My personality type is a classic right brain rebel artist. 

Here are the greatest hits of my flaws. 

Not a planner, struggles with logical thinking, experiences physical anxiety when forced to follow basic instructions and has almost zero attention to detail. 

Now that’s one hell of a resume headline. 

However, instead of hiding these weakness, or worse yet, spending time and energy and money trying to correct them, I’m learning to accept them as the reality they represent. More importantly, learning to forgive myself when I pull a me, as it were. 

Recently I had an important interview in the city. And so, I got all dressed up, wrote down the address, left my house nice and early, got a good seat on the train, had a relaxing lunch nearby, and when I finally arrived in the lobby with five minutes to spare, it occurred to me that this company has multiple locations around the city. And I showed up to the wrong one. 

Son of a bitch. 

But here’s the key moment. Instead of shaking my head at my failure, I simply called headquarters, told them exactly what happened and rescheduled for the next day. 

Instead of cursing to the sky that I always do shit like this, I headed right back to the train. And instead of allowing my sense of competency to be undone by a single mistake and then inhaling an entire box of double chocolate cookies and feeling sorry for myself on the entire ride home, I immediately turned on a playlist of my own original music and starting singing out loud. 

Because despite my flaws and failures, I’m still a talented and creative professional who creates real value in the world. 

It’s like the best detectives say. 

Sometimes the cover up is worse than the crime. 

Don’t make your pain worse by adding a layer of suffering on top of it. 

Forgive yourself and find your way back to joy. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…   

What does it feel like when you pull a you?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

Buy my latest devotional! 

A Year in Hot Yoga: 365 Daily Meditations for On and Off the Mat. 

Now available wherever books are sold.

Namaste.

Over the past twenty years, thousands of people from around the world have reached out to tell me that my nametag experiment has been featured as a case study in their business book, college course, company newsletters, training seminar, student project, trivia archive, teaching resource or documentary film. 

My personal favorite was when my seminude picture wound up on one of those media roundups of the worst tattoos of all time, and a producer from a reality show called to see if I wanted to be a contestant on an upcoming episode of Tattoo Nightmares. 

Chronicling the horror stories behind people’s unfortunate tattoos and their attempts to fix them. Tonight at ten. 

You couldn’t make this stuff up if you wanted to. 

But this experience, call it a moment of exemplarity, has become a constant for over half of my life now. And every time it happens, that little dancing smile of satisfaction still comes across my face. 

Because what an absolute privilege to be an example for something meaningful. What a delight to know that something as simple and absurd as wearing a nametag everyday could actually have a broader impact beyond just getting weird looks on the subway. 

In a noisy world where everyone is trying to do something worth noticing, remembering, sharing, spreading, it’s quite a relief to already have that box checked. 

And interestingly enough, my aspirations for wearing a nametag were never even that ambitious. 

I just wanted to make friends and meet girls. 

But as my mentor once warned me, a river reaches places its source never knows. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…   

What will you do that emanates out like ripples and laps onto the shores of the world?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

Buy my latest devotional! 

A Year in Hot Yoga: 365 Daily Meditations for On and Off the Mat. 

Now available wherever books are sold.

Namaste.

Moore once wrote that we can’t force love into existence, we can only create space for it to arrive. 

This mantra comes from his book about the alchemy of working, although it’s also brilliant relationship advice. 

Because although we can’t be expected to buy in, subscribe to or obsess over the exact same things as our partner, there’s still a standing obligation to believe in their yes. To demonstrate care and concern in a way they would experience as loving. To join their journey, as the saying goes, regardless of how different it is than our own. 

Byron’s inspiring book of coaching dialogues summarized it perfectly:

Love joins everything, without condition. It doesn’t avoid the nightmare, it looks forward to it an then inquires. There is no way to join except to get free of your belief that you want something from your partner. 

We don’t have to accept all of our partner’s realities in the same moment. 

But we still need to join their journey. Otherwise we’re just roommates. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…   

Have you learned the skill of being a good sport?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

Buy my latest devotional! 

A Year in Hot Yoga: 365 Daily Meditations for On and Off the Mat. 

Now available wherever books are sold.

Namaste.

I started wearing a nametag everyday for one simple reason.  

It makes people friendlier. Period. 

Eighteen years and a hundred thousand interactions later, it still works. Every day. Complete strangers, new friends, business colleagues, casual acquaintances, customer support agents and homeless people alike, they all act friendlier toward me. Mission accomplished. 

The irony, though, is that it’s been a struggle to extend that same sense of compassion and acceptance and kindness and forgiveness inwardly. 

Because despite my deep approachability to others, I often forget to act with great friendliness to self. I neglect the person on the inside who needs a nametag the most. 

Is it any surprise I was once hospitalized for stress related illnesses three times in the same year? Of course not. I hadn’t yet learned how to treat myself the way I wanted to be treated. 

It’s like the classic joke from support group. 

When a codependent person dies, what’s the last thing that flashes before their eyes?

Somebody else’s life. 

And so, years later, I’ve begun a parallel journey of friendliness. Not only to belong to the world, but belong to self. Not only to feel at home as we, but to feel at as me. 

One milestone along this journey is getting better at noticing the moments when I chastise and badmouth and criticize and beat myself up. Not judging myself for doing so, simply noticing it. And then letting it go. 

After all, awareness is always the precursor freedom. No matter what you’re practicing. 

This process is trying. Becoming friendlier with myself, including every aspect of my being, that takes practice. Directing acceptance to even my most undesirable qualities and allowing my body to fully receive the gift of compassion, that takes practice. 

But not unlike the nametag itself, I know that if I just stick with it for a few years, eventually, it will pay off. 

Each moment of surrender is another act of mercy toward ourselves. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…   

Who are you if you don’t wake up with this rolodex of reasons that you resent yourself?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

Buy my latest devotional! 

A Year in Hot Yoga: 365 Daily Meditations for On and Off the Mat. 

Now available wherever books are sold.

Namaste.

Rogers famously wrote that human beings have potentially available a tremendous range of intuitive powers. 

That we are indeed wiser than our intellects, but sadly, we have neglected the capacities of the non rational, creative and metaphoric parts of our brains.

What he forgot to mention, though, is that intuition arrives as a physical whisper, not a cognitive shout. The thing we tune into is our body, not our brain. 

There’s a term that my favorite fictional detective uses anytime his intuition steps in to help solve the big case. 

Something about this doesn’t track for me. 

Meaning, there’s an inconsistency in the serial killer’s sequence of events. His behavior doesn’t fit the pattern. It’s not aligned. It doesn’t track. 

That’s how I feel whenever my intuition starts speaking to me. I feel this sudden surge of disinterest. My body turns into a pinball machine of physiological reactions, from warning tingles to stomach pangs to body heat to chest constrictions to eye twitches to spooked feelings to spine chills to brain cramps. 

All physical manifestations of doubt. 

Of course, it’s just information. These triggers are more about my own history than the person sitting across the table. And I don’t want to be too quick to find that everything is aligned with my powers of intuition. To quote the aforementioned detective:

If your only tool is a gun, every problem starts to look like a corpse. 

But our bodies will never lie to us. The machinery of intuitive thought is a powerful thing. And we always have a true self that knows the next step here. 

At the very least, we owe it to ourselves to pay real attention, even if we don’t take action. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…   

What thing your life right now doesn’t track for you? * * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

Buy my latest devotional! 

A Year in Hot Yoga: 365 Daily Meditations for On and Off the Mat. 

Now available wherever books are sold.

Namaste.

After years of making war against the way things are, I finally realized that life is a story that takes its sweet ass time unraveling itself. 

All situations unfold regardless of how we feel about them, irrespective of our precious agendas, expectations and judgments. 

Surrendering to this reality is actually quite liberating. Because it helps us believe that there is wisdom in the unfolding of events exactly as they are. It encourages us to align ourselves with those events as they are happening, in real time. And it asks us to trust that whatever we’re gaining from this experience is perfect for our growth. 

The problem is, this surrendered approach to life runs crosswire to the grain of modern culture. Most people aren’t willing to carve out time for an emotional state that the rest of the world is suspicious of. Most people aren’t willing to accept that everything is perfect exactly as it is. 

The neighbors would whisper. 

After all, we live in a hyper impulsive, quick fix culture. Patience isn’t taught or rewarded. Humans have been primed for immediate gratification, and if we don’t have to wait, we won’t. 

And so, if you like the idea of watching the universe unfold at your feet, be ready for resistance. 

Not just from yourself, but from the world around you. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…   

If everything is perfect exactly as it is, what is it that you are not seeing?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

Buy my latest devotional! 

A Year in Hot Yoga: 365 Daily Meditations for On and Off the Mat. 

Now available wherever books are sold.

Namaste.

I’ve always loved reading historical books about the bright ideas that changed the world and the inspirational people who brought them to life. 

There’s something magical about studying the history of famous inventions, mistakes that turned into big businesses and everyday items had surprisingly haphazard beginnings. 

But we can’t consume our way to innovation. The only way to ratchet up our species is to create. 

That’s why I started keeping an innovation log. A ongoing database of ideas for products, services, inventions, businesses, organizations and other types of media. Because I love solving the creative problem, not just studying it. 

Productive daydreaming is a worthwhile muscle to build. Fleshing out new ideas that could potentially improve humanity and save money and deliver joy to people who need it most, this process energizes me. It makes me feel useful. It challenges me to create value in the world, even if my ideas don’t change it. That’s why I created a gameshow called Steal Scott’s Ideas.

One insight I’ve uncovered in this process is, behind every moment of unhappiness, anxiety, loneliness, frustration, anger, inconvenience and confusion, is a new innovation waiting to be born.

That’s what I look for. It’s my favorite part of the process. Scouring message boards and product reviews and customer complaints to find those moments. Those insider signals. Those tiny details that trigger a whole world, act as shorthand for a shared culture and capture where certain people have landed. 

Like when one of my clients complained that all of his socks ripped because he had legs like tree trunks. To which I replied, we should launch a line of cankle friendly socks for people with wide set feet. 

Stoutz will be the name of our company. 

Now there’s a great idea that solves a real problem. That’s what happens when we’re willing to allow curiosity to move us to our feet. We might actually create something to help alleviate some of the burdens of existence. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…   

What practice do you have in place to keep innovation high on the agenda?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

Buy my latest devotional! 

A Year in Hot Yoga: 365 Daily Meditations for On and Off the Mat. 

Now available wherever books are sold.

Namaste.

The worst part about chronic pain is,
you start to live your life in ways to accommodate your problem, and as a
result, your world becomes narrower and less flexible. 

All of your
resources are servicing the dysfunction, and so, there’s no time left to live
the kind of life you want to live. 

That’s the difference between pain and
suffering. Pain is the physical sensation in your body, suffering is the
emotional layer of resistance and frustration and confusion and hopelessness
that you create in reaction to that sensation. 

And that’s something aspirin
can’t fix. 

Back in my workaholic days, when I hadn’t yet mastered the tools to
process my stress in healthy and efficient ways, my stomach hurt all the time.
All the time. Nothing too high on the pain scale, but the discomfort was
significant enough that it disturbed my life consistently. 

Thankfully, my
therapist taught me to establish a more constructive relationship to my pain.
He said that trying to get rid of pain only amplifies it. Anything we resist,
persists. Any over determined action products its opposite. 

The goal, then,
isn’t to take the pain away, but learning to live with it more effectively. To
soften yourself toward it, rather than tense up around it. Even to love the pain, if possible. To give
thanks for it as information indicating that something has gone wrong and needs
my attention. 

Initially, the whole philosophy sounded like bullshit. I resisted
this new system for processing because it wasn’t clean, simple, fast and exact.
Like so many people with stress problems, my mantra was, hurry up and relax. 

Why should I meditate for twenty minutes every morning when I could just scarf
down a handful of antacid tablets and get on with my day? 

Once the
reality of my struggle with chronic pain fully dawned on my naïve
consciousness, there was no doubt it in mind. My deluded wishes for the pain to
go away weren’t working. Something had to change. 

Over the next few years, I
change my relationship to the discomfort. I learned to notice the pain, but
also the suffering layered on top of the pain. I employed meditation and
mindfulness and gratitude and journaling and therapy and yoga and breathing and
incantations and exercise and whatever other tool I could get my hands on. 

Eventually, my stomach stopped hurting and I started surrendering myself to the
vitality of the moment. 

It was like opening all the blinds and windows in my
house and finally allowing life to flow through.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…   

Are you trying to win the war, or trying to abandon the battlefield altogether? 

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

Buy my latest devotional! 

A Year in Hot Yoga: 365 Daily Meditations for On and Off the Mat. 

Now available wherever books are sold.

Namaste.

Steal Scott’s Ideas started as a writing exercise about three years ago. 

Since then, it has evolved into a series of blogs and corporate workshops. 

And next, in its next stage of evolution, it has become a product development & innovation gameshow! 

As your host, I’ll gather with friends, family members, colleagues, some strangers from the internet, and we’ll collaborate to solving real problems, brainstorming ridiculous innovations and building robust marketing plans to help those ideas improve the world.

ThinkShark Tank meetsThe Onion meetsWhose Line. You can find out more atwww.stealscottsideas.com. And be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcasting app. 

Season 1 is coming soon. Here is the trailer.

Until then, remember, ideas are free, only execution is priceless.

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

Moving forward, in any kind of way, is simultaneously empowering and agonizing. 

Because on one hand, we get to step into a newfound vision of the future that is ours to write. But on the other hand, we have to let go of some things that have previously helped us. We have to release our grip on the past and open our hands to receive the new. 

As my favorite entertainment manager loves to tell his clients:

To get to the next level, something has to die. 

Which sounds morbid and scary and dramatic. But that’s exactly why humans fear change and transition. It’s a form of death. Of something, of someone. 

The challenge is, how are we supposed to know what needs to die? Here’s a helpful question that’s worth asking over and over. 

What is my soul telling my body that it is time to release? 

Perhaps it’s an old idea about what happiness is. Perhaps it’s a former identity story that no longer serves you. Perhaps it’s an outdated belief about how the world should work. Perhaps it’s an old set of expectations about what you think you deserve. 

The point is, each of those examples come from my own life experience. They’re all things that I have been learning to let go of. But although it’s a hard battle, it’s one worth fighting every time. 

Levine’s revolutionary program on addiction recovery has a beautiful way of summarizing this very issue. 

Acknowledge that this is the way it is, and that although you want to things to be different, learn to let go of that aversion and allow things be the way they are. 

Just imagine.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…   

What would change if you believed you had all that you needed?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

Buy my latest devotional! 

A Year in Hot Yoga: 365 Daily Meditations for On and Off the Mat. 

Now available wherever books are sold.

Namaste.