I don’t know what I’m doing wrong

November 15, 2016 2:25 PM

Here’s my favorite cheesy joke.

Why did the scarecrow get promoted? Because he was outstanding in his field.

It’s a ridiculous premise, but it actually hits home with me on a deeply personal level. Because unlike the brainless scarecrow, I get down on myself for not standing out and being special in my work.

And not just because I’m a persistent individualist, but also because I’m used to receiving attention and applause and accolades for being remarkable.

In the first fifteen years of my career, I received more media attention than most artists receive in their entire lives. But it was a different time. Back then, if you were talented, generous, committed, prolific, creative, remarkable, vulnerable, resilient, well connected, and maybe a little bit lucky, the sky was the limit.

You could get noticed, get remembered and get business. Over and over again.

But not anymore. Now the cultural landscape has shifted. We’re living in a crowded, distracted, overloaded, fragmented, evanescent world where standing out is a lot harder than it used to be.

That old scarecrow wouldn’t stand a chance of in today’s marketplace. He’d have to set himself on fire just to get the farmer’s attention.

And that’s why I’m so infuriated. Because I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Or if I’m doing anything wrong at all. I just feel like I’m perpetually winking in the dark. Thinking to myself:

If this is what it feels like to give my best, why would I continue?

And there doesn’t seem to be anything I can do about it.
LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What do you do when being remarkable isn’t enough?
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