GarthBox

We’re never given enough responsibility (mainly because we don’t take it).

We’re never given enough (art, love, credibility).

We’re never given enough praise or opportunity or entitlement.

We are, though, in fact, given enough moments to say thank you. And it makes a world of difference when we take advantage of them, even, maybe, sometimes abuse them.

Thank you for reading my blog. It makes the things I don’t get enough of less meaningful.

 

Stay Positive & Thank Someone Special Today

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No one goes through life wanting to do things that make them unhappy.

That’s not to say you don’t do things you don’t like. In fact, life is often a mix of the two.

What’s important is that you take the time to sit down and list all the things you’ve done that made you happy.

There’s a trend in that list.

It’s your passion.

 

Stay Positive & Take The Time, Now, Not Later

Many marketers are driven to think big. Think huge reach. Think massive circulation.

Here’s the problem.

People have always been good at ignoring advertising, flipping off barkers, discarding unsolicited emails.

No matter what next tech leap we take, people will get good at ignoring how we use it to advertise to them. Since it’s harder to disrupt, we focus on creating content for people.

But the truth about content is there’s a limit to the amount of content a person can consume on a daily basis, so thinking mass doesn’t work there either.

• I can only listen to so many podcasts in a day.
• Watch so many Netflix shows.
• Read so many blogs.

I just read Seth Godin’s post on the coming podcast surplus and felt really small.

I felt small because so few podcasts are listened to on a daily basis.

I have a podcast. How do I expect to land in one of the 14 podcasts that someone has time to listen to?

Not only that, but the risk someone would have to take to change one of the 14 podcasts they listen to for a different one is so strong that people are more likely to stick with what they know and like already.

Sounds like two very good reasons to stop podcasting, stop blogging, stop tweeting, stop creating and certainly not start making something else that no one will make time for.

I’m being sarcastic, of course.

The takeaway from feeling small is to market small, market niche, market with the intention of getting one person to share the piece of content.

Every person might only have bandwidth to consume 14 podcast episodes, 3 Netflix shows, 8 blogs and will stick with them until…

• someone who they trust says they ought to check out a different podcast.
• someone gets invited over by a friend and that friend puts on How I Met Your Mother.
• someone speaks at a conference and you want to read more about the way they think.

Now the marketing world beings to look a lot brighter. Now we can play with ways that surprise and delight people. Now we can create content that get people to feel a certain way when it’s shared. Now our marketing has a purpose, a purpose to connect.

 

Stay Positive & If That’s Not Exciting, I Don’t Know What Is

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It’s one thing to be smart. It’s another to contribute.

The remarkable marketing pros work to combine…

science and art

data and creativity

metrics and gifts

 

Stay Positive & Go Be Remarkable

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I learned a couple of work illusion early on in my life.

I worked with my dad painting and remodeling for 9 years. One observation I made during that time was the reaction customers had when we got the job done quickly. (What do you expect with an energized teen and a boss with more than 30 years experience?) We worked so many jobs to be able to do quality work in a short period of time…but that came with consequences.

Queue the labor illusion.

When work gets judged, we might say the speed of completion matters, but what really matters is that we’ve seen that you worked your butt off for us.

Speed and easiness on your end makes the customer, the client, maybe even the boss, feel cheated. Think about it. Most people view the amount of investment they’re willing to make by evaluating the time and effort they’re saving. If you make it seem quick and easy, they feel cheated.

Moreover, no one likes to feel like they could have done it themselves and saved money and humiliation in the fact they hired or asked someone to do something (that appears!) easy to do.

Another work illusion I’ve learned is the effort trap.

I’ve worked 16 hour days, 70 hour weeks. I’ve skipped meals, gatherings, events. I’ve given up a lot in the attempt to feel, and (admittedly egotistically) say I’ve worked hard.

Our work culture is exhaustive. Literally meaning we convince ourselves that we ought to judge our work by our tiredness, even though every artist ever will say a handful of hours of focusing on one single project is more fulfilling and lucrative then working two different jobs, cramming four different projects and plowing through all your emails.

Now comes how to rid these illusions.

You know how when you have a gift for someone, it feels good knowing you’re going to give it to them when you see them? You go your entire day knowing and feeling that you’re about to make someone’s day.

Think of your work as a gift. (I hope you already do.) Don’t work hard to create something and give it away right away. Hang onto it. Make it special. Give it to your boss, your client, your coworker when it will mean the most to you both. (Hint: now is not always the time to give a gift)

As for the effort trap. Completing the toughest tasks of the day first remains the best option.

If you still care about working hard, work hard to do these two things rather than filling your day with busywork.

 

Stay Positive & Do The Right Things, Not just Lots Of Things

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