Feel better knowing that you don’t have to save the world. 

That you don’t have to say something about everything. And that although you secretly hate people who don’t see what you want them to see, who don’t receive your gifts in the way that you want them to, the reality is, evangelism is not your occupation. 

You can’t assume anybody wants what you have. You weren’t put on this earth to change and save and rescue and show the light to everyone you encounter. 

And I understand that every one of your life priorities are completely baffling to your family members, but you have no way of knowing what’s inside of people. They’re fighting a battle that you’ll never understand. And to assume that you have the right to give them what you think is good for them, that’s the ultimate failure of compassion. 

Just let it go. Because fundamentalism operates this pure state of perfection that existed sometime in the past. It’s the thinking that, man, if this person could just get back there, everything would be fine for them. 

But it won’t. We need a story that includes the future. 

I’m reminded of perhaps the most celebrated poet of the last century. Szymborska famously wrote that even when we pronounce the word future, the first syllable already belongs to the past. 

It’s a powerful reminder to live with one foot in the future. To resign from your position as superhero of the universe, let people be in love with their own opinions and just get on with it already. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS… 

Have you decided to spare people from your fundamentalism?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS… 

For the list called, “99 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur, Even If You Aren’t One,” 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 2017-2018.

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of 

The Nametag Guy in action here!

Music is not a competition. There’s no winning or losing. It’s much more significant than that. 

Wooten’s inspiring parable about finding your song inside states it perfectly. 

Musicians do not have to be believed in. We do not have to be trusted. Our music speaks for itself without the listener having to know anything about us. Music touches people’s emotions in a way that nothing else can. And when people find a musician they like, they will open up their hearts to whatever that musician has to say. Because it’s a language that everyone understands. 

These words give me peace. In a world where everything has been reduced to a competition, where the only thing that matters is who won, it’s profoundly comforting to know that there’s still one venue where we don’t have to obsess over being persuasive and credible and intelligent and authentic and consistent and understood and trustworthy and powerful. 

We just express what’s in our hearts, and that’s enough for people. 

I’ve played hundreds of concerts in my lifetime, and not once has an audience member approached me after the show with their arms crossed demanding to see my credentials. 

Because music doesn’t work that way. Nobody cares what school you attended or where you got your training or whom you apprenticed under or how many acronyms come after your last name. 

They just like your songs. Even if they can’t articulate why. 

Doesn’t matter. Music doesn’t require justification, explanation or categorization. It just mainlines joy right into your body. 

And you can’t resist. The gravitational pull cannot be countered. 

The challenge, then, is figuring out your version of this. Identifying a universal language that everyone understands, and then communicating in that language as often as you can. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS… 

How are you touching people’s emotions in a way that nothing else can?  

LET ME SUGGEST THIS… 

For the list called, “99 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur, Even If You Aren’t One,” 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 2017-2018.

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of 

The Nametag Guy in action here!

When I was seventeen, I auditioned for the school talent show. 

It was a terrifying moment in my adolescence. After all, I had never played my original songs for anyone, much less the music teacher and a bunch of fellow students. Vulnerability was at an all time high, and confidence was at an all time low. 

The good news is, I didn’t die. The audition went fine. And the teacher even had a few positive words to say about my song. Rock and roll. 

But here’s what I didn’t see coming. The next four days were the longest of my life. I completely turned my guts inside out waiting to hear back if I got the part or not. I couldn’t sleep or eat or study or even have a normal conversation with my friends without obsessing over getting into that stupid talent show. 

Expectation lurked as this horrifying backdrop to even the happiest of moments of my days. 

Friday afternoon, though, there was a school wide announcement. The talent show cast list had been posted on the choir room door. 

My stomach dropped like I was falling two hundred feet. 

This is it.This is going to change everything. This is going to be shining moment. 

After the final bell rang, I speed walked down the hallway as fear soaked my back. When I arrived at the door, I pushed my way through the crowd and gazed at the list. 

But something was wrong. My name was mysteriously absent. 

Wait a minute. This must be some kind of mistake. Do you have any idea how much I obsessed over this audition? Do you know how much pain I endured for the last four days? Don’t you understand that this talent show was going to change everything for me? Where the fuck is my name? 

I was crushed. Tears started welling up in my eyes. My life was over. And I spent the rest of the weekend sitting alone in my room, cursing and comparing and chastising myself for not being good enough to make it. 

Of course, my life wasn’t really over. But try telling that to an earnest seventeen year old songwriter foolish enough to put his whole heart on show. Try explaining to a young heartbroken artist that when he plants expectation, he reaps disappointment. 

Maisel’s book on mindfulness meditation addresses this very issue. The psychologist writes: 

While it is wonderful and necessary to have goals, dreams, hopes and ambitions, it is a mental and emotional mistake to have expectations. Desire as much as you like. Plan as carefully as you like. Try as hard as you like. But expect nothing. It’s better to let go of the idea that we can control anything, because as soon as we let go of our desire to control, we become more honest and aware, and also more in control. And by not attaching to even reasonable expectations, we begin to force ourselves to live life in a more present way. But remember, by expecting nothing, you are not giving up. You are making a decision to focus on what needs to be done, rather than outcomes. 

That passage changed my life. For better and for always. I probably wasn’t ready to understand those ideas at age seventeen, but as an adult, it’s my watchword. 

I’ve given up the illusion that I can control anything. I’ve emptied myself of all expectation and gracefully surrendered to the facts of existence. And I’ve accepted that just because I spent all that time worrying about it, doesn’t mean I’ve earned anything. 

What a great release and relief. 

Next time you start planting expectations and reaping disappointments, for the sake of your mental health, the best thing you can do is assume you didn’t get the gig as soon as you walk out the door. 

Otherwise you’ll agonize over it, day after day, poised in a great ballet of anticipation, white knuckling something that’s completely out of our control. 

Let it go and get on with your life. 

If they want you, they’ll call you.

LET ME ASK YA THIS… 

Are you overestimate how much better the results will make your life?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS… 

For the list called, “99 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur, Even If You Aren’t One,” 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 2017-2018.

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of 

The Nametag Guy in action here!

Improv comedy is about saying yes to others, but also saying yes to yourself. 

Owning your choices and following your feelings and engaging with whatever arouses you and not backing away in shame and guilt just because you let yourself love something. 

That’s what makes you a good scene partner with yourself, so to speak. Instead of denying, you respect and listen and notice and treat each of your own choices as if they were written in a script and were perfect. 

Instead of running portions of your identity underground, you allow the arousal of your full constellation of desires, doing what’s right for yourself based on our chosen integrity and values. 

I’m reminded of a song lyric that always gets stuck in my head. 

All love is saying yes to something. 

It applies to relationships, but it also applies to the challenging process of loving yourself. 

Because it’s about being fundamentally affirmative towards your own dreams. Getting on board at a moment’s notice. Refusing to meet your needs with a tilted head. And giving yourself permission to be all of your many selves. 

These are the characteristics of the most supportive internal environment possible. And whether you’re standing on stage at the improv theater, or just trying to make it through the day without beating the living shit out of yourself, they’re worth remembering. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS… 

Do you know what you like and let yourself have all of it?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS… 

For the list called, “99 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur, Even If You Aren’t One,” 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 2017-2018.

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of 

The Nametag Guy in action here!

As I learned from my guitar teacher, everybody breaks strings, but being an artist is about how quickly you return to the music. 

If a string breaks and you suddenly lose your balance and scream out loud and smash your guitar to the ground and cut the concert short by twenty minutes, you lost. 

Because you allowed the moment to be bigger than you. 

But if a string breaks and you suddenly start laughing, calmly walk over to your case, pull out a spare, restring and retune the instrument and pick up exactly where you left off, you won. 

Because it only took you five minutes to return to the music. 

Of course, this lesson isn’t just about playing music, it’s about playing the song of life. 

Everyday, disappointments accrue faster than you can find external forces to blame them on. And they can make you feel disgusted with yourself. Your sense of competency can feel completely undone by a single mistake. 

But if you learn to reserve a portion of our stamina to recover rapidly from disappointment, to return to the music quickly, nobody in the audience will even notice your broken strings. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS… 

How easily and quickly do you calm down after becoming anxious?LET ME SUGGEST THIS… 

For the list called, “99 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur, Even If You Aren’t One,” 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 2017-2018.

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of 

The Nametag Guy in action here!

A friend of mine works for a tech startup. 

He tells
me that whenever the company interviews candidates for their customer service
positions, the last question on the list is as follows.

Would you rather be
friendly or right? 

It’s an interesting concept. Especially in the black and
white world of tech support, when frustrated and impatient users just want
answers. 

But I couldn’t help but wonder to myself, why does it have to be
binary decision? When did we decide that every question could be answered with either
yes or no? 

After
all, polarized mindsets keep us from expanding our sense of possibility. 

Personally, I would rather be friendly than
right. And here’s why. 

First of all, friendly is one of the few things in the
world that costs nothing and changes everything. It lays a foundation of
affirmation. It diffuses customer defensiveness. And it helps ensure a positive
impression that’s left after the interaction, regardless of whether or not the
problem is resolved. 

Secondly, if you lead with friendly, customers are more
likely to be receptive and understanding of the information that follows. Even
if it proves they were wrong and you were right. 

Lastly, if a tech support
representative is friendly and kind and easy to talk to and a joy to listen to
and delivers a service moment bundled with surprise and delight and value, then
right or wrong is neither here nor there. 

I’ve been a volunteer at my yoga studio for several years, answering phones and checking people in at the front
desk before and after class. And every time there’s a problem, whether it’s a
botched credit card payment or a lost water bottle or a coupon code, I choose
friendly over right. 

Because in a city where customers expect their retailers
to be cold, rude, fast and all knowing, the smallest thing can feel like
magic to someone who’s been living with a problem. 

Next time you pick up the phone to troubleshoot, place the caller’s
desire for friendly over your need to be right. 

Customers want real
human moments, not one more nudge in the direction that you have decided they
need to go. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS… 

Are you telling people what you want them to know, or considering what they want you to understand?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS… 

For the list called, “99 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur, Even If You Aren’t One,” 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 2017-2018.

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of 

The Nametag Guy in action here!

Consider these two truths of the human experience. 

One, there’s potential for anxiety in almost everything around us. Daily life is littered with triggers. 

Two, connectedness is the frame in which human beings heal. Change is an interpersonal experience. 

And so, when the storm of anxious thoughts moves through, the worst thing we can do is isolate. The worst thing we can do is suffer silently and secretly. The worst thing we can do is cast the unnecessary burden upon ourselves, thinking that we are freakishly different and doomed. 

Isolation is about the most damaging psychological state imaginable. What we need is a healthy doze of relational engagement. Mutual enhancement. Brains healing brains. Social mirrors reflecting our beautiful realities back to us. 

I have a friend who recently split up with his longtime girlfriend. Everyone was shocked. People were convinced that they both had signed on for the long haul. But things happen. Lovers grow apart. Not every couple is destined to be the ones who make it all the way. 

It breaks my heart every time, especially because I’ve been in that very situation before. 

But what I learned was, we can’t isolate in the aftermath. We have to stay connected with people who can stand as compassionate witnesses to our pain. It’s available to us as soon as we’re available to it. 

And so, next time somebody you love hits a rough patch, stay in contact. Call them every single week. Invite them to as many meetups and parties and potlucks as you possibly can. 

Because when you’re felling like hell, the tendency to isolate and stay indoors and disconnect from the world can be awfully tempting. 

Sure feels soothing to have people you love take that first step. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS… 

What person in your life right now needs to an excuse to get the hell out of the house?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS… 

For the list called, “99 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur, Even If You Aren’t One,” 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 2017-2018.

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of 

The Nametag Guy in action here!

I once came
across a job application for a marketing position whose headline stated the
following:

If you’re thirsty for blood and hungry for a chance to prove
yourself, you could be the one we’re looking for. 

Notice the absence of
traditional job application language like talent and experience and multiple
references and bachelor’s degree and impeccable attention to detail and must be
highly organized and be able to handle multiple projects at once. 

That’s all
pedestrian. It’s the price of admission. 

When it comes to getting the job, the
difference is hunger. It’s who wants it more. Period. 

Everything else can be
learned, outsourced, delegated or deleted. 

In fact, replace the phrasegetting the jobwith whatever thing
you’re trying to chase. Because the same principle applies. You have to
demonstrate your hunger. You have to be as convincing as you are
competent. 

I’m reminded of the insanestoryabout the
autoworker who couldn’t afford a car and lived in limited bus service part of
town. And so, he started walking twenty miles a day, round trip, to his job at
the factory. Five days a week. Often times through the snow. And always through
poverty stricken, dangerous neighborhoods. Total commute time is eight hours a
day. 

Strangely enough, the man has a perfect attendance record at work. 

That’s hunger. Think his boss at the factory plans on firing him anytime soon?
Think his coworkers aren’t ecstatic to see him walk through the door every
morning? The guy is so hungry that he would eat the ass out of a low flying
duck. 

But here’s the best part. Once this man’s story got out, some teenager
built a crowdfunding campaign to help buy the man a car. The goal was to raise
a modest twenty five thousand dollars. 

Eight months later, over thirteen
thousand anonymous donors around the world stepped up and contributed more than
three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Not a bad penance for services
rendered. 

The autoworker now drives to work everyday. 

And that’s the real
lesson. Hunger isn’t just compelling, it’s contagious. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS… 

How are you demonstrating your hunger?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS… 

For the list called, “99 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur, Even If You Aren’t One,” 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 2017-2018.

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of 

The Nametag Guy in action here!

All modern
vehicles have a check engine light. A malfunction indicator lamp that flashes a
of an engine, alerting the driver of serious troubles like low oil pressure,
potential overheating, catalytic converter issues, emissions problems or an
imminent breakdown. 

This light can be a lifesaver. It can help drivers erase a
major problem before it becomes one. 

Of course, sometimes the light simply
means a loose gas cap. Or a sudden change in humidity. Or a minor sensor
problem. Or a couple of hungry mice that got under the hood and chewed on the
wires. 

These examples are known asfalse triggers, in which the dashboard mistakenly interprets the car sensor readings
as being more severe than they really are. And so, there’s no need for panic.There’s
no need to skid onto the shoulder. And there’s no need to spend the whole day
at the dealership. 

The goal is to be aware of it. Even thankful for it. And
instead of slapping a piece of black tape over the light, taking action
promptly, thus keeping the issue from potentially escalating down the road.

That’s how I feel about my anxiety. It’s like the check engine light of my
psychological engine. And every time it flashes, I remind myself not to panic.
Because odds are, there aren’t any serious, systemic issues that need to be
triaged immediately.

It’s just an early warning sign. An invitation to notice
what my body is trying to tell me. An opportunity to nip the anxiety in the
bud, lest it morphs into an actual problem. 

You’re not having an existential
crisis, you just need more air conditioning. 

I’m reminded of the time
I got into a fender bender at a stoplight. Nobody was hurt, everybody had
insurance, and the cars were mildly dented. No problem, right? 

Then I left the
country for a month. And by the time I got home, I had forgotten all about my
little accident. And every time that check engine light illuminated, it just
ignored it and went back to singing car karaoke. 

Fast forward to a few months
later, I was driving down the highway a hot summer day, when the dashboard
suddenly burst into flames. Smoke filled the car. The steering wheel locked.
And the engine defaulted into automatic shutdown mode.Not good. 

Miraculously, I was able to swerve over to the side of
the road in time. I stumbled out of the car in a cloud of smoke and phoned
roadside assistance. By the time the tow truck arrived, the smoke had died down
and the car was fine. Although the driver was still a bit terrified. 

Once we
arrived at the body shop, the mechanic told me that the coolant had overheated
and damaged the radiator. When I asked him what might have caused it, he asked
if the car had been in any accidents in the past few months. 

Shit. The fender bender. Coming back to
haunt me. Forgot all about it. 

And of course, the mechanic scratched his head
and asked, but didn’t your check engine light ever come on? 

Lesson learned,
sometimes the light is a false trigger, and sometimes it really is an early
warning sign. 

But both signals deserve our attention. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS… 

Are you putting a piece of black tape over your feelings?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS… 

For the list called, “99 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur, Even If You Aren’t One,” 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 2017-2018.

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of 

The Nametag Guy in action here!

Cue cards are traditionally held right beside the camera for the performer to read from, while still appearing to look directly into the lens. 

But in many television productions, especially sketch shows, cue cards are also positioned off camera, to the left or right of the stage, out of frame, unseen by the viewing audience. 

And so, on any given television set, actors might encounter three sets of cue cards. One by the camera, one on stage left, and one on stage right. This system allows the actors to feel safe and supplied and supported with their script, no matter where their eyes may fall during the show, thus ensuring the success of the performance. 

It’s a basic redundancy. A fail safe for increasing the reliability of the show. A backup to prevent the actors and crew members from relying on a single point of failure. 

The production team, then, triangulated their support system. And that’s a powerful principle outside of the television system as well. 

Because each of us needs a secure base. Reliable, human sources of emotional renewal, nourishment, safety and security in the face of everyday challenges. 

Not a thousand or even a hundred friends, but at the minimum, three. That’s triangulation. The strongest shape in nature. One where any added force is evenly spread through all three sides. 

And so, next time you find yourself embroiled in confusion and struggle, call three people you trust and love. Invite them to stand at the corners of your heart, so you feel safe and supplied and secure with the script life gives you. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS… 

How well do you triangulate your support system?
LET ME SUGGEST THIS… 

For the list called, “99 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur, Even If You Aren’t One,” 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 2017-2018.

Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of 

The Nametag Guy in action here!