Scott Ginberg’s Digital Devotional Series, Book 7: Stick-to-itiveness

Easy buttons are lies.

It might take guts to stick yourself out there.

But it takes gusto to
keep yourself out there.

Fortunately, stick-to-itiveness can be learned.

Aka, “Stick to it.”

Aka, “Stick with it.”

Aka, “Stick in there.”

The secret is, commitment changes everything.

Whether you’re starting a new relationship, moving to a new
city, going full time with your business or devoting your life to a charitable
cause, it’s amazing how many positive results occur when you cross that
threshold.

But commitment is not a light switch. It’s not something you
turn on when the room goes dark. Commitment is a daily demonstration. Commitment
is a constitutional core value. Commitment is a posture that makes you more
approachable.

Please welcome to the family:

Stick-to-itiveness

How Commitment Changes Everything

If you don’t have a Kindle, here’s a downloadable version for free.

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting

[email protected]

The Freedom of 1,847 Blog Posts

After nine years of posting, thousands of hours of writing and over a million words in print, I’m joining Gapingvoid in a celebration
about what I’ve learned from the wonderful world of blogging:

Blogging teaches you
what freedom feels like. Hugh Macleod writes in his new book, “Own your own
media and own your own platform, and you own your own career. Own your own
career, and you own your own life.” And in my experience, the power to say whatever
you want, anytime, without being edited, without the fear of corporate
fingerprints – and to legally own everything you say – is about as free as it
gets. God bless blogging and the freedom it provides.

Blogging teaches you
to adopt an incrementalist mindset. It’s not about one key post that
changes everything, it’s about performing day after day, helping a few people a
little at a time, trusting that the accumulation of the work will bear fruit.
And because most blogs are abandoned a few months after creation, maintaining continuity
over the long haul separates you from the pack. The best way to beat the odds
is through massive output.

Blogging teaches you
to do justice to the things you notice. The day you start blogging, you
start walking around like you’re holding puzzle pieces. You’re hyper sensitive
to the world around you. And you approach every encounter as grist for the mill.
This delicate sense, this posture of incurable curiosity, allows even the
tiniest experiences to inspire you. And it keeps the queue filled with things
to blog about forever.

Blogging teaches you
to choose your currency wisely. Whether you value comments, page views,
conversions rates, reader interaction, online awards, ad sales, new business,
industry positioning, thought leadership or platform expansion, every blog is
successful according to its own metrics. And as long as you regularly revisit
what that currency is, nobody can judge how well your blog is doing but you.

Blogging teaches you
that every blog post is a product. Every
post its own piece of digital merchandise, with its own launch date, target
market, social trajectory, leveragability and profitability. Some blow up, some
just blow. Some make a killing, some just make a thud. But as long as you show
up every day and post, you’re still in the game. But if you never click the publish
button, you’re just winking in the dark.

Blogging taught me to
give a daily gift to the world. They’re not just posts, they’re
contributions to an ongoing body of work. They’re additions to my artistic
legacy. With every day that goes by, that reservoir grows bigger. And like a
forced savings account, when the time comes to make a withdrawal in the future,
there will be enough of a surplus to tap into and convert into something highly
profitable.

Special thanks to Hugh Macleod and Gapingvoid for restarting
the conversations about blogging and turning our obsession into a movement that
matters.

#FreedomIsBlogging, indeed.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What have you declined this week?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “21 Things I Learned While Spying on Myself,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting

[email protected]

My job is to help companies make their mission more than a statement, using limited edition social artifacts.

Want to download your free workbook for The Brandtag Strategic Planning Crusade?

Meet Scott’s client from Nestle Purina at www.brandtag.org!

Do You Have a Diverse Portfolio of Happiness?

Sadness is an inherent part of the human condition.

It’s not depression, it’s not devastation, it’s not a
chemical imbalance, it’s not a sign of weakness, it’s not the end of the world
and it’s not going to last forever.

It’s just part of life.

My approach has always been to have a positive foundation in
place for when the sadness hits. To maintain a diverse portfolio of happiness,
as it were, that builds emotional stability in any situation, helps manage risks
I can’t control andweathers droughts through the many seasons
of life.

First, with the asset of attitude. I assume a baseline
posture of abundance. That way, bad situations aren’t as threatening. No one
thing or one person can knock me off course. And if one area of life is
lacking, that doesn’t mean my entire life is lacking.

Second, with the asset of awareness. I stay mindful of the
entire horizon. That way, I never lose perspective on how unbelievably
fortunate I am. Because relatively speaking, none of my problems are that dire.
Most of the world would kill to for my context.

Third, with the asset of action. I hustle while I wait. That
way, I juggle multiple threads of work simultaneously. Instead of standing by
to be picked, I invest meaning in a wide range of creative projects. And I keep
moving.

Fourth, with the asset of affiliation. I surround myself
with like-minded, like-hearted and like-spirited people. They serve as mirrors
to remind me how beautiful I am. And they remind me that roller coasters aren’t
so bad if you have people to scream with.

That’s a snapshot of my diverse portfolio of happiness.

And thus far, the dividends have been worth it.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Have you accepted life’s inevitable sadness?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “19 Ways to Build Buzz about Your New Website,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting

[email protected]

Do you need an expert who tells you what to do, or a mentor who lets you tell yourself what to do?

“After investing in your mentoring program, I’ve become centered on
who I am and what I have to offer. Now, I am attracting clients I want
to work with. Life is great and I just wanted to thank you from the
bottom of my heart.” —-Melanie Jatsek, Diet Busters

Rent Scott’s Brain today for 2 hours, 30 days or 3 months!

What Smart Mentors Do

I don’t have one mentor, I have a galaxy of mentors.

Teachers,
family members, coaches, advisers, guides, therapists, professors and industry
veterans – who saw something in me that somebody once saw in them – generously took
me under their wing, and shaped me into the person I am today.

Apparently,
this is rare. I just assumed everybody had mentors. But when I started asking people
who their mentors were, they looked at me like I was crazy.

For
that reason, I made the decision to live my life as a thank you in perpetuity
to the voices that shaped me. I began offering myself, for free, as a mentor to
people who asked for help. After all, the best way to pay the world back is by
paying it forward.

Later,
I created a paid program called Rent Scott’s Brain. It started as a clever
boundary setting tool for people who didn’t execute or respect my time, but
slowly morphed into a key revenue stream and critical component of my
enterprise. Now, it’s grown into a unique mentoring experience that extends the
same inheritance I once received from my galaxy to the people who need it most.

And sometimes
my mentoring happens in person, sometimes over the phone, sometimes via email or
sometimes through another digital channel. But whatever medium I use with my
clients, the method is the always same. It’s the process my mentors took with
me, and it’s the process I take with my mentees.

And the
best part is, it works. See the results executed by a few of my clients, William,
Chrissy and Harlan.

Having been on both sides of the mentoring relationship for the past fifteen
years, it’s not something you memorize, it’s something you personify. It’s not
something you learn in a textbook, it’s something you practice in daily life.

Here’s what I tell my clients:

You
bring me your brand, business, challenges, concerns, content, dilemmas, ideas,
intuitions, questions, roadblocks, situations, stuck points, uncertainties and
what ifs.

And
I’ll offer my access, advice, attitude, counsel, creativity, ears, energy,
enthusiasm, examples, experiences, feedback, honesty, hope, humor, insight,
knowledge life lessons, mistakes, models, observations, opinions, passion,
perspective, philosophy, presence, processes, questions, recommendations,
reflections, reservoir, resources, selfhood, silliness, sounding board,
stillness, stories, strength, thought process, time, truth, verbal mirror and
wisdom.

In a
space of acceptance, affirmation, candor, compassion, confidence,
confidentiality, creativity, depth, enthusiasm, flexibility, fun, fundamental
affirmation, gentle elbowing, honesty, humility, imperfection, intimacy, laser
focus, learning, mutual respect, openness, patience, personal growth,
playfulness, professionalism, relaxation, reasonable response time, responsive
spirit, safety, spontaneity, transparency, trust and understanding.

Without
any agenda pushing, bullshit, cloning, excuses, fixing, have-tos, formulas,
judgment, musts, need-tos, prescriptions, scripts, shoulds or superimposing
myself onto you.

And you
will be accelerated, challenged, clarified, disturbed, energized, enlarged,
expanded, heard, infected, inspired, invigorated, met where you are, more
aware, motivated, nourished, pushed, questioned, refueled, reminded, renewed,
stirred, strengthened, stretched, unblocked, uncomfortable and unleashed.

But I’m
not your twelve-step sponsor, twenty-four hour hotline, accountability partner,
babysitter, boss, codependent, doormat, easy button, editor, final authority,
hand-holder, parent, pastor, permanent leaning post, physician, problem-solver,
rabbi, secretary, soul mate, spouse or therapist.

So when
we’re together, I will place ideas at your feet for your consideration and I
will not lead you beyond where I’m living or have lived. I will be responsible to
you, not responsible for you, and the onus is on you to be responsible to the
wisdom provided. We will share the relationship, but you own the results. I
will plant seeds and enableyou to figure it out on your own, over
time. And if you
don’t act, you don’t grow. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. You drive the
deliverables. You fully commit to this process. You reach out to me when you
have a need.

And as
a result, you will have productive dialogues with yourself. You will achieve my
level of success without being my clone. You will propel your own momentum by
mastering dependence avoidance, without being an island. You will build a kit
for kicking your own ass. You will customize litmus tests and opportunity filters
for give yourself permission. And you will never be alone in this journey.

That’s
my process. That’s how I mentor.

It’s
not easy, it’s not cheap and it’s not for everybody.

But if
you find that process value valuable, if you would like to pursue a
professional mentoring relationship, I would be delighted to be that person.

My
brain will be standing by.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What have you declined this week?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “21 Things I Learned While Spying on Myself,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting

[email protected]

Do you need an expert who tells you what to do, or a mentor who lets you tell yourself what to do?

Rent Scott’s Brain today for 2 hours, 30 days or 3 months!

What Happens When Passion Doesn’t Pay the Mortgage?

Passion doesn’t pay the mortgage.

Production does.
When you carry your idea to completion, disarming whatever weapons of mass
procrastination stand in your way, the money will come. Ask yourself, “Is what
I’m doing right now consistent with my number one goal?”

Proactivity does.
When you get over thinking you’re not in sales, spending just as much time
marketing the work as you do making it, the money will come. Ask yourself, “How
many people have I asked to buy today?”

Performance does.
When you do what you do, in the way that only you can do it, in front of the
people who can say yes to you, the money will come. Ask yourself, “How often do
people see me in my element?”

Positioning does.
When you put yourself in the easiest places to find people looking for somebody
like you, the money will come. Ask yourself, “Who’s got the budget that owns
the problem I solve?”

But not passion alone.

That’s like taking a vow of poverty.

If you want your personal obsession to become a profitable
enterprise, you have to buttress passion with pragmatism.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What are you turning your passion into?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “79 Questions Every Manager Needs to Ask,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting

[email protected]

How boring is your company’s online training?

For
dozens of free video learning modules on sales, frontline service,
entrepreneurship and marketing, spend a few minutes or a few hours
growing your brain and growing your wallet.

Tune in to www.nametagTV.com!

Say Goodbye to Donor Churn

One of my clients serves on the board of national charity.

Her biggest complaint about the organization was, they don’t
know how to thank their donors. At least, not in a way that’s memorable, unique
and personal. Not in a way that encourages them to pledge continued financial
support. Sherry’s charity defaults to the same, boring outreach efforts that
every other organization on the planet uses.

Thank you letters, social media shout outs, website leader
boards, interactive gratitude pages, certificates of appreciate, membership
dinners, newspaper ads, gift cards, progress reports, customized video
messages, personal phone calls, public acknowledgements, free facility tours,
pictures of staff members, annual report mentions, just to name a few.

So I posed a new question.

What if the
organization gave its donors a gift that reminded them why they donated in the
first place?

Something tangible. Something beautiful. Something to
memorialize the mission of the organization. And something donors could wear as
a badge, share with their friends and be proud to display in their office or
home.

That’s why I create brandtags for my clients. They’re social objects that make the mission more than a statement. Hand carved art pieces
that inspire people about who the organization is, what they do and why they
matter.

When a donor hangs the brandtag on his wall, he has no
choice but to tell everyone who comes in his office why his favorite charity is
so awesome. He becomes an ambassador for the human purpose of the organization,
using their brand as a stand.

Forget about donor churn, people like that give for life.

Because they don’t buy the brand, they join it.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Who’s joining you?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “6 Ways to Out Position Your Competitors,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting

[email protected]

My job is to help companies make their mission more than a statement, using limited edition social objects.

Want to download your free workbook for The Brandtag Strategic Planning Crusade?

Meet Scott’s client from Nestle Purina at www.brandtag.org!

Things We Should Have Learned By Now

We should have learned by now that there will always be more.
That just because a shorter line, a bigger piece, a better spot and a faster
lane is always available, doesn’t mean we always have to take it.

We should have learned by now that love doesn’t disappear.
That despite our best efforts to put bars to our heart, we can’t not feel. We
can’t pretend that emotion is some passing fad, something we get over like a
chest cold.

We should have learned by now that vulnerability pays. That
it’s easier to walk through the world prepared to catch, not primed to block.
And when we open our palm to receive whatever pain or pleasure life picks for
us, we give thanks anyway.

We should have learned by now that fame will not save us.
That if we view life as the currency that purchases celebrity, instead of
treating it as the opportunity to give the future something to respect, it will
leave us feeling hollow and brittle.

We should have learned by now that we’re better together.
That the human spirit shines brightest when it’s bordered by mirrors, and that
the arrogant hallucination that we don’t need each other will be the end of us.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What do you think we should have learned by now?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “21 Things I Learned While Spying on Myself,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting

[email protected]

Do you need an expert who tells you what to do, or a mentor who lets you tell yourself what to do?

Rent Scott’s Brain today for 2 hours, 30 days or 3 months!

The Crumbling Wall of How

I’m rarely stopped by not knowing how.

Instead, I’m sparked by knowing why, stirred by
knowing what and sustained by knowing who. And more often than not, those
forces are potent enough to overwhelm the void of how and carry my ideas to
execution.

But I’m not immune to the occasional surge of permission.
Especially when I’m working on a new project that, deep down, I’m afraid to
tackle because I know that I know nothing. Whether it’s turning a script into a
film, turning story into a comic or turning a manifesto into an epic novel,
lately I’ve had to remind myself that ideas become interesting the moment they
start to scare us.

Fear isn’t meant to be ignored – it’s meant to be
invested.

That’s usually when I log on to Fiverr, Elance and
Kickstarter. A few minutes on those sites and I’m not just inspired, I’m in
motion. Ready to work, ready to risk, regardless of a high tide in my ocean of
ignorance.

Because thanks to the web, the wall of how is crumbling. Not
knowing has no bearing on whether or not our dreams become realities. With
creative delegation, intelligent outsourcing – and a whole lot of ego
surrendering – we can leverage our limitations instead of avoiding them.

The only thing we need to know how to do is find people who
can help us become what we need to be, then sit back and watch the magic
happen.

It’s almost
weird.

When we
let go of trying to do everything, it feels like we can do anything.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What would you do if you didn’t need to know how?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “17 Ways to become a Thought Leader,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting

[email protected]

Never the same speech twice. Customized for your audience. Impossible to walk away uninspired.

Now booking for 2012-2013.

Watch clips of The Nametag Guy in action here!

The Opposite of Honesty

The opposite of honesty isn’t lying.

It’s omitting.

Instead of saying how we really feel, we say nothing. Instead
of telling the truth, we tell ourselves to keep quiet. And the result is very
dangerous form of dishonesty.

For most of my life, I was an omitter: Happy to share my
feelings when asked, but hesitant to volunteer my feelings the rest of the
time.

I had girlfriends who never knew how unfulfilled I was until
the relationship was over. I had roommates who never knew how miserable I was
until I transferred. I had parents who didn’t know how lonely I was until
they read my status updates. I had professors who never knew how lost I was
until I failed the final. I had neighbors who never knew how unhappy I was
until I moved away. I had friends who never knew how scared I was until I had
anxiety attacks. I had coworkers who never knew how frustrated I was until I
got fired. I had mentors who never knew how angry I was until they saw my art.
I had colleagues who never knew how burnt out I was until they read my blog. I
had family members who never knew how stressed out I was until I ended up in the hospital.

That’s what happens when we omit: The people closest to us
feel forever in the dark. They fail to understand our full experience and simply
assume that everything is fine.

When in reality, our heart is ready to explode.

But a few years ago, enough was enough. I was tired of being an
omitter. I was tired of people being surprised every time I told them what was
going on in my life.

So I started being prolific in my communication. I practiced
telling everybody everything, all the time, everywhere. I even started writing
letters to my girlfriend and parents every Sunday. Just to tell them was going
on at that moment in my life, good and bad and in between.

And these days, I feel a lot more honest.

Not because I’m telling the truth, but because I’m simply
telling.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What are your omitting?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “19 Telltale Signs of the Perfect Job,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting

[email protected]

HELLO, my name is Host!

Did
you know you could hire Scott as your emcee, mobile host, roving
reporter or on camera talent for your organization’s next event?

Watch sample footage of his hosting work here!

The Wow Gap

Wow is the distance between expectation and experience.

And the bigger we make that gap, the
bigger impact we have.

In the service world, when our interactions are over the top
for no good reason, when we deliver so much wow that clients have no choice but
to tell their friends, people love us forever. Even if it’s as simple as
sending a text message to someone who took the time to reach out, our immediate
response can overwhelm someone to the point of shock.

I recently commissioned an illustrator named Jose to do a
series of nametag cartoons for me. Considering I was only paying him five bucks apiece,
I didn’t expect much. History taught me that we get what we pay for.

Except for when we don’t.

The work Jose delivered was so unbelievable, so unexpected –
and so criminally inexpensive when you consider the gap between experience and
expectation – I not only showed his work to everyone I know, not only hired him
for a series of future projects, but I also sent him a substantial gratuity
check.

Wow.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Are you growing the gap between expectation and experience?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “14 Things You Don’t Have to Do Anymore,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting

[email protected]

Yes, I do more than just wear a nametag all day.

My enterprise is actually quite robust. I add value to my clients in several cool ways.

Explore the myriad ways you, your people and your organization can leverage my talents.

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Tag: approachable

Scott Ginberg’s Digital Devotional Series, Book 7: Stick-to-itiveness

The Freedom of 1,847 Blog Posts

Do You Have a Diverse Portfolio of Happiness?

What Smart Mentors Do

What Happens When Passion Doesn’t Pay the Mortgage?

Say Goodbye to Donor Churn

Things We Should Have Learned By Now

The Crumbling Wall of How

The Opposite of Honesty

The Wow Gap