How to Solve Problems Better Than 99% of People | Seth Godin

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

August 12, 2026

Duration

1h 5m

Channel

BigDeal by Codie Sanchez

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

My new book, Own Or Be Owned, is all about building a business so good it doesn't need you. More profit, less pain. Get it here: https://contrarianthinking.biz/bigdeal-godin - cs And one more thing for the business owners: stop making million dollar decisions alone! Join the Contrarian Growth Boardroom and get a board of advisors to help with every decision: https://contrarianthinking.biz/bdbr The only thing between you and the life you want is the story you’ve been telling yourself. Seth Godin is one of the most influential thinkers of our time and the author of 21 bestselling books, including Purple Cow, Linchpin, and The Dip. He survived 800 rejection letters in a single year, has published a blog post every day for 26 years, and has spent decades helping people escape mediocrity. In this episode, he shares the frameworks for getting unstuck, why the best winners know when to quit, and how to untangle the invisible beliefs holding you back. In this episode, you'll learn:

• The four horsemen of mediocrity: deniability, helplessness, contempt, and fear, and the habits that quietly keep you stuck
• How Seth turned 800 rejection letters into a competitive advantage by offering value instead of asking for favors
• Why the best work is made for people who care, not everyone
• The Jackson Pollock trap, why wanting two conflicting things keeps you stuck, and how to escape it
• Why great leaders seek responsibility instead of authority, and how to lead yourself first

___________ 00:00:00 Introduction: Why Most People Choose Mediocrity Over Meaning 00:00:55 The Craft Ethic: 26 Years of Daily Blog Posts and Why Habits Beat Willpower 00:03:55 Strategic Quitting: Winners Are Quitters When It Matters 00:05:43 800 Rejection Letters in One Year: The Truth About Rejection and Iteration 00:09:38 Feedback Loops Are Everything: Stop Measuring What Mark Zuckerberg Wants 00:12:11 High School Is the Indoctrination: How to Tell If Your Desires Are Actually Yours 00:13:49 Thank You, It's Not For You: The Power of Ignoring the Wrong People 00:14:37 Personal Statements Over Mission Statements: Define Your One Thing 00:16:20 The Seven-Year-Old Bully Story: How to Insulate Yourself From Criticism 00:18:48 The Four Horsemen of Mediocrity: Deniability, Helplessness, Contempt, and Fear 00:23:00 Work That Matters for People Who Care: The Mantra That Cures Mediocrity 00:25:03 The Industrial Age Brought Compliance and Compliance Brought Fear 00:27:04 Managers Use Authority, Leaders Inspire Enrollment: Know the Difference 00:29:08 Lead Yourself First: How to Get Yourself to Change Your Mind 00:31:59 Optimism Is a Tool, Not a Personality: Put On the Right Hat at the Right Time 00:33:40 The Conspiracy of Stuck: Short-Term Conflict Avoidance and Misunderstanding Risk 00:37:56 You Can't Spell Rich Without Risk: The 18 Dollar Garage Sale Test 00:39:13 If No One Comes, No One Will Know: Seth's Mom and the Museum Story 00:41:44 Jackson Pollock and the And Versus But Trap: Why Success Can Break You 00:44:19 Create Things Just For You or You'll End Up Like Pollock 00:48:14 The Smallest Viable Audience: 24 Seats, Filipino Pop Songs, and Enough 00:51:13 Entanglements Feel Like Facts But They're Just Invisible Traps 00:52:31 Tell the Truth and Entanglements Wither: The Three Words That Set You Free 00:54:01 Writer's Block Is a Myth and Resistance Is Everywhere: Steve Pressfield's Gift 00:55:27 The Red Wine Story: You Just Don't Have a Big Enough Why 00:57:05 Comfortable Is Another Word for Stuck: Build New Habits, Not Willpower 00:58:54 I Am Playing the Role of Seth Godin: The Yellow Glasses Come Off 01:00:41 Set Up a Life You Don't Need to Escape From: The Alexander the Great Parable 01:03:07 The Four AM Hotel Lobby: Look at Those Poor Schmoes Escaping Their Lives 01:04:45 Problems Can Be Solved, Situations Cannot: The Final Word on Getting Unstuck Want to grow your business? Join me in-person at our upcoming Growth Accelerator Workshop, where my team and I will help scale your business: https://www.contrarianthinking.co/growth-accelerator-workshop Bizee handles the busywork and paperwork, so you can get your small business set up right. Check it out: bizee.com/codie ___________ MORE FROM BIGDEAL 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodcastBigDeal 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigdeal.podcast 📽️ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@big.deal.pod MORE FROM CODIE SANCHEZ 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CodieSanchezCT 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/codiesanchez 📽️ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@realcodiesanchez OTHER THINGS WE DO 🌐 Our community: https://contrarianthinking.typeform.com/to/WBztXXID 📰 Free newsletter: https://contrarianthinking.biz/3XWLlZp 📚 Biz buying course: https://contrarianthinking.biz/3NhjGgN 🏠 Resibrands: https://resibrands.com/ 💰 CT Capital: https://contrarianthinking.biz/4eRyGOk 🏦 Main St Hold Co: https://contrarianthinking.biz/3YfGa8u

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Seth Godin

  guest

  Author and marketing/leadership thinker known for books like The Dip and Purple Cow.

• Codie Sanchez

  host

  Entrepreneur and host of BigDeal by Codie Sanchez.

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of BigDeal by Codie Sanchez, featuring Seth Godin and Codie Sanchez, How to Solve Problems Better Than 99% of People | Seth Godin explores Seth Godin on habits, feedback loops, and escaping mediocrity’s traps Seth Godin describes mediocrity as a choice driven by deniability and the desire for reassurance that an idea will be loved and risk-free.

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