Bernadette Jiwa

They Weren’t Always The Way They Are

They Weren’t Always The Way They Are

Garth Beyer

Conversations And Opinions Change

Richard Branson. Bernadette Jiwa. Chris Brogan. These idols of ours, they weren’t always this remarkable, this flawless, this all-knowing, this helpful.

Jump back to page 400 of Seth Godin’s blog and notice how different the style of writing is.

Listen to the first few podcasts of Debbie Millman or James Altucher and notice how different their conversations are.

Watch some of Tim Ferriss’s old YouTube videos compared to what he rolls out today.

They weren’t always the way they are now. Through falling, failure, and feedback, they’ve come a long way. However!

If we asked any one of our idols if they are happy with where they are at, they would say there is still room for improvement, that they’re still tweaking things, still trying new ways of communicating, of growing.

The way they are now won’t be the way they are 20 months from now either.

You can’t glide at remarkable, you can’t plateau at incredible, you can’t pause at excellent. These labels are only stamped on those who keep moving forward. It doesn’t do anyone justice when we just accept that someone is talented.

Nor does it do us justice to think we can’t also work to where our idols are at now. They’ve made it to remarkable and work to stay that way. Why can’t/shouldn’t/won’t we?

 

Stay Positive & Let’s Do It

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The Selling To Caring Gap

Garth Beyer

pencilcake

Bernadette Jiwa, who I admire dearly, wrote yesterday that most people ask, “How do I sell my idea?” when what they need to ask is, “How am I going to help people to care about this?” I don’t necessarily disagree with her, but I think what matters is the space between the two questions.

Let’s throw out some thoughts about the first question: how do I sell my idea?

It’s an honest question. After all, that is exactly what many want to do. But, if that is the question you’re asking, perhaps you have a poor idea because a good idea is never sold, it’s shared. Sharing something doesn’t mean there’s no cost to it, but it does connote gratuity, sincerity and fairness – three traits that most never receive when being sold something.

A quick thought on the second question: how am I going to help people to care about this?

The more meaningful question is “do I care about this?” Jiwa’s question is important because it centers on you: how you deliver, how you act, how you tell the story of your product. What’s necessary, though, is first understanding what it is you’re trying to share with people.

You can deliver your product inside a cake with a story about you making this cake especially for the customer, but if all that is in the cake is a pencil – all that you’ve done falls short. The gap between selling an idea or product and getting people to care about that idea or product lies in understanding the idea or product itself.

If you understand that you’re selling a pencil, it makes how you get people to care about it easier.

 

Stay Positive & What’s In It For Them?

Garth E. Beyer

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