Month: March 2019

There is no such thing as an original idea anymore. All of the original ideas are all taken. We now have a system that builds upon the previous works that has come before us.

You don’t develop new code without the use of a computer. You don’t write a new book without it being published on bounded pieces of paper (or the Kindle).

Authenticity, on the other hand, is completely different. In popular culture we call it finding your voice. Our best form of authenticity we can show in a crowded market is to stand up and say, “This is me. This is what I do.”

What authenticity really comes down to is this:

We make things better by making better things. No matter what we do to mix and match, as long as its coming from a place of generosity, it’s authentic (and it will probably even feel a little original too).

We have to stop and ask ourselves, What does comparing ourselves to others even do? What’s the value? Why do we do it so much?

The reason why we choose to compare ourselves to others is because of how it makes us feel.

We do it to insulate ourselves. We do it because deep down, we are insecure about where we stand. We can say, “Well yeah, I’m falling short here, here and here but look at that other guy in the next cubicle.”

There is nothing we can do to earn God’s love. Especially by acting better than the people around us. It’s already there in full.

Five reasons why you shouldn’t write a blog:

1. You think it will make you a bunch of money.
2. You think that it will go viral.
3. You think that it will make you a celebrity.
4. You think that people will read it.
5. You think that it will replace your day job.

Instead…

Write a blog because it’s good for the soul. Write a blog because you have something to say. Write a blog to make assertions, to teach yourself to see around the corner. Write a blog because it brings you joy.

Sure, the money, the fame, the fortune is a nice byproduct of a really good blog. But it isn’t likely to happen with over 150 million blogs on the internet.

Write your blog for intrinsic value so that others can benefit from how you see the world. If you do that, then you will never be disappointed.

So, what is it? Is it Even Steven?

Because in Solomon’s time, splitting a child in half might be considered by some as a fair way to divide up a human.

Fast forward and it was only 60 years ago, it was considered fair by some to segregate who drank out of which drinking fountain.

Is it fair that the average CEO makes 361 times the amount of the average employee?

Clearly, fairness continues to changes with time and with context.

Different people have different definitions of what fairness is. 

If you are arguing for fairness, you might not be talking about the same thing as the person next to you.

The first one is made of glass.

The reason glass ceilings make us so miserable is that you can see the potential, you can see the possibilities. The good news is, glass ceilings can be smashed. These are the false limits we put on ourselves.

The second type, is an iron cast ceiling set at four tall.

These are real limits. Limits like lack of access to clean water, health care, education, poverty. The tragedy of an iron ceiling is that you never know what’s on the other side. You can’t see the potential. So why bother putting in all this effort to break through.

There is no simple solution to break through an iron ceiling. But those reading this blog have all the tools and capacity to shatter false limits. These narratives of not feeling good enough, not feeling educated enough, not feeling experienced enough…are just limits we put on ourselves. Because there is nothing stopping you from spending two hours a day picking up a book on sales, watching how-to/DIY videos on YouTube, publishing a blog on WordPress or new code on GitHub…

No one is stopping you. You have the keys to the car. Level up.

The lizard brain does not want you to take chances. It wants things to be safe, reliable, and most of all, predictable.

It wants you to stop what you are doing, to stop thinking of that non-profit you want to start, to stop you from finishing that book you always wanted to write.

Stopping is boring and predictable. You know exactly what happens: you get to go back to the same ol’ life, the same ol’ outcomes.

But what would happen if instead, we decided to go. Go because that leads us to places we want to go. Go because we don’t know what you could happen next.

Go, go, go.

Don’t expect the mantra to come from the amygdala but it can be your war cry whenever that fear gets in the way.

Since Elmo Roper first proposed this idea that 10% of the population consisted of opinion leaders—people that can influence the other 90%—their has been a marketing race to recruit these influencers to have a favorable view of your brand.

Over time, as Roper’s ideas have spread, and expanded again with Malcom Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, we now look to be told what to do next.

When we decide what kind of shoes to buy, we ask beforehand what is my tribe wearing.

When we look for places to eat, we look somewhere that has familiar faces.

When we are trying to decide who to vote for, we look to see who reflects our values.

Because people like us do stuff like this. We look for the signals, that tell us where to go, where to eat, what to wear, who to vote for, what to do. The tribe does what the influencers tell them to do.

So, the race for brands to identify these influencers and recruit them is on. What’s changed since Roper’s ideas in the 1940’s is the fact that now, people/consumers are actively trying to game the system to become an influencer.

The worst example of this in recent history is the Fyre Festival. One of the reasons the Fyre Festival was such a disaster was how Billy McFarland and Ja Rule convinced Instagram influencers to break their trust they had with their own tribe. Influencers wanted to be seen at the place to be first.

It is worth noting that the number of gatekeepers has grown substantially with the invention of social media. It is no longer just Opera. If someone like Kendall Jenner or one of the top 100 IG models picks your brand (like she did with Fyre), your brand wins.

But what is the price you pay to be picked? Kendall Jenner received $250,000 for one Instagram promotional post. Just one.

Even though there are more gate keepers and there is more opportunity to become one, that island is getting full. If you were going to start a blog or create an app or start a podcast that was going to make millions, it’s too late. It’s too crowded now.

So then, the question is why should we try? Where do we go? Who do we follow?

If you going to market to the masses, then it is a race to the bottom. A race you can’t win. The door, however is wide open for you to change not everyone, but someone. That someone, maybe a 100 people, that would pay a $1,000 for your product or service. You can work to become an influencer and assemble a small cadre of people like you to try to get them to places they want to go.

It scary to initiate. This is much more difficult that just a couple of clicks. It’s worth it, if you can stick it out.

The culture pushes us to fit in. To become average. To stay in alignment with everyone else around you. Follow the beat, stay in line, wait your turn.

We are so in sync as a culture that anyone out of alignment is easily distinguishable and noticeable.

That act of stepping on stage, to be seen, to make an assertion, to push the status-quo is one of the bravest things we can do in our culture today.

And that’s our opportunity.

Most of us have the opportunity to do something every night after work/school to show up and make a ruckus. To build something. To create something. To share something. To write something. To seek out the uncomfortable. To poke at uncertainty. To try things that might fail.

It’s almost a guarantee that the thing you pick will not work at first. The culture is probably not going to reward you for your efforts. Most businesses fail in the first five years for a good reason.

But if you do decide to stick around for the long haul, eventually, you will begin to be noticed. Eventually, you will begin to be trusted by a few. And once you are noticed and trusted, you can create forward motion. You begin to bring people into alignment. Your alignment. By your beat. Your song.

Keep beating that drum. Eventually, we will follow.

If we were to take a complete inventory of ourselves, of where we are are, how we got here, how we treat the people around us, what we can do better…

It’s likely you’ll never feel quite good enough.

That you’ll always feel like you could have done something in better style. You’ll always feel like you could have showed up more. You’ll always feel like it wasn’t your best day. 

And so, the cycle continues. It continues to push us either upward, to do more despite the limitations or…

Or it pushes us downward. It pushes us to take less chances, to fit in, to set the bar lower, to hide.

One of these narratives is really useful while the other gets in the way and keeps us from being the person we were born to be.

If the narrative you choose isn’t working, the narrator can pick a new one.

Because narratives are all invented.

We carry this false notion about people that have crossed us. We blow up their flaws while minimizing our own.

But with the right act of generosity, it can soften us.

Because most people are not all bad all the time. We are filled with bad moments. Moments of weakness. Moments where will power is drained. Moments where we fall short.

And once we can begin to see that those who have fallen in our eyes are capable of goodwill, then we begin to see the good deeds that follow.