GarthBox

For any sort of marketing to work, there needs to be tension.

Consider any story you’ve remembered throughout the years from Peter Pan and Star Wars to family memories and your greatest educational triumphs–there was conflict happening in each.

The problem with a lot of advertising is it tries to get to happily ever after right away.

The irony is that for people to seek out a solution, you have to put the problem in the spotlight.

Parking assist doesn’t really matter to you or I until we’re faced with parking in a tight space. Here’s an ad that shows the problem. Far more effective than showing a car parking for you.

Consider where the conflict is in your marketing material, your brand story, your financials.

There is conflict, right?

 

Stay Positive & Now Leverage It

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It’s time to mail a letter to yourself. Two letters, in fact.

One is going to contain a poor review of your gift, product, service–whatever you offer.

And you’re going to write it.

Then write another letter to yourself.

This one will contain a positive review of your gift, product, service–whatever you offer.

Mail them to yourself and when they arrive, ask yourself, “Which letter is more right?”

Heck, you probably won’t have to send the letters. You’ll know once you write them.

The next big task is to decide which you’re going to focus your time on.

Appealing more to the positive review or making up the faults of the poor review?

 

Stay Positive & The Least Right Answer Is Both

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A lot of us are constantly exhaling.

We preach, teach and guide.

We lead, create and supply.

We give. A lot.

What it takes many mistakes and exhaustive days recouping to learn is that to exhale as much as we do, we must, at frequent times, inhale.

We need that time to gather ourselves, be in the moment and meditate.

We need to breathe, feel and see … really, see.

There’s not a deep enough breath we can take to do all we want to do on a constant and endless basis. We’re kidding ourselves if we think there is.

Note, that it’s not about limitations at all.

It’s about our work manifesting and taking on a life of its own.

 

Stay Positive & Breathe Out, Breathe In

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Guerrilla marketing (not the G word I’m referring to) only works when it has this element.

Surprising and delighting only leaves an impact when it has this element.

The products that are remarkable and the conversations that stick in one’s memory have this element.

Here’s a clue: It rhymes with benerosity.

 

Stay Positive & What Do You Have To Give?

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A few things happen when you interact with the right person.

Your art gets better. You talk about your work in a more articulate way. You keep the good stuff top of mind and you notice the areas for improvement. (Talking about your art is no different from reading an essay out loud. You pick up on the things that sound off or that you don’t actually stand by, then you change them to make it better.)

You inspire them. You get them excited about your idea and they get you to think deeper about how it can benefit them-it’s market research at its finest. The right person becomes a soundboard that will elevate your idea. (If someone says, “Have you ever thought of ____” They’re not trying to bring you down, they’re helping you. The best way you can ever respond? “Tell me more.”)

Lastly, they make you uncomfortable. They bring out a little fear and a little uncertainty. They make you a cocktail of excitement and anxiety. Nothing worth it comes easy and it definitely doesn’t come without a little worry. If the person you’re talking to doesn’t make you feel like you don’t have your shit together, then they’re not pushing you, not asking you to go further than what you’re asking of yourself and the “average” will stay the same. (And your goal is to raise the bar, the stakes, the average, right?)

If you think about it, anyone you interact with fills one of these qualifiers, making them someone worth interacting with.

That’s no mistake.

 

Stay Positive & Go Share Your Art, Talk About Your Work, Be Vulnerable

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Anger is self-destructive … when you share it.

If you’ve been stood up by someone or screwed over by a business, partnership or friend, please do not allow them the satisfaction of having your anger.

People will lie and steal from you, but they should not get your hate. To respond to their hate with anger would be to yield to the same ignorance that made them who they are.

Above everything, do not sacrifice your freedom for security; that’s what they want–for you to put your walls up, to scrutinize every person you interact with going forward and to live in fear.

By all means, keep your anger. Let it fuel you, but for good. Let it be the reminder to kill with kindness. Whatever you do, do not give them the satisfaction of having your hatred. They don’t deserve it.

 

Stay Positive & The Higher Ground Awaits

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Some people are terrible at reading others let alone a room full of others.

It’s not that they’re stupid, although that might be the reaction of those around them.

It’s more so a lack of empathy and effort to read the room.

I’m guilty of stupidly not reading the room from time to time. After all, it’s my moment to talk, to share and I care about what I’m saying. Alas, I forget that what I’m saying doesn’t matter if it falls on deaf ears.

More empathy. More effort. That’s all you need to get better at reading the room.

 

Stay Positive & Try It Out

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