I have known Seth Godin for years. And by 'known' I don't mean in person (obviously), just that I've read about him many times. I knew he was in marketing and I was often close to buying his books (they were actually in my Amazon shopping cart). But something always stopped me. Probably because I had some kind of poor perception of him. I can't tell why, but I guess I must have read some 'bad stuff' about him or his books.

Finally last week I had the chance to watch the Shopify contest video (Part 1, Part2, Part 3), which is an interview with Seth Godin. And after the first few minutes I was blown away. Such a smart, thoughtful person and I had ignored him all these years. And just because of stuff I'd read somewhere, or my first impression, which was obviously wrong. 

I am pleased about this, because I consider myself a pretty open-minded guy, and it's only through such experiences I realize that even I am thinking in stereotypes.

I guess what I've learned from this, besides the fact that Seth really knows what he is talking about (I've watched a few of his speeches now), is that I have to make up my own mind about stuff more often. Sure it's easier to come to a decision based on stereotypes or things I hear from other people. And it's even easier if you can generally trust your gut. But in the end I sometimes find myself very happy that my first impression was wrong.