Sharing Seth Godin

Apr 2, 2010 by Suzy Ogé    No Comments    Posted under: Adventure, Inspiring

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It is no secret that I am a huge Seth Godin fan. Last week, a visitor in the office mistook Seth Godin for my husband, just because the photo of me meeting Seth in London happens to be the only photo on display? My immediate response, “Why would I have a photo of my husband in my office?” For the record, my husband is not (yet) completely bald, nor is he at all bothered that there is no photo of him in my office.

Last February, I flew to London along with my colleague Lisa to attend Seth Godin, the “London Session“. It was a truly great experience, a shared experience, and thought provoking to this day, even one year later.

So, it is no surprise that I was very excited to hear that Seth was coming as close as Antwerp for an event. The regular ticket price was not cheap, but there was a great offer for students, which made it easy for me to convince the Dean of the New Business School that this event would be a great opportunity for the students in my Business Development Elective.

The students were enthusiastic from the first mention and they all made the necessary arrangements to attend (these two factors can not be taken for granted with students).  Yesterday most of us traveled together by train to Antwerp, and it was a pleasure to share the Seth Godin experience with my students.  Some had watched videos of Seth Godin online, but the “Live” experience is something else. They were amazed by his presence and charisma, captivating an audience of over 1,000 professionals with his ideas, insights and call to action. Seth Godin is not teaching a formula for you to follow or preaching a method for success. His intention is to nudge you to think in new and different ways and most importantly, to take action.

The Seth Godin experience had a profound impact on these students, in a way that some could not yet explain. Several mentioned that it was an evening they would refer to for years to come. These students are not easily impressed and don’t go out of their way to score points with their teacher either, so I believe the sincerity of their remarks and their  appreciation.

I am still smiling after an evening of sharing Seth Godin. There is so much to be learned outside the classroom and it was a great opportunity to get to know these students even better.  If not for the train ride back to Amsterdam, how else would I have discovered that Dutch students unanimously prefer jelly beans over chocolate Easter eggs paired with Heineken!

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