What Are The Chances

Garth Beyer

The chances are whatever you tell yourself they are.

Most great work never happens because there’s a chance of failure, there’s a chance someone might not like it, there’s a chance no angel will invest in it.

The innate decision to declare what the chances really are to you is what I dub Pulling Wisdom.

When you get your wisdom teeth pulled (it’s now seven hours post-operation for me), before any work is done the surgeon tells you all the risks. He even lays them out to you in a list you have to read and sign off. He says there’s a 10 percent chance of this happening and a 1 percent chance of that happening. You may feel drowsy and some people vomit after.

How is this process (that so many people go through) differ any from launching a new project, starting a business, writing a book, creating a new mobile app?

You can tell yourself there’s a 10 percent chance this particular group of people won’t like your art and a 1 percent chance that you will get an investor to fund everything you dreamed up. You may feel fear along the way, you might fail, and yes, some people vomit after.

Pull out your notes, write out the risks of your venture, state what the chances of this or that happening are and then sign off on it.

There may be people who are more qualified to be a surgeon than you, and I would never suggest you pull your own wisdom teeth out, but no one is better at getting what you want than you. No one is better at turning ideas into actions and actions into art.

The risks are the same for everyone. You just have to sign off on it.

 
Stay Positive & Keep Motivated With Lots Of Iscream Along The Way

It’s Like Running Barefoot

Garth Beyer

I was 14 when I got my first pair of Nike Frees. I don’t remember seeing a TV ad or hearing a radio ad for them, I don’t remember any clerk selling me on them. I remember a sign right above the shoes at Dick’s Sporting Goods, it said “it’s like running barefoot.”

I didn’t need a salesman at that point, I didn’t need an elaborate YouTube video describing all the “special features” of the shoe. I knew it would make me feel as if I were barefoot… and I loved being barefoot.

A lot of products and services try to sell us stories, stories of high fashion, of playing like an all-star, of being more creative than others. Then there are the products and services that remind us of the stories we already tell ourselves.

The best brand strategy isn’t one that sticks to a wall, it’s one that throws itself at a wall that is already sticky.

 

Stay Positive & Welcome, Brand Journalism

You Never Know Where Your Impact Will Occur

Garth Beyer

“I think it’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately.” – George Carlin

Carlin is a perfect example of one who self-evaluates and redirects purpose. In his story, which I’ve chosen not to write better, Joe Sergi shares how Carlin’s Seven Dirty Words became the cornerstone case for regulating indecent speech.

It all began when a radio station aired his Seven Dirty Words comedy bit and one man called the FCC to complain because the man’s son heard the vulgar language.

Carlin went from nice suit and tie, safe (and by safe, I mean most of the time awful) jokes to a frustrated, yet intelligent spit-show of an average Joe who found stories about crossing lines to be well-liked by the audience. Through his personal transition, he sparked discussions about the First Amendment – something he didn’t need to mention in his standup sessions, but were a result of them.

I mention Carlin because he didn’t follow a path, he made one. He set out to have people realize their own stupidity and in doing so, in constantly redirecting his comedy, his passion, his words, he changed everything about the FCC, the First Amendment, and most importantly, who people can look up to. If we could ask Carlin if he knew where he would make an impact, he would say the where didn’t matter to him, all that mattered was he would make an impact.

At heart, Carlin was a true critic. A heroic one.

 

Stay Positive & We Need More Good Critics

 

 

Time

Garth Beyer

Maybe it’s not that a person doesn’t have time, it’s that you haven’t made something worth their time.

We all have 24 hours in a day. We can choose to search for people willing to give us their time to click on another page, to test out our product, to listen to our pitch…

or we can spend more of our time creating something people will willingly trade their own time for.

 

Stay Positive & Is Their Time As Valuable To You As Your Own?

The More Different You Get

Garth Beyer

the scarier it gets.

Weekly I sit down and chat with people carrying around bright, innovative minds. They pitch ideas and ask for my feedback. The majority of ideas are similar to ones already in existence. The trouble seems to be in differentiation or finding the hole, the angle, the niche of their idea.

The further away they get in our brainstorming session from what they already know exists (and works! [and is safe!]), the more scared they get and the quicker they dismiss the idea as “not as good of an idea as I thought it was.”

Niches are the creativist’s worst trap. Asking someone how they will differentiate their business is really asking them how much uncertainty and fear they can dance with.

Sometimes I wonder if what you decide to do with your business is not what differentiates you from others, but that you just do something with your business… that is what will differentiate you from others.

 

Stay Positive & Business Isn’t Like Sports, Oddballs Get Picked First

What To Do About Your Idols

Garth Beyer

Mentors, idols, professors, heroes, whatever you call them, you have them. Someone you look up to, someone you admire, someone who can teach you their ways to success.

A common problem I’ve seen from people who have idols is they don’t know what to do about it. They can read up on their hero’s work, analyze their decisions that got them to where they are now, they can take sound advice from them, but it’s all study, little action.

Something I’ve written about before, but now I’m able to put my finger on it: what to do about your idols is impress them.

When you begin to doubt yourself, when you’re unsure of the next step (or if you’re currently on the right one)… if you don’t know what to do or if you’re doing something the right way, your way, ask yourself, will it impress your mentor?

If you impress your professor, you haven’t just done great work, you’ve done great art.

 

Stay Positive & Show Them What You’ve Really Got