I don’t have one mentor, I have a galaxy of mentors.
Teachers, family members, coaches, advisers, guides, therapists, professors and industry veterans – who saw something in me that somebody once saw in them – generously took me under their wing, and shaped me into the person I am today.
Apparently, this is rare. I just assumed everybody had mentors. But when I started asking people who their mentors were, they looked at me like I was crazy.
For that reason, I made the decision to live my life as a thank you in perpetuity to the voices that shaped me. I began offering myself, for free, as a mentor to people who asked for help. After all, the best way to pay the world back is by paying it forward.
Later, I created a paid program called Rent Scott’s Brain. It started as a clever boundary setting tool for people who didn’t execute or respect my time, but slowly morphed into a key revenue stream and critical component of my enterprise. Now, it’s grown into a unique mentoring experience that extends the same inheritance I once received from my galaxy to the people who need it most.
And sometimes my mentoring happens in person, sometimes over the phone, sometimes via email or sometimes through another digital channel. But whatever medium I use with my clients, the method is the always same. It’s the process my mentors took with me, and it’s the process I take with my mentees.
And the best part is, it works. See the results executed by a few of my clients, William, Chrissy and Harlan.
Having been on both sides of the mentoring relationship for the past fifteen years, it’s not something you memorize, it’s something you personify. It’s not something you learn in a textbook, it’s something you practice in daily life. 

Here’s what I tell my clients:
You bring me your brand, business, challenges, concerns, content, dilemmas, ideas, intuitions, questions, roadblocks, situations, stuck points, uncertainties and what ifs.
And I’ll offer my access, advice, attitude, counsel, creativity, ears, energy, enthusiasm, examples, experiences, feedback, honesty, hope, humor, insight, knowledge life lessons, mistakes, models, observations, opinions, passion, perspective, philosophy, presence, processes, questions, recommendations, reflections, reservoir, resources, selfhood, silliness, sounding board, stillness, stories, strength, thought process, time, truth, verbal mirror and wisdom.
In a space of acceptance, affirmation, candor, compassion, confidence, confidentiality, creativity, depth, enthusiasm, flexibility, fun, fundamental affirmation, gentle elbowing, honesty, humility, imperfection, intimacy, laser focus, learning, mutual respect, openness, patience, personal growth, playfulness, professionalism, relaxation, reasonable response time, responsive spirit, safety, spontaneity, transparency, trust and understanding.
Without any agenda pushing, bullshit, cloning, excuses, fixing, have-tos, formulas, judgment, musts, need-tos, prescriptions, scripts, shoulds or superimposing myself onto you.
And you will be accelerated, challenged, clarified, disturbed, energized, enlarged, expanded, heard, infected, inspired, invigorated, met where you are, more aware, motivated, nourished, pushed, questioned, refueled, reminded, renewed, stirred, strengthened, stretched, unblocked, uncomfortable and unleashed.
But I’m not your twelve-step sponsor, twenty-four hour hotline, accountability partner, babysitter, boss, codependent, doormat, easy button, editor, final authority, hand-holder, parent, pastor, permanent leaning post, physician, problem-solver, rabbi, secretary, soul mate, spouse or therapist.
So when we’re together, I will place ideas at your feet for your consideration and I will not lead you beyond where I’m living or have lived. I will be responsible to you, not responsible for you, and the onus is on you to be responsible to the wisdom provided. We will share the relationship, but you own the results. I will plant seeds and enable you to figure it out on your own, over time. And if you don’t act, you don’t grow. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. You drive the deliverables. You fully commit to this process. You reach out to me when you have a need.
And as a result, you will have productive dialogues with yourself. You will achieve my level of success without being my clone. You will propel your own momentum by mastering dependence avoidance, without being an island. You will build a kit for kicking your own ass. You will customize litmus tests and opportunity filters for give yourself permission. And you will never be alone in this journey.
That’s my process. That’s how I mentor.
It’s not easy, it’s not cheap and it’s not for everybody.
But if you find that process value valuable, if you would like to pursue a professional mentoring relationship, I would be delighted to be that person.
My brain will be standing by.

LET ME ASK YA THIS… What have you declined this week?
LET ME SUGGEST THIS… For the list called, “21 Things I Learned While Spying on Myself,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * * Scott Ginsberg That Guy with the Nametag Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting [email protected]
Do you need an expert who tells you what to do, or a mentor who lets you tell yourself what to do?

“After investing in your mentoring program, I’ve become centered on who I am and what I have to offer. Now, I am attracting clients I want to work with. Life is great and I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart.” —-Melanie Jatsek, Diet Busters
Rent Scott’s Brain today for 2 hours, 30 days or 3 months!

Passion doesn’t pay the mortgage.
Production does. When you carry your idea to completion, disarming whatever weapons of mass procrastination stand in your way, the money will come. Ask yourself, “Is what I’m doing right now consistent with my number one goal?”
Proactivity does. When you get over thinking you’re not in sales, spending just as much time marketing the work as you do making it, the money will come. Ask yourself, “How many people have I asked to buy today?”
Performance does. When you do what you do, in the way that only you can do it, in front of the people who can say yes to you, the money will come. Ask yourself, “How often do people see me in my element?”
Positioning does. When you put yourself in the easiest places to find people looking for somebody like you, the money will come. Ask yourself, “Who’s got the budget that owns the problem I solve?”
But not passion alone.
That’s like taking a vow of poverty.
If you want your personal obsession to become a profitable enterprise, you have to buttress passion with pragmatism.
LET ME ASK YA THIS… What are you turning your passion into?
LET ME SUGGEST THIS… For the list called, “79 Questions Every Manager Needs to Ask,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!
* * * * Scott Ginsberg That Guy with the Nametag Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting [email protected]

How boring is your company’s online training?

For dozens of free video learning modules on sales, frontline service, entrepreneurship and marketing, spend a few minutes or a few hours growing your brain and growing your wallet.

Tune in to www.nametagTV.com!

One of my clients serves on the board of national charity.
Her biggest complaint about the organization was, they don’t know how to thank their donors. At least, not in a way that’s memorable, unique and personal. Not in a way that encourages them to pledge continued financial support. Sherry’s charity defaults to the same, boring outreach efforts that every other organization on the planet uses.
Thank you letters, social media shout outs, website leader boards, interactive gratitude pages, certificates of appreciate, membership dinners, newspaper ads, gift cards, progress reports, customized video messages, personal phone calls, public acknowledgements, free facility tours, pictures of staff members, annual report mentions, just to name a few.
So I posed a new question.
What if the organization gave its donors a gift that reminded them why they donated in the first place?
Something tangible. Something beautiful. Something to memorialize the mission of the organization. And something donors could wear as a badge, share with their friends and be proud to display in their office or home.
That’s why I create brandtags for my clients. They’re social objects that make the mission more than a statement. Hand carved art pieces that inspire people about who the organization is, what they do and why they matter.
When a donor hangs the brandtag on his wall, he has no choice but to tell everyone who comes in his office why his favorite charity is so awesome. He becomes an ambassador for the human purpose of the organization, using their brand as a stand.
Forget about donor churn, people like that give for life.
Because they don’t buy the brand, they join it.
LET ME ASK YA THIS… Who’s joining you?
LET ME SUGGEST THIS… For the list called, “6 Ways to Out Position Your Competitors,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!
* * * * Scott Ginsberg That Guy with the Nametag Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting [email protected]
My job is to help companies make their mission more than a statement, using limited edition social objects.
Want to download your free workbook for The Brandtag Strategic Planning Crusade?
Meet Scott’s client from Nestle Purina at www.brandtag.org!

It takes courage to follow our convictions.
But it takes character to reevaluate them.
The problem is, our brains have this motivational drive to reduce inconsistency whenever possible. When given the choice between flexibility and certainty, between looking stupid and looking right, our egos will always choose the latter.
We’d rather stick to our guns, even if we shoot ourselves in the foot. We’d rather stand our ground, even if we step on other people’s toes. Because none of us wants to admit that what we bled for, what we believed in and what we held so dear for so long, was completely wrong.
So we follow our convictions.
We stay together with a lover who manipulates us, trapped at the end of a dead romance. We stay employed by a company that abuses us, indentured to a dysfunctional system. We stay obsessed with an idea that destroys us, deluded by an outdated dream.
And then we congratulate ourselves for being courageous.
But that’s not courage – that’s just consistency.
In those moments when the truth isn’t what we need it to be, we owe it to ourselves – and to the people we love – to follow a different path. Even if we look wrong along the way.
Better to be honest with ourselves than right about ourselves.
LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What convictions do you need to let go of?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
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* * * * Scott Ginsberg That Guy with the Nametag Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting [email protected]
HELLO, my name is Host!
Did you know you could hire Scott as your emcee, mobile host, roving reporter or on camera talent for your organization’s next event?
Watch sample footage of his hosting work here!

You’ve chosen an uncertain path. You’ve adopted an inconvenient lifestyle. You’ve embarked upon an unconventional journey. You’ve felt the voice inside you growing more urgent. You’ve committed yourself enough so you can’t turn back.
IN SHORT: You’ve decided to play for keeps.
This is the critical crossroads – the emotional turning point – in the life of every young artist.
I’ve been there myself. I’m still there myself. Here’s what I’ve learned lately:

1.     Mainstream is lamestream. Going out in front of an audience you’ve earned is everything. When you walk out there in front of people who love what you do, who can’t wait to watch you do what you do – and then you get to do it for them – everybody wins. The artist wins because she’s not working for strangers anymore, she’s surrounded by the people who actually get her, she’s free from free from the mediocrity of the masses and she’s surrounded by the beauty of the tribe. The audience wins because they’re getting what they paid for, they’re all in on the joke, they’re all speaking the same language and they’re all in this together to root for someone who is worthy of their hope. Sure beats performing cold to crowd of crossed arms. Who loves you?
2.     Patience is the highest form of trust. I’ve always been an excellent producer. It’s just my nature. I’m impatient, I’m a quick start and I’m an executor. I take action without waiting for permission, and I turn a seed into a forest before most people realize it’s raining. Lately, though, I’ve been practicing the fine art of waiting. Instead of my normal tendency to drive towards closure, I’ve consciously created more time for things to germinate than is comfortable. Instead of obsessing over the branding of my next project, I’ve moved forward without satisfying my need to label everything. It sucks. Letting go of a process that’s been good to you is always a bitter pill to swallow. But despite my impulsive nature, despite my predisposition to execute with all my might, I’m starting to learn that anything worth doing is worth waiting for. What are you producing?

3.     Consistency is far better than rare moments of greatness. Houdini built his fame one escape at a time. He wasn’t a mentalist – he was an incrementalist. Which certainly isn’t the quickest, sexiest or easiest path to success. And it’s not what anyone is willing to tell us when we start our career. But great art doesn’t take shortcuts. Harry worked for seven years before he got his big break. Matter of fact, it wasn’t even that big of a break – just an accumulation of small breaks that finally catapulted him to the next level. Fortune may favor the bold, but it frequents the consistent. Are you making art one by one?
4.     The problem with information. Anyone can deliver it, everyone can find it and nobody can own it. And if that’s all we bring to the table, there’s only so far our work can travel, people will always be able to steal it and we’ll never have something truly different to offer. The easiest way out is to simply tell our story. The one that belongs to us. To make it as honest and bloody and human as possible, to make it the only story we tell, and to make sure we’re the only ones who can tell it. If we can pull that off, the information won’t matter. People won’t have to worry about taking notes on everything we say, they’ll be taking notes on themselves. Are people using your story as a mirror to inspire themselves?
5.     Remove what robs you. Before he became a famous sculptor and light installation artist, Dan Flavin was a floor guard of American Museum of Natural History. According to his biography, during night shifts Dan would cram his uniform pockets with notes and sketches for an electric light display. Not surprisingly, he was more interested in creating art for the future than protecting artifacts from the past. Eventually, the custodian in charge said, “We aren’t paying you to be an artist.” Flavin agreed and quit. Three years later, Dan’s first solo exhibition debut and launched his career as one of contemporary art’s greatest minimalist. He removed what robbed him, embraced what excited him and spent his life doing things that tapped into who he was made to be. What do you need to quit?
6.     Please the right audience. There are two types of disc jockeys. The ones who fill the floor, and the ones who fiddle with music. Both take skill, both require creativity and both are forms of art. What’s different is the energy. The posture. The level of engagement. The sense of community. When an organization invests hundreds of thousands dollars to throw a party, they don’t want their guests sitting in chairs, sipping champagne, watching some guy with headphones scratch records. People can do that in their homes. What they want is for people to come together, embrace each other, share the joyful experience of music and dance and celebration, and not leave the dance floor until the lights flicker on and it’s time to go home. That’s irreplaceable. It all depends on whom the performer is trying to please: If it’s only themselves, then they’re just masturbating; but if it’s the entire room, then everybody gets laid. Which type are you?
7.     Trust your mission. In his biography, Charles Schultz explained that the secret of his success was focusing on drawing one good comic strip every day. Not making millions. Not achieving fame. Not changing the world. Not advancing his personal agenda. Not making publishers and newspapers happy. Just the art. Just the work. Just one good strip, every day. That single goal, that incrementalist approach, governed Schultz’s work for more than fifty years, and it made him the most influential, popular and profitable cartoonist in the history of the medium. The strip was his mission piece. That one chunk of art he committed to, focused on and obsessed over, each day, until it was done, no exceptions; trusting that everything else – the television specials, the merchandising, the books – would flow from that. What’s your mission piece?
REMEMBER: When you’re ready to play for keeps, your work will never be the same.

Make the decision today.

Show the world that your art isn’t just another expensive hobby.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Have you committed with both feet yet?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “52 Random Insights to Grow Your Business,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * * Scott Ginsberg That Guy with the Nametag Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting [email protected]
My job is to help companies make their mission more than a statement, using limited edition social artifacts.
Want to download your free workbook for The Brandtag Strategic Planning Crusade?
Meet Scott’s client from Nestle Purina at www.brandtag.org!

We should have learned by now that there will always be more. That just because a shorter line, a bigger piece, a better spot and a faster lane is always available, doesn’t mean we always have to take it.
We should have learned by now that love doesn’t disappear. That despite our best efforts to put bars to our heart, we can’t not feel. We can’t pretend that emotion is some passing fad, something we get over like a chest cold.
We should have learned by now that vulnerability pays. That it’s easier to walk through the world prepared to catch, not primed to block. And when we open our palm to receive whatever pain or pleasure life picks for us, we give thanks anyway.
We should have learned by now that fame will not save us. That if we view life as the currency that purchases celebrity, instead of treating it as the opportunity to give the future something to respect, it will leave us feeling hollow and brittle.
We should have learned by now that we’re better together. That the human spirit shines brightest when it’s bordered by mirrors, and that the arrogant hallucination that we don’t need each other will be the end of us.

LET ME ASK YA THIS… What do you think we should have learned by now?
LET ME SUGGEST THIS… For the list called, “21 Things I Learned While Spying on Myself,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * * Scott Ginsberg That Guy with the Nametag Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting [email protected]
Do you need an expert who tells you what to do, or a mentor who lets you tell yourself what to do?

“After investing in your mentoring program, I’ve become centered on who I am and what I have to offer. Now, I am attracting clients I want to work with. Life is great and I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart.” —-Melanie Jatsek, Diet Busters
Rent Scott’s Brain today for 2 hours, 30 days or 3 months!

I’m rarely stopped by not knowing how.
Instead, I’m sparked by knowing why, stirred by knowing what and sustained by knowing who. And more often than not, those forces are potent enough to overwhelm the void of how and carry my ideas to execution.
But I’m not immune to the occasional surge of permission. Especially when I’m working on a new project that, deep down, I’m afraid to tackle because I know that I know nothing. Whether it’s turning a script into a film, turning story into a comic or turning a manifesto into an epic novel, lately I’ve had to remind myself that ideas become interesting the moment they start to scare us.

Fear isn’t meant to be ignored – it’s meant to be invested.
That’s usually when I log on to Fiverr, Elance and Kickstarter. A few minutes on those sites and I’m not just inspired, I’m in motion. Ready to work, ready to risk, regardless of a high tide in my ocean of ignorance.
Because thanks to the web, the wall of how is crumbling. Not knowing has no bearing on whether or not our dreams become realities. With creative delegation, intelligent outsourcing – and a whole lot of ego surrendering – we can leverage our limitations instead of avoiding them.
The only thing we need to know how to do is find people who can help us become what we need to be, then sit back and watch the magic happen.
It’s almost weird.
When we let go of trying to do everything, it feels like we can do anything.
LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What would you do if you didn’t need to know how?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
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* * * * Scott Ginsberg That Guy with the Nametag Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting [email protected]

Never the same speech twice. Customized for your audience. Impossible to walk away uninspired.

Now booking for 2012-2013.

Watch clips of The Nametag Guy in action here!

The opposite of honesty isn’t lying.
It’s omitting.
Instead of saying how we really feel, we say nothing. Instead of telling the truth, we tell ourselves to keep quiet. And the result is very dangerous form of dishonesty.
For most of my life, I was an omitter: Happy to share my feelings when asked, but hesitant to volunteer my feelings the rest of the time.
I had girlfriends who never knew how unfulfilled I was until the relationship was over. I had roommates who never knew how miserable I was until I transferred. I had parents who didn’t know how lonely I was until they read my status updates. I had professors who never knew how lost I was until I failed the final. I had neighbors who never knew how unhappy I was until I moved away. I had friends who never knew how scared I was until I had anxiety attacks. I had coworkers who never knew how frustrated I was until I got fired. I had mentors who never knew how angry I was until they saw my art. I had colleagues who never knew how burnt out I was until they read my blog. I had family members who never knew how stressed out I was until I ended up in the hospital.
That’s what happens when we omit: The people closest to us feel forever in the dark. They fail to understand our full experience and simply assume that everything is fine.
When in reality, our heart is ready to explode.
But a few years ago, enough was enough. I was tired of being an omitter. I was tired of people being surprised every time I told them what was going on in my life.
So I started being prolific in my communication. I practiced telling everybody everything, all the time, everywhere. I even started writing letters to my girlfriend and parents every Sunday. Just to tell them was going on at that moment in my life, good and bad and in between.
And these days, I feel a lot more honest.
Not because I’m telling the truth, but because I’m simply telling.
LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What are your omitting?

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For the list called, “19 Telltale Signs of the Perfect Job,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!
* * * * Scott Ginsberg That Guy with the Nametag Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting [email protected]
HELLO, my name is Host!
Did you know you could hire Scott as your emcee, mobile host, roving reporter or on camera talent for your organization’s next event?
Watch sample footage of his hosting work here!

Wow is the distance between expectation and experience.
And the bigger we make that gap, the bigger impact we have.
In the service world, when our interactions are over the top for no good reason, when we deliver so much wow that clients have no choice but to tell their friends, people love us forever. Even if it’s as simple as sending a text message to someone who took the time to reach out, our immediate response can overwhelm someone to the point of shock.
I recently commissioned an illustrator named Jose to do a series of nametag cartoons for me. Considering I was only paying him five bucks apiece, I didn’t expect much. History taught me that we get what we pay for.
Except for when we don’t.
The work Jose delivered was so unbelievable, so unexpected – and so criminally inexpensive when you consider the gap between experience and expectation – I not only showed his work to everyone I know, not only hired him for a series of future projects, but I also sent him a substantial gratuity check.
Wow.
LET ME ASK YA THIS… Are you growing the gap between expectation and experience?
LET ME SUGGEST THIS… For the list called, “14 Things You Don’t Have to Do Anymore,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!
* * * * Scott Ginsberg That Guy with the Nametag Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting [email protected]
Yes, I do more than just wear a nametag all day. My enterprise is actually quite robust. I add value to my clients in several cool ways.
Explore the myriad ways you, your people and your organization can leverage my talents.

Success doesn’t just breed success – it breeds expectation.
“I’ve seen your trick, what’s next?”
That’s what our audiences demand. That’s what keeps them coming back for more.
Which, from the standpoint of productivity, is great. People’s craving for novelty is a helpful probe to keep us relevant and keep us on top of our creative game. It reminds us that we should always throw a few new songs into the set in between the classics.
On the other hand, there’s downside to success. One we can’t afford to ignore.

With an excess of expectation, the increased pressure to deliver can destroy us.
Take professional athletes. These guys, supposed role models, willingly juice up when their professional association’s drug policy specifically prohibits the use of anabolic steroids. As a result, their reputations are ruined, their credibility is destroyed and their records are redacted or stricken with an asterisk. Strike three.
But we have to look at it from their perspective. These guys are legends. Celebrities. Cultural icons that we’ve given all the adulation, adoration, attention and applause they can handle. They don’t cheat because they’re horrible people – they cheat because they’re successful people. And when you’re successful, when you have a huge audience who willingly spends their hard earned money to watch you perform, they own you.
And with that relationship comes an expectation.
The fans didn’t put the needle in the player’s arms.
They just made it a lot harder to say no.
Whether we’re ballplayers, entrepreneurs or artists, expectation is a balancing act. On one hand, we don’t want to become a victim of our own success. On the other, we don’t want to stop taking the creative risks that made us successful in the first place.
LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What have you declined this week?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “21 Things I Learned While Spying on Myself,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * * Scott Ginsberg That Guy with the Nametag Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting [email protected]

Never the same speech twice. Customized for your audience. Impossible to walk away uninspired.

Now booking for 2012-2013.

Watch clips of The Nametag Guy in action here!