My friend Andy Traub is a man who ships things. He regularly ships the Linchpin Podcast, one channel of his Take Permission Media Network.

In June, Andy was nice enough to interview me for his Linchpin Podcast. The episode is pretty long at almost 90 minutes but we had a great conversation on the following topics:

• The two traits of an incurable entrepreneur (hint: you have both)
• A free website to launch and spread your idea in 15 minutes
• Why the cost of failure has approached zero
• We Work Labs – a new innovation co-working space in NYC
• How to pivot your idea for success
• The difference between ideas and shipping
• My first failed business (a non-profit involving an Atari 2600 and my brothers when I was 8 years old)
• How to finally write that book in your head (can you write a page a day?)
• How to meet more relevant people in your organization
• How Elliot Bisnow changed the world by dropping out of college and organizing an impromptu ski trip that spawned a world-changing organization.

Click here to head over to Andy’s blog to listen or click here to listen directly.

I hope you enjoy the show and look forward to your thoughts.

photo credit: Wikipedia

That is the question posed by Seth Godin on page 92 of his book, Linchpin.

The point? True artists use the means of technology available to them during their life.

Shakespeare didn’t invent the play.

Edward R. Murrow didn’t invent radio.

Jerry Seinfeld didn’t invent television.

Steven Spielberg didn’t invent the movie.

Brian Clark didn’t invent the blog.

Tim Hetherington didn’t invent war photojournalism.

These are all artists who took an existing medium and pushed it to the edges. They shipped, over and over. They shipped even when they didn’t feel like it and when they didn’t feel like their art was worthy. For Tim, he shipped until it cost him his life.

They shipped failures but by continuing to ship relentlessly, they also shipped successes. You didn’t know that Steven Spielberg was an executive producer on Gremlins 2: The New Batch, but you’ve seen Jaws, E.T, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan and Jurassic Park. He kept shipping.

Shakespeare shipped. 38 plays (or 39, depending who you ask) 154 sonnets and numerous other poems.

People often overuse the word “calling”, as in “Steven Spielberg really found his calling making movies.” Deep down, they’re making an excuse that someone else managed to luck into combining a passion with a skill. The often unsaid thought is, “I haven’t shipped anything because I haven’t found my calling.” It’s a cop out. To borrow from the brilliant Steven Pressfield, they’re giving into The Resistance.

If Spielberg would have lived in the 1600′s, do you think he would have been a blacksmith? Unlikely. He had art in him and he used one of the available mediums of the time to release it to the world. To ship.

Would Shakespeare blog? Yes, I think he would.

Stop waiting for your calling. Bring your art to the world.

Thank you Shakespeare. And happy birthday.

This post was one small part of HappyBirthdayShakespeare.com, a brilliant tribute to Shakespeare where bloggers from all over the world post to tell the world how Shakespeare has impacted their lives.  This project was organized and shipped by my dear friends AJ and Melissa Leon, who lead by example and have taught me more about the importance of shipping than the Bard himself. Thanks, guys.

LessConf, put on by Allan Branch and Steve Bristol, the supergeeks behind LessEverything, is an annual two day conference held in Atlanta, GA.

Last year, I was lucky enough to speak at LessConf alongside friends and heroes Dan Martell, Saul Colt, Cameron Moll, Chris Wanstrath, Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson, Peldi Guilizzoni and Alex Hillman. I spoke about the concepts in Linchpin, Seth Godin’s seminal book.

The video of my presentation is below. It’s almost an hour long but the concepts are important.

(if you can’t see the video, click here)

This year, LessConf is in Atlanta again, April 29th – 30th and features some amazing speakers.

1. Josh Williams – CEO of Gowalla
2. Jeff Lawson – CEO and Co-Founder of Twilio.com
3. Amy Hoy – Fearless Leader of Freckle & UnicornFree.com
4. Micah Baldwin – CEO of Graphic.ly
5. Hiten Shah – Co-founder of KissMetrics.com
6. Rhonda Kallman – Co-founder of Samuel Adams, Founder of New Century Brewing
7. Tom Rossi – Partner at The Molehill
8. Steven Walker – Lead Designer at Groupon
9. Jason Beaird – UX Designer at MailChimp.com
10. Sarah Hatter – CEO of CoSupport

Early-bird tickets are sold out. Remaining tickets (and a list of attendees) is here.

To get an idea of the buttoned-up, serious tone of LessConf, check out these videos.

Warning, language NSFW:

If you’re free on April 29th – 30th and want to be inspired, I highly recommend attending.

(Seth Godin’s new book, “Linchpin – Are you Indispensible?” just hit the New York Times bestseller list. It’s an amazing, life-changing book and my review is coming soon. If you don’t know the term Linchpin yet, you will. Until then, read this. Now, on to Vinny)

You don’t have to be an artist or a musician or a creative to be a Linchpin.

Sometimes all it takes is a waffle.

My client Altec Lansing is based in Milford, Pennsylvania and when I’m there, I stay at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Matamoras.

There is a self serve breakfast buffet just like at every Hampton Inn & Suites. Except this one isn’t like every one. And Vinny makes it so much more than self-serve.

I’ve only met Vinny three times but it only took once to realize what kind of guy he is. He waits on you hand and foot, transforming the experience from a self-serve breakfast buffet into a four-star restaurant.

Every time, Vinny enthusiastically lets me know what the hot dish of the day is. Sometimes it’s pancakes, sometimes it’s a eggs on a bagel sandwich. Vinny sells it and somehow, I’m always convinced it’s a good choice to start my day.

Vinny makes small talk if you’re interested but it’s never probing or bothersome.

Vinny insists on making your waffle for you, even though the machine is self-serve.

Vinny bustles around, making sure every item at the buffet is stocked completely at all times.

Vinny always wishes everyone a wonderful day but it’s his actions that ensure they start the day delighted.

Vinny doesn’t do his art only on good days. He does it every day.

It’s pretty clear Vinny doesn’t do this job for the money. He does it to give a gift and because he enjoys making people feel special.

To be a Linchpin, location doesn’t matter. Neither does title or how big your office is.

If Vinny can be a Linchpin working at a Hampton Inn & Suites breakfast buffet in Matamoras, what’s stopping you?