Tom Guarriello reflects on Seth’s All Marketers are Liars. Even though he’s not read the book I think he’s written the clearest summary I’ve yet seen (and I have read it).
Tom likes the sound of it but concludes
But am I the only one who thinks that this “lying” business muddies more than it clarifies?
He’s put his finger on a half-finished thought I had. I added this comment to Tom’s post.
Tom, yes, I think it does muddy the waters, and I think there’s a role for books that do that. I have found it difficult to write a coherent review of Seth’s book as I’m not too sure what it means. I quite like that.
What’s perhaps most interesting here is the realisation that these stories we make up about who we are or how the world is have some downsides. And the thought that they may not be the truth is both scary and exciting.
It’s exciting because it gives us a glimpse of greater possibilities. (You’ve written recently about the excitement of wildly improbable things happening.) Scary, because we’re quite attached to the security that our fixed worldviews apppear to offer us.
Beneath the stories are our actual felt experiences. When we talk about those (angry, sad, happy etc), and when we name our stories for what they are – fantasies we make up – then I think we’re getting close to the source of authenticity.
