The Practice by Seth Godin — a short book review

There are books you feel like you’ve already read. The topic is familiar, the message too. And yet we read them again. Or worse: we buy a book whose core message we should have understood long ago. Meditation books are a prime example. The message is “stop reading books — sit down and meditate. Every day, for the rest of your life.” And? Are you doing it? No, but maybe one more book on the subject will finally get you across the line.

The Practice by Seth Godin is that kind of book. I recently devoured the English edition — as I do with all of Seth’s books — and highlighted more passages in my Kindle than I care to admit. I could quote them all here. But I’ll spare you, because the book is full of repetition and you can tell it was probably stitched together from his blog posts. Still: at its core, it comes down to the simple — and maddeningly hard to execute — truth our parents drilled into us: practice makes perfect. And: there’s no point talking about it if you’re not doing it. Yawn. We’ve heard it all before. So why is this particular book so good?

Starting is easier than keeping going. This is not a new insight.

I don’t know if Tucholsky wrote every day. Probably. Because only those who write daily get to call themselves writers, says Godin. And building on that, he uses story after story to motivate us not just to start, but to keep going — and to share our work generously.

We shouldn’t obsess over results. Just sit down at the desk every day and keep at it, stoically. And “stoically” doesn’t mean “stubbornly.” Godin wants us to trust ourselves and the process, and not give up the moment something doesn’t work. Keep showing up. None of this is new, but Godin simply finds the best words for it.

Practising without purpose is boring too

“The Practice” is a quick read. The execution is not so easy. And at the same time, it’s dead simple. Just don’t overthink whether and when it’ll all click. Just do the work. But not blindly either. It should be something that matters to you, something that comes from the heart. Then you just keep going. Every day, no excuses. He also insists that you share your results. This isn’t about fishing for compliments — it’s about putting your work out there, good or bad, and not hiding behind endless preparation. Otherwise you end up all practice, no match¹ — someone who trains beautifully but never wins a thing.

So “The Practice” — precisely because it reads so smoothly — should be on your quarterly re-read list. Better yet, just show up every day and build a streak. But we know from experience that’s not always easy. So: practice, practice, practice — and remember, nobody was born a master. There are so many books on this topic.

“The Practice” should be the last book of this genre you ever need. You don’t need another book to get started and keep going. So — what are you waiting for?

First published in German at reinergaertner.de, where I’ve been at it since 1997. AI did the heavy lifting on the translation. I did the heavy squinting at the result.