What Are You Hanging Onto?

Whether it's social media stardom or the next viral marketing campaign, your identity can easily be sucked in.  You may ask what does it matter?  It matters much.  Examine where your identity rests and you'll know what you're hanging onto.

The greatest artists, thinkers, and entrepreneurs are the ones who have a graceful indifference to their craft.  By that I mean they pour themselves out not thinking of what may come next.  It's beautiful to observe.

Maybe they're content to let eternity judge the quality or significance of their work.  It really doesn't matter…see Steve Jobs, Miles Davis, Nelson Mandela or Mother Teresa here for a flesh example.

The answer to this post's question is nothing.

Hang onto nothing and change the world.

What Marketing Can’t Fix

Here are some things marketing can't fix:

  1. Leaders who wear masks
  2. Followers that have lost faith
  3. A culture broken from the start
  4. Unwillingness to change
  5. Organizations that don't put the customer first-really
  6. A salesforce only focused on sales
  7. An organization that doesn't aspire to something greater than last years results
  8. Apathy
  9. Wounded clients
  10. Exhausted faux-marketing techniques

The Entrepreneur Connection

If you're not hanging out with other entrepreneurs (positive ones), you're crazy.  Don't mean to be so direct, but it really can help.  I've been discovering this in the last few weeks.  Big revelation, huh? 

The power is found in the connection.  You'll find you're not alone, which is often the case inside of an employment situation. Everyone is self-employed anyway.  That's why this is not just for the self-employed.  That's right, even if you're employed you should be doing all you can to connect with other like-minded folk.  The universe is too big to go it alone. 

And if you think of yourself as a freak or an outsider, you'll find other freaks and outsiders in these confines.  Don't be a best kept secret.

Don’t Be Charmed By Security

Even with the economic conditions here in the States, specifically the employment situation, many still seem to be charmed by security.  I'm alluding to security in the form of career/work.  Now certainly, some have all but concluded that security is a myth.  But I find many career/work pilgrims are disturbed by current trends.

I used to be in that group, but am now a freak of the not-so-weird variety.  Why?  I entered my period of mass disruption almost 4 years ago.  Back then many felt certain about the future.  Now…

Well, let's face it, life (all things in) has never been certain.  And that's part of our problem.  We bought the marketing message of "too big to fail."  I know we're better off with a sense of not taking anything for granted.  Especially since that's the way business and life were supposed to be conducted/lived.  Leaders of the highly developed nature know this to be true.

We just haven't done a good job at handling success and good times.

Now's the time to embrace uncertainty and insecure times.  Watch your values shift and find out what right alignment is all about.  I think the following might open up for you:

  1. God knows what he's doing.
  2. Family and relationships trump everything but #1.
  3. You don't need as much as you think (trust me, the economy will be ok).
  4. You'll demand more of your organization.  For example, your paid for your results, not your time.
  5. Taking a pay cut in order to do something impacting will seem right as rain.

The Problem With Small Getting Large

One of my favorite merchants in the town I live in, is not one of my favorites anymore.

They once were small and engaging, but now world domination seems to be the order of the day.  No more "we'll search and see if we can get it" or "haven't seen you in the store lately."  I miss being Eric to them. 

The problem with some entrepreneurs is they are trying to fill a void by being "uber-successful."  What is forgotten is what get's left behind-the customer.

By the way, the void above is rarely filled by getting large. 

I'm appreciating small these days.

So Many Masks, So Little Time

I've written and taught about wearing masks before, but this post (The Joy of Quitting) from Seth got me thinking.  What if we burned our masks (the type that suck away our authenticity) in some great fire?

Politicians tend to be prone to mask wearing.  Ironic as that may be, since they really are supposed to be servants of the citizenry.  This is soberly played out in the video clip link of President Nixon in Seth's post.  The pre-speech interaction and honesty is worth the view.

When you wear masks to "project" or to deceive, you are taking a poison pill.  A pill that takes life very slowly…over time.  Most would agree that it's not worth the cost. 

Have you come to that conclusion?

Here are a some stakeholders who stand to benefit when the masks are discarded:

  1. Your family.  Believe me, they are longing for you to show up.
  2. Your career.  Are you really doing what is consistent with your wiring?
  3. Your next entrepreneur venture.  The potential benefactors of your ideas are worn out from empty ideas by mask-wearers.
  4. Your customers.  Too much coming at them-everyday-for you to be anything less than authentic.
  5. Your organization.  They may see potential in you that you're afraid to face.

The Calling-Red Pill Versus Blue Pill

Came across this post (via Dan Schawbel on Twitter) from Yahoo Hot Jobs and felt inspired to include the video clip above.  It's from the Matrix.  The classic scene between Morbius and Neo, where a pill of blue and a pill of red are offered to Neo.  Essentially, stay dead with the blue or wake up with the red.

My intention here is to alert you to #5 on the list from Yahoo.  I totally disagree with the writer's assertion that not everyone is called to something.  Granted, some may not know, some might have forgotten or some may be trying to kill it.  But everyone has a calling.

Sadly, we live in a culture that stands in opposition to your calling.

God weaved the vision in you and I.  The crux is what we allow "the Matrix" to take away or kill.  Every story is hinged on this conflict.