Safe is risky. That’s the brutal truth Seth Godin hits you with. He argues that blending in is the fastest path to career obsolescence, while being remarkable is your only real job security.
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Meaning
The core message is a paradox: playing it safe in your career is actually the riskiest move you can make. True security doesn’t come from hiding, but from becoming so uniquely valuable—so remarkable—that you become indispensable.
Explanation
Let me break this down for you. For years, we were sold this idea that the safe path—the good grades, the stable corporate job, keeping your head down—was the way to security. But that world is gone. Completely. When you do what everyone else does, you become a commodity. You’re just another resume in the pile, another employee who does their job. And commodities are the first to be automated, outsourced, or laid off. The real security, the lifetime security Godin talks about, comes from being the one person who solves a unique problem, who brings a crazy idea that works, who stands out so much that people can’t imagine doing business without you. It’s about building a reputation, not just collecting a paycheck.
Quote Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Category | Career (192) |
| Topics | creativity (51), risk (54), security (9) |
| Literary Style | concise (408), memorable (234) |
| Emotion / Mood | motivating (311) |
| Overall Quote Score | 82 (297) |
Origin & Factcheck
This quote comes straight from Seth Godin’s 2003 marketing classic, Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable. It was published in the United States and fundamentally changed how people think about marketing and their own careers. You sometimes see the sentiment echoed elsewhere, but this is the original, powerful phrasing from 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 | Safe is risky. The path to lifetime job security is to be remarkable |
| Book Details | Publication Year/Date: 2003; ISBN/Unique Identifier: 9781591843177; Last edition: 2010; Number of pages: 160. |
| Where is it? | Chapter 7: Safe is Risky, page 36/160 |