I signed up a while ago to get Seth Godin's latest manifesto, 'Poke The Box', then forgot about it. Last night I couldn't sleep, so I opened my Kindle, found it there and started to read.

Big mistake.

Not because it's bad. Actually, it's good. So good that my mind started racing about all the projects I want to start, but haven't yet. So good that I was tossing and turning about my Big Hairy Audacious Project and wondering if I'm being audacious enough.

And that's the point of this manifesto.

'Poke The Box' refers to those 'busy box' toys for toddlers, which have dials and cranks and buttons and make noise and flash lights. Do something and there is a response. The child's face lights up and wants more, so she pokes it more, discovering the joy of initiating stuff.

But somewhere in the system, we bleach initiative out of children, so when they become adults, the natural action is to conform, to wait for permission.

The message Seth Godin started in 'Linchpin' continues with his latest missive: Get Going, Do Something and Ship It. Initiative creates momentum, and momentum generates power.

The directness of the message in Poke The Box makes me uncomfortable. Because I really don't have any more excuses holding me back.

Making you uncomfortable is the point of this slim book. I'm sure that when you read it, you won't be able to sleep either.

In an era where people are scared and disillusioned, "The Think Big Manifesto" is a wake-up call for right now.

What I specifically like about this book is that it does not offer solutions, rather it makes the case that it is up to me to BE the solution (just like in the famous Gandhi quote "Be the change you wish to see in the world"). Practical and punchy examples of people who think big and act big motivate me to reframe my ideas of what is possible. I appreciate Michael's candor about his own challenges around Big Thinking.

After reading the book from cover to cover in one sitting (it is a quick read), I find myself adopting a daily habit: opening it to a random page to put me in the right frame of mind to start the day. This is a book to read, underline, scribble in the margins, fold the page corners, to adopt and to give to everyone you care about. The world needs more Big Thinkers and Michael's message will help you become one!