Wanna Bet?

Seth Godin posted this the other day:

I was talking to a colleague about all the noise out there in the world, all the messages, ads, announcements, pitches and friend requests. "And you're sending even more every day into that maelstrom."

"No we're not," she said. "Ours isn't noise."

Yes it is.

The trick is to be able to tell which noise we should listen to. Unfortunately, too often we listen to the "cutest" or "trickiest" or the one with the most "special effects." How do we filter for the good noise, or at least the noise that makes the most sense. I don't think we have been doing all that good a job. We are tending more and more to be listening to the noise that we agree with, probably because it's easier than to work it out. The myriad, seemingly uncountable sources of noise that have multiplied over the past decade or two makes this all the more difficult.

So, remember your message is just another bit of noise. Why should people listen? Why should they respond? This is as true for me sitting in a therapy room, the preacher on Sunday morning, or the latest ad on the TV.

Why should they even bother to listen to me? What makes my noise more listenable? Keeping that in mind will hopefully prove to us that humility is far better than hubris or hyperbole. Which is a change of lifestyle and worldview.

I better think about that as we move toward Christmas.