The exit is part of the posture

Every yoga pose contains four essential stages. 

Setup,
transition, asana and exit. 

But in
our laziest and most impatient moments, we only practice the first three.
Because exiting the posture requires mindfulness, alignment, focus, patience
and understanding. And after sixty seconds of twisting our body into a sweaty
yoga pretzel, we’re so tired and cramped and hot, that the last thing we want
to do is come out gracefully. 

And so, in those final ten seconds, we simply
give up. Our posture collapses. Tired eyes drop to the floor and weary legs
flop out like rag dolls. 


Kathump. Screech. God damn it. This pose sucks.
Where’s my coconut water? 

I’ve been practicing yoga for eight years, and I
still botch the exit almost every time in standing
head separate leg.
It’s just too much work. Consider this excerpt from the
instructor dialogue: 

Maintain your grip, abs engaged, keep your chin down, eyes
stay open, exhale slowly, stay in control, push your big toe down into the
floor, round up slowly, inhale slowly, keep the arms straight by the ears, turn
ninety degrees, face forward, legs back together, exhale slowly, let the sweat
drip, stand perfectly still. 

Who has
time for all of that? 

But then I remember what my teacher once told me. The exit is part of the posture. It’s
not some optional extra bonus movement at the end of the pose. It is the pose.
How we come out is just as important as how we go in. 

I have a colleague who’s
been talking about writing a book since we first met. She has the title and the
website and the outline and the publisher and the marketing plan all queued up
and ready to go. But every time I call to check up on the book’s status, she
admits that she still hasn’t written a word. Ten years, and still a blank page.
Which means her book will probably never see the light of day. 

It
simultaneously breaks my heart and drives me mad. Because she hasn’t yet
realized, the exit is part of the posture. It’s not just a yoga lesson, it’s a
life lesson. In any endeavor or project or task or relationship, there are
similar stages. Setup, transition, asana and exit. We may not use those exact words to describe them, but the stages
still exist. And we do a disservice to ourselves and the people around us when
we leave out that last crucial step. 

Learn to come out of posture gracefully.
Follow through with mindfulness, focus and patience. The coconut water will
still be there when you’re done.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

How are you exits?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For a copy of the list called, “12 Ways to Get Customers to Open Your Email First,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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

Now booking for 2015-2016.

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of The Nametag Guy in action here!

We are as gods, so we may as well get good at it

It’s hard to have compassion for ourselves when we don’t have traumatic incidents to point to. 

We feel inadequate for our lack of suffering. We feel guilty about our beautiful childhood. It’s as if our torment was too gorgeous to be taken seriously, and we haven’t earned the right to complain or be sad or have negative thoughts about the world. 

It’s textbook notenoughness. We don’t give ourselves permission to be, do or have something because we don’t feel worthy of being, having or doing it. 

I started writing books and giving speeches right out of college. And on a daily basis, I encountered people who said that I was too young to have anything meaningful to say. That I didn’t deserve to be on a stage telling my story. 

That crushed me. It made me feel invisible and impotent and inadequate. Like there was nothing I could say or do that would make me good enough in people’s eyes. And I carried that burden like a chain around my neck for many years. 

But I just kept showing up. I kept putting things on the shelf. And I got really good at not going away. And what I discovered was, the moment I gave myself permission to be enough in my own eyes, the rest of the world magically followed suit. 

Brand was right when he said, we are as gods, so we may as well get good at it. 

Remember, if you reach the point of somebody asking how old you are, you’ve already won. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

In what arena do you feel the most inadequate?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For a copy of the list called, “23 Ways to Make Your Fans Super Happy,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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

Now booking for 2015-2016.

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of The Nametag Guy in action here!

Increase your field of vision

The foot rarely takes the first step. 

It’s the mind that gets the ball of change rolling. 

And so, true transformation beings with the openness to the mere prospect of changing. The amenability to try something we’ve never tried before, lest we leave ourselves where we are. 

I resisted doing hypnotherapy for years. Anytime my doctor suggested it as a viable treatment for my chronic stomach pain, I felt the controlling instinct welling up inside of me. Because my preconception of hypnosis was that of quack doctors swinging pocket watches and rendering patients helpless and vulnerable and mind controlled until they started clucking like chickens. 

No thanks. 

But as my therapist said, that was my first hurdle on the journey to wellness. Overcoming my own stubbornness. Ending the convenient story I told myself rationalize my way out of changing. 

Whether or not I used hypnotherapy was irrelevant. The point was increasing my field of vision. The point was opening myself to a world of healing options. That’s the only way humans get better. 

Once I pushed through that initial resistance, it felt like I was halfway there. There was still much work to be done, but the ground taken wasn’t insignificant. The work of the brain paved the way for the work of the body. 

The point is, you can’t take yourself where you don’t want to go. And so, whatever change you’re trying to make, start by making mental room for that change first. Increase your field of vision and give yourself permission to enjoy the view. 

You might see something beautiful. 


LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What are the mental obstacles standing in the way of your next transformation?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For a copy of the list called, “38 Ways to Make Customers Gasp,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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

Now booking for 2015-2016.

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of The Nametag Guy in action here!

Steal Scott’s Ideas, Issue 005: Peace Out, Airub & Sales Belle

Ideas are free, execution is priceless.

That’s been my mantra since day one of starting my business.

It’s also the title of a book I wrote a few years back. You can download it for free here.

But here’s the problem. I’m an idea junkie. Everything I look at in the world breaks down into a collection of ideas. I have about fifty new ones every day, and sadly, I can only execute so many of them. Even if I had all the resources and all the time in the world, I still wouldn’t be able to keep up with the whirlwind of insanity that gusts through my brain.

And that’s where you come in.

I believe ideas were never meant to stay that way. And so, in this new blog series, I’m going to be publishing a sample of them on a weekly basis, in the hopes that they inspire you to (a) execute them, (b) improve them, or (c) invent something completely different.

Remember, once an idea springs into existence, it cannot be unthought.

Even if that idea is ridiculous.

Enjoy! 

Steal Scott’s Ideas, Issue 005

01. Peace Out. A website that helps freelancers fire their low paying, high pain clients.

02. Commercely. A channel that airs old commercials with live tweet comments.

04. Claims. A reality show about illegal but creative insurance fraud strategies.

04. Wits End. A twenty four hour hotline service for non suicidal people.

05. Airub. A luxury service for providing massages on transcontinental flights.

06. Wrongful. A twelve step program for people addicted to being right.

07. Sales Belle. An bell that alerts office mates and online followers that you made a sale.

08. Reputaish. A browser plug in that prevents you from sending career ending tweets.

09. Bodywait. A non numeric scale system for measuring how you feel about your body.

10. Espousing. A coaching service for married couples who share a worksapce.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

How will you turn these ideas into I-dids?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “49 Ways to become an Idea Powerhouse,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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

Now booking for 2015-2016.

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of The Nametag Guy in action here!

Nobody wants to hear that their baby is ugly

My grandfather spent forty plus years in the wholesaling business. 

One piece of advice he gave me that I always remembered was, never fall in love with your own inventory. 

In his case, he was referring to a million square foot warehouse with five hundred palettes of ugly, chipped coffee mugs. But his insight could also be applied to a number of different areas. 

Take branding, for example. The most seductive of all business activities. The one area where owners are most likely to fall in love. I remember consulting with a fashion brand whose company made an remarkable product, but whose product name was hard to say. And awkward to spell. And embarrassing to share. And intimidating for the layperson to understand. 

In fact, one of the company’s biggest customers said she was reluctant to even talk about the product she loved so much, for the fear of looking silly when she mentioned the name. 

But the decision had been made. The time and money and manpower had been spent. And there was no way the company could revert the name to something more approachable. They fell in love with their own inventory. 

Behavioral economists call this phenomenon the endowment effect, wherein people ascribe more value to things, merely because they own them. 

It happens all the time. An organization’s preoccupation with their own property traps them into an ego vortex, and they wind up making assumptions about consumer priorities based on their own excitement. Because nobody wants to hear that their baby is ugly. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What parts of your business have you fallen in love with?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For a copy of the list called, “20 Ways to Make Customers Feel Comfortable,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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

Now booking for 2015-2016.

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of The Nametag Guy in action here!

Moments of Conception 188: The Third Class Scene from Titanic

All creativity begins with the moment of conception.

That little piece of kindling that gets the fire going. That initial source of inspiration that takes on a life of its own. That single note from which the entire symphony grows. That single spark of life that signals an idea’s movement value, almost screaming to us, something wants to be built here.

Based on my books in The Prolific Series, I’m going to be deconstructing my favorite moments of conception from popular movies. Each post will contain a video clip from a different film, along with a series of lessons we can learn from the characters.

Today’s clip comes from the third class scene in Titanic:



Communicate value in three dimensions. Titanic was a vessel that ran on coal energy. Crew
members shoveled more than eight hundred tons of coal every day. That’s over a
million and a half pounds. Every day. And so, it’s no surprise that the
memorial of the crew members that perished in the crash had an inspiring
epitaph. The work is vital, the labor is
invisible and the work is an endless cycle.
What’s interesting is, that
sentiment could describe almost anyone’s job. Because most of the world only
sees ten percent of the work we do. The final product. The big pay off. The
photo finish. The other ninety percent of the work, the sweat and the time and
the care and the generosity we invest, remains forever undetected. Unless we
visually substantiate it. Unless we find a way to amplify the intangible effort
behind the work, making the process as interesting as the product. I always
struggled with this disconnect as a writer. The fact that nobody knew what the
hell I did all day was not okay with me. And so, I started publishing a series
of time lapse videos of my daily writing process. With the help of a simple
screen capture application, I was able to compress my typical seven hour blocks
of writing into seven minute clips. The result was a highly personal, wildly
compelling window into the way I worked. The videos memorialized my creative
process, branded my service and helped people understand how my brain worked.
That way, I was no longer just shoveling coal in the dark. How could you facilitate a visual understanding of what you do all day?



The work a man does, forms him. I’m a big believer in a bullshit free, blue collar
approach to the creative process. Treating art making as more clerical than
cosmic, more mechanical than magical. And not because that posture makes us
feel noble and humble and working class, but because it emphasizes the
unspectacular reality of the process. It reminds us that bringing new ideas
into the world is, at its fundamental core, labor. Which is nowhere near as
difficult as shoveling coal, but the repetition and dedication and sweat equity
is what separates professionals from amateurs. I volunteer at my local food
coop. Once a month, I spend a few hours unloading trucks and stocking shelves
and stacking boxes and unpacking cases of produce. It’s glorious work. It makes
me feel strong and alive and connected and manly. What’s more, since I spend most of my
days putting words on paper, this monthly exertion of manual labor becomes a
kind of communion, with others and with the future. Because it’s a shift. You
punch the clock and do your job. And that reminds you that you’re a real person
living in the real world. In an increasingly automated and outsourced world,
that’s a priceless experience. Reckoning with the infallible judgment of
reality, where your failures or shortcomings can’t be interpreted away, that’s the
stuff civilization is built on.What type
of work helps you discover the objective reality of your humanity?



And the humbling has begun. Rose dares to break rank, venture out of her luxurious
first class quarters and press the flesh with the crew. The peons. The lowly
third class. And yet, she drinks and dances and smokes and screams, the kind of
behavior her upper crust cronies would never approve of. But that’s just it.
Rose doesn’t belong in first class anyway. She and her mother have been lying
about their wealth the whole time. And so, showing up to the party is not only
an act of humility, but an expression of identity. That’s what makes this scene
so pivotal. It’s the beginning of her unmasking. The shedding of a misplaced
self. This moment of conception sends her on the trajectory that ultimately transforms
her life for the better. It’s a titanic reminder that we all have to give in to
the humbling to find where we’re going to go next. That’s the nature of humility.
It’s a release valve. It helps create space for something new to enter. A
humble heart is a teachable heart. And a teachable heart can change the world.Are you confident enough to be humble?

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What did you learn from this movie clip?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For a copy of 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. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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

Now booking for 2015-2016.

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of The Nametag Guy in action here!

Eyes Full Of Dreams — Chapter 10: All This Time (2015) — Scott Ginsberg Concert Documentary

Eyes Full Of Dreams is a musical and motivational masterclass about making use of everything you are. 

This film will be presented as a serialized, episodic documentary. I’m premiering each song as a stand alone chapter.

Watch the movie, buy the album and download the dream journal at www.eyesfullofdreams.com.


All This Time

Happiness she ain’t so easy

Happiness she ain’t so easy for everyone

And most of us

Living off a diet of flesh and stone

And we probably never won’t

Probably never won’t

All this time

All this time

All this time

I look forward to looking back

And it’s a heart attack

Because everybody wants to buy

Everybody wants two bites

Of a little vicarious craziness

I don’t care, that’s just laziness

All this time

All this time

All this time

I look forward to looking back

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What’s blocking your dreams?


LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For a copy of the list called, “26 Ways to Out Brand Your Competition,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

“Scott Ginsberg’s employee training on approachability was the absolute perfect fit, and completely exceeded everyone’s expectations, including mine. The feedback we received from our team was that this was hands down the best training they have ever been to. Scott found out what was important to us and gave us several options for training solutions. I would highly recommend him for a variety of industries, and I would happily work with him again!”  –Anne Conway, PHR | Corporate Director of Training and Development, | Lodging Hospitality Management

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of The Nametag Guy in action here!

Consistency is the ultimate shortcut

Peanuts cartoons captured my imagination as a child. The combination of simple artwork, unforgettable music, precocious dialogue and iconic characters made it my favorite comic of all time. 



But that was a lifetime ago. Before I had grown up. Before I had lost my innocence. Before I had become a professional artist myself. 



Recently, my wife and I sat down to watch a few episodes of the. And like the time machine that cartoons can be, every animated moment tapped into another heartwarming childhood memory. I instantly snapped back into place, reciting punchlines word for word, singing songs note for note, reconnecting with a movie I’ve probably watched a thousand times in the past thirty years. 



Except this time, I noticed something different. Something that changed my understanding of the creative process forever. Because if you watch those movies closely, a pattern emerges. 



Each movie, or season, was just a group of episodes. Each episode was just a group of scenes. And each scene was just a three panel comic strip from the funny pages that followed the classic formula of setup, premise, punchline. 



Schulz created arguably the longest story ever told by one human being, clocking in eighteen thousand strips published in fifty years. That’s almost exactly one a day. 



That’s it? That’s all you have to do to build a billion dollar cartoon empire? One good comic strip a day? Sign me up. 



And remember, this incrementalist approach to success has nothing to do with drawing and everything to with discipline. Deciding what your mission piece is going to be, and then executing it every day, without fail, forever. When you break the creative process down to that simple number, it certainly makes an insurmountable task seem easier. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What’s your version of creating one comic strip a day?



LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For a copy of the list called, “72 Superb Songs Under Scott’s Fingernails,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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

Now booking for 2015-2016.

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of The Nametag Guy in action here!

You won’t know why until you try

Action is the great clarifier. 

When you’re unclear of your
motivations, unable to figure out why you feel called to undertake something,
the simplest solution is to act your way into understanding. To just go,
trusting that the movement and the momentum will fill in the blank. 

Because the
reality is, starting with why isn’t always an option. Sometimes we have to
start without why to allow the path
to illuminate itself. Sometimes we have to get a half mile down the road, only
to look back say, oh, so that’s why I started walking. 

Behavioral psychologists
would call this a variation of positive
deviance
, in which a person acts their way into a new way of thinking. They
change their behavior through practice, not through knowledge. 

When I decided
to start wearing a nametag, all day everyday, I had no idea why I was doing it.
There was zero motivation. I just started. But as time went on, I began to
understand the implications of my experiment. Themes and patterns about identity
and interaction and creativity and belonging began to make themselves known. I
took notes and made observations and conducted research and wrote reflections
on my experiences. And about a year into the process, the why finally announced
itself. 

I was writing a book. A book that would change the trajectory of my
life forever. 

The point is, you won’t know why until you try. And so, instead
of beating yourself up for a lack of purpose, just start. Get to work doing
something and let purpose enter through he side door. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What understanding have you acted your way into?


LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For a copy of the list called, “33 Things I’ve Learned about Creating Your Own Online Video Platform,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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

Now booking for 2015-2016.

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of The Nametag Guy in action here!


Download Your Free Copy of Scott’s GInsberg’s Companion Journal to “Eyes Full Of Dreams”

Eyes Full Of Dreams is a musical and motivational masterclass about making use of everything you are. 

This film will be presented as a serialized, episodic documentary. I’m premiering each song as a stand alone chapter.

But here’s what I’m really excited about.

As you watch the movie here, you can follow along with this dream journal.

It’s a companion piece. It’s part scrap book, part art book and part dream journal. It includes pictures, lyric ideas, lyric sheets, exercises, essays from the film and a few other surprises. You can download your copy of the book, in full color, right here!

Or, you can read it live below…

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What’s blocking your dreams?


LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For a copy of the list called, “26 Ways to Out Brand Your Competition,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

“Scott Ginsberg’s employee training on approachability was the absolute perfect fit, and completely exceeded everyone’s expectations, including mine. The feedback we received from our team was that this was hands down the best training they have ever been to. Scott found out what was important to us and gave us several options for training solutions. I would highly recommend him for a variety of industries, and I would happily work with him again!”  –Anne Conway, PHR | Corporate Director of Training and Development, | Lodging Hospitality Management

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of The Nametag Guy in action here!

Sign up for daily updates
Connect

Subscribe

Daily updates straight to your inbox.

Copyright ©2020 HELLO, my name is Blog!