Remarkable doesn t mean outrageous It means worth Meaning Factcheck Usage

You know, when Seth Godin says “Remarkable doesn’t mean outrageous,” he’s really cutting through the noise. It’s a simple but powerful reminder that being remarkable isn’t about being the loudest in the room, it’s about being the one worth talking about. Let’s break down what makes this idea so effective.

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Table of Contents

• Meaning
• Explanation
• Origin & Factcheck
• Context
• Usage Examples
• FAQ

Meaning

At its heart, this quote redefines “remarkable.” It’s not about shock value. It’s about creating something so genuinely interesting or valuable that people feel compelled to mention it to others.

Explanation

I’ve seen so many teams get this wrong. They think being remarkable means doing something crazy or controversial. And yeah, that gets you noticed, but for all the wrong reasons. What Seth is talking about is a quieter, more powerful kind of magic. It’s about creating a product, a service, a piece of content—anything—that is so thoughtfully designed, so perfectly solves a problem, or so delights a customer that it becomes a natural topic of conversation. It’s not about screaming for attention; it’s about earning word-of-mouth. You want to be the purple cow in a field of brown ones—the one you’d actually turn to your friend and point out.

Quote Summary

Context	Attributes
Original Language	English (3669)
Category	Business (233)
Topics	clarity (95), marketing (21), remarkability (2)
Literary Style	clear (348), concise (408)
Overall Quote Score	82 (297)

Origin & Factcheck

This is straight from Godin’s 2003 book, Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable. It’s a core concept from that book, and you won’t find it misattributed to anyone else because it’s so uniquely tied to his “Purple Cow” philosophy that he pioneered.

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 (3669)
Authenticity	Verified (4032)

Where is this quotation located?

Quotation	Remarkable doesn’t mean outrageous. It means worth making a remark about
Book Details	Publication Year/Date: 2003; ISBN/Unique Identifier: 9781591843177; Last edition: 2010; Number of pages: 160.
Where is it?	Chapter 43: Meaning of Remarkable, page 142/160

Context

In the book, he’s arguing that the old ways of marketing—interrupting people with ads—are dead. The only path forward is to build remarkable things right into your product. The quote is his way of clarifying that this isn’t a call for gimmicks, but for substantive, conversation-worthy innovation.

Usage Examples

So how do you use this? Let me give you a couple of scenarios from my own playbook.

First, for Product Managers and Developers. Instead of adding a dozen new features, find the one thing your product does that no one else does—and do it exceptionally, flawlessly well. That’s the feature people will remark on.

Second, for Content Creators and Marketers. Don’t just create more noise. Create one piece of content that is the absolute best answer to a question. The one that is so comprehensive or so uniquely insightful that people bookmark it and share it. That’s remarkable.

And for Leaders and Entrepreneurs, it’s about company culture. Create an employee experience so positive that your team becomes your best recruiters. They’ll remark about it to their friends. That’s how you build a talent magnet.

To whom it appeals?

Context	Attributes
Theme	Wisdom (1754)
Audiences	business coaches (4), consultants (70), creators (124), marketers (166), students (3112)
Usage Context/Scenario	branding strategy sessions (1), business talks (8), creative coaching (3), entrepreneurship mentoring (2), marketing training (3)

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FAQ

Question: What’s the difference between remarkable and just… good?

Answer: “Good” is expected. It’s the table stakes. “Remarkable” is what makes someone lean over and say, “Hey, you’ve got to see this.” It’s the element that transcends basic quality.

Question: Can something be remarkable to one person and not another?

Answer: Absolutely. And this is key. You don’t need to be remarkable to everyone. You need to be remarkable to your specific target audience, your “minimum viable audience,” as Seth would say. Trying to appeal to everyone is a recipe for being remarkable to no one.

Question: Isn’t being outrageous a fast track to being remarkable?

Answer: It can be, but it’s a high-risk strategy. Outrageousness often has a short shelf life and can damage trust. Sustainable remarkability is built on genuine value and positive surprise, not just shock.