You can t tell a story that works Meaning Factcheck Usage

You can’t tell a story that works for everyone. It’s a liberating truth that forces you to focus your message, connect deeply with your true audience, and stop wasting energy on people who will never get it.

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Table of Contents

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

Meaning

The core message is simple: stop trying to be for everyone. Authentic connection happens when you speak directly to a specific group of people—your tribe—who share a particular worldview.

Explanation

Look, I’ve seen so many businesses and creators burn out trying to craft a message that appeals to the widest possible audience. They water it down, make it generic, and in the end, it resonates with no one. What Seth is really saying here is that your power lies in your specificity. When you choose your tribe, you’re making a strategic decision. You’re deciding to tell a story that is so perfectly aligned with a specific set of beliefs and desires that it feels true to them. It’s not about lying; it’s about framing your authentic truth in a way that your chosen people will understand and embrace. It’s about resonance, not universality.

Quote Summary

Context	Attributes
Original Language	English (3669)
Category	Business (233)
Topics	focus (155), marketing (21)
Literary Style	direct (414)
Emotion / Mood	realistic (354)
Overall Quote Score	78 (178)

Origin & Factcheck

This quote comes straight from Seth Godin’s 2005 book, All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World, published in the United States. Sometimes you might see the book title referenced as “All Marketers Tell Stories,” which was a later subtitle change to clarify Godin’s intent—that marketers tell stories people want to believe, not outright falsehoods.

Attribution Summary

Context	Attributes
Author	Seth Godin (100)
Source Type	Book (4032)
Source/Book Name	All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World (57)
Origin Timeperiod	21st Century (1892)
Original Language	English (3669)
Authenticity	Verified (4032)

Where is this quotation located?

Quotation	You can’t tell a story that works for everyone. Choose your tribe
Book Details	Publication Year/Date: 2005; ISBN/Unique Identifier: 9781591841009; Last edition: Portfolio Penguin 2012; Number of pages: 240.
Where is it?	Chapter 43: Choosing Your Tribe, page 285, 2012 edition

Context

In the book, Godin argues that consumers have a “worldview” and they seek out stories that confirm it. The context here is that you’re not just blasting a message; you’re identifying a group of people who already have a shared worldview and then telling them a story that fits perfectly into that frame. You’re not changing minds; you’re finding the minds that are already primed for your message.

Usage Examples

So how do you use this? Let me give you a couple of ways I’ve applied this.

First, for a startup founder: Instead of saying “We make project management software for any company,” you’d say “We help remote-first design teams finally feel in sync and creative again.” See the difference? You just chose your tribe.

Second, for a content creator: A YouTuber doesn’t make videos for “everyone who likes tech.” They make detailed, unboxing videos for “budget-conscious students building their first gaming PC.” That’s a tribe. They know exactly what their audience wants.

And for a personal brand: You can’t be the expert for everyone. You have to be the go-to person for a specific problem for a specific group. Be the “career coach for introverted software engineers,” not just a “career coach.”

To whom it appeals?

Context	Attributes
Theme	Advice (652)
Audiences	entrepreneurs (1007), leaders (2620), marketers (166)
Usage Context/Scenario	brand positioning classes (1), leadership summits (23), target audience training (1)

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FAQ

Question: Doesn’t choosing a tribe limit my potential audience?

Answer: It feels that way, right? But it’s the opposite. A focused message attracts a dedicated, loyal audience much faster. Trying to appeal to everyone means you’re easily replaceable. Serving a specific tribe makes you indispensable to them.

Question: What if my product actually *does* work for everyone?

Answer: Maybe it does. But the *story* you tell about it shouldn’t be for everyone. Google is a great example—it’s for everyone, but its story is about organizing the world’s information, a mission that resonates most strongly with a certain tribe of information-hungry users.

Question: How do I find my tribe?

Answer: Start by asking: Who already loves what I do? Who gets the most value from it? Look for a shared belief, a common enemy, or a specific aspiration. Your tribe is the group of people for whom your story isn’t just a story—it’s an affirmation of what they already believe.