Each of us are raised with labels and terminology and a system for interpreting the world. 

And that’s a good thing. Labels have a profound utilitarian purpose. They make it faster to classify and understand what’s going on around us. They create mental shortcuts that give us a handle by which to hold people. 

Which is certainly a lot easier than the messy discomfort that often arises out of relating to an actual human being. 

The challenge is, the act of labeling diminishes people’s capacity fulfill their potential. It tends to focus on weaknesses and deficiencies, rather than talents and gifts. 

This reminds me of something my pastor friend once wrote:

Labels meant to establish helpful boundaries often turn into walls that frame prisons. And in constructing inflexibly hard and defining boxes into which people are shackle, the breath of life cannot be exhaled. 

Take it from a guy who’s been wearing a nametag twenty four seven for the past seventeen years. I launched this social experiment when I was in college because I had grown exhausted with society’s labeling system. 

That’s when I decided to beat people to the identity punch. 

And so, I labeled myself first. I started wearing a nametag all day, everyday, and haven’t taken it off since. Because I wanted the world to know that I was a real person with feelings and dreams and flaws and ideas. 

Six thousand days later, here’s what I’ve learned. 

Every human being is somewhere on the journey to self understanding. Each of us has our own story. Which means, no theory about us is true. No category into which the world places us is a comprehensive picture of our unique experience. 

And so, when we interact with each other, we accept the fact that we don’t really know what’s going on with the other person. We embrace the mystery and move forward with curiosity and wonder, radiating a spirit of care and attention. And we give people the tremendous gift of being seen and having the validity of their experience mirrored back to them. 

Dante’s famous words, ogni parte ad ogni parte splende, say it perfectly. 

Each part is emitting its radiance to each other part. 

If we keep our ears open, our mouths shut and our label makers holstered, we have a real shot at connecting. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS… 

How are you creating an atmosphere in which people can feel like complete human beings? 

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!

Hangtime is a cultural term that refers to how long something stays in the air before hitting the ground, from the point guard dunking the ball, to the pigskin sailing toward the end zone, to a stunt car flying off a ramp. 

But from cognitive perspective, hangtime is also an helpful metaphor for conceptualizing resiliency. Because in the face of life’s inevitable jabs and blows, our goal is to minimize mental hangtime. To return to the ground as quickly and smoothly and as possible. 

Maisel’s school of philosophy on existential health, which has equipped me to build my resiliency over the years, shows that the meaning we intend to make is more important than the mood we attempt to measure. It’s a psychological experience, an eternal wellspring and a renewable resource, and we can make more of as soon as the pain subsides. 

And so, in our low moments when life bombards us with rejection and failure and disappointment, here’s how we minimize mental hangtime. 

First, we admit that a meaning blow has occurred. We feel our feelings. After all, resilience is, first and foremost, the acceptance of our new reality. 

Next, recognizing that a negative event has occurred, we take immediate action by making new meaning. Instead of wallowing in sadness about our job application that received a cold, impersonal rejection letter, we move through the sadness by redirecting our energies into work that’s in alignment with our values. 

This process may sound overwhelming at first blush, but once your set of responses and behaviors is internalized, resiliency will become as natural as breathing. And before you know it, you’ll bounce back like a champion. 

Remember, resilience is not a rare ability. It’s not a genetic trait that some people possess and others lack. It’s a process. It’s a practice. And it’s available to us as soon as we’re available to it. 

And contrary to popular conditioning, resilience isn’t about acting tough, it’s about acting according to our values. 

If we want to expand our capacity to recover from the exhausting experience of being human, make meaning, don’t monitor moods. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS… 

Will you collapse and never recover, or find unknown strength and acquire remarkable vision?

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!

The creative process is a lifelong exercise in surrender. 

As
artists, we accept that we do not have magical control over the world. We bow
to the universe as a chaotic and mysterious place that isn’t obligated to make
us productive and pay for our dreams. 

We consent that humanity isn’t mature
enough to control the important things. And we embrace the fact that the only
thing we have power over is our discipline. 

That’s the reality of our limited
control. It’s the daily practice of showing up every day and seeking what is
fresh and spontaneous and interesting in the same place we looked for it
yesterday. 

The hard part is doing so
despite ideal conditions. Meaning, practicing discipline even when we don’t
feel like it. 

Discipline even when we’re not having fun. 

Discipline even when
the world screams that we’re wrong. 

Discipline even when we see no point in
doing it. 

Discipline even when we’re not at our best. 

Discipline even when
nobody’s around to correct us. 

Discipline even when we’re presented with
logical evidence that it isn’t working. 

Discipline even when it’s inconvenient,
unpopular or uncomfortable. 

Discipline even when we’re forced to continue
working without seeing results. 

Discipline even when the data suggest there are
better ways. 

Next time you start to feel the controlling instinct welling up
inside of you, instead of trying to white knuckle the world, simply release
your grip on life and just let the discipline carry you. 

Soon, you’ll gain
confidence with smaller acts of control, and gradually work up to facing your
larger challenges. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS… 

How are you growing in your ability to be in control of yourself? 
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!

There’s a phenomenon
in the dating world called ghosting,
in which someone that you believe cares about you, disappears from contact
without any explanation at all. 

It makes you feel disrespected, disposable and
disappointed. 

The lack of closure is maddening and unsatisfying. 

And the most
insidious part is, you not only question the validity of the relationship you
had, it you question yourself. 

This experience, however, isn’t limited to the
dating world alone. Ghosting happens between friends, family members,
colleagues, customers, prospects and almost every other type of platonic and
professional relationship known to man. 

It’s a universal human experience. Things just go away. 

Buddhists call it impermanence, whereby all formations are transient or in a constant
state of flux, and any attachment to them becomes the cause for future
suffering. 

And so, if you get ghosted, of
course your feelings are going to be hurt. But only for a day. If the long
term emotional effects of ghosting are devastating and damaging and sending you
into an angry ruminative loop leaving you awash in fury and resentment and
feeling irritable and on edge much of the time, that’s on you. 

I’ve been
ghosted hundreds of times in my life, both personally and professionally. And
it still stings every time. But as I grow older, my response to this experience
of abandonment has evolved. 

First of all, instead of beating myself up, I have
compassion, forgiveness and acceptance towards the people who disappeared.
Remembering never to attribute to malice what can be easily explained by
incompetence, poor timing, lost emails, and of course, the imperfect and
ephemeral nature of life. 

Secondly, instead of making war with what is,
building a defensive edifice against reality, I just throw my hands up to the
sky and laugh at the sheer absurdity of my existence. Remembering that I don’t
have to know how everything works. And that the healthier my relationship with
mystery is, the happier my life will be. 

And so, next time someone that you
believe cares about you disappears from contact without any explanation at all,
consider this. 

It’s not your fault. It’s not something you said. It’s not
emotional cruelty. It’s not passive aggression. It’s not a reflection of your
worthiness for love. 

And it’s not an all out personal attack. 

It’s simply life.
Things go away. 

Just because you kissed once doesn’t mean you’re in love
forever. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS… 

What story are you telling yourself about the people who abandon you? 

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!

Fire this fearful longing

Put a little iron in your core

Hang your whole weight upon me

And scoot fear out the door

We got greatness by choice

We got gravity by chance

A good man tries to be worse

And fool god with his plans

Another angel on duty

A magic lamp awaits your caress

This reservoir of truth and beauty

And love for all the rest

This quiet rack I am sleeping

I carry crisis like a cross

Don’t come back until you are bleeding

And love outweighs the cost

Head up, heart higherHead up, heart higher
Head up, heart higher
Head up, heart higher
Head up.

Watch the whole movie here.

* * * *

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!

Moore’s brilliant research on the soul’s religion reminds us that dream work doesn’t necessarily have to help us uncover the clues to the meaning of our personality. 

It can simply be a daily practice that keeps us in touch with the basic narratives we are living. A portal to transcendence and wonder that helps us get to know our soul better, increase our participation in the greater universe and tap into one of the many mysteries that surrounds us on a nightly basis. 

That’s why dream work is so thrilling to me. There’s no specific, practical or rational reason behind my practice. It’s just another romantic adventure. A chance to catch a glimpse of the unnamable and move closer to my ever expanding and broadening self. 

I don’t need another reason. The dream police isn’t going to drag me away for not justifying my behavior otherwise. 

However, I don’t spend much time sharing my nocturnal notions with other people. Because frankly, nobody’s interested in watching the weird movies my brain plays every night. And there’s nothing more awkward than the vacant lard mouth who stops by your cubicle every morning to regale you with their bizarre, dawdling nightmares. 

Dunham’s award winning movie said it best. 

Dreams are like poems. They’re something that everybody likes to tell other people, but nobody actually cares about when it’s not their own.

Look, we spend a third of our lives asleep. A third of our lives tumbling through the unconscious, connecting with the deeper currents of ourselves. 

But the moment we wake up, the important thing is not what we do to a dream, but what the dream does to us. 

Even when we’re asleep, our brain is telling us stories. Why not listen? 

LET ME ASK YA THIS… 

Do you trust that the mysteries which shroud your sleep have meaning? 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!

Each of us seeks the pride of having lived up to our expectations for ourselves. 

It’s what allows us to feel strong and human and alive. 

But there’s a fine line between ambition and ammunition. There’s a danger in following our dreams so intensely that we forget to enjoy life. 

And so, if you realize that your standards are high beyond reach or reason, that the demands you place on yourself qualify as a form of self mutilation, perhaps it’s time to get off your own back and cut yourself some slack. 

The challenge, of course, is that the gift of giving ourselves a break feels like an indulgence. Especially when we’ve been brainwashed into measuring personal worthiness solely in terms of productivity and achievement. 

But the surprising part is, letting ourselves off the hook doesn’t mean we’re lazy, incompetent and irresponsible. It simply means we’re willing to forgive, something that’s not about whether or not the behavior is right or wrong, but about choosing to let go of the guilt and anger that interferes with our ability to enjoy life. 

January, for example, used to be my number one month for stomach cramps and chest pains. With the uncertainty of a new year and the fun of the festive season coming to an end, it made perfect sense. 

But there was another piece to my anxiety that I failed to realize. 

The pressure I put on myself to become better and stronger and smarter and faster and richer and happier. 

After all, this is a new year. The stress is higher, the opportunities are fewer and the window is smaller. 

Go, go, go.

And should there be a failure to meet my insanely high standards, that’s a paddling. 

Zero forgiveness. Zero ability to bask in the beauty and bounty of the journey. Life was merely a series of obstacles that had to be negotiated in order to get wherever it was that I thought would finally make me happy. 

Fortunately, I forgive myself for not forgiving myself. 

And I hope you find it in your heart to do the same. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS… 

What interferes with your ability to enjoy 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!

Skynner’s bestselling book on family and marital therapy defines a control freak as:

A perfectionist defending themselves against their own inner vulnerabilities in
the belief that if they are not in total control, they risk exposing themselves
once more to childhood angst. They often manipulate and pressure others
to change, in order to avoid having to change themselves. 

It’s a difficult
personality to be around. When person is willing to leap over any boundaries we
have set in order to bombard us with their truth, it can feel suffocating. 

Because they demand intellectual allegiance. There is absolutely no way anyone
will dissuade them from their position. And they’re shocked if people go
against their way of doing things. 

Unfortunately, managing control freaks is an
experience for which we are given limited tools and training. In fact, it
wasn’t until mythirtiesthat I
finally developed the language to express what I was feeling. 

But if I could
travel back in time, here’s what I would have said to them. 

Look, I know you’re
never wrong. I can see that you have a zero tolerance policy for other people’s
opinions. And I fully understand that if everyone doesn’t do things your way,
they’re wrong. But please stop trying to make me feel inadequate about my own
views. Please stop trying to heighten my sense of lack and invoke my fear of
missing out, just because you’re terrified of being out of control. You cannot
convert me to your dogma, and I would appreciate it if you didn’t try. 

Just let
me be one of the lost ones who missed the boat to bliss. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS… 

What’s your strategy for managing control freaks?

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!

The world is out there, demanding that we do things their way. 

And it will always get judgmental whenever it suspects we’re deviating from the standard. 

It’s textbook tribal behavior. Whenever there’s a separation between one person’s thinking and values from the tightly packed morals of their community of origin, the natives grow restless. And they do everything in their power to reel the radicals back in, keeping them quiet, ignored and hidden in the corner. 

After all, the dominant values in tribal society is allegiance to the chief, preservation of the clan and loyalty to all of the people who make up that world. 

Not so much our unfolding self. Not so much our deepening individuality. 

Gardner’s pioneering research on the individual and the innovative society sought out to discover why some civilizations atrophy and decay, while others remain innovative and creative. 

One of his most frequently cited conclusions was the following. 

Unless we cope with the ways in which modern society oppresses the individual, we shall lose the creative spark that renews both societies and men. 

And so, if you were born with a strong desire to asset your individuality, if you’re the kind of person who prefers to pledge allegiance to the lowercase gods of your own private devising, you must be prepared to cope with the ways in which modern society oppresses the individual. 

You must learn to tell the difference between the person you truly are and the person you think you’re expected to be. And you must chase dreams that are actually your own, not the ones you inherited from mainstream culture. 

It’s the price you pay for deviating from the standard. Living on an unpaved road, hoping to find the beauty at the end, it’s a path that’s expensive as hell. 

But it’s also a path that’s expansive as hell. 

Both for you and the world your gifts touch. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS… 

Are you brave enough to crawl out of the pleasant unconsciousness that has been your womb for many years?

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!

Cartoons made my creative life possible.

From an early age, animation has always been a source of profound inspiration, joy and meaning for me.

Schultz and Watterson shifted my inner geography from day one.

In fact, one of my early career aspirations was to become a cartoonist. I even bought books and took classes. And you couldn’t pry the pencil and paper away from me with a crowbar.

But then one day my art teacher informed me that “tracing” didn’t qualify as effective draftsmanship. Woops.

Thirty years later, however, I ended up becoming a successful  author, songwriter, consultant, public speaker, filmmaker and a few other things too. And when the time came to start my next project, I finally decided to resurrect my childhood dream.

With the help of an amazing animator, the cartoon started to come to life.

A year later, the animated folk rock opera was complete.

And the five year old inside of me cried tears of joy.

Here’s the trailer:

* * * *

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!