Success

Digging Through Layers

Garth Beyer

Dig To The Remarkable

I’ve never heard of anyone finding gold right on the surface. Never heard of treasure, just sitting there on an island. Never heard a success story come easily. To get anything of value, there’s work, time, effort, sweat and an absolute resiliency involved.

Successful people don’t settle, they dig.

To get to an inspiring thought, a creative idea, a brilliant strategy one has to dig through the layers of fear, worry, anxiety, nervousness, resentment, and I’m sure a few other negative thought-layers I’m missing here.

Half the battle of coming up with a great PR plan or something as simple as a blog post is digging through the dirt until you find something pure enough, remarkable enough, worth sharing, doing, writing, etc,.

If we recognize that in any important decision there are mental and emotional layers we have to dig through, we can track where we are at in the process and obtain a confidence boost by knowing we’ve done the hard work of digging through our insecurities.

Another thing I’ve never heard of is our mind being empty of value once we work through the top layers of fear, doubt, and uncertainty. Nope. There’s something remarkable down there every time.

 

Stay Positive & Uncover The Remarkable

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Slow Fail, Quick Fix, Overnight Success

Garth Beyer

All organizations are prone to fail slowly, although it may not seem like it at times.

Just like the overnight success of Amanda Palmer, which is anything but an overnight success (it was a consistency of getting the little things right over a long period of time), failures appear to happen fast. One day the restaurant is there, the next day it’s not. One day the business manager is in charge of 20 employees, the next day it’s just him. But, truly, you and I know failure and success don’t happen that fast.

All agencies, organizations, businesses are bound to be cut and bruised just as we are. Are you treating the wounds of your business as you would a wound on your body? Or are you waiting (like so many now-failed businesses) until it’s time to patch the wound with a giant band-aid, a redesigned website, a new PR campaign, a new motto or “about us” page? It may seem logical to care for all wounds at once, but it’s not.

A drop in office productivity, a minor employee-client clash, one regretful tweet are cuts that need mending immediately. Even more importantly, we must view the boring things of business just as wounds that need our immediate attention.

When we begin ignoring the little things, we set ourselves up for a fail: a slow fail until the day it hits you.

You can certainly jump ahead success-wise with a broad stroke, a bold move, but to stop a slow and painful death that every organization, every person in business is susceptible to, we must make the little things a little more remarkable, we must apply, not just quick-fixes, but improvements to the banal, to the cumbersome, to the “not my problem” problems of our business.

Don’t just think “how can we fix this?” think “how can we fix this in a way that leaves a positive impression?” If we ask and answer this enough, we may just find ourselves getting referred to as an overnight success.

 

Stay Positive & Turn The Little Things Into Big Things

Unlocking Potential #11: Q&A With John Saddington

Garth Beyer

John Saddington

I regularly write about the importance of being human, of momentum and of the need to continuously try new things. Top experimenter John Saddington is a living example of doing all the above.

John is linchpin who I recall wore a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle t-shirt to Seth Godin’s Pick Yourself event in Tribeca, and asked Seth a question about blogging platforms. It should have come as no surprise to me that John was asking for input because he was in the process of developing his new (and awesome!) blogging platform app, Desk.

John has been blogging for more than 14 years, so it goes without saying how much of a privilege it is to have him be part of this series. Without further ado, welcome John.

Q: You’re a hacker and a human. Tell us how you got into hacking. What’s your story?

John: Yes, that’s my tagline. I think it’s important to let others know that I am a human being. This is one of those “duh” statements but it carries a lot of personal importance to me. It means that I suffer and struggle with just as many things as the next person. But, I have “hacked” my way to a solution that works for me.

I will always be looking for more solutions to life, just as the next person, to ensure that I can survive and thrive in the limited amount of time that I have on planet earth.​

Q: What qualities are needed in a person for them to become successful hackers, humans, entrepreneurs? 

John: A willingness to experiment, be wrong, and fail. A desire to get help, all the time, and to stay humble. To be curious about learning new things and tenacious about not giving up. To be a person of integrity, honest, and true.​

Q: For this next question, I’m sure there are hundreds of answers, but just write about the first two or three that come to mind. What are some hacks you can share about entrepreneurship?

​John: Time box everything. What I mean by this is create a “start” and “end” point to all your experiments and projects. This helps create momentum and helps you establish objective markers for whether or not it’s actually working.

Secondly, get help. Do more things with others and less alone.​

Q: Tell us a bit about Desk PM: How did you go about strategizing a publishing app so it would be as successful as it is? What sort of questions did you ask and answer before you built and shipped the app?

​John: There wasn’t a strategy. It was luck and a long marinating process (over 12 years) as I thought about this application as it tied so closely to my writing and blogging over the last 14 years. Then, I executed. That’s about it. I didn’t deliberate or try to do massive planning or anything like that. The only question that I asked was this (and one that I continue to ask): Do I still love this app? Am I using it every single day?

If the answer ever becomes “No” then I’ve lost the original vision and I should throw it all away.​

Q: What’s the most recent big decision you’ve had to make and how did you rationalize your decision?

John: The biggest decision recently was to join with some friends to work @ The Iron Yard.​ This was the culmination of long-standing relationships and a deep love for education (I got a Masters in Education). I joined them full-time in late 2013.

Q: Would you mind sharing one of your biggest failures and how you worked past it or what you learned from it?

John: I raised ~ $300,000 and spent much more than that on a failed iOS app that netted, over a two year period, just north of $1,300 dollars. I am still learning from this fiscal failure of an app and project. I am still recovering. I wrote a few things here.​

Q: Who and where do you go to for motivation? Any particular mentors or bloggers?

John: I go to my friends and most importantly my wife and kids. I find a ton of motivation in my quiet times as I reflect on spiritual topics, God, and through meditation.​

Q: Perhaps there’s a couple quotes or life mottos you live by?

​”Never give up.” – Dad

“Always have options.” – Dad

“It never hurts to ask.” – Dad

Q: What is the biggest challenge todays entrepreneurs are faced with? 

​John: I’m not sure. Does that matter?​

Q: This one might be a toughie, answer however you would like. What does it take to create something remarkable?

John: It starts with a decision to pursue it and then it requires the courage to not quit.​

Q: Where can people find you and you art? What’s the best way to reach you?

​John: My personal blog: http://john.do

 

Stay Positive & Publish On

Stressful Work, Self-Evaluation And Hacking Your Productivity (And How To Win Monopoly)

Garth Beyer

Hacking Productivity

It’s been more than two years since I gave a Toastmasters speech. I connected with the president of the club I used to be involved in and had dinner with her yesterday. We chatted about the PR life and how stressful the work is. (Top 10 most stressful careers!)

I agreed that it’s stressful work, but it’s as stressful as you let it be; there are ways to lessen the stress.

One of my old friends gave a speech at the meeting about saving mental energy for more important decisions by limiting the options you have for what to wear. A few months ago I mentioned the benefit of wearing the same outfit each day. Jobs did it. Zuckerberg does it. So many others do it to save mental energy for work and decisions that matter.

What I do each weekend is evaluate my week in terms of stress, productivity, time, focus… all that important stuff that dictates your level of happiness or unhappiness. I stop doing what’s unproductive, I stop having meetings with people who don’t create value, I read more, I freewrite for 15 minutes every night, I meditate in the morning and recite a mantra I wrote – all the things I do and don’t do are done or not done with purpose.

The president asked me something like, “Isn’t that exhausting or stressful to have to be so on top of everything?” She was obviously thinking about the benefit of going with the flow, letting things be, simplifying life (which certainly has its value at times). My response…

It’s fun to hack your productivity, your energy, your focus. It’s like the moment you learn how to win Monopoly: just make sure you buy St. James. Place then begin to build on the orange. Works every time. The excitement of learning, knowing and then implementing the practice which nearly guarantees success is what drives me to reevaluate, review, and renew my objectives of the week each weekend.

Stress is not an external force we have no control over. We design our stress, and by evaluating ourselves on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, we begin to notice what’s working and what isn’t in our lives. We respond rather than react. It’s an art, and there is so much beauty in art.

 

Stay Positive & There Is No Better Game To Hack Than The Work Game

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Become A Remarkable Business Owner

Garth Beyer

“Instead of caring about everyone and taking what you can get, embrace a subset, find the weird, and love them more than anyone else ever could.” – Seth Godin 

Great Business Owner

Great business owners

… are determined to get it right even if it calls on them to change their worldview or do what they previously said they wouldn’t. No matter what the cost is, they will do it right.

… are in complete awe and fascination for the remarkable impact little things done just right can have on people. It’s not just noticing the little things, it’s being the source of them.

… are in cahoots with the requirement that to reach a higher level of achievement, they must focus their attention on systematizing the plethora of (what many see as) insignificant, banal, grunt work that makes up every business.

… are working more than they should for the monetary return they are receiving on their investment. But the intrinsic value they receive from working with passion is priceless.

… are providing the people who they work with and who work for them an idea that is truly worth working for. They tell a story worth believing in.

… are always imagining, dreaming, visualizing; are always in wonder.

… are absorbed by the people, and not the work. You will only ever love the game if you love the players.

… are seeing their business as a product and treating it accordingly. Yes, that means treating it as a system, defining all its pieces, and writing out a strategy, people, marketing, etc., plan.

… are treating all customers in a way that makes them feel right, even if they are not.

… are working to be the best they can be, to learning what they don’t know, to acting more human than their competitors.

… are aware of Lippmann’s and so many others similar conclusions that reality only exists in someone’s perceptions, attitudes, beliefs and conclusions. It is not subjective or definable to the mass. To understand a customer you must understand the images in their head.

“The problem with most failing businesses is not that their owners don’t know enough about finance, marketing, management, and operations, but that they spend their time and energy defending what they think they know.” – Michael Gerber

 

Stay Positive & All You Do Is A Reflection Of Who You Are

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Unlocking Potential #10: Q&A With Alex Birkett

Garth Beyer

Alex BirkettLinchpins are driven and self-efficient. They make themselves essential. While rock stars amaze me and underdogs amaze me, those people you don’t see coming and then they zip right past you, they amaze me the most.

Alex is a lot like a car you see in your rear view mirror one second, and then it’s a mile ahead of you the next second.

Alex was on my agency team when working with Lands’ End where I first saw him hit the gas pedal. Now he’s working at a tech startup in Texas and continues to inspire plenty (including me) with his writing.

Without further ado, enjoy the Q&A with this Linchpin.

Q: How do you handle the “What do you do?” question everyone asks when you meet them?

Alex: I like to tell people, “I mow lawns!” Then they usually look at me like I’m a weirdo, and I tell them, “I’m working on a tech startup called LawnStarter and also do a variety of freelance marketing and write for a magazine.” Then they usually still look at me like a weirdo, so I just tell them I’m a happy workaholic.

Q: What’s your story?

Alex: I grew up in a small town, played some sports and started a punk rock band. Then, I went to the University of Wisconsin, where I graduated from the Journalism School (studying strategic communications). I went from working with one of my favorite bands, Shiny Toy Guns, to working with Madison Craft Beer Week, Arctica Race, and and WiCC. Then I got to build the marketing team at WUD Music, which tied together two of my top interests. I think I worked like 35 hours per week the last two years of college, which prepared me for those infamously long startup hours. I’m currently hustling and grinding in Austin, TX, trying to build a tech startup called LawnStarter. I act as the marketing director for Arctica Race, a ski racing company, and I write for a magazine, RSVLTS.

Q: What’s the best part of marketing to you?

Alex: I like building things. I like the feeling of productive energy creating something beautiful, and marketing gives me that sense of accomplishment. From ideation to strategy to tactics and execution, it’s a process that fuses my creative with my rational side. I’m also a huge fan of optimizing processes and getting more out of less, and I like what technology has made capable for optimizing marketing efforts.

Q: What do you see marketers failing to notice, say or do?

Alex: There are a lot of PR agencies, advertising agencies, business development agencies etc, etc, that reach out to us on our contact form or somehow get our emails. Most of them send us obnoxious form letters or terribly written pitches. If you can’t pitch us your business, how the hell are you going to do business development or public relations on our behalf?

Q: Where do you find inspiration to grow, to create, to go?

Alex: I lift heavy weights 4 times per week, do yoga once, and run once (I hate cardio). I read audiobooks in the morning and paperback books at night. I drink a ton of really good coffee. I spend time with people smarter, more successful and better looking than I am. I’m a competitive bastard so that makes me want to get better too. I also spend a lot of time on the weekends either on the water, golfing, or hiking. Something semi-active but also relaxing.

Q: What are three life lessons anyone (marketers or not) should know?

Alex:

  1. “If you have two choices, choose the harder.”-Paul Graham

  2. Treat everyone like normal people, because they are normal people.

  3. “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”-Jim Rohn

Bonus: If you don’t ask, you won’t get.

Q: What has been a terrible marketing or customer service experience and how would you have resolved it if you were on the other end?

Alex: AT&T U-verse was a pretty terrible experience. I believe that investing in an amazing customer experience is the best marketing decision you can make. When you’re competing with giants, your competition can outspend you on marketing dollars, but it’s hard to compete with a rewarding customer experience. If I was AT&T, I’d take some of my stupid advertisements off the air and reinvest that money in some competent support staff.

Q: Since I know you well, I know you’ve jumped ship at an agency for a more startup-ish gig. Can you expand on that? What’s so special about startups that you can’t find at an agency? Or am I missing the point completely?

Alex: I could write a book on that question, but I’ll try to sum it up with this: I’ve always been interested in startups & entrepreneurship. I like to feel ownership over my work, and that ownership is something intrinsically lacking when working at an agency, because, well you’re marketing someone else’s work. When I met Ryan and Steve (co-founders of LawnStarter), I knew I wanted to work with them because they were scrappy, hard working, and passionate about building awesome shit. Working on a startup is unique, especially when you do it at a young age. You never get the ‘luxury’ of developing bad working habits. You don’t surf reddit at work because it’s your equity and pride on the line. Startups also have a crazy tight-knit community where everyone is willing to help one another, seemingly without personal gain. Overall, it’s a pretty awesome place to be.

Q: What’s a project you want to start and see all the way through?

Alex: Well, LawnStarter of course! I have a million ideas, and I’m naturally a restless person. But sometimes life requires focus, and working on a tech startup is one of those glorious times. When LawnStarter exits, I wouldn’t mind meeting up with some ambitious co-founders to work on one of these weird ideas stewing in my head.

Q: What are a few habits people need to develop to become successful in business or startups or marketing?

Alex: I’m not too sure what it takes to be successful working at a big company because I chose to join a startup right after college. To be successful in a startup, you need to love working. I believe you also need to know when and how to take a breather and collect yourself. No matter what you’re involved in, I think you should develop a habit of perpetual learning. Our minds ossify when we obstinately believe that we’re experts. I also want to say that you need to ‘network’ to be successful, but I hate the word ‘networking.’ Just be a good person, do amazing work, and reach out to people you want to meet. No need to wear a nametag at a hotel bar.

Q: What do you do that always sees best results?

Alex: I don’t think I’ve found any absolutes in life, but I’ve never regretted putting bacon on a sandwich of any kind.

Q: If you had to give advice to people starting out in the world of PR or marketing or entrepreneurship, what would you say?

Alex: If you’re still in college, focus on getting a ton of relevant and impressive experience. Join some clubs, too. I always wish I did more of that early on. If you’re into entrepreneurship, you may just want to skip the whole college thing. Though your parents may be disappointed, so if you have to do the college thing, get together with some like-minded students and start building something. There are tons of reasonable sounding excuses, but there’s no way around that one.

Q: Do you have a motto you follow?

Alex: I guess I don’t, really. If I had to pick, this is what came to mind first: “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”-Mark Twain

Q: Where can people connect with you and find your art/work/writing/etc,.?

Alex: I’ve got a website that I barely update, but I do write for a variety of publications. Your best bet is to follow me on Twitter, connect with me on LinkedIn, or shoot me an email at iamalexbirkett@gmail.com

 

Stay Positive & Kick It Into Gear

I Hope It Takes Time For Me To Get Noticed

I Hope It Takes Time For Me To Get Noticed

Garth Beyer

Not So Instant Success

If everyone knew about me and my work right away, it might be because I marketed myself just right and not that I’ve done anything truly remarkable.

Be it me or a piece of software or your new startup, if it’s immediately popular, immediately caught on by the masses, immediately has every spotlight shined on it, none are reliable indicators of remarkable work, of art.

For most innovations, the fact it has taken awhile to catch on means they are important because they have won over the skeptics, they have made it through hell and back.

Often times people sacrifice their business or themselves for the short-lived, well-marketed limelight rather than being in the game for the long haul; rather than creating evergreen, everlasting content; rather than doing the remarkable work of swaying the most skeptical influencers over time.

There is such a thing as a “get rich quick” strategy, but now a “be remarkable in seconds” one.

 

Stay Positive & Instant Attention Takes Away The Fun, The Pride, The Point Of Being An Artist

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