Don’t try to please everyone because that path leads straight to pleasing absolutely no one. It’s a counterintuitive truth I’ve seen play out time and again in business and life. When you water down your message to appeal to the masses, you end up with something so bland that it resonates with nobody.
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Meaning
The core message is brutal but liberating: universal appeal is a myth that guarantees mediocrity.
Explanation
Let me break this down for you. I’ve watched so many talented people and brilliant companies get this wrong. They start with a sharp, edgy idea that really connects with a specific group. Then, they get scared. They think, “What if we could get *everyone* to like this?” So they start sanding down the edges. They remove anything that might be even slightly controversial. And what are you left with? A smooth, polished, utterly forgettable pebble. It’s the Purple Cow principle in a nutshell—you can’t be remarkable if you’re trying to be invisible. You have to be willing to be a little weird for the right people. To be loved by a few, you have to be okay with being ignored or even disliked by the many. That’s the trade-off.
Quote Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Category | Personal Development (697) |
| Topics | authenticity (101), boundaries (30), focus (155) |
| Literary Style | assertive (142), simple (291) |
| Overall Quote Score | 84 (319) |
Origin & Factcheck
This gem comes straight from Seth Godin’s 2003 marketing classic, Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable. It’s a cornerstone of his philosophy. You’ll sometimes see this idea attributed to others, like Aesop’s fable of the man, the boy, and the donkey, which has a similar moral, but this specific, powerful phrasing is 100% Godin.
Attribution Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Author | Seth Godin (100) |
| Source Type | Book (4032) |
| Source/Book Name | Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable (43) |
| Origin Timeperiod | 21st Century (1892) |
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Authenticity | Verified (4032) |
Author Bio
Seth Godin writes and teaches about marketing, leadership, and creative work. After earning an MBA from Stanford, he founded Yoyodyne, sold it to Yahoo!, and later launched ventures like Squidoo and the altMBA. He has authored bestsellers such as Permission Marketing, Purple Cow, Tribes, Linchpin, and This Is Marketing. He posts daily at seths.blog and speaks globally about making work that matters. If you’re starting with the Seth Godin book list, expect insights on trust, storytelling, and shipping creative projects that change culture.
| Official Website | Facebook | X
Where is this quotation located?
| Quotation | Don’t try to please everyone. If you do, you’ll end up pleasing no one |
| Book Details | Publication Year/Date: 2003; ISBN/Unique Identifier: 9781591843177; Last edition: 2010; Number of pages: 160. |
| Where is it? | Chapter 37: Pleasing No One, page 159/160 |