Author: Garth Beyer

When you’re talking about reaching a target, permission matters – and it goes well beyond needing to ask for it first. Permission in marketing is earned.

Permission in marketing is more valuable than ever before because there are no boundaries for where you can earn it. You’re not limited by geography, for example of where you can make an impact. Donating books to kids in Nigeria is as easy as donating to the Free Little Library at the corner of your street. The same can be said for your voice: it can be used to create change in your school district the same it can be used to change the structure of an online course hosted three time zones over.

For all things marketing, permission and boundaries are important.

But when we talk about personal growth and the leaps we are able to take, permission is something you can give yourself. And, as for boundaries, there are none.

Many are still on the paths of obedience, waiting to be chosen, and staying within the boundaries that have been drawn around them. But there are fewer who are than there were a year ago or ten years ago or 50. And there will be fewer that are today than there are tomorrow.

Stay Positive & Will You Be One Of Them?

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All things that are unique are remarkable; as in worth remarking about.

But not all remarkable things are meaningful. Moreover, not every remark is the one you want.

Wearing your underwear over your pants is unique, but you’re not going to get the remarks you want in the office.

Same goes for your ideas, strategies, emails.

Make unique things, but ensure they’re target-centric first. That usually guarantees they’re remarkable in all the right ways.

Stay Positive & They Make Belts For A Reason

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Most things that are broken, the source of the problem is a part, not the whole thing.

This goes for appliances. Goes for people. Goes for culture.

At first glance, the easy thing to do would be to simply replace whatever is broken, but there’s often more time and money (and emotional resources like trust and reputation) that is spent.

Far better to figure out the part and replace that. At first glance, it seems like it would be the harder thing to do, but it nearly never is. Not to mention, it’s much more fulfilling to fix a problem than it is to start something from scratch (with inevitable new problems to arise from it anyway).

Stay Positive & Fixer Upper

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One way to get to a flow is to schedule time to do the work, check all the other items off your to-do list so you can focus, maybe even warm up a little with some practice of whatever it is you need to do.

The problem with this is that it’s a relatively slow path to flow.

You can achieve flow much more quickly by simply diving in and doing the work. If anything, find a way to turn the dial up higher and get the muscles (mental or otherwise) working.

It’s harder, but only at first.

Stay Positive & Make Your Flow

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Both paths can work.

One-way works when you give and don’t expect anything in return. Zig has been saying it for years, “you can everything you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want in life.” Selflessness isn’t just impactful, it’s fulfilling, too.

The two-way path works for all the obvious reasons: all ships rise with the tide and you’re both working to rise the tide. It’s give and get and steadily challenging and fulfilling.

Now the question is begged… what doesn’t work?

Both paths can not work.

One-way doesn’t work when it’s constant take take take. Selfishness not selflessness.

Two-way doesn’t work when you’re heading in different directions. A tide is a tide; it can’t be split in half.

Stay Positive & Which Path Are You On?

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Many decisions that get made are obvious ones. One decision clearly outweighs the other.

But it’s the decisions when all else is equal that can be the biggest game changers because now you’ve gotta narrow it down to what matters most.

When two resumes are nearly identical, what are you evaluating in order to make a decision?

When two tasks are going to take the same amount of time and energy, how do you go about deciding which to do first?

If you’re not getting the results you want, it is very likely that when all else is equal, you’re making a decision on the wrong variable.

The answer isn’t to provide more polar options (where there isn’t equality) but to evaluate what the deciding factor really is going to be.

That factor will be what defines your brand and story.

Stay Positive & All For The Sake Of Making Better Decisions

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It’s what every good leader does.

It’s not for lack of trust. It’s not for trying to point out a flaw to make someone feel bad.

It’s to ensure excellence in the work, confidence in the spirit, growth in those executing the work and more.

If a leader doesn’t spot check, the whole organization can stumble or fail.

The best part for me and you? You don’t become a leader and then spot check.

You spot check and then become a leader.

Because that’s what leaders do.

Stay Positive & Go Ahead And Take A Look

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