When Does Impact Become Income?

Having an impact is a beautiful thing.

When the work you do inspires, influences, challenges,
sparks, motivates and helps people in a palpable way, you experience
existential validation, professional confirmation and personal gratification.

Unfortunately, you don’t always experience financial
compensation.

And that’s the problem with impact – it doesn’t always
convert to income.

Partly because of priority.
Our society rewards mediocrity, worships incompleteness, celebrates stupidity, encourages
negativity and retweets cynicism. Clearly, impact is not high enough on our
value list.

Partly because of choice.
Do gooders aren’t usually do wellers. It’s the curse of the idealist and the
cross of the change maker. Apparently, impact is something the world expects
for free, out of the kindness of our hearts.

Partly because of time.
Impact always takes longer than we’d like to become evident,
measurable and reimbursable. But that’s the reality of making change. It rarely
adheres to our timetable.

But who am I to make a moral judgment on some sleazy
internet marketing zilchbag who makes millions of dollars spamming total
strangers with bunk offers based on disturbingly detailed personal information
that they bought from some secret database?

The good news is, impact eventually leads to income. Doing
work that matters eventually yields financial dividends. The hard part is trusting
that process, believing that the world will reimburse our efforts accordingly.

Because sometimes, as an impact maker, waiting
around for cash returns to show up can feel like banging your head against a
brick wall.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What have you declined this week?

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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]

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.

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The Frontloading Crisis

I recently met a computer programmer who does government contract work.

When I asked about the state of the
industry, he complained that most of his competitors were frontloaders. Not being
familiar with the term, I asked him to explain.

He said their entire business model is
getting the business. And that’s it. Nobody said anything about actually
delivering. Once they get what they want, they collect their commission, throw
the rest of the carcass back in the water and move on to the next guppy.

Like the waitress who delivers your
food, then disappears for twenty minutes. Like the salesman who writes your
policy, then never calls back after it goes through. Like the direct selling
rep who signs you up, then conveniently turns you over to his supervisor. Like
the moving company who takes your credit card info, then never calls to let you
know their arrival time. Like the insurance agent who wins your account, then
gouges you by raising prices at subsequent renewals. Like the factory who bids extremely
low, then cuts corners to recover a profit margin. And like the consultant who books
your contract, then magically reminds you of her no refund under any
circumstances policy.

Those are frontloaders. And while their
actions aren’t illegal or unethical, they’re still unacceptable, disrespectful
and classless. That’s not the way you treat people and that’s not the way you
do business.

If you make the choice to serve,
consistency is far better than rare moments of greatness.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Who have you forgotten about?

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* * * *

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!

Do You Have a Diverse Portfolio of Happiness?

Sadness is an inherent part of the human condition.

It’s not depression, it’s not devastation, it’s not a
chemical imbalance, it’s not a sign of weakness, it’s not the end of the world
and it’s not going to last forever.

It’s just part of life.

My approach has always been to have a positive foundation in
place for when the sadness hits. To maintain a diverse portfolio of happiness,
as it were, that builds emotional stability in any situation, helps manage risks
I can’t control andweathers droughts through the many seasons
of life.

First, with the asset of attitude. I assume a baseline
posture of abundance. That way, bad situations aren’t as threatening. No one
thing or one person can knock me off course. And if one area of life is
lacking, that doesn’t mean my entire life is lacking.

Second, with the asset of awareness. I stay mindful of the
entire horizon. That way, I never lose perspective on how unbelievably
fortunate I am. Because relatively speaking, none of my problems are that dire.
Most of the world would kill to for my context.

Third, with the asset of action. I hustle while I wait. That
way, I juggle multiple threads of work simultaneously. Instead of standing by
to be picked, I invest meaning in a wide range of creative projects. And I keep
moving.

Fourth, with the asset of affiliation. I surround myself
with like-minded, like-hearted and like-spirited people. They serve as mirrors
to remind me how beautiful I am. And they remind me that roller coasters aren’t
so bad if you have people to scream with.

That’s a snapshot of my diverse portfolio of happiness.

And thus far, the dividends have been worth it.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Have you accepted life’s inevitable sadness?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

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* * * *

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!

The Youth Advantage

In my work, I’ve always been the youngest person in the room.

Partly because I started right out of
college, partly because of the nature of the industry, and partly because I’m
just an old soul.

And for the longest time, I made the
mistake of viewing my youth as a handicap. I assumed nobody would listen, or if
they did, nobody would take me seriously. And as a result of that attitude,
they didn’t. By making it an issue, I gave them permission to make it an issue.

But as it turns out, being young is a
tremendous advantage.

We bring enthusiasm to kindle the
energy of those around us. We bring perspective to broaden the thinking of
those around us. We bring courage to inspire the confidence of those around us.
We bring digital nativity to democratize the technology of those around us. We
bring social networks to expand the connections between those around us. And we
bring creativity to spark the playfulness of those around us.

What we lack in certainty we make up in curiosity, by asking
the most disturbing questions around. What we lack in velocity we make up in
flexibility, by being the most patient one around. What we lack in knowledge we
make up in savvyness, by being the most digitally proficient one around. And what
we lack in history we make up in courage, by taking the most risks around.

This simple shift in posture is the smartest, easier and
cheapest way to show the world you’re here to contribute, age notwithstanding.

Just because you’re young, doesn’t mean you’re useless.

Focus on that, and people will stop
asking how old you are.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Is it the years or the mileage?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “50 Questions Every Entrepreneur Should 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]



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!

What Smart Mentors Do

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 enableyou 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!

What Happens When Passion Doesn’t Pay the Mortgage?

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!

Say Goodbye to Donor Churn

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!

Would You Rather Be Honest or Right?

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…

For the list called, “17 Behaviors to Avoid for Effective Listening,” 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!

The Young Artist’s Guide to Playing For Keeps, Part 17

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!

Things We Should Have Learned By Now

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!

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