Seth Godin is a genius. He’s a talented entrepreneur and a prolific best-selling business book author, as well as a popular blogger. His blog at sethgodin.typepad.com consistently ranks in Web-tracker Technorati’s top 20 and is definitely a must-read for anyone interested in staying tuned into the changing face of business, marketing and selling, branding, entrepreneurship and/or the new consumerism.

Godin developed the idea for ChangeThis, a phenomenally cool website aimed at spreading ideas through PDF files. It’s utterly brilliant in its sheer simplicity. He also created Squidoo, a community website allowing users to create pages (called “lenses”) for subjects of interest. As of July 2008, Squidoo is one of the 500 most visited sites in the world. This guy clearly knows what he’s doing. I’ve been fortunate enough to hear him speak live and he’s a total rock star.

One of Seth’s primary assertions regarding the new face of marketing and consumerism is that companies need to be remarkable. It’s not just about finding the next remarkable way of selling but rather about having something remarkable to sell in the first place. Doing something extraordinary. Going the extra mile. Never accepting “good enough” as good enough. Being the purple cow in a field of monochrome Holsteins. This concept applies to individuals as well as to businesses. Anyone who wants to get ahead, get promoted, get a sweet new gig or just gets noticed can find considerable wisdom in Godin’s top ten tips for being remarkable — and making your mark.

You’re either boring or you stand out. You’re either invisible or remarkable. And, all your life, everyone has been pushing you to fit in. All your life you’re told to keep your head down, work hard, don’t make waves and get it done. What rubbish.

Godin asserts that average is for losers, and I love him for that. He also notes that not everyone will appreciate your efforts to be remarkable. In fact, most people won’t. I work for a very big company where it seems mediocrity is welcomed and even encouraged. Amidst layers of bureaucracy and politics, trying to be remarkable is scoffed at. I’ve been told many times in many ways to do less, be less passionate, invest less of myself, be less obsessed with greatness. It’s counter-intuitive to everything I believe at my core.

In one of Seth Godin’s recent blog posts, The Sad Lie of Mediocrity, he writes:

Doing 4% less does not get you 4% less. Doing 4% less may very well get you 95% less.That’s because almost good enough gets you nowhere.

I can easily do my job with much less effort and care and have no negative repercussions. I can do a lot less for the same pay and make things a whole lot easier on myself. And in a culture that seems to foster this mentality, that is probably the smartest thing I can do. I can be an average employee in an average job doing mediocre work. But I’d rather be great. And I want to work for a company that demands nothing less.