1. Analyze the why. Why drives you. Why is fueled by purpose. Why is what changes the world. Why is the architecture of vision. And the why is way more important than the how. Are your dreams debunked by the hopeless waiting for how?

2. Assemble the knowledge. You don’t even need to know that much. Just the bare minimum to be able to do something awesome. Once you have it, confidently plunge into the vortex of uncertainty. How little do you need to know before jumping?

3. Destroy the familiar. Unpredictable is the key. Unexpected is the secret. Unplanned is the answer. Are you willing to let go of structure?

4. Make the leap. You’re ready. Especially if you go to work everyday asking yourself, “What the hell am I still DOING here?” Are you willing to take it up to eleven?

5. Ponder the ramifications. Always ask, “Now that I have this, what else does this make possible?” Out of my personal catalog of 7000 questions, this is easily in the top twenty. It’s a leverage question. A growth question. A creative possibilities question. And if you if learn to (not only) ask it – but LIVE it – I guarantee your organization will never be the same again. What questions are you known for asking?

6. Screw the reviews. Grow thicker skin and create something critics will criticize. Nobody ever erected a statue of one of those wankers, now did they? Remember: Most art is ignored. Being noticed is a victory because attention is currency. As long as you actually DO something meaningful with that attention. How will you turn eyeballs into money?

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Are you an efficacious entrepreneur?

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For the list called, “7 Ways to Out LEVERAGE Your Competition,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

You have zero control over the economy.

But you DO have 100% control over YOUR economy.

REMEMBER: Just because THEE economy sucks, doesn’t mean YOUR economy can’t rock.

THE QUESTION IS: Which of the two will you invest your time in?

Consider these two facts:

1. The word “economy” derives from the Latin oeconomia, which means, “household management.”

2. The actual definition of the word “economy” is: “The disposition or regulation of the parts or functions of any organic whole; an organized system or method.”

IN SHORT: “Your economy” is how you manage yourself in relation to the world.

Today we’re going to explore a collection of practices to assure that your economy continues to thrive, even when the rest of the world takes a div…

1. Befriend the current. Find a way to position yourself with the economy instead of complaining about it. For example, think about how you can leverage your expertise as the answer to the world’s economic problems. Consider asking yourself (or your team) these questions:

*What ‘Crappy Economy Problem’ does my expertise solve?
*How does my product help people get a job or keep a job?
*In a down economy, what, specifically, is my company the answer to?

I was able to accomplish this when I started writing a regular column for The Ladders. I transitioned my material from “approachability” to “hireability.” Your mission to position yourself as the go-to guy for handling the troubled economic climate – all because you stayed genuinely committed to honoring reality. You surfed the current instead of paddling against it. What do you need to befriend?

2. Don’t feel the need to pretend to be busy. You’re not fooling anybody. Stop acting like you’re totally slammed with new business. Stop constructing a self-important façade of never-ending busyness. Now, that doesn’t mean reflexively announcing to everyone you meet that business sucks and that you’re spending most of your working hours sipping lattes at Starbucks updating your Facebook status.

Rather, learn to be selective about what you reveal to people. You don’t have to lie – you just have to be discerning. Meanwhile, leverage your downtime. Blog more. Volunteer more. Increase community visibility. Whatever it takes. What is your newfound downtime an opportunity for?

3. Surround yourself with people who challenge and inspire you. As long as you’re saddled with energy-draining people, you have a perfect excuse for not being as successful as you could be. Take a look at who’s siphoning the energy around you. Make the choice to personally amputate anyone who doesn’t believe in or support you. And keep in mind what Mr. Miyagi once said, “The best way to block a punch is to not be there.” Where do you need to NOT be?

4. Cancel your cable. Television is the devil. Period. It’s not relaxing – it’s assaulting. And your negative attitude about the crappy economy is only grower stronger with every wasteful minute you spend in front of idiot box. Think of it this way: How much money did you make last year by watching TV? Exactly. Zero. How much inspiration did you receive last year by watching TV? Exactly. Zero. And how much personal growth did you experience last year by watching TV? Exactly. Zero.

Do yourself a favor: Walk away from meaninglessness. Call your cable company right now and tell them to disconnect your signal. I actually canceled my cable about a month ago, and I’ve never felt more liberated. Plus I’m saving ninety bucks a month. That’s sushi money, honey. How much happier, healthier and more productive is your life because you watch television?

5. Create a force field of aliveness. Start by developing a totally honest relationship with yourself. Clear out the underbrush of your own mind and climb more readily into the reality that absolutely terrifies you. Namely, that the economy is in the worst state since the Great Depression.

Sure, that requires that you become more vulnerable. But it sure beats evading the truth. What’s more, that which is denied by the mind becomes trapped in the body. And the last thing you need in a down economy is another ulcer. Blech. How alive are you willing to be?

6. Direct and regulate your own becoming. Release your energies from the struggle against what you don’t want to be. As I read in The Act of Will, “The individual is not fixed and immutable but is in a continual state of becoming.” Allow yourself to fully and confidently face responsibility for your life.

And remember that the ONLY three things you have any control over are your attitudes, your responses and your choices. That’s YOUR economy. Have you precisely determined what you will be?

7. Music is the healing force. I saw that written on the marquee of Vintage Vinyl last month, and I couldn’t agree more. Spending money on music that moves your heart is never, ever a waste. Here’s the plan I live by:

*Go to one concert a month (Leonard Cohen next week!)
*Buy one new album a week (Monsters of Folk is a great pick)
*Sing for five minutes a day (My neighbors hate me)
*And make seasonal mixes or playlists of your favorite songs several times a year. (Mine depend on weather.)

Meanwhile, don’t punish yourself for spending that time or money. When it comes to music, it’s always worth it. If you want your economy to rock, start by rocking OUT. What’s the soundtrack of your life?

8. Double the dosage of inspiration. Refresh your spark. Fire inspiration into yourself. Read The War of Art. Watch Shawshank. Listen to The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale. Or dig up that old Tony Robbins DVD you haven’t watched in years. I guarantee you’ll learn something new this time. Not because the material changed – but because YOU changed. What inspires you?

9. Foster a pervasive tone of gratitude. Don’t make yourself an enemy of the universe. Don’t be a stranger or an intruder – become part of it. Here’s what I want you to do: Buy a new journal. Get a nice pen. Then, every morning, spend five minutes physically listing things you are grateful for. I’ve done this for years and I guarantee this ritual will put you in a great mood every morning. Not to mention, what you appreciate, appreciates. You can expect to attract more of whatever you write down into your life.

Sound cheesy? Well, you’re right – it is. But that doesn’t make it ineffective. Get over yourself. Cheesy works. Ramp up your thankfulness. Otherwise negativity will infiltrate and radiate into everything you do. And people will avoid you like a kindergartner with swine flu. What if you celebrated Thanksgiving everyday?

10. Stop investing energy in your fears and let them go. Just because everyone else is freaking out about the economy doesn’t mean you should too. So, free yourself from the overwhelming sweep of collective panic. Don’t let widespread negativity infiltrate your outlook. Negativity is a form of resistance, and it will creep into your attitude if you’re not careful.

Here’s an idea: Save the time and energy you would have spent worrying about things you cant control and reinvest it in making yourself stronger and smarter. Otherwise, by fixating on someone (or something) beyond your sphere of control, you lose unrecoverable time that could be devoted to becoming uniquely great.

But, if you remember the credo of Optimists International, you’ll be fine: “Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.” When was the last time the economy stayed up all night worrying about YOU?

11. Decide how you’re going to decide. Physically write out your core operating values. Then, create a governing document for daily decision-making. This exercise builds congruency in your behavior and assures stronger, more consistent and more aligned choices.

Who knows? This document might help you make a profound change in the way you approach everything. Or enable you to activate and utilize the best aspects of yourself, bringing your normal capacities to a higher level of effectiveness. It certainly did for me. Are you willing to reorient yourself in new directions?

12. Learn to disappear. Customize a personal system for getting away from everybody and everything – including yourself. Build structured AND spontaneous mini-vacations into every week. Examples: Turn your Crackberry off for two hours on a Tuesday afternoon. Drive across town to a Starbucks you’ve never been to before.

Or, take your lunch hour in a secluded corner of the company warehouse where nobody can bother you. Whatever approach you choose, learning to disappear is about creating an open space from which to create a new way of being. It’s a powerful practice that will change your life for the better, guaranteed.

All it requires is a splash of discipline and a dash of self-control. Remember: If you don’t establish healthy boundaries for yourself – other people will set them for you. And then they will violate them – and it will be YOUR fault. How do you refresh yourself?

13. Be body smart. The absolute stupidest move you could EVER make in a down economy is to lose sight of your health. Period. Physical, mental and spiritual. All three. Now, I’m not going to waste your time telling you how to do that. You know what you need to do be healthier – you just need to do it. If your health were perfect, how would it be different from your health today?

14. Keep pulling your triggers for joy. For me, that means three-hour sushi dinners with people I can act like a complete idiot in front of. Or going to concerts where I can sing as loud as I damn well please without having to worry about other people wondering whether or not I’m a mental patient.

Or watching movies like Superbad, Pineapple Express and Knocked Up, all of which make me laugh until my face hurts. These things are good for the soul. They aren’t luxuries – they’re necessities. How often are you pulling your triggers for joy?

FACE IT: It’s glaringly evident that the economy isn’t going to make a full recovery any time soon.

But YOUR economy, on the other hand, might.

So:

I challenge you to dance in the rain of this economic storm.
I challenge you to wake up from your negative self-hypnosis.
I challenge you to stop trying to control things over which you have no control.
I challenge you to erase the lines on your preconditioned roadmap and make yourself available to new possibilities.

REMEMBER: Just because THEE economy sucks, doesn’t mean YOUR economy can’t rock.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How’s your economy?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
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* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

There are no cover bands in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The same goes for business: The more imitatable you are, the less valuable you are.

That’s why imitators never make history – only originators do.

Your challenge is to honestly ask yourself if the personal brand you’re building is (truly) an amplification of your uniqueness … or just an echo of somebody else’s marketing.

Because if you don’t display your own creative originality, your brand will become (yet another) interchangeable mediocrity, fading into the multitude of sameness.

Like a needle in a stack of needles.

Fortunately, it doesn’t take a lot of money to build a rockstar brand…

Don’t be fooled by headlines like, “Coca-Cola spends ten million dollars on a thirty-second Superbowl spot!” or “Macy’s takes out front page ad for $50,000!”

Branding doesn’t take money – it takes imagination. Just because a brand doesn’t take millions to create doesn’t mean THAT brand can’t create millions.

AS LONG AS YOU REMEMBER: Your personal brand is the price of admission. It’s no longer a novelty – it’s a necessity.

And I’m not talking about all that superficial, low-level advice you read from so-called “branding experts” about how to “dress for success.”

Branding isn’t clothing.

Branding is identity.
Branding is what you’re known for knowing.
Branding is the best, highest version of yourself – and how other people experience themselves in relation TO that self.

THAT’S branding.

And without it, you lose.

“Be branded or be stranded,” I like to remind my clients.

Are you willing to stick yourself out there and make your own music?

Good. Because most marketing just makes noise. For example:

Think of the most horrible sound imaginable.

Maybe it’s fingers on a chalkboard.
Maybe it’s a baby screaming in pain.
Maybe it’s someone choking on a piece of broccoli.
Maybe it’s turning over the ignition on your car when it’s already started.

Yecch! Makes your skin crawl, huh?

That’s the effect noise has on people.

Now, let’s try something else.

Think of the most beautiful music imaginable.

Maybe it’s a song from an opera.
Maybe it’s one of Mozart’s symphonies.
Maybe it’s an ambient mix of keyboards and organs.
Maybe it’s that first song you slow-danced to at your wedding.

Ahhhhhhhh. Puts your soul at ease, doesn’t it?

That’s the effect music has on people.

So, music versus noise. Which one does YOUR marketing make?

That’s precisely the problem. The majority of the marketing out there isn’t music – it noise. And customers are tired of it. Their ears are bleeding, they’re not your little targets anymore, and THEY are the ones who choose how much attention to give to you.

The question is two-fold: (1) Is your marketing making music or noise? And (2), If you ARE making music, is it YOUR music, or are you just playing a cover tune of somebody else’s?

REMEMBER: Be the O.G. or be R.I.P.

YES, you can always play someone else’s material, but it won’t sustain you. It won’t challenge you. It won’t expand you. And it certainly won’t guarantee you success.

YES, sometimes it’s just easier to play other people’s stuff. It’s quick, it’s safe and it’s guaranteed to garner applause.

But you know what? Receiving a nice round of inner applause feels a hell of a lot better.

If you truly want to build a rockstar brand without breaking the bank, you better make music and not noise; and you better be sure that music is your own.

LESSON LEARNED: Don’t march to the beat of a different drummer become the drummer yourself.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
If your personal brand was a cereal, what would it be?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “26 Ways to OUT Brand the Competition,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Who’s telling their friends about YOU?

Tune in to The Marketing Channel on NametagTV.com!

Watch video lessons on spreading the word!

1. What are you doing to become even more visible?

Anonymity is the adversary of success.

I wear a nametag 24-7. In fact, today is my 9-year anniversary. I literally have zero anonymity whatsoever. (Except on Halloween, when I change my nametag as part of my costume.) Other than that, anyone who sees me at any given moment can say to herself, “Well, I guess his name is Scott…”

Now, I’m not suggesting you do the same. In fact, I strongly suggest you DO NOT wear a nametag 24-7. What I AM suggesting is that you consider the adverse relationship between anonymity and profitability. And maybe a good start would be to throw away your marketing plan and begin writing a visibility plan. Because it’s NOT who you know. It’s NOT who knows you. It’s whose life is significantly because they know you.

2. How can you turn your unique personality into a marketing weapon?

Branding is the inevitability of identity.

It’s got nothing to do with marketing and everything to do with the natural extension of your core selfhood. The best, highest version of yourself – paired with the way other people experience themselves in relation TO you.

That’s branding. And it was born about five thousand years before those sleazy advertising jerks starting brainwashing you. Read The Gita and The Tao De Ching. If that’s not branding I don’t know what is.

3. Is your business a friend of simplicity?

Eloquence is the byproduct of simple.

Complexity generates contemplation, and contemplation kills sales. On the other hand, simplicity induces relaxation, and relaxed customers buy. It’s your choice. Sure, it takes more time, energy and courage to create and deliver something simple.

But isn’t it all worth it when your idea is SO simple that a kindergartner runs home from school to tell their parents about it? Stop creating riddles that take too long for impatient customers to solve.

4. Are you drowning in a sea of sameness?

Failure is the destiny of boring.

Nobody buys boring. Not any more. There are too many choices and too little time. So, there’s a direction correlation between how successful you are and how boring you are. Your challenge is to become the most interesting person you know. Which isn’t just some vague platitude – you can literally increase your level of interestingness.

Try this: Amuse people or lose people. Choreograph attention. Build curiosity and expectation into everything you do. Position yourself so, moment-to-moment; people want to see what happens next. And finally, be abnormal, yet relevant to humanity. Remember: If you want to maximize noticeability and spreadability, you need to create a widening circle of interest around it.

5. Are you talking your ideas into the ground when you should be building your ideas into the sky?

Hype is the camouflage of quality.

I used to work in the promotions department for a radio station in St. Louis. And I’ll never forget what my boss told me on the first day of work. “When we record a spot for a new movie release, here’s the rule: The more promotional stuff the production company sends us, the crappier the movie probably is.”

He was right. Box office bombs like K-PAX, Corky Romano and Freddy Got Fingered sent our station truckloads of key chains, t-shirts, posters and other worththless hype. They were compensation for quality. On the other hand, cinematic classics like Memento, Donnie Darko and The Royal Tannenbaums didn’t send a thing. Not even a press release. The quality of those movies spoke for itself.

6. What is your plan for reaching the world with your unique message?

Platform is the artifact of attraction.

While a resume is what you’ve already accomplished, a platform is what you’re currently accomplishing. Think that makes it more relevant than some piece of paper? You bet. Interestingly, the geological definition of the term platform is: “The ancient, stable, interior layer of a continental craton composed of igneous or metamorphic rocks.”

OK. Let’s unpack that scientific idea as it pertains to your Thought Leadership world:

(1) Ancient, meaning long-term viability, of your expertise, that is.

(2) Stable, meaning a solid foundation of value, which refers to your body of work.

(3) Interior, meaning deriving from your core, aka, speaking your truth in whatever you publish.

(4) Layers, meaning multiple levels of content, which denotes intellectual diversity and depth.

(5) Igneous, meaning produced under conditions involving intense heat, i.e., your unique philosophy is fueled by passion and fire.

(6) Metamorphic, meaning specific shape or form to your thoughts, which means you’ve taken a side, picked a lane and put a stake in the ground.

That’s a platform. And without it, the media won’t seek you out. Without a platform, Google won’t develop a crush on you. Without a platform, unsolicited referrals won’t make their way to you. Without a platform, your expertise won’t be validated. Without a platform, your credibility won’t be authenticated. And without a platform, your following won’t grow exponentially. Start building today.

7. Are you a fad or a movement?

Sticky is the start of spreadable.

But that doesn’t mean it’s enough. Sticky doesn’t mean viable and shtick doesn’t mean substance. Sticky literally means “adhesive,” whereas spreadable means, “to stretch out and send in various directions.” Your mission is to prove to people that you’re worth hanging in there for. That their long-term investment in you will pay dividends eventually.

As George Carlin reminded us, “You want people to know the accumulated record, not just a spotty shot.” Otherwise you’ll be dismissed as inherently remarkable, yet ultimately inconsequential.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Does your brand pass The Ginsberg Test?

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For the list called, “11 Ways to Out Market the Competition,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

The world’s FIRST two-in-one, flip-flop book!

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1. Abandonment is the backbone of entrepreneurship. By definition, an entrepreneur is someone who undertakes and manages risk. Someone vulnerable. Someone courageous enough to stick herself out there.

And so, what she abandons are outmoded traditions. Popular delusions. Stale thinking. What she abandons is any shell that would otherwise choke the budding dream inside of her. Are YOU willing to plunge forward planless into the vortex of action?

2. Dissatisfaction is the ember of initiative. Only pissed off people change the world. Not because they’re negative – but because they notice a blazing fire deep in the recesses of their hearts that will not extinguish until SOMETHING changes. And that doesn’t mean they exhaust their entire energy supply sitting at home yelling at the television. Just because you’re pissed off doesn’t mean you’re productive.

But, take George Carlin – now THERE’S a guy who was pissed off. The difference is, Carlin’s dissatisfaction with the world was the motivation he needed to write twenty pages a day for fifty years. Most people don’t know that about Carlin – he was a creative machine.

That’s how he ended upon The Tonight Show over a hundred and thirty times. That’s how he released twenty-three comedy albums, three best-selling books and fourteen HBO specials. Because he was pissed off. That was the ember of his initiative. And it changed our world forever. What injustice did you set out to fight when you first started your business

3. Execution is the architect of eminence. You know my mantra: “Ideas are free – only execution is priceless.” Consider these suggestions for doing so:

Think on paper immediately. Be impatient. Hack the rules. Don’t be stopped by not knowing how. And, fail like you mean it. Remember: Execution is eloquence. And there are two kinds of people in the world: Those who use their mouths and those who use their feet. Are you a talker or a doer?

4. Imitation is the vestibule of failure. There are no cover bands in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The same goes for business: The more imitatable you are, the less valuable you are. That’s why imitators never make history – only originators do.

Your challenge is to honestly ask yourself if the personal brand you’re building is (truly) an amplification of your uniqueness … or just an echo of somebody else’s marketing. If you don’t display your own creative originality, your brand will become (yet another) interchangeable mediocrity, fading into the multitude of sameness. A needle in a stack of needles. Are you The Echo or The Origin?

5. Impatience is the greenlight of greatness. Just go. Enough limitation-driven self-talk. Enough lame excuses for why you’re not ready. When it comes to entrepreneurship, I’ve got news for you: You’re never ready. And you never will be. So, learn to relax into that realization first.

Next, give yourself permission to plunge into the abyss of ambiguity. Then, during freefall, trust that you contain a multitude of inner resources that will richly support you. What level of greatness are you unable to reach because you’re too patient?

6. Later is the whopper of procrastination. Later never comes. Ever. Your ego just convinces you that it does. That way you don’t have to take any personal responsibility, nor feel guilty for procrastinating.

My suggestion is simple: Write the word “later” on a sticky note. Then draw a big X through it. Look at it every day. That should help eliminate that word from your vocabulary. How much money is procrastination costing you?

7. Maybe is the discharge of amateurism. Maybe I’ll do this. Maybe I’ll say this. Maybe I’ll write this. Maybe I’ll become this. Bullshit. Maybes are lies. If you keep saying “maybe,” then you “may be” a putz. Come on. It’s time to go pro. To go full time. To go all out.

Try this: Make a list of ten actions you can take THIS WEEK toward your ideal future. Next, email that list to three people you trust who will keep you accountable. Tell them to call you on Sunday night. Then, if you haven’t achieved at least five items on your list, agree that you’ll buy each of them lunch. “Maybe” that will make a difference ☺. What are you insufficiently committed to?

8. Duality is the heartbeat of mastery. In Bikram Yoga, students experience the simultaneous practice of complete relaxation and absolute exertion. It sounds counterintuitive, but you CAN execute both at the same time. As long as you know how to listen to your body.

For example, standing bow posture practices an intense stretch of both arms in opposite directions. But it also requires that you relax into your low back while doing so. That’s duality. Without it, the posture is wrong. And the cool part is: Your business (and your life) manifests this same practice of duality in a number of ways.

Another example: Entrepreneurship requires bottomless amounts of patience: With yourself, with others, with your idea and with the world. The patience to take the longcut and work your face off. At the same time, entrepreneurship also requires massive levels of impatience: Restless expectation. Not accepting delay or opposition. Raring to go. A constant desire for change and excitement. The impatience to “just go,” even when you have no idea what the hell you’re doing.

Ultimately, your challenge is to pinpoint, honor and leverage whatever duality exists in your universe. Like your own personal yin-yang. And to simultaneously attend to the opposite parts of the larger whole, knowing that both are required to achieve mastery. What dualities do you need to honor in your life and business?

9. Revenue is the aftershock of usefulness. If you want to make money, make something that people need. If you want to make money, make something that replaces something. If you want to make money, make something that doesn’t require explaining. If you want to make money, make something that helps people say goodbye to something they hate.

If you want to make money, make something that makes people stop, sit up, notice, and yell into the kitchen, “Hey honey, look at this!” If you want to make money, make something that solves people’s expensive, urgent, pervasive and relevant problems. If you want to make money, make something that saves people time and frustration. If you want to make money, make something that is appealing to more than just yourself and your two roommates.

If you want to make money, make something worth making a series of YouTube videos about that people will (actually) watch instead of rolling their eyes and deleting from their inbox when their mom sends it to them. If you want to make money, make something that people never realized they wanted – but after trying it – can’t possibly imagine surviving without. How useful are you?

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What will it take to get your business off the ground?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “12 Ways to Out Service the Competition,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Who’s quoting YOU?

Check out Scott’s Online Quotation Database for a bite-sized education on branding success!

www.stuffscottsaid.com.

1. Abundance of competition indicates unoriginality. If you’re truly unique, the only one who does what you do – the WAY that you do it – then no second-rate, chump-ass imitation should be able to hurt you. Screw the competition. Just because they’re there doesn’t mean you can’t beat them. What do you do that brings people back for more of YOU?

2. Ambition without focus is stalemate. If you’re constantly firing in all directions, you’re never going to hit anything squarely. It’s only when you hunker down into the leaves and concentrate 100% of your energies on one particular target that you become a bountiful hunter.

And not just in the wilderness, but in business too. I meet too many entrepreneurs who impatiently jump from idea to idea, project to project; never picking a lane, never make any progress. Because their ambition is spread too thin. What they don’t realize is that focus is the mobilizing force. What consumes your time but isn’t making you any money?

3. Complacency is the great growth-destroyer. “But I don’t have time to grow right now.” Every time I hear somebody say this, my heart breaks just a little more. I know the economy sucks. I know business is slow. I know times are tough. But there’s never an excuse for not growing. Every day you need to get stronger in SOME way. Size is irrelevant. I’d rather grow microscopically than not at all. Where do you need to get out of your own way?

4. Demonstration of competency proves inconsequential. When you eat out at a restaurant, you assume the chef is a good cook. Why? Because baseline ability is the price of admission. The ante. The buy-in. And this type of customer expectation pervades every industry.

Now, it didn’t used to. First, good was good enough. Then great was good enough. Now, great isn’t that great anymore. People demand WOW. Lesson learned: If you’re anything below a B+, you’re finished. What do you offer besides quality?

5. Diversity of offerings buoys recessions. During the economic collapse of 2008-2009, the smartest move I made as entrepreneur was to diversify my offerings. That way, when the proverbial shit hit the economic fan, my business was ready to absorb the blow. The secret is to out-grow, out-evolve and out-expand your competitors. Here’s a rapid-fire list for doing so:

(a) Clone yourself through teaching others. Self-duplication wins.

(b) Make sure everything you do leads to something else you do. Recognize the movement value of your ideas.

(c) Only work with clients that represent long-term potential. Think 14th sale. Cul-de-sac clients are dangerous.

(d) Identify the most important things for you to work on that will grow your business the fastest. Make a list of those things. Post the list in a visible location in your office. Then make sure anything you’re doing at any given time is congruent with that list.

Remember: Diversity isn’t just equity – it’s a life raft. What percentage of your revenues this year came from products and services you didn’t offer three years ago?

6. Fear of evolution typecasts brands. Evolve slowly and constantly. Evolve regularly and effortlessly. Sure, your genetic reflex to avoid change will try to kick in. But don’t let it. As Charles Darwin suggestion, “Take advantage of slight successive variations and advance by the shortest and slowest steps.”

Remember: Flux IS equilibrium. Occasional moments of stability are nice, but brands that keep moving keep winning. Go stretch yourself. Move mental furniture. Make growth and change a normal part of who you are. What decade is your brand still trapped in?

7. Gradual is the great moneymaker. What’s your hurry anyway? Try getting rich slow. There’s a secret most self-help books won’t tell you: Get rich slow. After all, things that grow fast are easily destroyed. Might as well take a foundational approach.

As my mentor William Jenkins once told me, “It takes longer to do things the right way. And people do them improperly to do them quickly. But what’s the benefit of building a house in six months (that should take a year) if you’re just going to tear it down anyway?” Remember: If you’re willing to practice prodigious patience, you’ll get yours. And it will be worth the wait. How patient are you willing to be?

8. Maintenance of momentum monetizes message. Just do something. Anything. Action stimulates forward momentum. Even when progress is minimal. Even when you have no idea what the hell you’re doing. Just keep moving. Think of entrepreneurship as crossing a minefield: The most dangerous choice is to just freeze. The safest thing you could do is keep moving. How are you keeping your momentum going?

9. Permission is the great delayer. The reason your dreams haven’t materialized is because you’re waiting for permission. From your friends. From your family. From your spouse. From the world. Here’s a hint: You don’t need it. Requirement of permission suffocates ambition. Just go.

Who cares if you’re not ready enough or smart enough? Who cares if you don’t have enough money, experience or credentials? Just go. You don’t need somebody twice your age who knows NOTHING about who you really are to validate your existence and stamp your creative passport. Give yourself permission to not need permission and get to work. Do you ask who’s going to LET you or who’s going to STOP you?

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* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

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www.stuffscottsaid.com.

1. Prepare yourself to be promotable. First, shift from an attitude of need to an attitude of want. It’s healthier, more attractive and good practice surrendering. Second, acknowledge your own value. If you don’t, nobody else will. Third, exercise a high degree of conscious control in creating the career you want.

Invite your goals into the bright light of awareness. And finally, believe you deserve and can handle abundant success as a byproduct of being promoted. Expectation truly determines outcome. What inner work can you undertake to make your promotion inevitable?

2. Be a person of victory, not a consummate winner. Victory means to conquer. Win means to fight. Which sounds better to you? Your mission is to develop an insatiable hunger for victory, as opposed to an over-competitive compulsion for winning. HUGE difference. And people can tell, too.

What’s more, no company is going to promote an employee who “does whatever it takes to win at all cost.” That sounds like a comment made by one of those 300-pound steroid juicers on ESPN’s “Behind the Syringe.” Are you trying to win or be victorious?

3. Be appropriately assertive. Not aggressive. Not pushy. Assertive, which comes from the Latin assertus, or, “to claim and maintain.” Ultimately, assertion is based on respect for yourself without justifying, claiming or withholding yourself. It’s about becoming a public spokesperson for your values. It’s about consciously choosing to mount an influence campaign.

And it’s about engaging your backbone to solidify your boundaries instead of lapsing into passivity. Remember: If you don’t make a name for yourself, someone will make one for you. How will others interpret your nonassertiveness?

4. Express a high degree of individuality, but without threatening others. Don’t be SO unique or SO off the wall that coworkers question your intentions. Or that they shrink in your presence. Honor and celebrate everyone’s gifts. And allow your uniqueness spark their own – giving them permission to live their authentic selves. When you walk into a room, how does it change?

5. Confront grand realities unflinchingly. Don’t consume all your energy trying to change the unchangeable. Position yourself as a leader by accepting company realities with the best attitude IN that company. Instead of nervously anticipating the next crisis, help people move forward despite shakiness.

And especially in a down economy, be bold in facing the inevitable. Outfit yourself in battle dress and plunge heart-first into your company’s challenges. People will notice. What attitudes will lead to success in your company?

6. Gain favorable visibility by taking calculated risks. The key word is “calculated,” meaning “rational, responsible and reflected.” Being perceived as a cowboy might not be in the best interest of your promotability. But as long as you’re willing to risk rejection, you’re in the position to be promoted. Or fired. Especially if you come to work wearing spurs. (No boots, just spurs.) Be careful. Will this risk put me in position for major breakthroughs and growth?

REMEMBER: Getting promoted is the natural byproduct of dedicating yourself to becoming a more promotable person.

Execute these practices, and you’ll get promoted faster than a Wharton graduate working at a Wichita Waffle House.

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What do you think makes a person promotable?

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* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here! >

1. Behavior is the broadcaster of attitude. Don’t bother announcing to people what kind of attitude you strive to maintain. Anyone who’s even (somewhat) perceptive can already tell. And here’s why: Bodies override mouths, verbs outweigh nouns and actions embody mindsets.

Whatever you feel, people can spot. Whatever you harbor, people can smell. And whatever you deny, people can detect. They might not admit it, but deep down, they know something’s going on. Christ, even the DOG is onto you. So, you may as well tell the truth about how you feel. Is your behavior consistent with your stated values, even when no one is watching?

2. Humor is the height of communication. It’s also the only universal language and the great catchall of communication. For example: Funny means listening. Funny means approval. Funny means trust. Funny means attention. Funny means memorable. Funny means engaging. Funny means emotional. Funny means credible. Funny means learning. And funny means influential.

Nothing else in the world covers more ground than humor. And the good news is, everybody is funny. Everybody has endless humor in his life. And anyone can excavate the constant and inherent hilariousness of his daily experiences to improve his communication with others. You don’t need ventriloquize other people’s humor and pawn it off as your own original material.

Learn to leverage you brain’s creative process. Learn to observe ALL your experiences as being humorous. And learn to record them in an easily accessible, organized place. You’ll be the funniest person you know. How strong is your funny bone?

3. Imperfection is the insignia of inspiration. In a 2009 issue of Rolling Stone, Madonna shared the following insight:

“Justin Timberlake is really good-looking and laid back. He’s sort of a Cary Grant. I love him. I love working with him. But I don’t recognize myself IN him. But I can see myself in Lady Gaga. At her concert, she didn’t have a lot of money for her production, she had holes in her fishnets and there were mistakes everywhere. Kind of a mess. And it was nice to see that at a raw stage.”

Lesson learned: Followers and fans can’t see a reflection of themselves in monuments of flawlessness. Are you too perfect?

4. Inauthenticity is the forecaster of failure. Eventually, people are going to find out who you really are. It’s only a matter of time. And while certain people might be able to keep the show going longer than others, putting on an act IS exhausting. Just ask any professional comedian. Everyone (eventually) runs out of steam. And that’s when their truth is revealed.

The question is: How will the people you serve respond to it? And how wide will the gap be between your Truth and their memory? After all, it doesn’t matter what YOU think – it matters what THEY remember. All I’m saying is, it might be easier (and cheaper) to start walking your Truth TODAY. What’s the difference between your onstage performance and backstage reality?

5. Overseriousness is the fountainhead of mediocrity. The only thing worth being serious about is play. Now, understand that there are two components to this philosophy. First: Play as Attitude. This is about approaching everything you do in a playful way. Experiencing the world as a curious child would. Second: Play as Action.

As my mentor and occasional therapist, Richard Avdoian taught me, “Being playful isn’t the same thing as PLAYING.” One is a philosophy, the other is an event – and both are required. So, “playing” is something you do deliberately that has nothing to do with work whatsoever.

Think of it as a mini vacation. Going to a ballgame. Riding a Slip and Slide. Watching a mind-numbing action movie. Walking your ferret. Whatever. Anything that helps you escape from work. Remember: Be playful AND let yourself play. Is your life a playground or a corporate park?

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How approachable are you?

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* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

If they can’t come UP to you; how will they ever get BEHIND you?

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1. Hissing is the echo of awesomeness. Accept the fact that approximately ten percent of the people you encounter in life will not like you. Get over it. Screw the ten and stick with the ninety. Pick a side, put a stake in the ground and polarize people purposely.

And remember that if everyone loves you, you’re doing something wrong. Besides, you’re nobody until somebody hates you. At least that’s what my parole officer tells me. How much hatemail have you received this week?

2. Inertia is the slaughterhouse of success. Jon Kabat-Zin’s book Wherever You Go, There You Are, explains this beautifully:

“If you can make some time early in the day for BEING, with no agenda, it can change the quality in the rest of your day. By affirming first what is primary in your own being, you get a mindful jump on the whole day and wind up more capable of sensing, appreciating and responding to the bloom of each moment.”

Beware of inertia. How can you arrange your day so you become unstoppable?

3. Inexperience is the machete of fear. Why are children more creative than adults? Because their sense of curiosity and innocence hasn’t (yet) been suffocated by wet blanket of adulthood. Lesson learned: Innocence and ignorance overcome fear and lead to curiosity, creativity and knowledge. Your challenge is to temporary suspend your adult habit of self-criticism and do it anyway.

The first step is to write the following five words on a sticky note: “Yeah, but I can’t just…” Remember: As Jeff Bridges said in the movie Tron, “You keep doing what it looks like you’re supposed to be doing – not matter how crazy it sounds.” Are you willing to look stupid on the road to immortality?

4. Mistake is the mentor of man. First of all, they’re not mistakes – they’re lessons. Catalysts. So, practice attending to your errors with a mindset of personal growth, life-long learning and never-ending improvement. By approaching failure with this attitude, disappointment will slowly dissipate.

Secondly, listen to the way you speak to yourself when you make mistakes. Instead of berating yourself, try asking questions like: Is this a new mistake or repeat mistake? Why did the universe want me to make this mistake? How many different ways can I embrace, incorporate and ingeniously leverage this mistake in my life? And what would I have to learn about this mistake to make it no longer a mistake?

Remember: Failure IS an option – not learning from that failure isn’t. How are you exponentially growing from your screw-ups?

5. Suffering is the sandpaper of life. “If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?” I get that question a lot – especially during media interviews and after speeches. And my answer is always the same: Nothing. I would do everything exactly the same way.

Here’s why: I am eternally and unregretfully grateful for everything that’s ever happened to me – good AND bad. Especially the bad. After all: From great suffering comes from great awakening. And the person I’ve become is the summation of all that stuff. It made me who I am. And I love who I am.

Think about it: Consider the three most powerful lessons you’ve ever learned in your life. EVER. Odds are, at least two of the three stemmed from some form of pain, didn’t they? And that’s a beautiful thing. That’s how we learn and grow. So, your mission is to put all the bad stuff to good use. To use suffering – even if it’s minor – as sandpaper. To smooth out the edges of your life like a pinewood derby car, cruising to the finish. What made you into you?

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Are you building a business you can be proud of?

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For the list called, “40 Questions Every Unemployed Professional Needs to Ask,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action

Filed Under: Volume 16: Best of Scott's Blog, Part 2

When you’re not coachable, you’re not able to see yourself fully and objectively.