specific you must clearly say "this is what I do" rather than "and and and," because listing everything gives you an excuse for being average. Like great pizza places that make one thing the best they can, you must focus with care or the work becomes mediocre. Being the one and only version of what you do is, in his view, a universal law.

Q: Why does Seth Godin avoid social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram?

Godin avoids Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and nearly all travel because reconsidering each choice every time would consume a huge number of "cycles." He also notes that if he got good at Twitter, he would have to become mediocre at blogging, and he wants to be really good at the one thing he does. Additionally, he isn't writing on those platforms, and listening to anonymous trolls makes nobody better, so avoiding them protects both his focus and his craft.

Q: What is the long tail and why does Seth Godin say winning on it is enough?

Godin explains that winning on the long tail means being a tiny drip in a giant bucket, and that's enough. He contrasts MASH's finale, seen by 70 million-plus people, with modern shows like The Sopranos or Netflix hits reaching only a few million. He has had 20 bestsellers in a row, yet none sold to more than 1% of the US population, meaning 99% weren't interested. He calls that success, not failure, because the work reaches the specific people it's for.

Q: Why does Seth Godin say you should stop trying to make something for everyone?

Godin argues that making a book, TV show, or podcast for everyone is like buying a lottery ticket — something wins the day's lottery, but it probably won't be you, and struggling people are tricked into that same bad bet. Instead, you should put yourself "on the hook" by declaring the work is for a specific group, such as the vegan community of Agoura Hills, and if they don't like it, you've failed. That specificity is how you get funding, hire people, and get a job.

Q: Why did Seth Godin stop reading his book reviews?

Godin stopped reading his Amazon reviews 11 years ago and hasn't read one since. He says he's never met an author who claimed reading their one-star reviews made them a better writer. A one-star review only tells him the book "wasn't for you" — it describes the reader, not the work — so there's nothing to learn from it about getting better. Listening to anonymous trolls, he adds, makes nobody better at their craft.

Q: What does Chef Babette say is the key to all of our issues?

Chef Babette says the key to all of our issues is love, repeating that she can't say it enough. She believes that when each person takes on the responsibility of embracing love, they understand there is no separation and that each of us is simply an expression of our Creator. She frames even her cooking, like the mac and cheese she made, as an expression of herself and of the power of love she believes she was created in and of.

Q: How does Chef Babette approach personal responsibility and the victim mindset?

Babette says it's very important to be present now and take responsibility for herself and her feelings no matter what. She admits it wasn't always that way — she once did a lot of finger-pointing, blaming others with "if it wasn't for you" and playing the victim. She realized being the victim doesn't serve her life, so she no longer holds grudges. She takes responsibility for herself and treats everything as a learning experience on the human journey she deeply appreciates.

Q: What makes Chef Babette an aspirational example of healthy living?

Rich Roll notes that people are most impacted when they see a living example of a lifestyle that is aspirational yet relatable enough to see themselves in. Babette, on the cusp of turning 72, has eaten an organic, predominantly raw plant-based diet for roughly 30 years. She radiates positivity, has remarkable skin, and looks decades younger while being visibly fit and jacked. Having gone plant-based in her 40s and started a restaurant in her 50s, she proves it's never too late to change.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Rich Roll opens the 2023 Best Of compilation as a gratitude check and annual tradition, framing the two-part series as enlightening excerpts from a year packed with scientists, doctors, creative masters, athletes, and people who underwent phoenix-like transformations, serving both devoted fans and newcomers as a crash-course recap.

• Seth Godin, author of 19 bestselling books who has written daily since 2005, argues you must be a "meaningful specific" not a "wandering generality." Like the best pizza places, you make one thing the best you can, say no to distractions, ignore anonymous trolls, and know exactly who you serve.

• Godin explains winning on the long tail: MASH's finale drew 70 million-plus viewers while modern shows reach a few million, yet a tiny drip in a giant bucket is enough. He has had 20 straight bestsellers, none reaching more than 1% of the population, which is success not failure.

• Chef Babette Davis, turning 72 and radiantly fit after decades eating an organic, largely raw plant-based diet, says the key to all our issues is love. She takes full responsibility for her feelings, rejects the victim mindset, and sees herself as an expression of her Creator and of love.