Why Try To Get Out Of Your Box, When You Can Use What's In It?
When you begin ideating how to sell more product, you get a different story than if you ask, listen and care why anyone would buy the product in the first place.
Different intentions lead to different stories that lead to different outcomes.
Some short-lived, others more along the lines of in–it-for-the-long-run results.
Are you sure you’re telling the right story?
Stay Positive & Better Yet, Are You Asking The Right Questions?
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I nearly didn’t attend a business seminar today. I’ve known about the seminar for a week. Millions of thoughts ran through my mind as to why I shouldn’t go: Will it really be worth it? What if I don’t like the people? I don’t know enough about this organization, seems risky to attend. I might be able to spend my time on something more important.
At the last second I said screw it, I’ll find out for myself if it’s worth it.
And here’s what happened: I showed up and was the only one there.
The. Only. One.
Awkward? That’s what your lizard brain is telling you. Instead, it was one of the most rewarding experiences I have been part of. I had one on one interactions with the two business experts hosting the “seminar.” We went so deep into discussion about business that one of the seminar leaders stopped an hour in, chuckled and stated that with all the other groups he has taught, he’s never had such a comprehensive discussion with an attendee.
Time and time again, just doing the things that the little voice inside my head says I shouldn’t do have made the biggest difference on my path toward success.
There’s a difference between a hunch and a moment of anxiety.
There’s a difference between a gut feeling and an uneasy feeling in your stomach.
There’s a difference between an impulse and when the lizard brain fires.
Stay Positive & It Pays To Notice Which You’re Experiencing
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Put your favorite song on repeat for 10-20 minutes.
The repetition frees mental space you can use to focus more on the task at hand.
Consider it a form of productive meditation. The best are doing it.
Stay Positive & Productivity Is Music To The Ears
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Uber doesn’t quite work without people to rate its drivers.
Apple wouldn’t be as successful as it is if people didn’t feel like they had an influence on the design of it.
The coffee shop downtown didn’t start serving bulletproof coffee because the trend had a remarkable profit margin. They did it because they listened to a few who came in and asked for it at a time they didn’t have it. They said (through their action), “You know what, customer. You’re spot on. We’ll serve bulletproof coffee because of you. Thank you for making us better.”
The best brands that you and I know are the best because they listen, because they make you feel like without you, the product wouldn’t be as incredible as it is, maybe without your input they wouldn’t have tried to do business–Yes, to them you matter that much.
Not every brand can pull it off. A handful try to call it social listening. Others (the remarkable ones) design their brand to revolve around their target. They make a conscious (and to a degree, unconscious) effort to make you feel part of the product.
It feels good to be part of something bigger than yourself. What are you doing to get others to feel part of your product?
Stay Positive & Listen, Act, Listen, Act, Listen…
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Most books you’ll read won’t lead you to action.
You may think of many ideas that you ought to take action on, but you won’t. You may feel energized and ready to tackle a new project, but you’ll do it…tomorrow.
Motivation isn’t the feeling of being invincible or able to achieve your wildest dreams, that’s just imagination. By definition, motivation is the feeling that precedes action.
It’s with that fact that I can confidently say that very few books are truly motivating.
It begs the question though. Is it the author who can’t write motivating content or is it the person who wants the feeling of motivation without the emotional weight of doing something that scares them?
Stay Positive & It Happens To The Best Of Us
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We don’t know what we don’t know.
Every day I interact with products and services that blow my mind because I never thought I needed or could benefit from what they were offering. Millions of people every day wake up with the goal of making something better.
In the past, they used to make things better for themselves. Someone got tired of wiping the snow off their windshield while driving, so he invented windshield wipers. Now, however, the obvious has been fixed.
Now it requires a whole lot more effort and focus on what others are experiencing. It’s noticing how to make processes smoother, products more user-friendly, and people to actually care about the windshield wipers they use.
Now it’s about focusing on others, less on ourselves.
Stay Positive & Time To Level up
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On the path to creating remarkable work, you’ll be accomplishing the feat with others, but unless a person co-thought the idea with you, they’ll require on boarding.
The logistical process may be different by project or by company, but what stands true no matter where or what you’re working on is that you must define the big picture for those you’re on boarding.
Simply stated: The big picture is a way to communicate the goal and the reason for it so those who are new to the idea can begin motivating themselves. It requires you to step back and answer “What is it we’re really doing? And what for?”
I’ve written before that there is no map, but that’s not to say you can’t manifest a guiding light.
Stay Positive & All Aboarrrd
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