GarthBox

Giving good advice is tricky.

At one end, the more advice you give, the more knowledge you share, the better you inform someone about a situation, then the more motivated and prepared they will be.

Unfortunately, a bounty of advice can often breed inactivity. The more one knows about the options, the more energy it requires to rationalize a decision. It becomes too much and they shut down.

Smart advisors know there are times to give advice about all the options available and times to give advice that suggests a single option.

The fact is, most who ask for advice just want a cut and dry action item.

 

Stay Positive & Answer: What’s Next?

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It’s not your lack of talent or ability to learn on your feet that’s holding you back.

Obscurity is–there are not enough people seeing you take action, you’re not connecting enough, you’re not establishing a strong enough number of relationships.

The only way to counter it is with massive action.

 

Stay Positive & Start By Saying Yes More Often

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More important than what you need to say is what you don’t.

The cost of your widget is necessary to communicate, but saying how it will change the customer’s life isn’t. If it’s true – that what you’ve created has that level of impact – well, that impact speaks for itself and by extension, your customer will speak about it for you.

“You’ll never feel the same about X again.”

“You’ll never go back to Y.”

“Z is life changing.”

They are statements better left unsaid by the brand and, instead, felt by the target.

 

Stay Positive & Are You Saying What’s Necessary?

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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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