Blog

Call it optimism. Call it glass half-full. Call it a positive attitude. Because at the lowest common denominator, there’s always ONE thing you can get out of everything. This represents a sort of “takeaway attitude” you need to have about business, about life, about everything. I call it Lowest Common Denominator Thinking. For example, let’s say you just spent the last three hours reading the latest best-selling marketing book….

1. “If you build it, they will come.” ORIGINATOR: Kevin Costner, Field of Dreams. WHY IT’S INCOMPLETE: because just building it is not enough. You’ve got to get people talking about it. A BETTER VERSION: “If you build it consistently, remarkably and with unique value … they MIGHT come.” REMEMBER: doing business without marketing is like winking in the dark. 2. “Positive thinking begets success.” ORIGINATORS: The Bible, Normal…

Be clearly superior. In other words: be the –est. The finest. The fastest. The coolest. The bestest. The craziest. The greatest. The funniest. The smartest. The smoothest. The friendliest. Be the –est. Be clearly superior. LET ME ASK YA THIS… What’s your “-est”? LET ME SUGGEST THIS… Share it with us here! * * * * Scott Ginsberg That Guy with the Nametag Are you a friend of The…

I hate to say it, but you’re really no big deal. Sure, you’re the one who PHYSICALLY writes, paints or creates the art. But it’s not all you. ARTISTS MUST RECOGNIZE: creativity is the product of a million unseen helping hands. Call it The Muse. Call it God. Call it Intuition. But whatever these Powers are, they’re stronger and smarter than you. So you must respect them. Because they…

You’re not an expert. You’re not a consultant. You’re not a commodity. You’re not a salesperson. You are a trusted adviser. (At least, that should be your goal.) And people need to feel like they couldn’t go into the marketplace without your opinion. Now, by “people” I’m referring to customers, prospects, clients, colleagues, friends, competitors and especially the media. Whenever they have a problem within YOUR domain, they need…

1. A customer is someone who has a need. 2. A customer is someone whom you deliver value to. 3. A customer is someone who uses what you produce. 4. A customer is someone who has a problem you can fix. 5. A customer is someone who benefits from what you do. 6. A customer is anyone with whom your business engages. 7. A customer is someone who buys…

1. Lists are easy to read. 2. Lists are easy to write. 3. Lists are fun to write. 4. Lists are easier to memorize. 5. Lists are efficient ways to transfer value. 6. Lists force you to clarify your thoughts. 7. Lists beget shorter sentences, which get read FIRST. 8. Lists allow us to easily put information which belongs together in one place. 9. Lists give people who don’t…

(Read part one of this series here!) Vincent Van Gough took ONE art class during his entire life. The rest was self-taught. Pretty shocking, huh? Similarly, many notable innovators have agreed that lessons weren’t critical to the successful execution of their ideas. Take Edison, for example. He went to school for only three months. His teacher thought he couldn’t learn because he had a mental problem! From that day…

(For part one in this series, click here!) 1. First of all. Never “read” any book. Study it. 2. Value. A book is an investment in yourself. It’s yours. So, don’t lend it out to ANYBODY. Not even your mom. 3. Personalize. Write, highlight, annotate and mark up that book like you were studying for med school finals. When you personalize a book, it becomes priceless. Even if it’s…

The secret to writing is to addict yourself to it. Now, I admit: there’s nothing more terrifying than facing a blank page. Even Shakespeare and Steven King would agree to that! But, if you can get yourself addicted to writing, writer’s block will become an impossibility. See, I’ve been writing professionally now for about five years. And while that doesn’t mean I’ve discovered all of the secrets, I HAVE…