Feel cleansed for having imagined

Ethel’s groundbreaking psychiatry research argues that human fantasy should be understood as one of our major modes of adaptation. That the culture shouldn’t make us pay a terrible price for the things we imagine. 

After all, at the heart of every fantasy is a germ of frustration and, therefore, a desire for change. And so, the force of fantasy can transmute our visions into personal healing and even world changing actualities. 

As someone who’s always had a hyperactive imagination, this philosophy about fantasy makes me feel less alone in the world. Like I’m not crazy or deviant or sick for all the movies playing inside my head, no matter how poorly written, badly directed and cheaply produced they are. 

It’s like my favorite therapist says:

There are no bad thoughts, no bad feelings, only healthy and unhealthy ways of expressing them. 

It’s empowering as hell. Knowing our conscious fantasies are private property, feeling proud of the bizarre places our brains take us, and then feeling cleansed for having imagined, it’s literally the stuff dreams are made of. 

Robbins said it best in his colorful and hilarious autobiography:

From the beginning, imagination has been my wild card, my skeleton key, my servant, my master, my bat cave, my home entertainment center, my flotation device, my syrup of wahoo; and I plan to stick with it to the end, whenever and however that end might come, and whether or not there is another act to follow. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Are you feeling guilty about journeying to the far off island inside your mind?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

It’s the world’s first, best and only product development and innovation gameshow!


Tune in and subscribe for a little execution in public.

Join our community of innovators, artists and entrepreneurs.

Reality is not obligated to conform to our wishes

Having healthy boundaries means learning to face other people’s reality with maturity, respect and understanding. 

Even if it’s painful. 

Here are a few examples that have been a struggle for me over the years, both personally and professional. 

Instead of ignoring someone’s flagrant signs of disinterest, accept whatever relationship people are comfortable having with you. 

Instead of chasing people who clearly don’t want to be with you, accept that it simply wasn’t meant to be and you can’t manage other people’s feelings. 

Instead of getting super clingy and needy and smothering, grant people the space they’ve asked for. 

Instead of assigning magical qualities to people, idealizing, pursuing and then blaming them for not fulfilling your fantasies, accept that they’re not your soulmate and get on with your life. 

Instead of interpreting the boundaries people set as personal rejections and attacks, celebrate the fact that they’re taking care of themselves, even though it’s not especially helpful it gratifying for you. 


LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What boundaries do you have trouble accepting?
* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

It’s the world’s first, best and only product development and innovation gameshow!


Tune in and subscribe for a little execution in public.

Join our community of innovators, artists and entrepreneurs.

Aim for greatness, not bigness

Scaling may lead to greater distribution, broader impact and higher profits. 

But when you scale, you’re likely to dilute quality and destroy your ability to work on the razor’s edge and lose that unique personal thing that made you successful in the first place. 

A talent manager once emailed me and asked, what are your scaling aspirations? 

Um, they don’t exist?

Look, I was burned out enough going it alone, and so, there was no desire to scale in order to burn out even more. Sure, it’s an exciting idea to think about building out my brand on a global scale, boosted by a powerful machine of producers and third party managers working every angle to turn it into a million dollar empire. 

But frankly, that sounds exhausting. And it doesn’t sound like me. My hunger and drive and ambition aren’t at that level anymore.

Not everything was built to be bigger. Some things are best left unscaled. 

As my mentor used to say, if size mattered, the dinosaurs would still be around. 


LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Are you aiming for bigness or greatness?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

It’s the world’s first, best and only product development and innovation gameshow!


Tune in and subscribe for a little execution in public.

Join our community of innovators, artists and entrepreneurs.

It’s the first thing we notice about you

Whatever you think makes you an outsider, is precisely what makes you valuable. 

Truth is, you are uniquely qualified. Something has prepared you to come into this world hardwired. Even more than you know.

Your distinctive life experience has equipped you with a valuable perspective that few people have, but all people need. Which means you have a vital role to play in this world. 

You have a real opportunity to use your life to make something that will outlast it. 

The question, will you leverage this unfair advantage that you have? Will you raid your past for raw material and fabricate it into something that improves the world? Will you use your pain in a way that benefits other people? 

You don’t have to dream about becoming something valuable. Because of who you are, the streets you’ve walked, the people you’ve talked, the battles you’ve fought, is precisely what enables you to make a difference. 

Don’t back away from that expression. 

You have an unmatched advantage, waiting for a spark. 


LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What if who you already are was enough to get what you want?* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

It’s the world’s first, best and only product development and innovation gameshow!


Tune in and subscribe for a little execution in public.

Join our community of innovators, artists and entrepreneurs.

Your mind is an idiot, don’t rely on it

Most standardized testing manuals tell students the same strategy. 

Don’t try to do all the work in your head. 

Thinking a great place to start, but after a while, more thinking equals less doing. You’re stuck in the paralysis of analysis. And it’s not the healthiest emotional state for solving the problem. 

Only by writing your ideas down, the test prep experts say, do you avoid making careless errors on simple problems. Because it gives your brain a break. There’s no need to rely on the limited bandwidth of your working memory if you have the option of putting everything into a concrete form on actual paper. 

But this principle has much broader applications than standardized tests. Whatever kind of work we’re doing, we should all be careful not to do too much of it inside our heads. 

It’s like the waitress who tries to earn bigger tips by taking the entire table’s order without a pad or a pen, but then mistakenly serves your dairy free wife a cheeseburger with a side of ranch and a chocolate milkshake. 

Just write it down. 

Insisting on doing everything the hard way isn’t impressive, it’s exhausting. 


LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Are you doing too much work inside your head?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

It’s the world’s first, best and only product development and innovation gameshow!


Tune in and subscribe for a little execution in public.

Join our community of innovators, artists and entrepreneurs.

Fear has a lot of shady disguises

Anger management has been a field of study since day one. 

Maybe before then. 

Seneca and other philosophers have been offering advice for countering uncontrollable rage for the past two thousand years. 

But what’s interesting is, people don’t need more resources for anger management. Because anger is a defensive feeling that protects another feeling. It’s just a roadmap to our real emotions. Which, the majority of the time, are grounded in fear. 

And so, if we want to take responsibility for our anger, before punching a hole through the drywall, we might ask ourselves what we’re afraid of. 

What’s scary to me right now? What old fear did this new anger just bring up for me? 

Performance reviews come to mind. Employees who receive less than stellar evaluations quickly become angry, and occasionally spiral into a manic death rage that results in broken furniture and multiple teeth being knocked out:

This company is pathetic, the boss has his head up his ass, our clients are simpleton cheapskate jerkoffs, and the popcorn in the employee break room tastes like flavored styrofoam. I cast you all to the bowels of hell. Do you validate? 

All of these things may be true. Something like a bad performance review can certainly provoke some genuine appropriate anger. 

But at the core, it’s all fear. 

Fear of being unwanted, unworthy, unemployed, insert other thing we’re scared of here. 



LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Are you allowing your anger to be a constructive force rather than a destructive indulgence?


* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

It’s the world’s first, best and only product development and innovation gameshow!


Tune in and subscribe for a little execution in public.

Join our community of innovators, artists and entrepreneurs.

Hiding behind a mask of indifference

Wiesel, the award winning author, professor and concentration camp survivor, is famous for saying that the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. 

What’s interesting is, anytime we’re on the receiving end of that sentiment, it can be transformed into gifts of deeper understanding and empathy. 

Knowing how we feel when we’re treated invisibly and indifferently helps us not to overlook others in the future. 



This happens to me in stores all the time. Having worked in retail before, it bothers the hell out of me. Employees barely acknowledge my presence, much less acknowledge my needs. They treat me like I have no feelings at all. 



It’s not service with a smile, it’s not service at all. 



However, instead of filling out a comment card or leaving a scathing online review, I allow that memory to sear itself onto my brain. And that way, maybe I’ll remember not to make my customers, friends or family feel like that. Like I don’t have time for them. Like they’re not worth being witnessed.

It brings to mind a heartbreaking passage from one of my favorite mystery novels:

When you have cancer, people start treating you like you’re dead long before you die. 

And so, let all of us see people as they are, not as our filters would judge them. Let us not become so wrapped up with our own tasks that we treat people either as obstacles or as a means to an end that’s related to our achievement. 

Treating people as just people will do fine.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Whom are you making feel invisible?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

It’s the world’s first, best and only product development and innovation gameshow!


Tune in and subscribe for a little execution in public.

Join our community of innovators, artists and entrepreneurs.

The opportunity to more wisely begin again

My hardest class college was business law. 

The subject simply didn’t jive with my brain. 

And I really worked at it, too. 

Did the weekly readings. Came to class every day. Paid attention. Took copious notes. Studied hard for the exams. Even stopped by office hours to get help from my professor. 

But nothing. Failed every single test. Every goddamn one of them. I just didn’t get it. Despite my best efforts, understanding the legal system simply wasn’t in the cards for me. 

My professor even told me after bombing the final exam, flat out. 

Scott, you just don’t get this stuff, do you?



Nope. Sure don’t. 

And then he said:

Well, you worked hard and came to class every day, so I’ll give you a passing grade, but my professional legal advice to you is, don’t pursue a career in law.

If that’s not justice, I don’t know what is. 

Of course, this scenario happens to all of us at some point. We realize that the job or the relationship or the group affiliation that we so badly want to work, simply doesn’t. 

Despite our efforts and desires, there’s no there there. 

And all we can do is accept that we gave it our best shot and treat failure not as an outcome, but a tool to more wisely begin again.



LET ME ASK YA THIS...

Are you doing your absolute best to acknowledge and articulate what isn’t working for you?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg


That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

It’s the world’s first, best and only product development and innovation gameshow!


Tune in and subscribe for a little execution in public.

Join our community of innovators, artists and entrepreneurs.

Liberate yourself from the small world of ego

The hardest thing to believe is that the world does not revolve around us. 

Because we’re all the stars of our own little movies. As it says on the subway poster by my apartment, we’re one city of eight million centers of the universe

But if we never take a breather from our own concerns and move beyond the bounds of our oppressive egos, we lose. We make our worlds smaller. We suffer the burden of a narrow perspective. 

Alain’s insightful letter on the relationship between progress and empathy comes to mind. He says that the businesses of the future are built up on tremors of inner thrill and distress. Tremors that haven’t made it into language, that aren’t in circulation, but that if one attends to them, can lead to amazingly true and lucrative things. 

That’s empathy. Noticing the little things that give us another window into the experience of living. 

And that’s where progress is born. We change our world when we acknowledge on another’s presence in it. 

Perhaps it’s time to get out of our own movie and tune in to someone else.


LET ME ASK YA THIS...

When you liberate yourself from the small world of ego, what might be possible for you?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

It’s the world’s first, best and only product development and innovation gameshow!


Tune in and subscribe for a little execution in public.

Join our community of innovators, artists and entrepreneurs.

Steal Scott’s Ideas, Episode 113: Season 1 Greatest Hits

In this episode of Steal Scott’s Ideas, Scott shares his favorite moments from season one.

Miss any of the episodes? 

No problem.

Here’s a list of the innovations we discussed, in software, consumer goods, industrial goods and service businesses.

Enjoy@


SOFTWARE

Shit happens, but you want my coworkers to know that you’re late for good reason and actually believe your story. Introducing Be Right There…

An image based messaging app for stressed out people running late to alert colleagues in an honest, open and helpful way



Be Right There
Justify tardiness creatively

# # #

Don’t you wish there was a perfect song or movie to match how you feel right now? Check out Moodia…

A recommendation engine that allows users to type in their mood and it will suggest movies, books, shows and other media to compliment or heal their emotional state.



Moodia
Every feeling needs a friend

# # #

As an actor, there are too many auditions to keep up with and you’re missing opportunities because you’re too busy managing your schedule. Try out Callback…

A content organization and project management system that helps actors keep track of their auditions in an efficient way



Callback
Manage the art, get the part

# # #

Why should job interviews be any different than sports games? Every candidate needs to get pumped up for the big gig. Say hello to Game Face…

A music, image and quotation based app that curates playlists and other media to help job hunters get into the zone before interviews



Game Face
Get fired up, get hired up

# # #

There are people who don’t know jack about sports who fear judgment, ridicule and physical harm from macho assholes who do. You need Good Sport…

A geolocation app that gives you key sports history facts, rituals and inside jokes of whatever city you’re in, to make sure you don’t say the wrong thing in public and get your ass kicked.



Good Sport
Never put your cleat in your mouth

# # #

You want the world to know about your job, life or relationship transition, but you’re not sure how to tell that story. Head over to Upnext…

A personal press release service that helps people making major life transitions to clarify, broadcast, own and share their story of change in the world.



Upnext
Public relations for personal transformation

# # #

You don’t see your friends as often as you’d like, but you still want to get up to speed on their lives before you meet so you don’t feel dumb. Download Dossier…

A social media aggregator that uses people’s various online profiles to create a snapshot of their recent activity, giving you just in time context about their lives.



Dossier
Playing digital catchup

# # #

Food is in your house, but you can’t figure out how to make it into something for dinner. Sign up for Recipiece…

An app that takes a visual inventory of your kitchen ingredients and gives you ideas for meals, in addition to other items you would need to make it complete. Included photo uploading function to share your results.



Recipiece
There’s never nothing for dinner anymore

# # #

Nothing makes customers angrier than when a company takes their favorite products off the shelf. They should get Obsoluchus…

A crowd funding platform that helps brings discontinued products back to the marketplace for sixty days at a time.



Obsoluchus
Living in the past, today

# # #


CONSUMER GOODS

Men hate cleaning up around the house, unless there’s a way to make it feel like a real cool, manly job that matters. Check out Chorester…

A kit for helping men rationalize house chores with a jumpsuit, hat, cool tools and other accessories to connect role playing into a mundane process.



Chorester
Be the man of the house

# # #

We need a simple way to reduce out trash output in this country. How about Trash Talk…

A wastebasket that literally insults you every time you throw something into it, shaming you into more sustainable waste management practices.



Trash Talk
Garbage in, garbage out

# # #

Before you start dating this guy, you want to know what you’re getting yourself into first. Thank heavens for Heads Up…

A warning label bracelet that alerts people about the physical and emotional risks associated with the interaction or relationship with that person.



Heads Up
Don’t just manage expectations, master them

# # #

Friends want to share their condolences for difficult life situations, but nobody knows what to say or how to say it. You need Congrats I’m Sorry…

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



Congrats I’m Sorry
Special treats for speechless moments

# # #

People deserve to be complimented, but it’s hard to do so without making them feel uncomfortable or calling human resources or the police. Check out Rando Love…

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



Rando Love
Kindness without strings

# # #

Every day, people are walking around with itchy, poorly wiped assholes. It’s offensive and uncomfortable for us and them. Somebody needs Reflectum…

A small toilet mirror that helps users assure a clean wipe without wasting paper and getting frustrating.



Reflectum
End your streak

# # #

Privacy has gone the way of the dodo bird, and children should be able to have secrets in a healthy, safe way. What about Secondiary…

A decoy diary that kids can keep in conspicuous locations to deceive parents and other nosy family members, only revealing what they need to see to not freak out.



Secondiary
Pry no more

# # #


INDUSTRIAL GOODS

Workplace communication issues often stem from an inability to gauge another person’s mood and emotional context. Tell your boss to get Mood Seat…

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.



Mood Seat
Approachability through transparency

# # # #

Why can’t you get the experience of being in basic training without actually enlisting and risking your life for pointless wars? Check in to Hoorah Hotel…

A military themed hotel for travelers who want to be treated like grunts



Hoorah Hotel
Stay the night as a soldier

# # #

You need fans to build momentum, but you need momentum to get fans. You might like to try Hamletter…

A stationary service that sends real fan letters to new artists who need a boost of confidence and momentum in their careers



Hamletter
Every performer needs a push

# # #

You can’t afford to travel abroad, but you still want pictures to convince people that you are worldly and experienced. Your destination is Fay Kay…

A printing and design service that professionally crops your image into pictures of exotic locations to convince the world that you’re cultured and traveled



Fay Kay
Superimpose the memories, save the money

# # #

Haven’t you ever wished you could just have access to one part of your lover’s body without the necessity of the entire package? Try Empathighs…

A silicone casting service that makes molds of your spouse’s body parts that you can fondle when they’re not around



Empathighs
One hand in my pocket

# # #

Stepping on a scale never makes you feel better about yourself. Unless you use Beauty Scale…

A numberless bathroom scale whose screen shows positive body image affirmations instead of the number of pounds you weigh.



Beauty Scale
Measuring what really matters

# # #

Nachos, pizza and chicken wings are delicious, but you need some help with your stomach in public situations. Perhaps install Tummy Buddy…

An antacid dispenser for restaurants whose patrons want extra gastrointestinal protection



Tummy Buddy
Eat spicy, digest happy

# # #


SERVICE BUSINESSES

You wish there was a way to shut up those annoying retail customers without sounding like an asshole. Maybe you need Chattie…

A buzzer system to help busy employees get out of annoying, boundaryless conversation with long winded customers.



Chattie
Never let a customer keep you from doing your job

# # #

Spending too much time on the toilet can lead to leg pain and hemorrhoids. It’s about time for Numb Butt…

A toilet timer that goes off twenty minutes after you sit down to help prevent numbness and other ailments.



Numb Butt
It’s only a splatter of time

# # #

Our customers say amazing things, and we should use them in our internal communications to motivate employees. Tell your boss about Emptorium…

A special order art studio that converts your company’s favorite customer feedback into beautiful, inspiring, conversation starting art pieces for the office



Emptorium
The delighting’s on the wall

# # #

Taking children into big box retailers is a nightmare. Parents just need fifteen minutes alone for one. They should use Kinder Car…

A valet babysitting service for big box retailers where retired grandparents watch your kids in the car while you run into the store.



Kinder Car
Fast shopping, safe parking

# # #

If you don’t get out of this meeting now, somebody in this office is getting punched. Blow off some steam with Rage Cage…

A padded, portable closet sized shed where office workers can privately process and purge their angry feels.



Rage CageShed your anger safely

# # #

As a freelancer, you’re super productive, but broke as hell, and you need coffee. Is there a way to transact with another currency? Only at Café Perago…

A coffee shop where you’re charged by the hour to work there, but instead of money, you pay with productivity.



Café Perago
Drink up, work hard, repeat

# # #

Why are resumes only for successes? Employers want to know you’ve messed up so you appear human, experienced and coachable. Try out Resumeh…

A curriculum vitae service that helps professionals create beautiful resumes of their history of failures and what they learned from those experiences.



Resumeh
Own your past, claim your future

# # #

Fat looks bad on me, but once it’s off, it might help somebody else. How about Gordo…

A charity program where overweight people can donate excess body fat to third world countries for whom soap is an essential public health necessity.



Gordo
You get thin, they get clean

# # #

Being single is like being a project manager. How can your organize it like a business to date more efficiently? Now you can try Polygameet…

A relationship management dashboard that helps you keep track of your various romantic partners.



Polygameet
Stay on top of your dates

# # #

Our faith community is new, and needs some help growing, otherwise god is going to be pissed. Thank the lord for Church Plants…

A placebo service that pays people to attend services at new congregations to help preserve the illusion of community, growth and spiritual momentum.



Church Plants
Looking for a pew good men

# # #

Your man has so many hairs and zits that you just want to sit down and attack him. Head over to Hubby Spa…

A do it yourself beauty spa where couples can go together and use professional tools to prune, pluck and primp each other. It’s byob, bring your own boyfriend.



Hubby Spa
Restore beauty with your beloved

# # #

The death of a company can be just as hard as the death of a person, but business executives need help with the grieving process. Now they can use Done & Done…

A grief counseling program for company executives who need to close down shop after years of successful business.



Done & Done
The corporate happy ending

LET ME ASK YA THIS...

What ideas did you steal today?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

It’s the world’s first, best and only product development and innovation gameshow!


Tune in and subscribe for a little execution in public.

Join our community of innovators, artists and entrepreneurs.x

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