Understanding your options before you choose a path......

Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.

With the revolution going on all around us, there's so much on the technology/ marketing buffet, you're likely to just grab something convenient.

 From SEO, to Web Video, Facebook, Twitter and more, I would suggest that you look before you leap.

It is very important to UNDERSTAND how these tools work and set your expectations accordingly. There is no "magic bullet" and if you expect that, you will be frustrated. Read, research, ask, hire a professional, but understand how today's marketing strategies and tools work before you expect miracles.

Do you have the nerve to take a peek?

When the truth is just around the corner.....

Sometimes, we get close to finding out who we really are, what's the status of our situation, what's holding us back. When one of those conversations is going on, do you lean in, eager for more, or do you back off, afraid of what it will mean?

Do you go out of your way to learn about your habits, relationships and strengths? Or what's driving traffic to your website? Or why you didn't get that job?

When your organization has a chance to see itself as its customers do, do your leaders crowd around, trying to glean every insight they can about the story and your future, or do they prefer the status quo?

There are more mirrors available than ever. Sometimes, though, what's missing is the willingness to take a look.

Do you have the nerve to peek around that corner?

Choosing your path

Few paths are both easy and certain.

The lottery is great, because it's easy. Not certain, but easy. If you win, the belief goes, you're done.

Medical school is great because it's certain. Not easy, but certain. If you graduate, the belief goes, you're done.

Most people are searching for a path to success that is both easy and certain.

Most paths are neither.

"Don't take it personally"

This is tough advice. Sometimes it seems as though the only way to take it is personally. That customer who doesn't like your product (your best work) or that "best friend" who doesn't want to hang out with you any longer...

Here's the thing: it's never personal. It's never about you. How could it be? That person doesn't truly know you, understand what you want or hear the voices in your head. All they know is themselves.

When someone moves on, when she walks away or even badmouths you or your work, it's not personal about you. It's personal about her. Her agenda, her decisions, her story.

Do your work, the best way you know how. Is there any other option?

Stay true to what you love and the people who are supposed to be there will be.

Simple.

One day...everyone will love what I do.....

Why do you do what you do?

On that day, the day that everyone notices your work, approves and lets you know, then what will happen?

We spend an incredible amount of time and psychic energy planning and working for that day, but why? It will never arrive, and even if it does, it's not clear that anything special happens.

Perhaps the approval of every person in the entire world doesn't need to be the goal of your work.

Ask yourself, why do I do what I do? Is it for yourself, your dreams, your passion or is it based on others expectations of you?

The 2011 definition of a craftperson....?

There's always been a bright line around the craftsperson, someone who takes real care and produces work for the ages. Everyone else might be a hack, or a factory guy or a suit or a drone, but a craftsperson was someone we could respect.

A craftsman might be a blacksmith or a carpenter, a visual artist or even a dedicated teacher. Someone to look up to.

Perhaps we're entering a new age of craftsmanship, one where we can see craft in the way a new business is devised, a sale is made or a website is coded. A craftsperson might be particularly talented and connected in the way she deals with clients, or be able to meet deadlines with alacrity.

We're curious how many business owners or marketing directors in 2011,  take the time to treat their image and interactions with clients as an opportunity to create craftsmanship?

Maybe we should be trying to do better, not just more.

Just a thought.

Chris Revis
 
Thanks to Seth Godin for his continued inspiration!

“I can’t die, it would ruin my image.”

I wanted to share this story as it truly resonated with me...CR


Eight Lessons from the life and work of Jack LaLanne -- From Seth Godin

He bootstrapped himself. A scrawny little kid at 15, he decided to change who he was and how he was perceived, and then he did. The deciding was as important as the doing.

He went to the edges. He didn't merely open a small gym, a more pleasant version of a boxing gym, for instance. Instead, he created the entire idea of a health club, including the juice bar. He did this 70 years ago.

He started small. No venture money, no big media partners.
He understood the power of the media. If it weren't for TV, we never would have heard of Jack. Jack used access to the media to earn trust and to teach. And most of what Jack had to offer he offered for free. He understood the value of attention.

He was willing to avoid prime time. Jack never had a variety show on CBS. He was able to change the culture from the fringes of TV.

He owned the rights. 3,000 shows worth.

He stuck with the brand. He didn't worry about it getting stale or having to reinvent it into something fresh. Jack stood for something, which is rare, and he was smart enough to keep standing for it.
Jack lived the story. He followed his own regimen, even when no one was watching. In is words, “I can’t die, it would ruin my image.”

He died last week at 96. I don't think he has to worry about ruining his image, though.