Don’t try to change nature, follow it

Boredom is biological. 

As soon as we stop doing something purposeful, the mind begins to project unpleasant information on the screen of our consciousness. It’s an evolutionary safety device that’s served human survival for millions of years. 

Not just for protecting the tribe from giant animals, but also for advancing the tribe into the next generation. Boredom is what forces people to reach down deep and preoccupy themselves with a longing to change the future. 

And so, when psychologists report that a proneness to boredom can be linked to addictive, impulsive and unproductive behaviors, and that people highly prone to boredom are more likely to show increased symptoms of attention deficit disorder and depression, I’m a little weary. 



Because boredom, that feeling of blessed idleness, is the very experience that stops people from plowing the same furrow. It’s where curiosity and imagination and wonderment live. Boredom is what forces us to try to seek new goals or explore new territories or ideas. And that search for an escape could be risky, but that’s part and parcel of being a human being. 



We’re curious animals. We try things. That’s how we learn. That’s how we move the species forward. 



Consider the history of innovation. Most novel ideas are generated two types of people. Those confounded by chaos, and those bored by old routines. Pasternak, to use a recent example, was only fifteen years old when he created the most downloaded smartphone game in history. When asked how he came up with the idea, the teen programmer said it’s because he was bored at school. And now, he’s being courted and wooed by the biggest tech companies in the world. 



The point is, waging war against boredom isn’t the answer. It’s part of our makeup. And so, next time your hands run idle, don’t try to change nature, follow it. Align yourself with the flow of the moment. Stop resisting and start investigating. 



Because if necessity is the mother of invention, perhaps boredom is the father of it. 

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Which evolutionary safety devices are causing you more harm than good?

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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 2016-2017.

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

Create conditions for your own sustainable happiness

Happiness is the true foundation of existence. Maximizing it is the only reasonable goal in life. Every other desire is sought after only because we expect that it will make us happier. 

No matter how we rationalize what we want in life, be it money or freedom or sex or health, ultimately, all roads lead back to the same destination. Humans want to be happy. Period. 

The irony is, happiness has a surprisingly bad reputation. It’s not morally appropriate. Throw a rock and you’ll find people and organizations and even entire cultures that demonize happiness as selfish and, superficial, hedonistic, complacent, uninteresting and naïve. Claiming it’s just another opiate to numb the pain. 

But let’s stop kidding ourselves. Whatever we say we want, it’s just a substrate for happiness. And there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, there’s everything right with that. Because if you read the premier study on the benefits of frequent positive affect, happy individuals are actually more engaged with the world, more altruistic, more likely to volunteer, better team members at work, less isolated and less preoccupied with their own personal problems. 

So why the long way around? Why not aim for happiness in the first place? Perhaps it’s time to accept our native wiring and cut out all the intermediaries. Because happiness isn’t something we pursue, it’s something we allow. 

We don’t find it, we release it. 

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Are you ready to rewrite your personal equation for happiness?

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For a copy of the list called, “8 More Ways to Make Your Email More Approachable,” 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 2016-2017.

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

Buried under layer and layer of encrusted psychological defenses

Rogers wrote that the biggest shift in his approach to therapy was to stop thinking about how he could treat and cure his patients, and start wondering how he could provide a relationship that his patients could use for their own personal growth. 

It’s a profoundly effective way to engage with people. Surrendering the impulse to rush in and fix and solve and save the day. Freeing others from the threat of external evaluation. And allowing yourself to stand in awe at the emergence of the self. 

I relearn this every time I have a deep, meaningful conversation with somebody I love. The fixer in me wants to interrupt them and say, don’t you see, here’s exactly how you can solve this problem. 

But that’s not the point. People don’t need prescriptions, they need relationships that serve as secure base. A reliable source of emotional renewal, nourishment, safety and security in the face of everyday challenges. 

And so, next time you lock into cure mode, try seeing things as they are without trying to change them. Allow people to go their own way while you reside in the center of the circle. Because once you stop trying to change people, they’re able to see themselves more clearly. And from that place they can grow into the person they need to be.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Are you curing people or providing a relationship that they can use for their own personal growth?

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For a copy of the list called, “8 More Ways to Make Your Email More Approachable,” 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 2016-2017.

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

Learn to find satisfaction in small compensations

Eminem’s song asks the listener, if you had one shot, one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted, one moment, would you capture it? Or just let it slip? 

It’s one of the most inspiring, empowering and energizing rap songs of all time. 

But it’s also a major reality check. Because contrary to what popular culture tells us, there are no big breaks in life. Very few people are given the proverbial one shot to change everything. And so, part of the journey is learning to find satisfaction in small compensations. 

Macleod’s theory on small art says it beautifully:

Small art is a lot less hassle to make. And you can make more of it. More often. Without bankrupting yourself or putting your life on hold for months on end. And perhaps more importantly, there’s the personal sovereignty angle. With small art, there’s no need to wait for someone else to deem it worthy beforehand, no need to wait nervously for the rich patron, the movie studio exec, or the illustrious museum director to give it the greenlight. No need for the politics or the schmoozing or the bureaucracy. With small art, you just go ahead and make it, and then it exists, and the rest is in the hands of the gods. Your work is already done, and you can get to bed at a decent hour. And not lose any sleep over it, either. 

Hugh’s approach to the creative process finds satisfaction in small compensations. It trains us not to think about how big we want our dream to be, but about how much love we want to give out while we’re following it. Because as cinematic and dramatic as we’d like our journey to be, the reality is, life rarely rewards us with a blast of trumpets and cornets making a joyful noise. 

And so, let go of seizing everything you ever wanted in one glorious shot. Learn to salute the satisfaction of small breaks instead.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

How many entries did you write on your victory log this week?

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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 2016-2017.

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

Steal Scott’s Ideas, Issue 013: Rando Love, Mood Seat & Cluckers

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 012


01. Mood Seat. Approachability through transparency. 

An office chair that uses your body heat and energies to create a small light of various colors, alerting coworkers of your current dominant emotion.

02. Congrats I’m Sorry. Special treats for speechless moments. 

A gift basket service that sends things to people going through painful breakups, even though you don’t know what to say to make them feel better.

03. Rando Love. Kindness without strings. 

A series of anonymous business cards that pay strangers compliments without the awkwardness or expectation of reciprocity.

04. Yo Yo Yogi. The mat isn’t the territory. 

A service where yoga students text anonymous messages about their class experience and aggregate the comments onto a lobby screen for people to read.

05. Secure Base. Help me help you help me. 

A private text messaging service that sends a bat signal to a small group of trusted confidants, alerting them of your need for someone to talk to in a time of distress.

06. TIx Tix Tix. The encore never ends 

A framing service that takes all of your concert ticket stubs and converts them into conversation art pieces for decorating your home or office.

07. Unionyze. The means of production. 

An association that helps underserved industries, jobs and verticals set up employee unions legally and effectively.

08. Problemo. The mother of invention. 

A website where people list their legitimate problems and watch responses and updates from design firms and innovation companies that create products for them.

09. Cluckers. Fashion for females who flock together. 

A line of narrow, knee high shoes for women with skinny bird legs.

10. Hallsade. Healthy throat, happy audience 

A menthol and eucalyptus based hot tea for performers who ned to keep their voices healthy during shows.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

How will you turn these ideas into I-dids?


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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!

The quo has officially lost its status

The irony of being a rebel is, we don’t play by anyone’s rules.
Including our own. And so, it’s easy to trap ourselves in an endless loop of
opposition. 

I’m reminded of a classic scene from my favorite television show.
Homer is driving home from a bar, completely intoxicated. And he announces to
himself:


I’m in no condition to drive. 

But then he has an epiphany…

Wait a
minute, I shouldn’t listen to myself, I’m drunk!
 

That’s the rebel’s loop. We
get stuck in an infinite regression of choosing freedom and resisting
expectation and flouting rules and accomplishing our own aims on our own terms.
We don’t have to do something just because somebody expects that of us.
People’s expectations are their problem. 

Instead, we choose to do things as
expressions of our identity. We hit the snooze button just to prove to the
alarm clock that we can. 

Which may sound exhausting to people who prefer to
oblige and uphold the rules, but when you’re born with rebellious wiring, there’s
no stopping that train. May as well ride it somewhere meaningful. 

Whitman was
perhaps the most notorious rebel of his time. And he inspired multiple
generations of poets and artists through his work. He famously wrote:

Take off
your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men. Dismiss
whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem. 

Now
that’s a rebel. The quo has officially lost its status. 

And so, for those of us
in the club, for those of us whose spirit of opposition is ignited on a daily
basis, we remind ourselves to use it productively. To beware of being
rebellious to our own detriment. And to channel our defiant nature into
pursuits and careers and projects that make the world a better place. 

Otherwise
we’re just being annoying.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What are you converting your feelings of opposition into?

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 2016-2017.

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

A field in which your freedom of thought will not be limited

I once had a human resources manager tell me that she was honestly
worried to hire me. 

Not because I was under qualified or the wrong personality,
but because she thought I’d feel confined by the large, corporate environment.
She said I seemed too talented for that. 

It was an interesting compliment. On
one hand, her words were like a shot of confidence to the arm. I felt assured
about my abilities. On the other hand, it was a painful realization for me to
swallow. Because apparently, no matter how much talent and commitment and
energy and optimism a person brings to the table, most companies don’t need a
creative visionary. They need a sheep to fill a hole. 

That’s the sad reality of
the organizational world. People’s primary job function is not getting fired.
Boat rockers and whistle blowers and rule changers and trouble makers need not
apply. 

Companies say they value innovation and creativity, but only if
they can still use a command and control management style to curtail its
superficial expression. 

Companies say they want breakthrough ideas, but
most of them simply make incremental improvements on existing products. 

Companies say they encourage new thinking, but what they really want is
to keep stakeholders happy, show allegiance to the chief, avoid conflict and go
with the flow. 

All the more reason to hire yourself. To start your own company.
And to create a field in which you can be sure your freedom of thought will not
be limited. Because the only thing more dangerous than an idea is the culture
that refuses to cultivate it. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What are you doing to set your creativity on fire right now?

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 2016-2017.

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

Chart a course that differentiates you from others

Being generic is the quickest way to be treated unfairly. It’s the reason clients with bad taste show up with their arms folded, hope to drive down price, trying to make you dance, pushing for solutions you won’t even be proud of. 

Because there’s no brand. There’s no narrative. You haven’t established a monopoly on a set of expectations. You haven’t created an interaction that’s bigger than the work itself. You’re just a mechanical turk doing a job. Filling a hole. Checking a box. Meeting spec. 

The client doesn’t need you, they just need someone. 

Which means they have the power. And if you’re not willing to drop your pants and do whatever they ask, there’s a line out the door of twenty other generic cogwheels who will do it faster and cheaper. 

Of course, being generic doesn’t mean you’ll never work. There will always be a spot in the marketplace for mediocrity. But there will also always be a ceiling on the amount of compensation, satisfaction, freedom and meaning that is available to you. 

Branding, on the other hand, shatters that ceiling. It breaks the sound barrier. It’s the fuel that thrusts you forward to the next level. Because when there’s only one person they can hire, it’s a pretty straightforward negotiation. 

Before the work is done, you’re bragged about and asked for by name. While the work is being done, the client realizes, oh, that’s what happens every time I touch this brand. And after the work is done, people are able to look at the result and tell that the work was yours. 

The point is, if you’re still hung up on being treated unfairly, figure out which parts of your business are most generic. Invert them. Chart a course that differentiates you from others. And once you earn the right to pull your chair up to the table, the client’s arms will suddenly uncross. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What unique way of interacting with the world are you known for?

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 2016-2017.

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

Love me, love my changes

Whyte writes in his inspiring book on personal transformation that taking a new step always leads to a kind of radical internal simplification, where, suddenly, very large parts of us, parts of us we have kept gainfully employed for years, parts of us still rehearsing the old complicated story, are suddenly out of the job. 

That’s why we prefer to stay where we are. Changing is a form of death. It requires mourning and letting go of a portion of our identity. It forces us to ask the question, who am I without my precious story? 

Like the overweight comedian who loses fifty pounds and fears she won’t be funny anymore. Or the drug addicted painter who gets sober and fears he won’t be able to create anymore. Because so much of their art was built around their physicality and personality, they banked too heavily upon it. Because they identified too much with their own history, they allowed the past to define them. And the minute that story was taken out of the equation, suddenly, they didn’t know who they were anymore. 

Anastasio used copious amounts of drugs and alcohol for decades. Phish, after all, represented the jam band lifestyle. Of course their frontman loved to party. Nobody builds a multimillion dollar music empire out of club soda. 

But when the songwriter ultimately failed a field sobriety test, was arrested for possession of illegal drugs and spent fourteen months in a rehab facility, he publicly swore off substances for good. And in the process, upset many lifelong fans. Because they didn’t think his concerts would rock anymore. 

But he didn’t care. Being alive was more important. Trey realized that he didn’t have to do all of that for people to love him. He got honest about coming to terms with the cost of change. And his career has never been stronger. 

Ultimately, there’s a fine line between being known for something, and allowing that thing to become all that you stand for. It may be hard to change what we feel so safe with. But man’s noblest endowment is his capacity to change. 

Especially when life is on the line. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What part of your identity do you need to let go of?

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 2016-2017.

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

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