Ask yourself: When does the lone guy dancing turn into a mob? Seth’s Godin says it’s the third guy, but that’s not the whole story.

Take a look at the people sitting around. They’re looking at the solo dancer but their attention wanes. The second guy comes and captures their attention for long enough for the third guy to come in. But it’s another 20 seconds before anyone else shows up.

And when someone else does, it’s actually two someone elses. You can almost here the conversation.

“Look at that guy dancing.”

“Heh. Idiot.”

<silence>

“Another one.”

“Wow.”

<silence>

<third guy joins>

“Dude… wanna join in?”

“Let’s go.”

Seth is right — we need more guy #3s. But they’re rare and we can’t expect to make more. The fourth person wasn’t going alone. Neither was the fifth.

What we really need is more guy #5s for the guy #4s out there, and more #4s for the #5s. That we can make happen: If you’re afraid to go it alone, just find a friend who is similarly afraid.