Do you ever wonder why everyone loves Seth Godin so much?

If you're like me, you read Seth's blog ever yday. And every single day, it inspires you.

As I recently found myself struck by yet another brilliant post, I wondered how he did it again.

How does he write such inspiring thoughts all the time?

I think I might have figured it out:

Seth Godin is from the future.

His clever analogies, inspiring ideas, and fresh perspective on a wide variety of topics are all brought to us from six months ahead of time.

Godin thinks six months in advance. He sees six months into the future. He lives six months ahead of the rest of the world.

This edge allows Seth margin to create valuable content that is ahead of his time.

And we can do the same. Here are three simple disciplines that we all can learn from Seth:

1. Think ahead

The post you read today on Seth's blog was most likely imagined six months ago. It has been cultivated, crafted and sketched in his mind long ago.

This is, of course, not always the case — like when he blogged about the royal wedding. But the idea is this: Seth moves beyond the urgent, freeing him up to focus on the important.

While he's committed to “shipping” on a daily basis, he's not necessarily throwing out the first thought that pops into his mind.

Thinking ahead allows him to be creative and innovative without feeling constrained to meet the demands of today.

2. See ahead

When you and I blog, most of us react to our current situation, cultural context, or what the “leading experts” are saying.

But Seth is different. He writes about topics that we are not thinking about. And he curates them. He seems to do this with multiple ideas at a time, because he never runs out of something meaningful to say. He never says something just to say it. There is always intent.

He is not simply reacting; he is creating.

3. Live ahead

The reason that we read Seth Godin every day is because he has a pulse on what's next — in business, culture, communication, etc. He thought about it months ago. And he's living it now.

Seth has a corner on the innovation and creativity market. And he continues to live on the cutting edge, because he is in his own world.

He is not crazy; he just thinks outside the box. He sees trends before they happen. He reaches six months ahead of today and begins living the future now.

And we can do this, too: by thinking ahead, seeing ahead, and living ahead. Just like Seth Godin.

In a world full of copycats and cut-and-paste pretenders, what we may need to do, ironically, is stop reading Godin and start writing for the future.

Why do you love Seth Godin? Share in the comments.

*Photo credit: Joi Ito (Creative Commons)