I own and regularly read several books by Seth Godin. I find reminders, wisdom and inspiration in each of his amusing and easy reads. I recently pulled one out that I had omitted for quite a while—The Icarus Deception (how high will you fly).
If you have read Godin, you know he encourages readers to seize the day, be brave, grasp opportunities. Icarus is no exception. However, what I had forgotten is the full Icarus myth he imparts. Yes, Daedalus created a pair of wings for his son Icarus, reminding him not to fly too high, as the son would melt the wings, allowing him to fall to his death (he did). What we typically don’t know is that Daedalus also warned Icarus not to fly too low, as his wings would be destroyed by the sea water. Thus, the Icarus Deception—"It’s far more dangerous to fly too low than too high, because it feels safe to fly low.” (p. 2)
The premise of this book is that we can fly higher than our perceived safety zone and accomplish wonderful things. But it is catastrophically limiting to fly too low—dangerous despite being within our perceived safety zone. Staying within this safety zone restrains us from doing the “art” Godin calls us to do. Our “biggest failure is the thing you dreamed of contributing but didn’t find the guts to do”. (p.216) So stretch for higher altitudes; you’ll surprisingly discover that not only are you still safe but are beginning to make great things happen.