every year. In October, about 11,000 athletes travel to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to compete in the head of the Charles Regatta, the largest boating regatta of its kind. 1900 boats piloted, empowered by incredibly strong, hardworking men and women who are pushing themselves to the limits to make their boats go. And they all head in the same direction. So the question is, with 11,000 people all pushing water with their oars as hard as they can in the same direction. Where does the water go? Hey, it's Seth, and this is a Kimbo. Well,

if you've thought about it at all, which you probably haven't, you've realized the water doesn't go anywhere. It doesn't matter how strong and orders person is. He or she is not able to actually move the water in the Charles River much of anywhere. So why bother? What is the purpose of putting your or in the water and leaning against it? If the water itself isn't being pushed backwards? No giant waves are reaching the shore. Water weighs about £8 a gallon. It's too heavy to move. Plus, you can't just move the water you're touching. You have to move all the water that water is touching. You're not gonna be able to push the Charles River around. What's actually happening is leverage.

Get it back. That's it. All right, starving. Start hitting. That's alright. Drove on the high 15 crushing blow They can go. That's the way good, ladies.

The water doesn't move. The boat does that by putting the or in the water. We are levering the boat forward with the or mostly staying still. This leverage depends on friction, and people talk about friction like it's a bad thing that if you're making a set of drawers, your goal is to reduce friction as much as possible so the drawer will effortlessly slide back and forth. If you're making a pair of blades for some ice skates, you want them to be straight and sharp. So the amount of friction you'll have on the ice is reduced that the reason we have a Zamboni machine going around in circles on the ice rink is so that the puck will travel effortlessly from one player to another. We try to reduce friction. Thing about tinder tinder has reduced the friction of the singles bar, so instead of hours and hours of frustration. You can have minutes and minutes of frustration by swiping swiping. Done. Friction is the enemy of the Internet. Friction is the enemy of many sorts of engineers, particularly the ones who work in electricity and computers.

It's the friction that heats up your computer. So if the goal is to remove friction, what's the problem? Well, I went ice skating last winter. It was a magical day. It had been freezing, freezing cold here in New York for 10 days in a row. But it hadn't snowed once, which meant that the Lake Roosevelt State Park was frozen a foot thick and it was smooth on top. So I took my cross country ski boots tonight, clamped on some blades and I went skating, who was fantastic. I was going 30 miles an hour across the lake. I could have done it all day the next day, excited.

I brought my dog along. Well, I thought the dog was gonna have a great time. He couldn't run away because we were in the middle of a big lake. But what I discovered Waas. He couldn't run away because he wasn't wearing skates. All he had was paused, and it didn't matter how hard he tried. He couldn't move. He hated it. So he waited in the car while I finished my skate. But the thing is, I realized in that moment ice skates work, partly because they don't have friction. But they work mostly because they do. It's the friction when we turn our ankle. That gives us leverage, something to push off against.

If we don't

have something to push off against. While it may be possible to coast eventually, it won't be possible to change direction, to accelerate, to get from where we are to where we want to go. We need the friction that comes from the or being in the water to move the boat forward. Like all analogies, this one has a point. It's relevant, and it's relevant to our culture. It goes like this, the gatekeepers, the ones who are gone. They gave us leverage because there was friction. If you got onto the lot at Paramount, the way Steven Spielberg did, it made it more likely that you could get hurt,

that you could get a movie made because insiders have more leverage, then outsiders and if you got a movie made. It turns out there's friction and barriers cause there's Onley three or 400 movies released a year, designed for mainstream theaters with only that many movies and only that many screens you have leverage. That someone is making a movie in their backyard doesn't have because friction is keeping those people out. And you're benefiting from being on the inside that there's friction to get one of those scarce seats at M. I T. And if you get one of those seats and you last all four years, you graduate with that ring on your finger and that diploma and then there is friction. To get a fancy job is an engineer at a fancy company, and most people can't get through because they don't have what you have, which gives you leverage. And what is shifted in our culture is we have asked the gatekeepers toe leave the building. And so now there is almost zero friction to post a video on YouTube. In fact, if you install their app,

that is the single greatest moment of friction between you and the world, because once the app is installed, the video is in front of more than a 1,000,000,000 possible viewers. No friction and also no leverage. Since this podcast began a few minutes ago, more than 10,000 videos have been posted on YouTube, and you haven't seen any of them. We have removed the friction from the book publishing industry. Now that anyone can write a book, anyone will. The number of steps from there, something on my word processor to Here's a Kindle book for sale on Amazon is going down down to zero. Same thing's true with a podcast like this one. The amount of friction necessary to create a podcast keeps going down, which means, paradoxically,

that the amount of leverage you have from making a podcast also goes down because scarcity has been removed when the friction was removed. So what is going on in our culture is we have opened the doors to all sorts of mass communication. We have reduced the friction, and at the same time we have removed the leverage. So since you don't need a gatekeeper, what could possibly make the journey worth it? Because it turns out having a piece of media is no longer sufficient. It used to be It used to be that if you got picked by a fancy book editor, the publisher took care of all the other stuff no longer. And that's why so many people who are trying to change the culture are so stressed out of their minds. Because we spent a little bit of our time inventing and most of our time seeking to gain leverage on the slippery ice, the ice that has no friction. So where can the friction come from? It comes from permission. The privilege of talking to people who want to be talked to, of engaging with people who want to be engaged with that Kickstarter kickstart is a little bit of a mess because people misunderstand it.

It's not Kickstarter. It's kick finisher. That kicked finisher works. If you've spent months or years or maybe even a decade, building up trust and authority and connection and a following that permission the ability to deliver anticipated personal and relevant messages to the people who want to get them that is scarce. That gives you leverage because there is friction involved. Spam has no friction. For $50 you can spam a 1,000,000,000 people frictionless, worthless, no leverage but permission the ability to talk to your followers to whisper two people who actually want to hear from you. That makes you the new gatekeeper. If you read about what the influencers on Instagram are making it sort of stunning. A $1,000,000 a month, a $1,000,000 a year, maybe $10 million a year. How could that possibly be?

Because they're not making it in a month or a year. They're making it divided by the amount of time they've been showing up to lead a group of people who want to see the show they're putting on. They have re earned leverage because there is a new friction, and it is the new friction that comes from voluntary connection. It wasn't voluntary when there were three TV networks. Each one of them, by default got 1/3 of the viewers. Every night. People were hooked on TV. They weren't hooked on ABC. They were hooked on TV. So the programmer at ABC, as part of her job got a shot at a whole bunch of people who had few choices. She created leverage for the people she bought her shows from, but now that leverage isn't worth very much. The new leverage comes from the friction of infinity.

The friction is there are too many things to watch on YouTube. I'll just watch the people I'm used to. There are too many things to search for in Google. I'll just look at the things on the front page of the Google results. We have no idea as consumers of culture how to deal with infinity. And so we willingly reduced the amount of noise that's coming in tow us. We eagerly make our lives more convenient by narrowing who we trust in who we listen to. And so the race is on. All we've done is moved the gate, keeping further down the chain. It used to be the gatekeeper said yes and gave you money and gave you a studio and gave you a deal and gave you an editor so you could do it all at once. And now you've gotta finish and ship and then finish and ship and finishing ship and finishing ship. And the sixth time, maybe you're starting to earn some friction friction, because that will give you leverage, the privilege of making stuff for your listeners instead of finding listeners for your stuff that changes everything.

Everything is different in the creation of culture. Once we realize that it's the smallest viable audience, the smallest group of people who are eager to hear from us connect with us and spread the word that is the asset of our future. That is the asset that we earn. That is the asset that gives us the ability to be our own gatekeeper. The gate is right in front of you, and you control the door to the gate, and you get to decide if it's worth putting your name on to ship the next one. So you need the frictionless feeling. Ah, forward propulsion. That happens when you set your oars just the right way and row in sync. You need that magnificent feeling of being on smooth ice on its 25 degrees out and coasting, but you don't get there by default. You get there because you've created friction first because you've paid for the Zamboni and you sharpen your skates because you have shown up again and again toe urn attention. When everyone can yell,

everyone will yell. And when everyone is yelling, it's the people who have earned the right to whisper. Who will be able to make the best work and the leverage we've earned can compound because we can take our head, start and whisper again and whisper again and continue to lead and educate people who are enrolled in our journey and want to follow us where we have said we are going to go. So all the time we used to spend pitching the gatekeepers, hoping to get pig. We have to stop spending that time. And instead we have to invest the time for the people we seek to serve, to see them and hear them and understand them. And then to do something remarkable that they will choose to talk about, because that is how our culture changes. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time. We'll be back in a second with an answer to a juicy question. But first we're going to hear from the amazing Alex DePalma, my producer.

Hey, this is Alexandra DePalma. I am the producer of Kim Bo and I also am lucky enough to teach the podcast fellowship with the extraordinary Seth Godin. I said, What are we up to? This is the fourth

time we're running it and we're doing it cause it works. More than 1000 people have taken the podcast fellowship so far. Not because they want to be rich and famous, though some of them are definitely hitting a home run. But because they want to be heard because they have something to say because they realize that learning with the others is the best way to move forward.

To me, the thing that stands out when alums reach out to us is the impact of the community. It's different. It's unique because everyone's on the same journey and the podcast fellowship. Everyone is seeking to create a podcast, and the community is not just for the seven weeks of the course. It's lasting, and that's the real value of the podcast fellowship. So where do we find out more? Www dot podcast club. That link is where you can find more information,

and if you have any questions at kimbo dot com, will show you all of our workshops. We hope to see

you there. Thank you. See, Alex? It's mighty and picks up. My name's Kyle reading. Seth, this is Steven out in Madison, Wisconsin. Alicia from Charleston here. High priced warm greetings from curious. Oh, hey, Seth. My name is Nick Ryan from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Hey,

sent Mrs Rex. Hi, this is Hi, this is Roberta Perry. My question is, and that completes my question.

As always, we love to hear from you tow. Ask your own question about the previous episode or anything that came before. Just visit a kimbo dot link. That's a K i m b o dot L i n k and press the appropriate button.

Hi, Seth. My name is Alex L B A. And I'm an actor. I'm very curious and interested. Being a longtime fan of all of your material. How would what's the best way to implement your marketing philosophy on the whole and maybe a couple of particular examples in the acting field. If you want to progress in acting, you want to continue and move forward and get to the top of the pile. Uh, how could you do that with the stuff that you generally talk about? Thanks so much.

Thank you for this question, Alex. It is indeed juicy, cause it's not just about acting. It's about so many careers. So many ways to contribute and so much brainwashing. The way that the brain washers would tell you to make it as an actor would be to do the work, to show up at auditions, to become who they need you to become, to show up and show up and show up and to fit in all the way we say this not just the people who want to make it on the stage, but two people who, for example, want to be a freelance writer or an illustrator or any other sort of freelancer where there's a system of people who are busy picking the winners. I would like to argue that there are actually four different but overlapping ways that you can do the work that you want to do. None of them are a clear, well illuminated, easy path.

But all of them are the way forward. The 1st 1 is to be distinct. This one is tricky because lots of people are trying to be as distinct as you are. But when you are distinct, the character actor who could do something that only you can do, the photographer who uses photo shop in a way that only you can use it. That person who is distinct will not be picked every time. But if I need what you do, I will seek you out. Number two is to have a following. Having a following means that when you show up, your fans will follow you. Kevin Kelly's 1000 True Fans If you have a following, that means that you can get a gig, for example, on the Broadway stage,

because the producer knows you can sell some tickets similar to having a following. But totally different is to be famous. And, of course, famous is no help whatsoever to the actor or the other person who's trying to make an impact until you're famous. But we all know that people who are famous get the benefit of the doubt. And the 4th 1 is to make your own gig that the best way to make it as an actor is to make it as a screenwriter slash producer that if you were the person who is writing the show, you get to cast yourself in the show that learning how to write, how to be the impresario, the person who starts the gigs, whether that means you're organizing the local art show or putting on the play at the local theater guarantees you a slot up front because that comes with the territory. Casting yourself isn't nepotism. It's the right thing to do. So there you go, for different ways to go at making it as someone who is going to give up on the system of getting picked for fitting in. And one more question that's got wide applicability

us. If I have a question regarding direct advertising versus brand advertising, as it applies to the concept of smallest viable audience, is one method better than the other? It feels as though you favor director Brand. Is that right? I'm a musician and found that highly targeted, thoughtfully made Facebook and Instagram video ads have been a great way to expand our reach and find more of the 1000 true fans. As it were, it seems to me that in order to get the smallest viable audience, we have to first show our stuff to a lot of people that are likely to be into it. And then from there, the ones that are truly excited about it will show themselves and give us a chance to earn their trust further. I'm not looking for MME. Or just looking for enough just enough people to get peer to peer. Word of mouth going. It seemed to me that this falls under brand advertising.

Direct advertising feels disingenuous because I don't want to treat our listeners as though they just received the Yellow Bean catalog, and we're gonna funnel them through the bile, buy a CD or something. Eyes. They're better wayto look at this. Thanks for all

you did exactly. You're following a hybrid that makes a lot of sense of the problem with brand marketing. Brand advertising is that you can't measure it and it takes a long time, and it's really expensive. Three pieces of one big problem. My first real job with a boss was working for a startup magazine called Harvest Journal in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which, if you said it fast, sounded like Harvard Journal, which was fine with them. And my job was to sell advertising. And so my freshman year of college, I didn't go to Harvard, but I was nearby. I visited almost every single stop on the entire subway line, the T in Boston,

making sales calls. I still remember the very last call at buzz Ease, Sirloin pit. Ah, place that sounds as greasy as the name indicates, begging the owner to buy an eighth of a page ad for $125. And I was gonna give back my commission to him. So it's only going to be $95 he didn't want to buy it. And the reason, of course, is that Buzzy could either keep the 125 bucks for the 95 or give it away to a magazine he'd never heard of that he wasn't going to be able to measure that sort of brand advertising is really difficult, particularly for a small business there examples where it works, big companies that want to run sponsorships that can figure out where they can show up, over and over again. Brand advertising is genius. It's a magic trick.

It's amazing. But for most of us doesn't make a lot of sense Direct marketing. As we've mentioned his marketing, you can measure and measured marketing pays for itself. But as you've pointed out, when you seek to serve the smallest viable audience and there's a medium like Facebook, that lets you address just those people. Suddenly, this sort of brand advertising can make a lot of sense as long as you don't try to measure it as long as you are patient. If they're only 1000 people in your corner of Nashville that need to know about you and trust you and like you and support you, the cough of showing them a new video every week is tiny. 50 bucks. 80 bucks you're done. Do that week after week after week after week after week after week and you'll become an overnight success. Thanks for your questions. We'll see you next time.

I just don't think it's possible or probable in today's world to distinguish yourself as an educational institution or is a success seeker at the level of information gathering or information distribution. I mean, this is the information age, and you can get a great book, a great essay, a great idea anywhere, you know. And none of us can do that better than the Internet, right? There is no great thought leader who can out think the Internet like we have data. What all in begets right is it puts you in a context where you're part of a community that says, Yeah, yeah, that's good. You got access to ideas. You got access to information. That's awesome.

But when you gonna show up when you got a face that blank page, when you gonna face the possibilities within you when you're gonna face those fears, I'm not gonna let you gotta show up. That's the hardest part. And it sounds simple. It sounds very common sensical, but it's the number one reason why we don't write that book. It's the number one reason why we don't ask that question. It's not because we don't know where we don't have the information. We don't have an environment and way don't have a support network that makes it feel like showing up is possible for me. Not just possible for the success stories I see out there, but I can show consider

the altar MBA.