Seth Godin’s new book Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? was released this past week. As I read it I realized that I knew someone who was a perfect example of what Seth was talking about. This brief video describes the linchpin I knew.
When I was a political science student at Hunter College (what seems like a million years ago) we read a book called City Politics. I don’t remember the author. I don’t remember anything that was in it. However, I do remember the cover. It showed a photograph of a handshake.
At the time, I didn’t understand what it really meant. Today, I do. Personal relationships count in government and everywhere else. The more people you know, the better your chances of success because others can help you achieve your goals.
Keep up with old friends. Send a postcard. Make a phone call. I don’t mean to contact them to ask for something, just to keep up a friendship. You never know when you might really need them or when they might really need you. Handshakes are very valuable on a cover and in life.
Most photographers seek perfection. They want their pictures to be in sharp focus and have vivid colors. They use reflectors and flash to alter the lighting and Photoshop to fix whatever doesn’t seem to be just right. With an iPhone you can even alter the images within the iPhone itself.
Why?
There is no such thing as a perfect picture. There is no way to exactly reproduce anything even with a sophisticated digital camera. A couple of years ago Polaroid stopped making film. The pictures produced by a Polaroid cameras were far from perfect. However, there was (and is) such a following that new Polaroid films will be coming out again in February. Score one for imperfection.
Sometimes perfection isn’t so perfect.