Life Lesson

You want to know why masters of success say to start the day by doing the hardest thing?

Mainly because of the relief you feel having done something big.

Then throughout the day, especially at the end of it, you can feel fulfilled no matter what else you do (or don’t do).

What they don’t tell you is just how energizing you’ll be after doing the toughest task.

You’ve already completed the most difficult task, so might as well tackle all the other little tasks after because now they seem easier, now they’re approachable, now you’ve put together big forward momentum.

 

Stay Positive & Go Get’em

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Of all the work that we do, most of it can be done sloppily… and very easily sloppily.

It doesn’t matter how round the round hole is.

You can’t fit a round peg in it unless you’ve drilled it straight on.

Same goes for any work that matters.

We’ve gotta tackle it straight on, with precision and care if we ever plan to leverage it.

 

Stay Positive & Let Alone A Square Whole

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Anyone can do the work.

What matters is that you do the work with more passion.

And by doing it with more passion, you inspire others, you send a ripple effect of good vibes and you connect to the end user of your work on a deeper level.

 

Stay Positive & Keep The Passion Flowing

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The network effect is more powerful than any ad in the right-hand column of Facebook.

It’s more powerful than a beautiful “contact us” page.

More powerful than a TV segment viewed by millions.

Look at any brand you admire and you’ll see a network effect at work.

Maybe small, maybe massive, but it’s there – a brand working to connect others who want to tell themselves a similar story.

Too many brands ignore the network effect.

 

Stay Positive & Don’t Be Too Many Brands

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That’s all you need to figure out and then act on to succeed.

The stories you tell should make them feel that way.

Their experience in your shop or with your packaging should make them feel the same.

How they use your website and what hero image you use on your contact page should resonate with how they want to feel.

It’s not about what you want them to feel. It never has been.

 

Stay Positive & Help Them Tell Their Narrative

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On any ad you push out there, there are hundreds of variables working for you or against you.

At some point (early on) assumptions need to be made.

Assumptions of how variables are impacting your test so that you can get closer to the tests that matter.

The time of day, the word choice or if you make the logo bigger isn’t all that important to test.

Certainly, we need to make smart assumptions and use what data we already have, but running a test for these variables isn’t as important as running a test on if a story we tell is a memorable one or if one giveaway item was more meaningful to the target than another.

Better still is testing of the target.

What makes them tick? Do the people you’re targeting care? Do they remember you? It might not be the creative, it might be the people you’re targeting.

Reality is the stronger input, the stronger output.

As Seth puts it, “Just because it can be easily measured with two digits doesn’t mean that it’s accurate, important or useful.”

 

Stay Positive & Measure What Matters Most

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If there was no reward at the end, would you still do it?

The questions begs you to think through the benefits along the way–a series of ups and downs we often overlook for the end result.

What if you removed the guarantee of a higher pay for putting in more hours than those around you. Would you still?

Knowing that your product would never make it to market, would you keep making it for the next 60 years?

Short term gratification and long hauls aside, it’s worth looking at the impact you make by following your passion even if it doesn’t get you what you want in the end.

The people you inspire when they see you being resilient.

The positive ripple you make on the community when you give more than those around you.

Even simply making someone else’s day.

It all adds up.

Not to a big gratifying ending, but to an enjoyable ride for those around you.

Isn’t that what it’s all about, anyway?

 

Stay Positive & Keep At It

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