Start with why

To begin, I should mention that much of this is inspired by Simon Sinek’s video that explains his golden circle. In the outer layer is what, the middle is how and the bullseye is why. It has to do in which the way organizations explain their product or service. However it has so much more to do with life and how to live one with passion and achieve your dreams.

For the longest time I have been involved with a lot but most of the time have not felt connected. As much as I could find a reason for the other members, mission and vision or it all being part of the progress, what it comes down to is I never gave my self permission to understand why. Why is it that I take part in everything I do? Why do I want to have an impact and why do I have the dreams I do. It is great to have a dream of changing the world but until you understand why, something will be missing.

They why is your story. It is the inspiration you drive from and help create the difference. Everything that you do is built on the foundation of why. Don’t believe me, here are some examples. A company has a choice on how they want to market themselves. They can choose to talk to their customers about what and how they create or do what they do, or they can talk about the why. Telling the story of the passion, commitment and drive they have every day when they walk in the door. The fact of the matter is, what and how will change frequently, just look at Nike. What they did in the past, selling shoes in retail markets has now changed. They sell almost any sports equipment one could imagine and a lot of it online. Yet what they do has not changed, they provide people the ability to become athletes, the ability to live a healthier life.

Live your story and start with why. In my life I have had the amazing luck to have met so many people who have the story of why down, you can tell the moment you talk to them. They have a passion and fire that cannot be put out, because they will not let it. They know that what and how is just a vessel for why and the impact they will make on the world.

The first person is Christian Jensen. He is on a mission to change the world and understands why. He wants everyone to know that they are not valued by their disability, speed or talent, but by the gifts they bring to the world. Christian realizes the why, if we let everyone know that they are not judged by their disability, they will be set on fire to change the world. Choosing to include everyone and help them be part of the team, will let them know they matter. That is what we are all looking for, to know that we matter.

Second is Peggy Eserkaln, she is on a mission to help people build better teams with communication, acceptance and trust. Peggy realizes that these three qualities are the building blocks for a great team. When this is set in the foundation, teams and organizations become dynamic and truly achieve success. She also realizes that at the very inner of every person people want acceptance and trust. They want to be supported in their dreams and help others achieve their dreams.

Third would have to be my father. He wants to help everyone succeed because he believes in the potential that every person brings to the table. Where people are right now does not determine where they will be or who they can be. The path we are all on, is meant to be a journey and every step we take will bring us closer to who we are truly meant to be.

Not once in any of these stories did I tell you what these people did, I did that on purpose. Unless you know any of the three above, you have no idea of what they do and how they do it. Yet you understand why. Do you feel inspired?

fearLESS

I have made an awesome choice to join a group that is truly changing the world. The name of the group is my Team Triumph-Wisconsin. For those of you who do not know the short story of this group is they help disabled athletes compete in endurance events. I am sure you will soon see that is just the surface.

Fear is something that we all have to deal with. The world creates fear around us daily and rewards us to give into it. We fear we will not fit in, so we buy the clothes, home and care we cannot afford. We are afraid we will lose our job, so we agree and go along for the ride. We are afraid that we actually have the potential to change the world so we let the evil take control and let our soul be taken. I do not write this as a judge of the rest of the world, I write this as someone who has done it and continues to do it.

However as life does almost every day, people are put into our life that changes it forever. This is where my Team Triumph comes in. I had the great opportunity to run with a group of Angels and Captain Mary to train for the Cellcom. The path had hills, more hills and then you guessed it another hill. However what struck me most about the run was not the miles, the scenery, pace or finishing it. It was a simple comment made at about mile 12. We were going up a hill (there were a lot) and I was able to push Captain Mary up the hill. The whole time we had “light thoughts” to help us get up the hill faster, it helped. Mary told me about the time she went out on a hot air balloon. The experience, seeing other balloons takes flight and the scenery. She talked about how she saw the horses in the field, then moved on to the time she rode a horse. While this may not seem like a feat to many, what you may not know is that Mary has Muscular Dystrophy. Many of the things that you and I take for granted and many of the things you and I complain about doing, she cannot.

What struck me about this conversation was not the fact that she rode the horse; it was what she had after “I have very little fear”. Mary has many problems, so few of us could imagine. She has to deal with difficulties most of us could only dream about, yet she chooses to not let fear hold her down. She puts fear to the side and takes on whatever life gives her. Mary will not let fear control her life, she chooses to control the fear. This may be the point where I say if Mary can make this choice, we can too. However that is unfair to Mary, you and your future. The fact of the matter is, we should be making the choice to not live in fear regardless. Comparing our self to someone else builds fear that we are not good enough. Just like the hot air balloon, it is not until we let go, that we can see all the world has to offer.

Forgive but don’t forget

Forgive but don’t forget

There is a difference between forgiveness and forgetting. One is a powerful tool that will set you free and open your future. The other is a truck that will blindside you if you do not pay attention.

In my journey I have gotten the two mixed up far too often. I forget what happened but refuse to forgive those involved, including and probably most often myself. Looking back I have noticed that it does nothing for me, I forget the cause of the problem and what should have been done and just focus on the people, looking for what they did wrong. When in reality I should forgive those involved, because 99% of the time they did it with their best intentions, and I am willing to be trick by the 1% to see the awesome power the 99% has.

When I forget what happened, I forget to learn the lesson that came along with it, most likely the reason why it happened. The lesson sits on the side of the road as I run pass it chasing those who “did wrong”. As Pat Hopkins of Imaginasium writes in a blog post “It’s about the Experience, Stupid”, I have far to often forgotten to realize the awesome potential the experience will teach me if I take a minute to learn from it and remember it.

A failure is not the end; it is a fork in the road. It is a point in time where you can realign, regroup and look at what is a head.

I will start to look for the opportunity, experience and lesson from each step in my life. I will start to forgive and love people for who they are and the talent they bring, I will be set free. I will not forget the lesson I have been taught making them propel me forward, not hold me back.

Here is to forgiveness, an awesome virtue that far too often I have forgotten. Let’s remember is all about the experience.

Marketing

I know what marketing is!

Here is my frustration, just because you know what marketing is, does not mean you know how to do it correctly. If you want to go down that road, I know what open heart-surgery is, yet I should not do it. For some reason there seems to be a misconception that marketing is easy and has no real “idea behind it”. This is frustrating for two reasons, one it is wrong and second, for a group of people (marketers) dedicated to creating a message that compels and attracts people, we quite frankly suck at our job.

Here are some common misconceptions about marketing. It’s all about getting customers, no matter where they are from. Speak to everyone so your message hits as many people as possible. We need to be everywhere, that way everyone will see us. While there are many more, these are a few that bug me the most.

First off, yes the point of marketing is to get customers in your door, whether it be a building or online. However it is getting the right customers in the door. If you are selling airplanes, which would you rather have, a group of 100 college students or a group of ten fortune 500 CEO’s. It is about quality not quantity. Actionable Tip: Instead of looking at purely how many people you will reach, look at who they are. Anyone that comes to you and asks for advertising without this info, is not worth your time.

Along with the paragraph above, one major misconception people have with marketing is that your message should speak to everyone. When the truth is, the more direct your message is, the more it speaks in the voice of your customer, the better results you will get. Actionable Tip: Instead of focusing on a general and generic message, create shorter and compelling messages for each segment of your target market or line extension your company offers.

Finally wrapping up, just because your advertising is out there does not mean people are paying attention to it. A key to marketing is determining where your target market is looking and where they pay attention. It has been estimated that people see over 1,500 advertisements per day (http://ams.aaaa.org/eweb/upload/faqs/adexposures.pdf) however the real question is, how many do they remember? Just because you have an ad out there does not mean it will be seen. In fact most of the ads today because of the overload are just white noise that no one pays attention to. Actionable Tip: I will focus on placing my advertising where it will be seen and heard, even if it means a drop in “total reach”. I will instead focus on reaching the right people at the right place and time.

We have just gone over three of the foundations for marketing. They are customer segmentation (who are your customers and what compels them), messaging and channel distribution (where are you placing your marketing). If you start to determine these, your marketing will get a lot of help.

Live Extraordinary

I have fought the daily battle of trying to be ordinary or being extraordinary. From now on, I will choose to be extraordinary. I do not want to blend in, I want to stand out. My dreams involve changing the world, it is impossible to this if I choose to blend in.

Let me first make a few things very clear on what not blending in does not look like. Choosing to not blend in, does not mean you have to be at the front of the attention every minute. Not every decision that I make will go against the grain, be a world changing vision or be the best decision I should have made. Making the choice to be different does not mean you have to be obnoxious. It goes beyond your actions and the day to day life, it is a choice to create a mindset where you focus on not just breathing but living.

So why live the extraordinary life? Well lets just be honest, it sounds a hell of a lot more fun than just blending in. I promise I do have some “actual” reasons to stand out. The first being, it prevents you, your organization or community to settle for mediocrity. Secondly I do not believe that when you choose to blend in, you can make a difference, because you are not different. Choosing to blend in, you are directed where to go, instead of choosing where to go. Lastly blending in does exactly that, you blend in and no one can tell you apart. Redundant yes, don’t worry I have formed a committee to look into this and made sure that committee has a committee.

Choosing to blend in fuels mediocrity, it begs you to stick with status quo, not to go the extra mile and worse yet, not have an idea that will change the world. Choosing to stand out, breaks you free of status quo, gives you the freedom to change the world and the lead the life you love. There is no greater or scarier feeling than realizing the choices you make, will create you future. I beg you to not blend in, go out and choose to be extraordinary. Create a dream and go out and live it, do not let anyone demand that you are different.

You are far to0 awesome and amazing to choose a life where you blend in. It is my belief that God does not have time to just put anyone on this earth; we are all here for a reason. An idea that may seem dumb to you could very well change the world. Do not be offended or angry at those who try to stop you, many of them mean well. They are also scared to live outside of their comfort zone and try to change the world; they are letting their lives be driven by fear, not freedom. Do not be mad at them; help them realize the awesome potential they have if they choose to be different.

Go forth and set the world on fire
St. Ignatious Loyola


PS: Don’t think this relates to marketing, I can prove you wrong. As consumers rarely do we look for something ordinary, we want something extraordinary, it is just within a different body. We want a product or service that speaks to us in an extraordinary way. We choose based on what our heart and mind tells us will help us. This message is not canned or a fill-in the blank, it is unique. The fact of the matter is, you cannot talk to everyone effectively, you can try but it will not work. You need to develop extraordinary marketing plan, that identifies your customer, gives them a voice and helps you deliver a solution to their problem.

Set them up for success

Are you setting your goals up for success or failure? Are you investing resources and talents or holding off? If you expect people to be successful you better set them up for success. In my view there are a few simple tools you need for this to happen. The first is trust and it is the most important, it creates the culture. Second is making sure you have the resources. Set clear expectations of what you want, and what success looks like.

Do you trust that people will do what you want them to? More importantly do you trust that even though they will make mistakes along the way, they will still get the solution? Trust is a huge factor in success, if people do not feel they are trusted, they will not give their all, they will not speak their mind and they will not fully get behind the plan. As they should be, they will be looking out for themselves. If you want success, make sure you trust not only that it can happen but more importantly the people you are with can make it happen.

You cannot make a fire without at least some materials, depending on how resourceful you are, you may be able to get by with less, but the fact remains you need something. If you want a roaring fire you better have enough wood to do so. This goes right with making sure we are successful, make sure you have the resources available for success to occur.

If you want success make sure you know what it looks like, if we don’t know what it looks like, how will we know when we get there. If your favorite excuse is “I do not have time to explain what I want”, then stop complaining you never get it. If you are not going to take enough responsibility to explain what you want, do not get upset when you do not get it.

Not taking the time to explain, does more than just create confusion among the people you work with. It creates a culture that is not filled with trust, questions linger of why, not everyone is on the same page, why the whole story was not laid out and what is going to happen if I do this. Second, if you constantly find yourself having to deal with “fixing others mistakes” and are not sure if you gave a clear explanation, chances are you are a contributing factor. This means instead of taking 10 minutes to explain it, you spend 30 minutes fixing it. The cut runs deeper still, the person you asked to help you now feels, like they let you down and the trust is broken down, even just a bit.

If you want success, you need to make sure you are ready for it. Create a culture where trust is relevant and real. Let people make mistakes and know they will get it right, everyone does. Have the materials that you need to build the fire for success. Finally make sure you are taking the time to explain what success will look like.

Believe in what you want.

With the New Year freshly on its way, there is one key thing we all must remember. The biggest wall for most of our resolutions, coming true is we believe they cannot happen. We think we are stuck where we are at, and we cannot do better. However maybe on some off chance, we may just be able to do it. After all why wait until start of a new year?

Think of how backwards that is, we want to change, yet do not believe we can do it? We do not believe we are good enough to accomplish our biggest fears or dreams. This is why so rarely any resolutions is ever accomplished, not because we can’t, but because we think we can’t. I truly believe that people have amazing talents that will help them accomplish whatever they want. Far too often we doubt ourselves (me included) about if we are “good enough”, we all are.

I believe that the words you choose every day help you create the future of not only yourself but the people, businesses and organizations you touch. A simple word switch from “wish” to “will” can make a world of difference. Are we more likely to get behind “I wish we could be more strategic” or “We will be more strategic”, which sentence would you rather hear?

Take this into the workplace, personal life and wherever it still remains true. Far too often we wish for things that we never think can happen, after all it is a “wish”. I say we stop wishing and start believing.

Getting into the mindset of “this can never happen” will ruin you. It creates a self fulfilling prophecy, which we continuously create a filter that shows us exactly what we think we need to see. If you want something, you better believe it can happen, or it won’t.