GarthBox

Whatever you’re selling, your target is going to ask someone about you.

The CEO will ask her team.

The CFO will ask a competitor of theirs.

The potential user will ask their friends.

The best marketers know who the decision-maker is going to ask for feedback from. Now, can you imagine what conversation takes place if the person or group they are asking is completely in the dark of what your value proposition is and how it makes their lives easier.

It pays to know who the real decision-maker is. It pays even more to have marketed to those who that decision-maker will talk to prior to getting back to you.

Stay Positive & Smartly Widen The Net Of Your Marketing

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It blows my mind how many times a conversation with an entrepreneur goes something like this.

“We originally set out to do X but now we’re doing Y.”

It’s followed by them sharing how they’re a bit frustrated by it.

They had a plan and a passion and a vision… but now they’re doing something they didn’t think they would be doing.

The neat thing is that it becomes a lesson realized about chasing dreams: there needs to be comfort in the future swaying away from the original goal.

Maybe it’s to make more money. Maybe it’s because more audience is there than here. Maybe it’s because one develops a passion for something else. The possible reasons are endless.

But one thing rings true: you’ve gotta be comfortable in future options shaking out differently than you intend.

It mitigates frustration or self-disappointment down the road. Two emotions that are only there to hold you back.

Stay Positive & Don’t Be Held Back Down The Road

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Not jumping in to lend a helping hand.

Not being the first to ask a question.

Not asking some of the important questions.

Not dancing with fear.

Not holding your coworker accountable.

Not holding yourself accountable.

Not keeping positive.

Stay Positive & It’s Pretty Obvious Isn’t It?

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The art of seeing is actually the result of combining all the other senses.

It entails sniffing out the naysayers and wrongdoers and wasted efforts.

It involves getting hands on, touching the work, shipping the work and physically showing up.

It requires you to get so close to the why behind the work that you can taste it.

It means you’re listening more than you’re talking, curiously asking questions and yea, eavesdropping a bit on what the target audience is really saying to their friend sitting next to you.

Once you’ve done all of that, the path forward to creating something remarkable and differentiated is made clear.

Stay Positive & It’s More Than Just Hindsight/Foresight

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A tough pill to swallow: you’re better off getting better than you are getting angry.

Getting angry doesn’t solve much. If anything, anger usually breaks something.

But getting better at whatever has gotten you angry is sure to 1. mitigate the anger or remove it entirely and 2. provide you with a feeling of fulfillment.

Stay Positive & You Might As Well

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It’s beautiful when a brand has a clear goal.

Experiencing massive and swift growth is a great goal.

Staying tight and maybe just in one’s backyard is a great goal, too.

But every brand needs to choose and clearly communicate it.

Only then can the goal be a remarkable one – as in, one that gets remarked about by its employees and customers and the media and bloggers and so on.

Stay Positive & If You Have To Ask What It Is, Then It’s Not Clear Enough

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There’s something special about a hobby.

You’re likely to try something new or to make an investment on it even when you’re unsure if it will pay out.

You’re likely to have amazing word of mouth around your hobby once you give it to someone.

You’re likely to have flow in your work from the start.

It’s worth remembering that there was no such thing as “writer’s block” until the early 1900s, which happened to be when people stopped treating it like a hobby and started treating it like a profession.

What you do now – writing or not – might be a profession, but there’s no reason to not treat it like a hobby.

Doing so might just mean you get to do it professionally for longer.

Stay Positive & It’s A Mindset

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