Everything in this country is extra, extra large. 

We love our big cars, big houses, big food, big guns, big corporations, big brands and big personalities. 

In fact, according to a recent study from the journal of female health sciences, even our women have a significantly larger mean breast volume than women born in other countries. 

America is always trying to stay ahead of the curve, aren’t we? 

But let’s stay abreast of the larger issue.

Our nation’s history and obsession with the goal of big has officially seeped its way into our cultural filament. It’s created a collective trance that keeps us distracted from our own truth, which might even include the desire to grow big. 

When the reality is, it’s not weak to be oriented towards small. It’s actually quite liberating and surprisingly satisfying. 

Just imagine. 

Instead of being dependent on nationwide appreciation, we can fan ourselves out into our local community. 

Instead of becoming superficially noticeable to a mass audience, we can focus on simply becoming more deeply useful the people closest to us. 

Instead of spreading ourselves too thin in the name of growth, we can shrink the size of our ambition to fit our personal reality and keeping only the parts we love the most. 

My favorite songwriter of all time, reflecting on the changing size of his concert audiences over the years, said it best:

It’s not necessarily about how many people are in the room, but how intently they are experiencing your stories and songs. 

And so, it’s not that size doesn’t matter, it’s that size might be what keeps you from mattering. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

How will you avoid being carried along on a wave of cultural unconsciousness?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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We have a genetic reflex to avoid change. 

And we are geniuses at inventing reasons to avoid change. 

But what we don’t realize until we come out grizzled on the other side is, change isn’t actually what hurts. It’s our resistance to it that creates the suffering. 

Bonnie sings one of my favorite songs about it. It’s obviously a breakup song, but what’s fascinating is, if you switch the pronouns from singular to third person, the meaning of the tune expands to include the larger changes of life:

We can feel you fading, but until you’re gone, we’re taking all the time we can borrow, the getting over is waiting, but we won’t move on, and we’re gonna wanna feel the same tomorrow, we know the truth is right outside, but for the moment it’s best denied. 

What are you pretending not to know? 

Look, changing sucks and it’s hard and it hurts like hell. But once we conquer our initial resistance to it, once we recalibrate our posture regarding the process of change itself, the nuts and bolts of change aren’t all that bad. 

Intention counts for more than we realize. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Are you learning to adapt to that which you can’t prevent? * * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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Emerson was said to have lived his life as a series of experiments upon the external world, and by every one of which a new power was awakened in his mind. 

The words from his celebrated book come to mind:

Leave me in the splendid labyrinth of my perceptions to wander without end. 

It’s a standing invitation for the collective sanity of humanity. The philosopher’s forewarning is not to close the laboratory doors too soon, but to keep the spirit of experimentation alive in everything we do. Especially in those moments when overwhelming feelings disgust course through our veins and we want nothing more than to throw up our hands in disgust and say, oh fuck everything, just fuck it all to hell. 

That’s when we need the gift of wonderment the most. Because inside of it lay the seed of joy. Real joy. Not candy bar joy, but that sustaining source of power whose blazing spotlight of love pierces our inner gloom and reminds us that life has a brighter side. 

Emerson, strangely enough, had an unknown pupil who reflected on the same topic nearly a hundred years later. Camus took up the transcendentalist mantle when he wrote:

One must keep a freshness and a source of joy intact within, loving the daylight that injustice leaves unscathed, and returning to the fray with this light as a trophy. 

If we can remember that, these wonders will be brought to our own door. 

And we will return to the place within where we are eternally whole. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

How do you orient yourself to a sustaining source of power?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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You can’t scale yourself. 

Even if you could, you wouldn’t want to. Because unless you have buckets of cash, an endless supply of energy, or a human cloning machine, scaling yourself is not a sustainable strategy. 

It might work for a few years or even a decade, but eventually it’s going to catch up with you. 

Let’s back up for a minute. Why do you want to scale in the first place? 

To unlock your ability to make an impact, or because scaling is the hot thing to do right now and bigger is always better and anything less than shooting the moon with your brand would be viewed as a weakness? 

Remember, metrics can be gamed. Impact can’t. Perhaps we should base our success on that. 

My mentor, an educator and preacher, once told me that if you want to help the greatest number of people, just become an example. William always used to say that he could have been a global celebrity if he really wanted to, he could have grown his brand to reach a mass audience, but he opted out of scaling. Because that would have been misaligned with his vision and values. 

Being an example was more important to him. 

Doesn’t that approach sound so much more organic and less labor intensive than world domination? 

Imagine, rather than trying to scale ourselves, we could aim to reach less people more deeply. 

In a world where we have fetishized scaling, it sounds awfully satisfying to me. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Does your ability to make an impact necessarily depend on size?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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Our great joy in life is when we realize that the journey is no longer a solo adventure, but a communal undertaking. 

That we can’t survive alone, and even if we could, we wouldn’t want to. 

Because it’s not the way our species is wired. Keen’s theory comes to mind, that human beings are single selves who exist only within a community of interdependent beings. And as we grow aware of how isolated we have been, we start to feel our loneliness for the first time and are filled with a longing for reunion. 

Question is, how do we shift our posture away from being solo adventurers and towards communal joiners? How do we discern the path that leads toward a greater sense of unity? 

Sometimes it’s simply a matter of intention and attention. 

Personally, one tool that helped me overcome my antisocial tendencies was asking myself the following question before taking an action. 

How could this activity involve other people? 

For example, instead of playing music in my apartment all day, a short walk to the park would allow me to busk in public and connect with tons of real people.

Another example is, instead of ordering takeout and watching a movie in my underwear, a few quick text messages to friends would open up opportunities to hang out face to face. 

How could this activity involve other people? 

It sounds silly, but this question is my top micro practice for amateur cognitive behavioral therapy. It helps shines a torch into my thoughts, assumptions and beliefs. Reminding me that there is always a beautiful world waiting for me to return to it. Even when my abiding loneliness seems unconquerable. 

Yet another reminder, that when we change our pronouns, we change our life. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

How might you redefine your current experience in relation to others? 

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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Managing other people’s perceptions of us can be a full time job. 

If there were an application posted on a career website, the headline would read:

Seeking a codependent narcissistic workaholic to dive deep into the ego vortex of excessive impression management. Low pay. Burnout likely. Zero prior experience necessary. 

Funny thing is, we justify our obsession with people’s perception of us in the name of managing our golden reputation. Protecting our precious personal brand. 

Until we finally reach the age of reason, realizing that, like most things in life, reputation is not actually something we have control over. It never was. Because it’s not even real. It’s just a story people sell themselves about who they think we are, based on their own projections, triggers and insecurities. 

The kicker is, the moment we do something that people don’t like, the moment we commit the crime of being human, our reputation changes faster than a pregnant woman’s mood swings. 

And we will never understand how. Therefore, why should we be invested in another person’s chemical reaction to us? What they think about us is none of our business. 

Talent, on the other hand, is our business. It’s the one thing in this world that does belong to us. The one thing we actually have control over. And because each of us is born with a talent, a special gift that is unique and necessary to the whole of humanity, we have a sense of responsibility to use it, not bury it. 

Don’t waste your time trying to manage people’s impression of you. 

Let go of trying to control what you never had control over in the first place, and you will free up your energy to show the world what you’ve come here to contribute. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

How are we going to keep you and your talent from dying today?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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Explicit and direct communication not only alleviates potential frustration and misunderstanding, but it also saves organizations massive amounts of time. 

The problem is, we’re too busy empowering each other. We’re too focused on tap dancing around the issues to spare people’s feelings. 

It reminds me of a review from an employee who was working at a healthcare organization. Her advice to management was as follows. 

Stop with the meetings. All you do is talk, talk, talk. Just tell employees what you want. You don’t actually care what we have to say, so let’s just get on with the work. 

It’s cynical and disengaged, but this employee makes a good point. 

Why do we always have to bullshit each other? Can’t we just be clear and upfront with our expectations and needs? 

Otherwise communicating starts to feel like designing a new piece of software without requirements. It’s like our kindergarten teachers remind us. 

Use your words. Early and often. 

Instead of hoping people read your mind and recommend the decision you’ve already decided on, just tell them what you want. 

Instead of waiting for people to give the wrong answer and then forcing then to change their minds, just tell them what you want. 

Instead of hoping that people read the air and figure out what you want them to do, just tell them what you want. 

Instead of engaging in a pointless, expensive and time consuming game of insipid guesswork, just tell people what you want. 

Homer actually said it best right before taking his remedial science exam. 

Alright brain, you don’t like me and I don’t like you, but let’s just get through this and I can get back to killing you with beer. 

Enough with all of the implicit, subtle suggestions. 

Assume you are going to be misunderstood and just tell people what you want. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Are you still angry at people because they didn’t realize something you thought?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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Mcluhan famously wrote that a medium is any extension of man that amplifies his senses and faculties to determine what he is. 

Meaning, the medium is more than merely the instrument by which something is conveyed. The medium is that which gives expression to our sense of life and allows us to achieve and objective definition of our cherished values. 

Sound grandiose and pretentious? 

It is. That’s the whole point. 

Because once we broaden our definition of what the word medium means, it enables a change in the relative size of what we think is our creative territory. 

In my own creative life, recording albums, writing books and giving speeches were my first three loves as an artist. But about fifteen years into my career, film became the new and preferred mode of expression in my creative arsenal. It was the medium that allowed me to engage all of my being, employ all of my skills and use state of the art media to communicate my gospel in three dimensions. 

And not only did it allow me to operate at my highest point of contribution as an entrepreneur, but it also equipped me to become a more valuable employee when working together with a team. Film served me powerfully in every subsequent incarnation of my creative life. 

That’s the power of medium. Mcluhan was right when he wrote that every major technology changes the balance of the senses. 

Are you currently using various forms of media to circulate your views? What might be the next technological advancement to express your creative vision? And how could you potentially invent a whole new way of communicating your message? How might your work suggest new possibilities for what the medium could become?

Remember, each of us can choose how our technology will change us. 

May we be fearless in pursuing various vehicles to express our cherished values. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Are you in a space where you can reevaluate your relationship with technology?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

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

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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All of us get proven wrong about our own limitations. 

But only some of us notice and name those moments. And only some of us use those moments to fuel ourselves to the next level.

As the writer’s writer likes to say, claim the force of our own power. 

During my stint at a global tech startup, several projects came across my desk that took me lightyears beyond a limited view of myself. From leading global marketing campaigns to being the creative director for employer branding initiatives to acting as the resident media spokesperson for a topic that I had neither passion or expertise about, it was scary and intense ride. 

But thanks to my very particular set of skills, to cite my favorite fictional government operative, it allowed me to execute exquisitely. I found a good reason to trust my already keen ability. 

What’s interesting is, the reason my limits were surpassed during that time was not because of a lack of belief, but a lack of opportunity. It was simply work that I had never done before. 

And that’s the secret nobody tells us. Action is the engine of faith. Sometimes all we have to do is say yes to opportunity to prove ourselves wrong about our own limitations. Sometimes all we have to do is raise our hands for a scary project to find out that we actually have an unconscious competence for an activity that lots of people find highly valuable. 

Where are your limitations trying to take you? Has the soul that you are finally come to tackle tremendous growth? 

Perhaps it’s time for you to raise your hand for tasks and projects outside of your skillset. 

To find creative outposts where you can continue to sow the seeds that allow you to expand without limit. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

If you dreamed in terms of your potential and not your limitations, how would that change your dream? 

* * * *

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