Unlocking Potential #10: Q&A With Alex Birkett

Alex BirkettLinchpins are driven and self-efficient. They make themselves essential. While rock stars amaze me and underdogs amaze me, those people you don’t see coming and then they zip right past you, they amaze me the most.

Alex is a lot like a car you see in your rear view mirror one second, and then it’s a mile ahead of you the next second.

Alex was on my agency team when working with Lands’ End where I first saw him hit the gas pedal. Now he’s working at a tech startup in Texas and continues to inspire plenty (including me) with his writing.

Without further ado, enjoy the Q&A with this Linchpin.

Q: How do you handle the “What do you do?” question everyone asks when you meet them?

Alex: I like to tell people, “I mow lawns!” Then they usually look at me like I’m a weirdo, and I tell them, “I’m working on a tech startup called LawnStarter and also do a variety of freelance marketing and write for a magazine.” Then they usually still look at me like a weirdo, so I just tell them I’m a happy workaholic.

Q: What’s your story?

Alex: I grew up in a small town, played some sports and started a punk rock band. Then, I went to the University of Wisconsin, where I graduated from the Journalism School (studying strategic communications). I went from working with one of my favorite bands, Shiny Toy Guns, to working with Madison Craft Beer Week, Arctica Race, and and WiCC. Then I got to build the marketing team at WUD Music, which tied together two of my top interests. I think I worked like 35 hours per week the last two years of college, which prepared me for those infamously long startup hours. I’m currently hustling and grinding in Austin, TX, trying to build a tech startup called LawnStarter. I act as the marketing director for Arctica Race, a ski racing company, and I write for a magazine, RSVLTS.

Q: What’s the best part of marketing to you?

Alex: I like building things. I like the feeling of productive energy creating something beautiful, and marketing gives me that sense of accomplishment. From ideation to strategy to tactics and execution, it’s a process that fuses my creative with my rational side. I’m also a huge fan of optimizing processes and getting more out of less, and I like what technology has made capable for optimizing marketing efforts.

Q: What do you see marketers failing to notice, say or do?

Alex: There are a lot of PR agencies, advertising agencies, business development agencies etc, etc, that reach out to us on our contact form or somehow get our emails. Most of them send us obnoxious form letters or terribly written pitches. If you can’t pitch us your business, how the hell are you going to do business development or public relations on our behalf?

Q: Where do you find inspiration to grow, to create, to go?

Alex: I lift heavy weights 4 times per week, do yoga once, and run once (I hate cardio). I read audiobooks in the morning and paperback books at night. I drink a ton of really good coffee. I spend time with people smarter, more successful and better looking than I am. I’m a competitive bastard so that makes me want to get better too. I also spend a lot of time on the weekends either on the water, golfing, or hiking. Something semi-active but also relaxing.

Q: What are three life lessons anyone (marketers or not) should know?

Alex:

  1. “If you have two choices, choose the harder.”-Paul Graham

  2. Treat everyone like normal people, because they are normal people.

  3. “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”-Jim Rohn

Bonus: If you don’t ask, you won’t get.

Q: What has been a terrible marketing or customer service experience and how would you have resolved it if you were on the other end?

Alex: AT&T U-verse was a pretty terrible experience. I believe that investing in an amazing customer experience is the best marketing decision you can make. When you’re competing with giants, your competition can outspend you on marketing dollars, but it’s hard to compete with a rewarding customer experience. If I was AT&T, I’d take some of my stupid advertisements off the air and reinvest that money in some competent support staff.

Q: Since I know you well, I know you’ve jumped ship at an agency for a more startup-ish gig. Can you expand on that? What’s so special about startups that you can’t find at an agency? Or am I missing the point completely?

Alex: I could write a book on that question, but I’ll try to sum it up with this: I’ve always been interested in startups & entrepreneurship. I like to feel ownership over my work, and that ownership is something intrinsically lacking when working at an agency, because, well you’re marketing someone else’s work. When I met Ryan and Steve (co-founders of LawnStarter), I knew I wanted to work with them because they were scrappy, hard working, and passionate about building awesome shit. Working on a startup is unique, especially when you do it at a young age. You never get the ‘luxury’ of developing bad working habits. You don’t surf reddit at work because it’s your equity and pride on the line. Startups also have a crazy tight-knit community where everyone is willing to help one another, seemingly without personal gain. Overall, it’s a pretty awesome place to be.

Q: What’s a project you want to start and see all the way through?

Alex: Well, LawnStarter of course! I have a million ideas, and I’m naturally a restless person. But sometimes life requires focus, and working on a tech startup is one of those glorious times. When LawnStarter exits, I wouldn’t mind meeting up with some ambitious co-founders to work on one of these weird ideas stewing in my head.

Q: What are a few habits people need to develop to become successful in business or startups or marketing?

Alex: I’m not too sure what it takes to be successful working at a big company because I chose to join a startup right after college. To be successful in a startup, you need to love working. I believe you also need to know when and how to take a breather and collect yourself. No matter what you’re involved in, I think you should develop a habit of perpetual learning. Our minds ossify when we obstinately believe that we’re experts. I also want to say that you need to ‘network’ to be successful, but I hate the word ‘networking.’ Just be a good person, do amazing work, and reach out to people you want to meet. No need to wear a nametag at a hotel bar.

Q: What do you do that always sees best results?

Alex: I don’t think I’ve found any absolutes in life, but I’ve never regretted putting bacon on a sandwich of any kind.

Q: If you had to give advice to people starting out in the world of PR or marketing or entrepreneurship, what would you say?

Alex: If you’re still in college, focus on getting a ton of relevant and impressive experience. Join some clubs, too. I always wish I did more of that early on. If you’re into entrepreneurship, you may just want to skip the whole college thing. Though your parents may be disappointed, so if you have to do the college thing, get together with some like-minded students and start building something. There are tons of reasonable sounding excuses, but there’s no way around that one.

Q: Do you have a motto you follow?

Alex: I guess I don’t, really. If I had to pick, this is what came to mind first: “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”-Mark Twain

Q: Where can people connect with you and find your art/work/writing/etc,.?

Alex: I’ve got a website that I barely update, but I do write for a variety of publications. Your best bet is to follow me on Twitter, connect with me on LinkedIn, or shoot me an email at iamalexbirkett@gmail.com

 

Stay Positive & Kick It Into Gear

Emulating The Successful Through Quotes

I’ve had a long standing conflict with reading, reciting and tweeting famous quotes. I have always felt that one should be original and make statements that are quotable rather than use someone else’s. It wasn’t until I was reading a book by Jim Rohn that my attitude shifted.

I have always been a living example to the power of emulating other successful people. If you want to become a famous writer, write like Ernest Hemingway or other famous writers. If you want to become a famous Salesman, live the same schedule each day as a famous Salesman. If you want to become a famous marketer and challenger of the status quo, live like Seth Godin. Doing the same thing and expecting different results is non sense. Doing the same thing as someone famous and expecting the same result makes sense.

What Jim Rohn turned the light on to let me see was that quotes are the best of the best thoughts, ideas and teachings by famous people. Quotes are meant to be meditated on and emulated. They are the shortest keys to becoming a successful whatever-you-want. If living the schedule of someone famous does not work out, live the words they left behind. Instead of reading a book, read a quote. Instead of following a step by step process, turn one quote to action each day.

“It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations” – Winston Churchill

With that being said, here are some of my favorite quotes.

If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive. – Audre Lorde

The hardest thing in the world is to simplify your life. it’s so easy to make it complex – Yvon Chouinard

The greatest discovery you’ll ever make, is the potential of your own mind. – Jose Silva

Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today. – Will Rogers

You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need. – Vernon Howard

Education is of no value and talent is worthless – unless you have an unwavering aim. Never find yourself without a compass. – C. Rice

Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there. – Will Rogers

Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win. – Jonathan Kozol

When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself. – Wayne Dyer

Feed your mind with the good, the clean, the pure, the powerful, and the positive – Zig Ziglar

Once you surrender to your vision, success begins to chase you. – The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

What I dislike least in my former self are the moments of prayer. – Andre Gide

Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking. – Marcus Aurelius

Perhaps imagination is only intelligence having fun. – George Scialabba

When a man is freed of religion, he has a better chance to live a normal and wholesome life. – Sigmund Freud

Success is something you attract by the person you become. – Jim Rohn

History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it. – Winston Churchill

Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal: my strength lies solely in my tenacity. – Louis Pasteur

All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. – Pablo Picasso

The secret to success in any human endeavor is total concentration. – Kurt Vonnegut

Language learning deserves special mention here. It is, bar none, the best thing you can do to hone clear thinking. – Tim Ferriss

I will study and prepare, and someday my opportunity will come. -Abraham Lincoln

Success is dependent upon the glands – sweat glands. – Zig Ziglar

Some people are so afraid to die that they never begin to live.  – Henry Van Dyke

The way out is through. – Robert Frost

When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. – Lao Tzu

When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. – Paulo Coelho

To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions. – Benjamin Franklin

A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds. – Francis Bacon

Success builds character. Failure reveals it. – Dave Checketts

Change almost never fails because it’s too early. It almost always fails because it’s too late. – Seth Godin

Opportunity: It’s not an opportunity, it’s an obligation – Flynn Berry

Optimism is the one quality more associated with success and happiness than any other – Brian Tracy

Whatever we think about and thank about we bring about. – Dr John F Demartini

I am deliberate and afraid of nothing – Audre Lorde

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. – Scott Adams

Growth itself contains the germ of happiness. – Perl S . Buck

Acknowledge your good fortune by sharing it. – Stephen King

Success isn’t a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire. – Arnold Glasow

More Guts-When you expose yourself to the opportunities that scare you, you create something scarce, something others won’t do. – Seth Godin

Awareness, even at a subconscious level, beats fancy checklists without it, track or you will fail. – Tim Ferriss

You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late. – Ralph Emerson

A great leader will encourage his or her team to not fear failure as it is inevitable – Jason Chatrand

People with goals succeed because they know where they are going. It’s as simple as that. – Earl nightingale

Worry is interest paid on trouble before it comes due. – William Ralph Inge

I don’t do drugs. I am drugs. – Dali

Styling your life is all about taking accountability for what exists in your orbit. – Latham Thomas

To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself. – Soren Aabye Kierkegaard

Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune. – Jim Rohn

People have to snatch at happiness when they can, in this world. It is always easier to lose than to find. – O Pioneers!

Eat like a bird, poop like an elephant – Guy Kawasaki

Laughing at our mistakes can lengthen our own life. Laughing at someone else’s can shorten it. – Cullen Hightower

What makes success is not your genius idea, but the execution and follow-through around it – Robin Sharma

If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere. – Frank A. Clark

You don’t have to be great to get started, but you do have to start to be great – Joe Sabah

The few things that work fantastically well should be identified, cultivated, nurtured, and multiplied. – Richard Koch

Drag your thoughts away from your troubles… by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it. – Mark Twain

Creativity is a muscle that you must use on a regular basis in order for it to function effectively – Keri Smith

Never deny a diagnosis, but do deny the negative verdict that may go with it. – Norman Cousins

It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up. – Babe Ruth

I don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work. – Pearl S. Buck

Those who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try nothing and succeed. – Lloyd Jones

Income is renewable, but some other resources—like attention—are not. – Tim Ferriss

If you want to stand out, don’t be different, be outstanding. – Meredith West

Throughout the centuries, there were men who took first steps, down new roads, armed with nothing but their own vision. – Ayn Rand

The possibilities are numerous once we decide to act and not react. – George Bernard Shaw

Quit bitching about how tired you are. The world doesn’t care. – Corbett Barr

They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. – Andy Warhol

Optimism, unaccompanied by personal effort, is merely a state of mind, and not fruitful. – Edward L. Curtis

No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now. – Alan Watts

Almost everything comes from nothing. – Henri Amiel

No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks. – James Allen

If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of. – Bruce Lee

The most practical, beautiful, workable philosophy in the world won’t work – if you won’t. – Zig Ziglar

Listen to what you know instead of what you fear. – Richard Bach

From wonder into wonder existence opens. – Lao Tzu

It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well. – Rene Descartes

The problem with doing nothing is not knowing when you’re finished. – Ben Franklin

If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. – Maya Angelou

Example moves the world more than doctrine. – Henry Miller

So take these doctrines and create examples.

Stay Positive & Emulate

Garth E. Beyer