Yes, I’ve made an entire career out of wearing a nametag.

(I know. Sometimes I still don’t believe it myself!)

Still, many of my readers and audience members continue to ask the obvious question: ‘How?’

I wish I had a short answer for you. I really do.

But alas, it’s not that simple.

So, bear with me here as I take you through my long answer.

How to Make an Entire Career Out of Wearing a Nametag

ATTITUDE. Stay positive. Stay friendly. Stay fun. Especially because 10% of the people you meet will think you’re out of your damn mind. And remember: it’s not about the nametag; it’s the person wearing it, and the attitude OF that person. Turn hate mail into great mail. If at first your idea does not sound absurd, there is no hope for it. If everybody loves your brand, you’re doing something wrong.

BOLDNESS. Stick yourself out there: physically, emotionally and psychologically. Be willing to be humiliated, embarrassed and stared at. And keep in mind: the more often you throw yourself into the sea, the less likely the waves are to bother you. Grow thicker skin. Find out where you suck, but don’t let someone who has no right to criticize you to upset you for more than five minutes. And if you turn off someone who’s not in your target market, who cares. Can’t please everybody.

CREATIVITY. Study it. Practice it. Enhance it. Hang with other creative people, business or otherwise. Practice regular moments of solvitas perambulatorum. Never think ‘outside of the box,’ because ‘outside of the box’ is a very ‘inside the box’ saying. Interestingly, the word ‘creativity’ literally means, ‘to make something out of nothing.’

DISCIPLINE. Always carry extra nametags, prewritten and blank, with you at all times. Wear one nametag on every layer. Even at weddings, funerals, strip clubs (cringe) and while playing pickup basketball. Write for two hours every single day. Work hard. Work long. Work smart. Read everything. Rehearse all night so it looks like you didn’t rehearse all night. Practice discipline in ONE area of your life and let it transfer over to other areas.

EARS. Listen closely to the world. It will give you countless ideas, tips, lessons learned and inspirational moments/people. Write everything down when you hear it. Grow bigger ears daily. Read books about listening. Take furious notes. Shut up when people are talking. Listen to lots of music every single day from various genres. Pump beautiful music through your veins for at least two hours every single day. Don’t you dare watch or listen to local news. Listen to every audio tape known to man before you go to bed.

FUN. The day my job stops being fun is the day it stops, period.

GO. To every networking event, conference, seminar, book signing, self-development seminar, association meeting and cocktail hour. Don’t throw your business cards to everybody, but make yourself known. Be known FOR something and be known AS something. Come early; stay late. Find the people who clearly don’t know anybody, walk up and say, ‘Hi, I don’t know anybody here!’ Get your ass out of the house every single day for at least one meal, coffee or event. Remember: small business isn’t a category; it’s a lifestyle.

HANG. Out with other super successful businesspeople, that is. Success leaves clues. Ask lots of questions, find out what they did right AND wrong and emulate the good stuff. Glean whenever, wherever and from whomever, notwithstanding age, level of experience or personality type. Look for people who are 30 years ahead of you and decide if that’s where you want to be in 30 years. Also, DON’T hang out with the following types of people: bloodsuckers, piggybackers, negatives, complainers, time abusers, drug abusers, emotional vampires, people who aren’t doing jack with their lives, people who don’t listen and talk WAY too much, people who are just trying to use your time, money, resources and brain power.

IDENTITY. Figure out who you are, bother personally and professionally, how you roll, what you’ll stand for, what you won’t stand for you and what your personal philosophies and policies are. And remember: your identity is your most valuable possession. Read every book ever written on branding. Ask yourself lots of questions over and over. Make a Personal Mission Statement and read it to yourself every single morning. Know your values and beliefs. Make a Philosophy Card and pass it out to everyone you meet. Be the world’s expert on yourself. And never surround yourself with anyone who makes you second-guess yourself. Validate your existence, do something cool and be yourself – every single day.

JOKES. Especially about yourself. Self-deprecating humor disarms people, beats them to the punch and lays a foundation of approachability. Only take a few key things seriously. Never stop laughing. Find something funny every day.

KEEP IT SIMPLE. Say one thing. One word. One idea. Don’t make people have to remember more than that. That’s how stuff spreads. When people come to your website, make sure they know THE ONE THING you want them to do. Make your book, your idea and your business about one thing. One word. Make sure people can go onto Google and type in ONE WORD and get your website as the first five hits.

LOVE. Poured out into every blog post, speech, chapter, article, video, conversation and webpage. Authenticity. Consistency. Commitment. All tied together with love. Love what you do, what you don’t do, what you write, what you sell, whom you sell it to and why you sell it.

MAKE THE MUNDANE MEMORABLE. Phone greetings, introductions, business cards, company names, website domains, email signatures, email ‘from’ lines, personal greetings and blog posts. Do that, and people will not only remember it, they’ll spread the word, in addition to coming back themselves.

NETWORKING. Except don’t call it networking. You’re making friends. With everyone! Work hard at it, but work even harder at keeping it alive. Every time you travel, ask yourself, ‘Who else lives in this city I can hook up with?’ And don’t forget to network online, aka, INTERNETworking. And remember: there’s a time and place for networking. ANY time and ANY place. Because you never know! ‘Fear not to entertain strangers for by so doing some many have entertained angels unaware.’

OPPORTUNITY. It doesn’t knock once – it knocks all day. You need to open your mind and body to hearing those knocks and answering the door. Maintain a positive, expectation-based attitude every single day and more great opportunities are going to be attracted into your life. It ain’t about luck. There is no luck. There is no Law of Attraction. There is no Secret. There is only working your ass off and focusing and being disciplined. That’s how you create opportunities. Also, giving away free stuff helps too. The more you give away for free, the wealthier you will be. Write that one down.

PRODUCT. It’s you. They’re buying you. Because people buy people first. Because people are loyal to people, not companies. But you’re not a commodity. You’re a resource. An expert. The Go-To Guy. The Man. If you want to be a great salesman, follow these steps: sell yourself on yourself, sell yourself to your customer, sell your product to your customer by delivering value BEFORE price, then maintain approachability with that customer FOREVER. That’s it.

QUIET TIME. Do it every day with running, walking, swimming, mediating or praying. This quiet time enable you to stay in tune with the world and listen to what it’s trying to tell you. Take regular vows of silence to let your thoughts steal the show. Shut up more often.

READING. Read every book ever written on the topics that you also write about. Read every book written about your industry. Read at least two books every week. Keep your books religiously as precious gifts. NEVER loan them out to anybody, even family members. Every time you read, take notes and underline and highlight, then transfer those ideas onto your computer. Save them in a folder and refer to them regularly. Don’t even think about reading the newspaper. It’s all crap.

SEEK. Get help, especially from mentors. And get more than one mentor. Get ten mentors. Update them on your progress and make them proud. Find mentors who not only coach you on success, but who have actually HAD success too. Be careful about people approaching YOU to be your mentor. Sometimes they want to sell you stuff. You shouldn’t have pay mentors. Find the ones who will do it for free and it will probably be more effective. Always buy their lunch.

TRUST. Your gut, that is. Because if everyone says you’re nuts, you just might be onto something. Don’t give in when the Sell Out Alarm goes off in the back of your mind. Trust that what you’re doing is right. Also trust your friends and colleagues to tell you when you’ve screwed up. Hesitate to trust publicists, the media, people who PROMISE who they’re going call you back and people who PROMISE they don’t want anything from you.

UNITY. Of all the areas of your brand, that is. Be sure that every touch point is seamless and consistent. Be unconfusable. Be the same no matter what. Be congruent on and off stage, in and out of paper, on and offline. Don’t be ‘a good guy deep down,’ be ‘a good guy up front AND deep down.’ Because people don’t give you credit for what they HEAR you SAY consistently, people only give you credit for what they SEE you DO consistently. Preach what you practice, not the other way around.

VICTORIES. Keep a log of all victories, even if they’re small. Achieve victories daily to build your confidence and hone in your skills. Give thanks for all victories and expect more of them to come regularly. Make a list of 101 goals. Be obsessive about your goals. Carry a copy of your goals with you at all times. Look at them daily and every time you accomplish one, cross it off and say, ‘YES! I DID IT!!!’ (Unless you’re at the airport) Actually, I take that back. Screw TSA. Go ahead and yell at the airport.

WRITE. Writing is the basis of all wealth. Make sure everything you know is written down somewhere. Ask yourself, ‘What did you write today?’ Be sure to write every single day for two hours. But don’t think of your writing as books, chapters, speeches, articles, etc., think of them as MODULES. If you want to become a better writer, just start writing. Stop planning. Just write. Who cares if it sucks? Just write. And don’t wait for inspiration. Combine inspiration with discipline. And remember: if you don’t write it down, it never happened. Also remember to write conversationally. And don’t forget to be a great date for your reader. And don’t forget to study other great writers. Ooh! And be mindful of the ARCHITECTURE of your writing, both online and in print. Keep it short. Write like you talk and people will listen. Be funny often. Journal everything. And do lots of thinking. After all, writing is merely an extension of thinking. So become a better thinker. And write down EVERYTHING. Every idea, every quote, every book, every word, everything! Write, write and write! Did I said write?

XPECT. That great things are going to happen. That great people are going to come into your life. That business opportunities will present themselves when you’re ready. That you will make lots of money. That you will give the greatest speech of your life every time. That you will write from your heart. That you will be amazing. That you will mess up a lot and learn from that. That you need to work hard, long AND smart. That people are going to screw you over. That many of your ‘friends’ are going to stop being your friends when you become super successful, which probably means those ‘friends’ weren’t really your friends anyway.

YOUTH. It’s not the years; it’s the mileage. Don’t be ashamed that you’re still in your 20’s. It’s not a challenge; it’s an advantage. Use your youth, energy and enthusiasm to blow everyone away. Contribute your fresh, new, cool, fun, creative and unique perspective to those old dudes who have been thinking the same way about business for 50 years. And even though all you have are your experiences and what you’ve learned from them, age ain’t nuthin’ but a number. You don’t need a fancy degree or acronym after your name. Results are the only proof that matter. Blow people away with your creativity, knowledge, ideas, enthusiasm, listening skills, observations and writing abilities, and people will forget all about the fact that you were born in 1980.

ZEAL. Just a fancy word for enthusiasm. Energy. Fun. Craziness. Smiling. Laughing. Passion. Love. Ethos. All of these emotions need to be wrapped up in every website, every speech, every book, every article, every business card, every business encounter and every interview and phone call. Zeal is attractive. People will come to you. They will hire you and appreciate you. Because zeal is cool.

So that’s it. How one man made an entire career out of wearing a nametag.

Does that answer your question?

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How did YOU make something out of nothing?

I loathe the word ‘shtick.’

So, I did some research to figure out what it really means. And I discovered two facts:

1. The word shtick is defined as ‘A characteristic attribute, talent, gimmick or trait that is helpful in securing recognition or attention.’

2. The word shtick is derived from the Yiddish term shtik, which means ‘piece or routine.’

Your ‘thing.’ Your ‘hook.’

Your shtick.

Now, does that mean shtick is bad?

Not necessarily.

See, it’s not that shtick is bad. It just…

Shtick isn’t enough.
Shtick needs substance.
Shtick doesn’t sustain you.
Shtick only sells temporarily.

Sure, shtick is catchy and cool and clever and fun and different.

But in business, that will only carry you so far.

Sure, shtick might get you in the door.

But in marketing, that doesn’t guarantee you’ll stay in the room.

Only VALUE and SUBSTANCE can do that.

Take it from a guy who made a career out of wearing a nametag 24-7 for the past 2,380 days.

Sure, it’s SHTICK-Y, but only substance has made my career STICK-Y.

Sort of like comparing Dum-Dum Pops and Tootsie Pops.

Both are delicious. Both are popular.

But only one has SUBSTANCE. (Ahem, Mr. Tootsie.)

Which isn’t to say that Dum-Dums are bad. People love Dum-Dums!

But in business, you CAN’T just be all sugar.

Customers want value.
Customers want substance.
Customers want to take a few licks and then discover your Tootsie center.

Because shtick isn’t enough.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What’s your shtick?

So you want to build a brand, huh?

Well, you’re in luck. Because there’s good news, and REALLY good news!

THE GOOD NEWS: it doesn’t take much money.

Don’t be fooled by headlines like, ‘Coca-Cola spends 10 million dollars on new 30 second spot!’ or ‘Nike takes out front page ad for $20,000!’

You’re an entrepreneur. That stuff doesn’t apply to you.

Because, in the words of best-selling author Harry Beckwith, ‘Branding doesn’t take millions, it takes IMAGINATION.’

SO, THE REALLY GOOD NEWS: you can get started building your brand TODAY!

Even if you’re new to the industry.
Even if you just started your company.
Even if you don’t know much about marketing.
Even if you don’t want to spend a dime on advertising, direct mail or any of that other paper-wasting, money-draining junk.

There’s ONE question I want you to consider:

‘If everybody did exactly what you said, what would the world look like?”

My mentor, William Jenkins first taught me this question a few years ago. He told me to ask it to myself on a regular basis.

Because it clarifies your values.
Because it helps you articulate your personal and professional philosophies.
And because it builds a framework around which you can keep your actions accountable.

HERE’S THE CHALLENGE: sit down with your team (or, if you work alone, your dog) and come up with 5-7 bullet point answers to that question. ‘If everybody did EXACTLY what you said, what would the world look like?’

Once you’re comfortable with the answers, you now have a brand foundation!

Write it down, post it all around the office, even consider creating a little philosophy card and handing it out to customers as a reminder of your philosophy.

People love these cards because people love to learn YOUR UNIQUE WAY of doing business and delivering value!

And most importantly, people respond to policies.

See, once you’ve figured out your philosophy, all you have to do NOW…

…is SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS!!

In your email, on the phone, in person, everywhere! Branding is about a seamless consistency via all touchpoints.

AND HERE’S THE BEST PART: once you get your philosophy, the rest is simple.

Just make sure that every time you work with a customer, you’re consistently providing him with the tools he needs to build that world.

‘If everybody did exactly what you said, what would the world look like?’

THAT is the question of the day. And it doesn’t take money; it takes imagination!

SO REMEMBER: even though a brand doesn’t millions to create, that doesn’t mean that it can’t create millions.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What’s your best non-money method for branding?

Growing bigger ears is also about NOT listening.

Not listening to the wrong kinds of people, that is.

After all, the word ‘bigger’ also means ‘more mature.’

So…

1. Don’t listen to people who … have no idea what the hell they’re talking about
2. Don’t listen to people who … try to destroy your dreams.
3. Don’t listen to people who … tell you what’s right or wrong.
4. Don’t listen to people who … tell you what to believe.
5. Don’t listen to people who … have nothing else to whine about
6. Don’t listen to people who … think they know what you need.
7. Don’t listen to people who … say you’re making them look bad.
8. Don’t listen to people who … nastily try to induce insecurity in others.
9. Don’t listen to people who … tell you that you can’t make it in this business.
10. Don’t listen to people who … who’s imagination can’t encompass what it is that you want to do.
11. Don’t listen to people who … claim ‘their way’ is ‘thee way.’
12. Don’t listen to people who … haven’t done anything themselves.
13. Don’t listen to people who … cannot prove that they have done what you are trying to do.
14. Don’t listen to people who … who put a damper on your natural versatility.
15. Don’t listen to people who … who give uneducated and bad reviews.
16. Don’t listen to people who … who say that studying and learning isn’t cool.
17. Don’t listen to people who … who aren’t qualified to advise you.
18. Don’t listen to people who … don’t listen to you.
19. Don’t listen to people who … don’t listen to themselves.
20. Don’t listen to people who … say, ‘You can’t do that, get an education!’
21. Don’t listen to people who … say (insert group of people) are ALL like that.
22. Don’t listen to people who … tell you to change what you’re doing.
23. Don’t listen to people who … tell you the market is saturated.
24. Don’t listen to people who … think it’ll never work.
25. Don’t listen to people who … think you’re out of your mind.
26. Don’t listen to people who … say that manga is a useless hobby.
27. Don’t listen to people who … believe there are ‘only two kinds of people in the world.’
28. Don’t listen to people who … are TELLING you, aggressively, that everything is normal.
29. Don’t listen to people who … claim they’re ‘not’ racist, sexist, homophobic, whatever. If you have to tell people you are, then you probably aren’t. And if you have to tell people you aren’t, then you probably are.
30. Don’t listen to people who … put you down and try to force you into dead-end roles.
31. Don’t listen to people who … are overwhelmed with jealousy.
32. Don’t listen to people who … tell you that you have to buy a certain kind of suit.
33. Don’t listen to people who … haven’t been right about shit in years.
34. Don’t listen to people who … want to put you down because your passion and enthusiasm scares them.
35. Don’t listen to people who … say you should’ve bought a bigger one.
36. Don’t listen to people who … think they get paid to make your mind up for you.
37. Don’t listen to people who … state their opinion as if it were fact.
38. Don’t listen to people who … think you’re geeky because you ride a recumbent.
39. Don’t listen to people who … use their own personal values to censor other people.
40. Don’t listen to people who … say young people offer no hope for our future.
41. Don’t listen to people who … bare long term grudges on new companies.
42. Don’t listen to people who … say what you do is strange or too eclectic.
43. Don’t listen to people who … criticize you no matter what you do.
44. Don’t listen to people who … require you to read a library before they even want to hear your thoughts.
45. Don’t listen to people who … are just after your money.
46. Don’t listen to people who … are just after your time.
47. Don’t listen to people who … are just after your brain (ahem, aliens).
48. Don’t listen to people who … tell you that you won’t make it in this field because it’s too competitive.
49. Don’t listen to people who … who stereotype your school.
50. Don’t listen to people who … try to stress you out.
51. Don’t listen to people who … have nothing but compliments for you.
52. Don’t listen to people who … have nothing but insults for you.
53. Don’t listen to people who … offer you “friendly advice” solely to make you feel insecure.
54. Don’t listen to people who … persuade you to install another piece of software that won’t do more than just occupy precious space in your hard drive.
55. Don’t listen to people who … ridicule, spit venom or demean.
56. Don’t listen to people who … tell you not to do something because they don’t think you are capable.
57. Don’t listen to people who … tell you what you can and can’t do with your body (unless it’s your Doctor)
58. Don’t listen to people who … instruct you which foods you can and can’t eat (unless it’s your Doctor)
59. Don’t listen to people who … say what you’re doing will be “too hard.”
60. Don’t listen to people who … say the signing of Hakeem Olajuwon was the reason for the Raptors’ downfall.
61. Don’t listen to people who … tell you “if you don’t go now, you’ll never go.’
62. Don’t listen to people who … scream at or insult others for a living.
63. Don’t listen to people who … don’t respect their customers.
64. Don’t listen to people who … seek to silence your conscience.
65. Don’t listen to people who … went somewhere once and think they know everything about it.
66. Don’t listen to people who … dismiss your work as uninteresting or unimportant.
67. Don’t listen to people who … tell you to stop singing so loud.
68. Don’t listen to people who … shovel smoke for a living.
69. Don’t listen to people who … lie.
70. Don’t listen to people who … say something sucks when THEY just don’t like it.
71. Don’t listen to people who … say there’s nothing you can do about it.
72. Don’t listen to people who … don’t think that ‘Afternoon Delight’ is the greatest song ever.
73. Don’t listen to people who … claim that you ONLY have to work smart.
74. Don’t listen to people who … say it’s just dumb luck.
75. Don’t listen to people who … aren’t listening, they’re just waiting to talk.
76. Don’t listen to people who … answer with the lies they tell themselves.
77. Don’t listen to people who … say you can’t make money from fishing.
78. Don’t listen to people who … want to hide in the background.
79. Don’t listen to people who … try to steer your life.
80. Don’t listen to people who … tell you to pick up your rabbit by the ears.
81. Don’t listen to people who … try to pass the buck to others.
82. Don’t listen to people who … tell you that the Brunswick Total Inferno Bowling Ball is too much for you.
http://www.bowlingball.com/Bowling-Ball-4934/brunswick_total_inferno-hpp-4-1-1.html
83. Don’t listen to people who … have so much anger and hate in them.
84. Don’t listen to people who … say you can get rich by putting a link on their site because of all the traffic they receive.
85. Don’t listen to people who … tell you how cool they are.
86. Don’t listen to people who … never worked in food service before.
87. Don’t listen to people who … say they studied for a weekend and passed.
88. Don’t listen to people who … go to restaurants and order a dish because the name of the restaurant is in the name of the dish.
89. Don’t listen to people who … say that starving yourself is a good idea as long as it is done in a routine way.
90. Don’t listen to people who … mock you for trying.
91. Don’t listen to people who … can’t even get their basic facts straight.
92. Don’t listen to people who … want to lump the law on you again.
93. Don’t listen to people who … tell you that there is nothing wrong with you and that you have no reason to be depressed.
94. Don’t listen to people who … tell you that REAL filmmakers never zoom.
95. Don’t listen to people who … tell you this race is over
96. Don’t listen to people who … say you’re too young.
97. Don’t listen to people who … baulk at making cheesecake in a pressure cooker.
98. Don’t listen to people who … only offer anecdotes of their own situation.
99. Don’t listen to people who … abuse.

And last (but not least)…

100. Don’t listen to people who … make absurdly long lists telling you what types of people not to listen to. Instead, make your own ?

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Who do you (not) listen to?

Katz’s Deli is a delicatessen on the Lower East Side of New York City. Been around since 1888.

But it’s not just any old deli.

Katz’s was the site of Meg Ryan’s famous fake-orgasm scene (“I’ll have what she’s having”) in the 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally.

THE BEST PART: the table at which she and Billy Crystal sat is clearly marked with a sign that says, “Where Harry met Sally…hope you have what she had!”

LESSON LEARNED: enshrine your business.

Think about it. Go to your local Borders and grab any bestselling book. Somewhere on the front cover there will most likely be a little sticker. A starburst. An emblem. A little extra eye-catching piece of signage.

It usually says something like:

‘Featured on Oprah’s book club!’
‘Pulitzer prize winner!’
‘Over ten million copies sold!’
‘Now a major motion picture movie!’

It’s about credibility.
It’s about leveraging the media.
It’s about upping the value perception of your product.

It’s all about the sticker.

Of course, it doesn’t actually have to be a ‘sticker.’

Just something (anything!) that ENSHRINES your product, company, service or website.

Here’s a list of Seven Ways to Enshrine Your Business. By using these leverage techniques, you will create a more valuable, more credible perception of your brand:

1. Media appearances, i.e., ‘Featured on’ or ‘As seen on’
2. Awards, i.e., ‘Winner of’ or ‘Finalist for’
3. Time, i.e., ‘20 Years of Business!’ or ‘Since 1878!’
4. Elite Status, i.e., ‘President’s Club’ or ‘Million Dollar Society’
5. Quantity, i.e., ‘Over 99 billion burgers sold!’ or ‘50 million copies in print!’
6. Endorsement, i.e., ‘Where Oprah buys her underwear!’ or ‘The Official Nametag of Scott Ginsberg!’
7. Expansion, i.e., ‘Now a worldwide franchise!’ or ‘Now a major motion picture!’

LESSON LEARNED: stick yourself out there, get them to come to you.

So, whichever enshrining technique you use, one thing’s for certain.

Next time a potential customer comes to your store, website or place of business, they’re gonna see it. And just like with Meg Ryan, they’ll be thinking, ‘I’ll have what she’s having!’

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Is your business enshrined?

FIRST QUESTION: What do Cosmopolitan, FastCompany, The Wall Street Journal, 20/20, and Inc. Magazine all have in common?

Each of those publications featured me as an expert because they all read my blog. I didn’t send them press copies of my books. I didn’t ‘pitch’ them. They came to me. Because blogging gives value.

So, why aren’t you blogging again?

SECOND QUESTION: What does the number 497 mean to you?

Probably nothing, right?

Well, for mean, 497 is the number of times I’ve posted on my blog.

In other words:

o 497 hits on Google
o 497 (more) hits on Google than other speakers who DON’T blog
o 497 press releases (but better)
o 497 instances of delivering value
o 497 reinforcements of my brand
o 497 ideas for future speeches and products
o 497 validations of my expertise
o 497 expansions of my expertise
o 497 reasons for the media to inquire
o 497 opportunities to build community
o 497 opportunities to stay in front of fans
o 497 pictures of you giving speeches and working with clients
o 497 modules to be used for future books, speeches, products
o 497 (more) links to my website
o 497 moments of (not selling, but) enabling people to buy

So. WHY aren’t you blogging again?

LAST QUESTION: Why would speakers post pictures of themselves on their own blogs?

Five reasons.

1. The pictures show you doing what you do. This provides social proof that you are a REAL speaker, effective and ‘out there.’ Anyone can claim to be a speaker, but with pictures of you in front of audiences, it reinforces what you do.

2. People see what they missed. Make your blog post almost like a review of a concert that came to town. Discuss highlights, funny moments, even screw-ups and interruptions. Make readers say, ‘Wow, that sounded awesome!’

3. Content generation. By making notes about each speech and recording them on your blog, you are managing you content for future speeches and books. It’s all about knowledge management!

4. Attract new customers. When people read about how you helped a certain organization, they’re going to say, ‘Hmmm…I wonder if he could do that for my group? Maybe I should give him a call…’

5. Customer service. By blogging about your speech, the venue, the client and the audience, you compliment your customer. Be sure to email your main client/meeting planner and tell he or she to read the post. It’s the best thank you note in the world!

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Why aren’t you blogging?

Shakespeare once said, ‘Action is eloquence.’

Wow. Consider the sheer magnitude of those three words.

Action is eloquence.

Brings to mind a few thoughts:

1. Having a great, positive attitude doesn’t do you any good if you don’t follow UP, and follow THROUGH with action.

2. Goals without actions are just dreams. (Not sure who gets credit for that line, but it’s true.)

3. People don’t give you credit for what they HEAR you SAY consistently. They only give you credit for what they SEE you DO consistently.

4. Luck isn’t accidental. You create it and attract it with your actions combined with your attitude.

5. Practice orthopraxy, not orthodoxy. It’s the difference between the correct ACTIONS and the correct BELIEFS. In short: practices, not principles. So, instead of practicing what you preach, preaching what you practice. It’s more authentic, more believable, more persuasive, more approachable and more eloquent.

6. DO things first; don’t SAY things first. So, do something first, THEN tell people about it. THEN tell people what you learned. THEN encourage them to do the same. Lead with actions, not words.

Action is eloquence.

Well said, Bill.

The more you give away for free, the wealthier you will be.

In 1999, Seth Godin wrote a book called Permission Marketing.

In addition to selling the book on Amazon, Seth also offered it as a downloadable ebook … for free.

The ENTIRE book. For nothing. A publishing first!

Not only did millions of people download it…

Not only did millions of people tell their friends about it…

But millions of people also BOUGHT Seth’s book too. And it would later become one of the fastest, best selling books in history.

He now has a cult following, comparable to the likes of Tom Peters and Peter Drucker. Oh, and his speaking fee is more than some people’s annual income.

The more you give away for free, the wealthier you will be.

Speaking of Tom Peters, let’s talk about Tom Peters.

Notwithstanding his existing reputation as a brilliant author, speaker and consultant, he still gives everything away for free.

Every article. Every ebook. Every rant. Every special report. Every set of PowerPoint slides.

Everything.

He gets it.

The more you give away for free, the wealthier you will be.

Also understood by Ryan Adams, one of my favorite songwriters.

In 2007, he recorded eight new albums (yes, eight) all at once. Each of his new CD’s was available as free downloads on his website.

Media outlets worldwide gasped at his prolificacy. He made music history.

And scores of fans old and new swarmed his homepage for days at a time (not hours, but days) to download all the new tunes from their favorite rocker.

Including myself.

Make no mistake: Ryan Adams’ generosity won’t go unrewarded.

While many Gen X artists are cowering beneath the shadows of unstoppable American Idol atrocities, Adams is only growing bigger and better.

Because he’s not afraid to give at all away.

The more you give away for free, the wealthier you will be.

Just do it. Don’t worry. The world pay you back.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What are you giving away for free?

1. Attitude. In a sea of thousands of people all trying to get noticed, you have NO choice but to be unforgettable and remarkable. So you better begin with the attitude of approachability. That you’re going to stick yourself out there.

2. Detach from outcomes. Sure, you have goals. Maybe to sell. Maybe to get in front of the right buyers. However, also try to focus less on the outcome and more on the big picture. Free yourself from agendas. Develop a no-entitlement attitude. And focus on having fun, delivering value and creating a memorable (er, unforgettable) presence.

3. Go beyond free. Every booth, vendor, exhibitor and company is going to give something away for free. So, before you attend the show, brainstorm a list of the Top 50 Most Common (and Annoying) Free Giveaways. Don’t do any of them. Instead, pick something cool, remarkable and consistent with your brand that people will actually KEEP. Otherwise, you may as well just tell the attendees, ‘Here, YOU throw this away!’

4. But don’t go overboard on free. You don’t have to give away something for free to EVERYBODY. If they don’t want it, don’t force it. REMEMBER: approachability is a two-way street. Consider offering a free item that’s so good, people actually come up to YOU and say, ‘Ooh! Can I have one of those?’

5. Smile. The whole damn time.

6. Wave. To every single person.

7. Use disarming approaches. Six words: ‘Hi, I don’t know anybody here!’

8. Practice strategic serendipity. Say yes a LOT more. Spend time with people in areas and around things you wouldn’t normally approach. Break your patterns.

9. Don’t pick and choose. Talk to everybody. Even your non-buyers and customers. Even the food service people. Even the janitors. Even the information booth guy. Even the conference planners. Especially the conference planners. Because you never know. And consistency is far better than rare moments of greatness.

10. Dress it up. If you can find some sort of costume that’s consistent with your brand, do it. I wear a giant nametag to my conferences. Nobody misses me. Does your appearance stand out or blend in?

11. Achieve The HVA. Which stands for 1) ‘Huh?’ 2) Value and 3) ‘Aha!’ Attract people to yourself (or booth) with curiosity. Spark their interest. Then deliver your value statement. Then get them to say, ‘Ah! I get it! That’s cool…’

12. Speaking of curiosity. Do something that encourages strangers to approach you and say, ‘So, what’s the story behind that?’

13. Strike the match. Do something that make people say, ‘Dude, did you see that guy who…’ Generate inner-conference buzz.

14. Make music, not noise. Everyone else at your conference is going to be making NOISE. With their annoying, boring promo materials and free toys that nobody wants or cares about. You need to make MUSIC by getting people to smile, laugh, say hello, start talking, have fun and deliver remarkable value.

15. Interact; don’t interrupt. Everyone else at your conference is going to be INTERRUPTING the other attendees. Take this! See this! Have a free cookie! They say. Instead, consider INTERACTING, not interrupting people. Making friends. Strike up conversations. Talk about business later. Lead with your person; follow with your profession. Open your conversations with topics OTHER than business, sales, the weather, traffic and the like.

16. Just chill. Stressed and hurried are not approachable adjectives. Separate yourself from other attendees by not appearing overly needy and desperate for business. After all, it’s hard to sell with your tongue hanging out! Just chill. Relax.

17. Attract attention. Notice it says ‘attract,’ and not ‘draw.’ Major difference. Your job is to be remarkable and cool and fun and valuable. If so, people that see you will follow these six steps:

a. Smile and point at you.
b. Nod in agreement.
c. Think or say, ‘Nice!’ or ‘That’s cool!’
d. Grab their friend’s shirt and say, ‘Jimmy, you’ve got to check out this guy over here…’
e. Approach you.
f. Tell everyone about you.

18. Find the cameras. Photographers, press folks and bloggers LOVE to capture images and videos of cool, fun, remarkable stuff. They also like to share those images in their publications and on the web. So, ask yourself the following three questions:

a. Are you worth videotaping?
b. Are you worth taking a picture of?
c. Are you worth blogging about the next morning?

19. Be a rock star. Do things to enhance your celebrity status. Bring a friend to follow YOU around with a camera all day. Give a speech. Hold a pre or post event party.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How do YOU stick yourself out there at conferences?