Listen free for 30 days
-
The Icarus Deception
- How High Will You Fly?
- Narrated by: Seth Godin
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Categories: Business & Careers, Career Success
People who bought this also bought...
-
Leap First
- Creating Work That Matters
- By: Seth Godin
- Narrated by: Seth Godin
- Length: 2 hrs and 6 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Recorded in an intimate gathering of aspiring entrepreneurs, writers, and leaders, Leap First teaches us 49 essential principles, practices, and life lessons that have helped Seth the most in his own work and life. More than an audiobook or keynote speech, each track here presents a carefully chosen catalyst intended to trigger our own passion and insight with each listening.
-
-
Short listen reinforcing the best of Set Godin
- By DoctorJeal on 20-07-15
-
Linchpin
- Are You Indispensable?
- By: Seth Godin
- Narrated by: Seth Godin
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There used to be two teams in every workplace: management and labor. Now there’s a third team, the linchpins. These people invent, lead (regardless of title), connect others, make things happen, and create order out of chaos. They figure out what to do when there’s no rule book. They delight and challenge their customers and peers. They love their work, pour their best selves into it, and turn each day into a kind of art.
-
-
Disappointing, simplistic US-style self help dressed up as insightful science
- By Amazon Customer on 31-10-17
-
The Practice
- By: Seth Godin
- Narrated by: Seth Godin
- Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Creative work doesn't come with a guarantee. But there is a pattern to who succeeds and who doesn't. And engaging in the consistent practice of its pursuit is the best way forward. Based on the breakthrough Akimbo workshop pioneered by legendary author Seth Godin, The Practice will help you get unstuck and find the courage to make and share creative work.
-
-
This has changed my life
- By AmazonCustomer on 04-12-20
-
Tribes
- We Need You to Lead Us
- By: Seth Godin
- Narrated by: Seth Godin
- Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tribes are groups of people aligned around an idea, connected to a leader and to each other. Tribes make our world work, and always have. The new opportunity is that it's easier than ever to find, organize, and lead a tribe. The Web has enabled an explosion of all kinds of tribes - and created shortage of people to lead them. This is the growth industry of our time. Tribes will help you understand exactly what's at stake, and why YOU can and should lead a tribe of your own.
-
-
Terrible
- By Sam Gamgee on 15-12-13
-
All Marketers Are Liars
- The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World
- By: Seth Godin
- Narrated by: Seth Godin
- Length: 4 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every marketer tells a story. And if they do it right, we believe them. We believe that wine tastes better in a $20 glass than a $1 glass. We believe that an $80,000 Porsche Cayenne is vastly superior to a $36,000 VW Touareg, which is virtually the same car. We believe that $225 Pumas will make our feet feel better, and look cooler, than $20 no-names... and believing it makes it true.
-
-
great thought provoking book for any marketing pro
- By Ben on 23-02-18
-
This Is Marketing
- You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See
- By: Seth Godin
- Narrated by: Seth Godin
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For the first time Seth Godin offers the core of his marketing wisdom in one compact, accessible, timeless package. This is Marketing shows you how to do work you're proud of, whether you're a tech startup founder, a small business owner, or part of a large corporation.
-
-
Generous as always
- By Anonymous User on 13-11-18
-
Leap First
- Creating Work That Matters
- By: Seth Godin
- Narrated by: Seth Godin
- Length: 2 hrs and 6 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Recorded in an intimate gathering of aspiring entrepreneurs, writers, and leaders, Leap First teaches us 49 essential principles, practices, and life lessons that have helped Seth the most in his own work and life. More than an audiobook or keynote speech, each track here presents a carefully chosen catalyst intended to trigger our own passion and insight with each listening.
-
-
Short listen reinforcing the best of Set Godin
- By DoctorJeal on 20-07-15
-
Linchpin
- Are You Indispensable?
- By: Seth Godin
- Narrated by: Seth Godin
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There used to be two teams in every workplace: management and labor. Now there’s a third team, the linchpins. These people invent, lead (regardless of title), connect others, make things happen, and create order out of chaos. They figure out what to do when there’s no rule book. They delight and challenge their customers and peers. They love their work, pour their best selves into it, and turn each day into a kind of art.
-
-
Disappointing, simplistic US-style self help dressed up as insightful science
- By Amazon Customer on 31-10-17
-
The Practice
- By: Seth Godin
- Narrated by: Seth Godin
- Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Creative work doesn't come with a guarantee. But there is a pattern to who succeeds and who doesn't. And engaging in the consistent practice of its pursuit is the best way forward. Based on the breakthrough Akimbo workshop pioneered by legendary author Seth Godin, The Practice will help you get unstuck and find the courage to make and share creative work.
-
-
This has changed my life
- By AmazonCustomer on 04-12-20
-
Tribes
- We Need You to Lead Us
- By: Seth Godin
- Narrated by: Seth Godin
- Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tribes are groups of people aligned around an idea, connected to a leader and to each other. Tribes make our world work, and always have. The new opportunity is that it's easier than ever to find, organize, and lead a tribe. The Web has enabled an explosion of all kinds of tribes - and created shortage of people to lead them. This is the growth industry of our time. Tribes will help you understand exactly what's at stake, and why YOU can and should lead a tribe of your own.
-
-
Terrible
- By Sam Gamgee on 15-12-13
-
All Marketers Are Liars
- The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World
- By: Seth Godin
- Narrated by: Seth Godin
- Length: 4 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every marketer tells a story. And if they do it right, we believe them. We believe that wine tastes better in a $20 glass than a $1 glass. We believe that an $80,000 Porsche Cayenne is vastly superior to a $36,000 VW Touareg, which is virtually the same car. We believe that $225 Pumas will make our feet feel better, and look cooler, than $20 no-names... and believing it makes it true.
-
-
great thought provoking book for any marketing pro
- By Ben on 23-02-18
-
This Is Marketing
- You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See
- By: Seth Godin
- Narrated by: Seth Godin
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For the first time Seth Godin offers the core of his marketing wisdom in one compact, accessible, timeless package. This is Marketing shows you how to do work you're proud of, whether you're a tech startup founder, a small business owner, or part of a large corporation.
-
-
Generous as always
- By Anonymous User on 13-11-18
-
The Dip
- By: Seth Godin
- Narrated by: Seth Godin
- Length: 1 hr and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every new project (or job, or hobby, or company) starts out exciting and fun. Then it gets harder and less fun, until it hits a low point: really hard, and not much fun at all. And then you find yourself asking if the goal is even worth the hassle. Maybe you're in a Dip: a temporary setback that you will overcome if you keep pushing. But maybe it's really a Cul-de-Sac, which will never get better, no matter how hard you try.
-
-
Can't beat a bit of Godin...
- By CA Weir on 26-06-07
-
Small is the New Big
- And 193 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas
- By: Seth Godin
- Narrated by: Seth Godin
- Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Seth Godin, one of today's most influential business thinkers, writes best-selling books like Purple Cow and All Marketers Are Liars. And in between those annual books, he delivers a daily stream of ideas on one of the world's most popular blogs.
-
-
Perfect when you need to boost your creativity
- By Nick on 16-04-11
-
The Big Moo
- Stop Trying to Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable
- By: Seth Godin, The Group of 33
- Narrated by: Seth Godin
- Length: 3 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Big Moo is a simple audiobook in the tradition of Fish and Don't Sweat the Small Stuff. Instead of lecturing you, it tells stories that stick to your ribs and light your fire. It will help you to create a culture that consistently delivers remarkable innovations.
-
-
Great transformational thinking
- By Mark on 24-09-06
-
We Are All Weird
- The Myth of Mass and the End of Compliance
- By: Seth Godin
- Narrated by: Seth Godin
- Length: 2 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We Are All Weird is a celebration of choice, of treating different people differently and of embracing the notion that everyone deserves the dignity and respect that comes from being heard. The book calls for end of "mass" and for the beginning of offering people more choices, more interests, and giving them more authority to operate in ways that reflect their own unique values.
-
-
I'm weird
- By William P Griffiths on 21-08-16
-
Contagious
- Why Things Catch On
- By: Jonah Berger
- Narrated by: Keith Nobbs
- Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why do some products get more word of mouth than others? Why does some online content go viral? Word of mouth makes products, ideas, and behaviors catch on. It's more influential than advertising and far more effective. Can you create word of mouth for your product or idea? According to Berger, you can. Whether you operate a neighborhood restaurant, a corporation with hundreds of employees, or are running for a local office for the first time, the steps that can help your product or idea become viral are the same.
-
-
Brilliant
- By Francis West - Cyber Security Specialist on 26-02-16
-
Epic Content Marketing
- How to Tell a Different Story, Break through the Clutter, and Win More Customers by Marketing Less
- By: Joe Pulizzi
- Narrated by: Joe Pulizzi
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How do you cut through the noise, commotion, and bad information that is right now cluttering up your customers' digital space? Epic Content Marketing. One of the world's leading experts on content marketing, Joe Pulizzi explains how to draw prospects and customers in by creating information and content they actually want to engage with. No longer can we interrupt our customers with mediocre content (and sales messages) our customers don't care about. Epic Content Marketing takes you step by step through the process of developing stories that inform and entertain and compel customers to act - without actually telling them to.
-
-
Give us a downloadable PDF!!!
- By Passion for Books on 26-12-17
-
Poke the Box
- By: Seth Godin
- Narrated by: Seth Godin
- Length: 2 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We send our kids to school and obsess about their test scores, their behavior and theirability to fit in. We post a help wanted ad and look for experience, famous colleges and a history of avoiding failure. We invest in companies based on how they did last quarter, not on what they’re going to do tomorrow. So why are we surprised when it all falls apart? Our economy is not static, but we act as if it is. Your position in the world is defined by what you instigate, how you provoke, and what you learn from the events you cause. In a worldfilled with change, that’s what matters - your ability to create and learn from change.
-
-
An Excellent Book by Seth Godin
- By Charlene Allison on 13-09-17
-
The War of Art
- By: Steven Pressfield
- Narrated by: Steven Pressfield
- Length: 2 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Think of The War of Art as tough love...for yourself. Since 2002, The War of Art has inspired people around the world to defeat "resistance"; to recognize and knock down dream-blocking barriers and to silence the naysayers within us. Resistance kicks everyone's butt, and the desire to defeat it is equally as universal. The War of Art identifies the enemy that every one of us must face, outlines a battle plan to conquer this internal foe, then pinpoints just how to achieve the greatest success.
-
-
.
- By Anonymous User on 25-04-20
-
Superfans
- The Easy Way to Stand Out, Grow Your Tribe, and Build a Successful Business
- By: Pat Flynn
- Narrated by: Pat Flynn
- Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Customers, followers, subscribers. It's easy to just look at the numbers. How many likes? How many purchases? How many email subscribers? But as entrepreneurs, we have to remember that there are people behind all that data. People who are looking to us to be a leader, to give advice, and to care. In this dog-eat-dog world, these are the people who are looking for someone who they can trust and who they know have their best interests in mind.
-
-
Personal Brand GOLD!!
- By StevetheBarman on 25-12-19
-
Creative Calling
- Establish a Daily Practice, Infuse Your World with Meaning, and Succeed in Work + Life
- By: Chase Jarvis
- Narrated by: Chase Jarvis
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Life isn’t about “finding” fulfillment and success - it’s about creating it. Why then has creativity been given a back seat in our culture? No longer. Creativity is a force inside every person that, when unleashed, transforms our lives and delivers vitality to everything we do. Establishing a creative practice is therefore our most valuable and urgent task - as important to our well-being as exercise or nutrition. The good news? Renowned artist, author, and CreativeLive founder, Chase Jarvis, reminds us that creativity isn't a skill - it's a habit available to everyone.
-
-
Solid.
- By Mike Luard on 27-09-19
-
Growth Hacker Marketing
- A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising
- By: Ryan Holiday
- Narrated by: Ryan Holiday
- Length: 2 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling author Ryan Holiday, the acclaimed marketing guru for American Apparel and many bestselling authors and multiplatinum musicians, explains the new rules and provides valuable examples and case studies for aspiring growth hackers. Whether you work for a tiny start-up or a Fortune 500 giant, if you're responsible for building awareness and buzz for a product or service, this is your road map.
-
-
Disappointing
- By Andrew on 25-10-16
-
The Innovation Stack
- Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time
- By: Jim McKelvey
- Narrated by: Jim McKelvey
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frustrated by the high costs and difficulty of accepting credit card payments, McKelvey joined his friend Jack Dorsey (the cofounder of Twitter) to launch Square, a startup that would enable small merchants to accept credit card payments on their mobile phones. The Innovation Stack is a thrilling business narrative that's much bigger than the story of Square. It is an irreverent first-person look inside the world of entrepreneurship, and a call to action for all of us to find the entrepreneur within ourselves and identify and fix unsolved problems - one crazy idea at a time.
-
-
inspirational
- By mifrah on 24-03-20
Summary
What are you afraid of?
The old rules: Play it safe. Stay in your comfort zone. Find an institution, a job, a set of rules to stick to. Keep your head down. Don't fly too close to the sun.
The new truth: It's better to be sorry than safe. You need to fly higher than ever.
In his bravest and most challenging book yet, Seth Godin shows how we can thrive in an economy that rewards art, not compliance. He explains why true innovators focus on trust, remarkability, leadership, and stories that spread. And he makes a passionate argument for why you should be treating your work as art.
Art is not a gene or a specific talent. It's an attitude, available to anyone who has a vision that others don't, and the guts to do something about it. Steve Jobs was an artist. So were Henry Ford and Martin Luther King, Jr. To work like an artist means investing in the things that scale: creativity, emotional labor, and grit. The path of the artist isn't for the faint of heart - but Godin shows why it's your only chance to stand up, stand out, and make a difference.
The time to seize new ground and work without a map is now. So what are you going to do?
More from the same
Author
Narrator
What listeners say about The Icarus Deception
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Neil
- 12-07-13
The connection economy
Brilliant performance. I love when authors read the books and Seth is one of the best, I've read the book and the audio version is the way to consume this book.
It builds on the premise that we are entering a new age, gone is the industrial and information economy and now is the time of the connection economy. The way to create connections is through art. To stand up and be counting, to risk failure, to say here I made this.
This is not a how to book, there are no 8 steps to creating art and win in the new economy. As Seth puts it, he provides a compass not a map.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Faby
- 19-05-13
Absolutely life changing
I have read quite few self development books and something about NLP, but none of them actually changed my perspective and my life like this book. It really opened my eyes and liberated my creativity trapped by guilt and years of strict upbringing.
I LOVE this book and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to wake up and Live
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- GeeDubW
- 02-05-13
Overly long and repetitious
I had high expectations of this book as Seth Godin seems to be held in high reverence. I deliberated whether to purchase this book or his purple Cow book - I think I may have made the wrong decision.
As I listened and listened I became ever more frustrated. Godin gives us a history lesson about the industrial revolution and mechanisation and the organised management of labour in order to set the scene. All perfectly understandable and relevant to his take on the way we are now and the way he believes we should be.
Once we get the drift of his take on the way we should be / see ourselves the message is easily understood. What frustrated me was that he then proceeds to say the same thing over and over with only a slight variance on the story.
The premise of the book in itself is what gives himself and the reader a "get out" clause. If people don't understand you or like what you're doing then that's their fault - you just keep on making art as he calls it. Just believe in what you're doing and everything will eventually be alright.
That's great but if you don't listen to your customer and keep on delivering things people don't want or need or are willing to buy in to, then there comes a point when reality takes a hold and you may need to have a re-think.
That stance could well work for Godin and for many others that have already achieved a certain level of success in their personal and business lives. It's the attraction of the masses and the crowd mentality - "if he's doing it, it must be good". read as if Godin wrote it, it must be good.
My analogy would be to consider a famous artist for example and because of their status / notoriety they will get people to buy even the most ridiculous of things in the name of art. The buyer doesn't need to explain his purchase he just says it's a "Godin" for example. Social acceptance.
So, whilst what he says does bear true, I don't believe that this theory will be as easy to apply / work for everybody.
If it wasn't Seth Godin writing this would everybody buy in to it?
15 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tristan
- 10-02-15
Classic Seth if a little underwhelming
This is a worthwhile book with an argument which will help any reader understand the merits of initiative if they weren't believers before.
Personally I prefer Godins blog posts which, while covering topics in less detail get to the heart of their topics quickly.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Amazon Customer
- 14-04-13
An excellent book
I have been reading a lot on leaders of the future and felt this book was really excellent; explaining how what worked in the Industrial Age is not working for us now. The whole idea of " making art" was great and I particularly loved it when the author said if you are looking for the rules to being a leader, you are secretly wishing to be a manager. Definitely a worthwhile read/ listen.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Jedd
- 12-02-13
Life changer
The lack of Drama in this book is beautiful, yet it is absolute rocket fuel when it hits. It's had an immediate and profound effect on me, highly recommended!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 28-05-20
How to catch a fox.
Check the sample out to hear Seths voice. Read other reviews to get an outline of the book if youre still not sure. So the obvious out of the way (and catalyst for a lot of the complaints reviews); this book is worth it alone for the tale of the wiley fox. 'Too crafty to just be caught, you need to build the prison around it'. Now, some people are calling this book 'obvious' and 'boring', but the very important oversight to this book is the readers ego: defeatist and arrogant. The tale of the fox alone explains not only why industrialism tricked us, but why its possible to continue to be tricked. The book can come across as slow, but its very wry and ready. Theres no question that Seth Godin can write humorously and witty. The only way you cant find any merit in this book is if youre one of the problems in the book. Complaining of 'have to be arty' or 'its pointless', is the dawn chorus for the defeated. This book attempts to rouse the dormant genius you had as a child and shake the rules from your pockets and the target appraisals off your lapels. If theres anything negative about this book is that its a bit of a tall order to fit so much good information inside of 7 hours. Ive honestly listened to this about 9 times now. Theres a lot in there and I find something new in there each time, or revalue what I learned last time. Its a splendid modern self- help book ('No such thing as self-help. You couldnt do it yourself so you got a book. Thats just help - George Carlin). And though I love them, its a breather from things like Jim Rohn and Brian Tracy and the like. A contemporary American view without the theological whimsys woven in the tapersty. And a note again to the point of the book; though its dangerous to fly too close to the sun, it's equally as dangerous to fly too close to the waves. Maybe the authors of negative comments on here should consider that and perhaps give the thing another listen. 5 stars. Cheers, Seth.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Simon 'Spirit' Spoor
- 14-02-19
Brilliance at its brightest!
If you're drawn to it. If you've been recommended to it. Then go listen to it. If you're disappointed. Listen again. If you loved it. Listen again.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- D Prentice
- 19-01-18
Dull, obvious and needlessly long
I struggled to get through this. The narrator talks unbelievably slowly to the point of being annoying. The writer takes forever to get to each and every point, most of which is a slightly different way of saying that big business is dead and you need to become an artist with a flair for human connection. Neither entertaining or helpful.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- steven
- 16-07-13
too much 'padding out'
Any additional comments?
This book is simply too long and repetitive. Maybe I had high hopes as Seth is undoubtedly a guru and I admire his work but this is stretching out a one hour session into many hours. I persevered as I hate to waste my money and give in, but in reality I gained little after grasping the concept of the Icarus Deception and the few real ‘nuggets’ buried in all the padding. He states himself that critics are simply expressing their own opinion- and that is exactly what this is. It is my opinion is that there are better books out there.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Clay
- 19-03-13
Change the way you see work
Any additional comments?
Seth Godin brings a new perspective to work, challenging each of us to see ourselves as artists instead of workers. At first, I was skeptical and thought that this may only apply to entrepreneurs and not to those of us who are employed by others, but the book came so highly recommended by several people that I gave it a chance - and I'm very glad I did.
As I finished the book, I immediately changed the way I look on work. When someone criticizes something I've produced, I don't get frustrated. I've given my work as a gift, and if I've given it, then I have no control over what the recipient does with it. Many an artist has been criticized and misunderstood because they are "ahead of their time".
As a worker, criticism reflects on me. As an artist, criticism reflects on the beholder of my work.
Thanks, Seth!
15 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Kim
- 06-06-13
Needed Perspective for the New Connected Economy
What did you love best about The Icarus Deception?
This book slaps you in the face with a new reality. The 9 - 5 job is dead and we are all in a new frontier with the connected economy. We've been brainwashed by corporate America about what success should be and if we follow the rules, we will be adequately rewarded. I tried this for 14 years at my corporate America job and now that I'm embarking on my own and starting my own creative agency. This book has inspired to make more art and focus on relationships that are key to have in the connected economy.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Icarus Deception?
Seth told me I was a fraud and how could I possibly think I would be successful starting my own business. It was precisely how I was feeling starting my own business! It was encouraging to hear that it's normal and it needs to be embraced for you to move forward instead of living in it's shadow.
What about Seth Godin’s performance did you like?
His passion about his message.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
It was not. This is a book to listen to on the treadmill and then digest what you heard over a couple of days
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Blissfully Chaotic Life
- 23-03-13
Deception is just beneath the surface...
What made the experience of listening to The Icarus Deception the most enjoyable?
The narrator and the link of art/business...
What other book might you compare The Icarus Deception to and why?
Previous works of Goodin-enjoyable and applicable to business.
Have you listened to any of Seth Godin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I have been reading other works, not listened to any before. This one was excellent and will lead me to seak out others for my commute.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The tale of Icarus.
Any additional comments?
At times the discussion of art in business does go on a bit long, but it is so worth the listen! The message hit home. Excellent book for anyone wanting to succeed.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 26-03-16
Listened 3 times.
It's totally unique. A prod to create a ruckus. Not for cynics. Not for optimists. For realists. For leaders. If it resonates, take it, if it doesn't, try something else. There are enough books out there. For me, this is the Bible. For you, it might be something else.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Eric
- 17-05-13
Too much pop psychology and belaboured rhetoric!
What would have made The Icarus Deception better?
Could have significantly condensed the key points, and supported it with more empirical and cross-sectional references. Too many self-derived conclusions, and the author was particularly hung up about the term "artiste".
The author's reading came across as 'preachy'; could have used a more enlivened reader.
Has The Icarus Deception turned you off from other books in this genre?
No.
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
It had interesting ideas that could be further unpacked in a more objective manner. As it stands, the book became a personal pulpit for the author.
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Andras Baneth
- 29-08-15
A 6-hour sermon to say: "pick yourself"
Seth Godin is an inspirational writer but one of worst narrators I ever listened to. With a professional voice over and 50% shorter content this would be a fascinating audio book, but if you don't mind setting the speed to 1.5, it's still worth it.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Jake
- 11-02-13
Mentions art a whole lot, gets annoying.
What would have made The Icarus Deception better?
Even though the authors point is good, I feel like it could have been summed up in a much, much shorter book. And I got really tired of hearing him say "art." Anyone got a count on this?
What could Seth Godin have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
Be more concise, say "art" less.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Oliver
- 06-01-13
a good idea with a lot of bla bla
What would have made The Icarus Deception better?
Have you ever watched a movie when, after 20 minutes or so, you knew it is a waste of time, but you stick with it, just to figure out at the end that it hasnt become better? I had the same sensation with this book.
The main idea is that the "safty zone" of the industrial economy is not in the comfort zone anymore, as making a living is now harder than ever. Because we are living in a "connection economy" it is necessary that we create art, which makes art the new safty zone.
But this idea just makes for a series of maybe 3 blog posts, though this posts would have been worth your attention. The book however is just the main idea surrounded by endles bouts of the same in different words.
What was most disappointing about Seth Godin’s story?
I just had the feeling that Mr. Godin is following the unwritten mantra of da intern guru that you need to get out a new book at least every 18 months or so in order to not fall out of the attention grid. And as a book is supposed to have a certain length, he had to fill it with something.
To be fair, there are a few good points, such as that when making art, do not fear to mess up with "the machine" (the still prevailing industrial economy) and that you should figure out who your audience is and ignore the rest as you cannot please everybody. Or: art is a process, not a goal. the goal isnt winning, it's playing. or: dance with the inner voice of fear.
Yet useful "how to information" is scarce and mostly self-evident and full of sentences like "when your art fails, make better art".
I dont want you to prevent you from reading this book, maybe it's just the right one for you, but in order to get 15 minutes of gems, you have to dig through seven hours of listening.
How could the performance have been better?
the performance is not sooo bad, but i have listened to so many audible books already that i have my preferances.
What character would you cut from The Icarus Deception?
there is no character to be cut out.
Any additional comments?
I wished that in order to write his next book, Mr. Godin would listen to "Mastery" by Robert Greene, which is not a gem, but a crown juwel amongst all the books I have read so far. It goes so much more indepth as the Icarus Deception and is more inspiring more insightful and enchantingly well read.
31 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Mauricio
- 16-02-18
This book is the definition of remarkable
I have listened to this audiobook more than a dozen times - and I will probably listen to it a dozen times more. Each time I take a different insight from it. It inspires me, it encourages me to create, to give and to share. And each time I offer the opportunity of someone I know to have the same experience I do. If you are considering a great audiobook, give a couple of hours of your time to listen to this one. It might change your life, as it changed mine. Thank you for reading this review.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Fxx Zxx
- 03-06-16
He lost me around Chapter 20
Godin gets off to a great start but his message is too repetitive through the latter two thirds of his book. I love the Icarus metaphor but he fails to convert on his point of finding your personal art because instead of giving advice on the how, he gives anecdote after anecdote of other artists. I wanted to like this book more but lost interest along the way.
1 person found this helpful