Blog assignment 3

http://changethis.com/manifesto/66.01.Brainwashed/pdf/66.01.Brainwashed.pdf

Seth Godin in his article Brainwashed, seven ways to reinvent yourself, believes throughout our whole lives we have been brainwashed into being average. Through school, work, creation, we have been taught that being average is the best and safest way to get what you want. Godin believes it is up to us (society) if we want to change this, it is our choice. Today we have more opportunity than ever before, and with the seven levers available, one can reinvent themselves. The seven layers include, Connect, Be generous, Make art, Acknowledge the lizard, Ship, Fail, and Learn. Make art, the concept of making art isn’t literal in this context, making art reefers to having interactions with other people, the possibly of creating something new. Acknowledging the Lizard can stop art from being created, its the worrying part of our brain. Ship, the concept of shipping is being one of the few who can get things done and achieve outcomes.

In the world we are living in today, opportunity is brighter than ever. Our generation has more resources and freedom to be successful than ever present before. Seth Godin explains this in his article, Brainwashed. From birth, we have been brainwashed into being average, we have been taught average stuff (i.e. math) in average ways (by teachers, bosses etc), and believe this is the best way to get what we desire. But Godin explains how useless this concept really is. He believes with todays‘ opportunity, you have the ability to reinvent yourself using seven different levers; Connect, Be generous, Make art, Acknowledge the Lizard, Ship, Fail and Learn. All of these play a large part in being successful and possibly changing how you view or think about your future or what you are doing with your life. These seven levers are greatly related to the blog we are creating in class. We are making art with these blogs, acknowledging and pushing away the lizard, we are shipping our ideas out onto the web in hopes of creating outcomes. This blog is giving us the opportunity to be more than average.
“Art is an original gift, a connection that changes the recipient, a human ability to make a difference”- Seth Godin. This concept of making art, relates greatly to our blog and creative assignments. In our creative assignments, we are working with each other to create something that has never been created, and this is art. This blog is making me a better student because it is pushing me to create something new, art, and is pushing me to use new ideas and take risks in hopes of being rewarded (with a good grade and learning experiences).
Worrying is a natural human emotion, and to stop it one must acknowledge the lizard. Being made fun of is the lizard’s worst nightmare, so it can quickly shut down, making art stop, Steven Pressfield calls this “the resistance” This blog encourages the class to take risks and push the lizard away. The blog and the lizard are making me a better person, letting me understand that sometimes risks lead to being rewarded.
The ability to ship, I believe is the most beneficial to me. “..making them happen and creating outcomes that people seek out”. These blog exercises make a better student and go along with ship because its making me and the class get things done. And acknowledging that it is okay to fail. I want to be a person a ships, and the blog is allowing me to do that.