Seth Godin is skilled at asking the uncomfortable questions, at demolishing our excuses, at getting us to look at age-old things in a new light. In short, he’s really good at poking the box. Poke The Box is an attempt to shake up the status quo, and wake us up to the value of starting something fresh and new.
On the opening page Seth says, “The job isn’t to catch up to the status quo; the job is to invent the status quo.” Indeed, this is what Poke The Box addresses head-on. Why do we accept the status quo? Why don’t we initiate something new? What fears are holding us back? What might happen if we try and fail?
Poke The Box is written in a similar style to Seth’s popular blog. In fact, the book itself is “poking the box” of the typical, tried-and-true publishing style. Instead of chapters organized around a particular thought, the whole book is one big chapter, with the constant theme of challenging the just-sit-there-and-do-the-usual-thing attitude.
I loved it!
If you are ready to shake some things up, Poke The Box might be the nudge you need. Seth closes the book with this word of encouragement—
“Speaking up is not safe. People might be offended. Innovation is not safe. You’ll fail. Perhaps badly. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, what are you going to do about it? Hide? Crouch in a corner and work as hard as you can to fit in? That’s not safe, either. Might as well do something that matters instead.”
“How absolutely necessary is the presence and power of the Holy Spirit! It is not possible for us to promote the glory of God or to bless the souls of men, unless the Holy Spirit shall be in us and with us. Those who were assembled on that memorable day of Pentecost, were all men of prayer and faith; but even these precious gifts are only available when the celestial fire sets them on a blaze. They were all men of experience; most of them had been preachers of the Word and workers of miracles; they had endured trials and troubles in company with their Lord, and had been with Him in His temptation. Among them were the apostles and the seventy evangelists, and with them were those honored women in whose houses the Lord had often been entertained, and who had ministered to Him of their substance; yet even these favored and honored saints can do nothing without the breath of God the Holy Spirit. Apostles and evangelists dare not even attempt anything alone; they must tarry at Jerusalem till power be given them from on high. It was not a want of education; they had been for three years in the college of Christ, with perfect wisdom as their tutor, matchless eloquence as their instructor, and immaculate perfection as their example; yet they must not venture to open their mouths to testify of the mystery of Jesus, until the anointing Spirit has come with blessed unction from above. Surely if so it was with them, much more must it be the case with us.” —Charles Spurgeon
Craig T. Owens 