Author: Garth Beyer

You have two options when it comes to your weak spots.

1. You can hide them, maybe search for some false armor to cover them up. You can lie about them, ignore them or feel guilty for having them.
2. You can share your weak spots with friends and colleagues and others. You can make them visible and actively work to strengthen them.

You would be amazed at how quickly the weak spots go away when others become aware you have them and know you want to strengthen them.

The world’s not just filled with people who want to help. It’s filled with people who will.

 

Stay Positive & Vulnerability Is The Cure

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There’s a key distinction between remarkable and average waiters and waitresses.

For those who don’t know me well, I’m not too picky about the food I eat. Show me a menu and I’ll eat just about anything on it.

You might think how great that is, but it makes choosing something to eat sort of miserable.

My solution is to leave it up to the waiter or waitress.

“Pick your favorite and don’t tell me. I’ll be surprised.”

The average waiter and waitress freaks out under the pressure. They will either say, “No, you’ve gotta choose something” or “well the BLT is really good, do you want that?”

The average seeks out reassurance, confirmation, and certainty in being right. Once he or she takes the order, they can’t screw it up. If that meal comes out bad, it’s not their fault.

The remarkable waiter and waitress on the other hand, says, “Alright. No problem.”

The remarkable understands that it may not be right. He or she dances with the pressure and fear of being responsible for a potentially poor experience, but goes at it anyway.

If you’ve pieced it together… I’m not talking about just waiters and waitresses.

 

Stay Positive & Dessert Anyone?

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Many stories I hear from startups and entrepreneurs alike involve highlighting the features and lineaments of their business.

Attributes that can easily be copied and pasted into another business.

They open up earlier. Stay open later. Have lower prices. The buttons are bigger.

They’re selling their story short by focusing on being different in terms of variables that competitors can copy if they wanted to. It’s what ol’ Zig would call a race to the bottom.

Somewhere along the line the entrepreneurs got so focused on the details and being an inch better than their competitors that it’s all they focus on. As a result, they forget to sell what got them in business in the first place: passion.

The butcher who opens at 4 a.m. and uses a state-of-the-art system isn’t that appealing, is it?

A butcher who opens at 4 a.m. because the temperature at that time activates the most number of nutrients in the meat before being frozen in place shows passion in delivering the richest meats, doesn’t it?

Interestingly, the more you focus on the passion for your business, the easier it is to come up with features that are relevant, different and matter in conversation.

 

Stay Positive & Sell Your Passion, Always

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You’re bound to be asked basic questions.

Where do you work? What do you do? What’s it like?

What do you do for fun? What do you hope to do this year?

Where do you live? Where did you go to school?

I could go on…

What I don’t understand is how unprepared so many people are when asked these questions. They stutter. They say different things each time. They give dreadful one word answers.

There’s no making a new first impression which is why it’s smart to invest as much time crafting an elevator pitch for these questions as it is for a business you care about.

Take the basic questions and blow them away with compelling answers.

 

Stay Positive & Just Because They Ask The Basics Doesn’t Mean They Care About The Basics (They Care About More)

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The number of options you present matters.

The number can determine the reaction or response you get from the room.

When you present three options, the decision maker will work to take the good out of each and combine them. This method works when the decision maker is also a content creator (your colleague, perhaps). If it were a client or your boss, three options isn’t the way to go. Two is.

When you present two options, the decision maker has a benchmark of quality to base one off of. The mentality of choosing one over another is gratifying – the decision maker feels in control.

When you present one option, it’s the decision maker’s instinct to figure out what’s wrong with it. Presenting one option is asking for feedback (and often not the good kind).

I was explained it this way: If you’re a book cover designer and you go into a room and show one book cover design, the room is going to hack at it. They’re going to search for what they don’t like. If you go in with two book cover designs, the room is going to rank them and subsequently look for what they like more in one over the other.

Consider this the next time you present ideas.

 

Stay Positive & Maybe Present Two

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Certain people require different things to feel good about themselves.

Some need praise from their bosses to feel good. Others need to know all the information about an industry or project before they can feel good about the work they’ll do. Then, of course, there are some wackadoos like me who need to fail a few times to feel good about themselves (because it means they took a leap).

While recognizing what others desire (perhaps through personality tests and spending time with them) is valuable, what’s more important is what you need to feel good about yourself and the work you do.

What has the most influence over your self-worth?

If it’s praise from your peers, let them know how motivating their pat on your back is. If it’s more information, carve an hour each morning to share your learnings/expertise on a subject with others. If it’s experience, do one thing a day that scares you.

You decide each moment whether you’ll stand still and let self-satisfaction slip away or if you’ll build on your self-worth.

 

Stay Positive & It Feels Good To Feel Good

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