How to Move Forward

Determination alone fails.

Just watch American Idol. Every one of those kids is determined to become the next international pop sensation.

Too bad their singing voices sound like donkey farts.

HERE’S THE REALITY: Progress is the product of attitude, focus, impatience, imperfection, avoidance and courageous action.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, salesperson, organizational leader or simply a person who’s tired of sweating it out on the treadmill of life, here are eight ways to move forward:

1. Mind over mattress. Davinci said, “Rouse yourself from sleep because lying down will not bring thee fame.” Ginsberg said, “Lying down will not bring thee forward.” Either way, the suggestion is the same: Wake up earlier.

You’ll get more done. You’ll avoid having to rush. You’ll prevent the need to launch right into your daily tasks. And you’ll activate a sense of momentum that will set the rest of the day into productive motion.

One hour. That’s all I ask. Try it for a month and see how easy it is to move forward. What time did you get up today?

2. Real progress starts with self. You’re waking up earlier. Cool. The next step is to practice winning the private battle before going into the public arena. I’ve been practicing this (daily) since 2002. But I didn’t understand the psychology behind it until I read Principle-Centered Leadership by Steven Covey. He wrote:

“Early morning private victories give you a sense of conquering, overcoming and mastering – and this sense propels you to conquer more public challenges during the day. Starting a day with an early victory over self will lead to more victories.”

Beginning tomorrow, I challenge you to use your first waking hour profitably. After thirty days, you’ll build reserves of emotional stamina to be called on during the inevitable stress that accompanies moving forward. Are you willing to take charge of your own development?

3. Announce your intentions to yourself. Moving forward means architecting a vision, then aligning your daily actions with that vision. Even if you don’t have a plan. Even if you don’t know how to do what you want to do. If you use a compass instead of a map, it’s easier to pinpoint your general direction.

Sure beats killing yourself trying to figure out longitudinal coordinates. Remember: How is not your responsibility. Fall in love with why and how will make its appearance when it’s ready. Like Nietzsche said, “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” What are you forgetting to be intentional about?

4. Focus activates progress. Throughout your day, beware of the distraction of the next idea. Shiny object syndrome is executioner of execution and the preventer of progress. Marcus Aurelius addressed this issue a few thousand years ago in Meditations:

“Give not the strongest foothold to anything else. Nothing will sooner prevent your true spirit from flourishing or be more difficult to root out than the distraction of divided loyalty.”

Look: You don’t need more ideas. Pick a lane, crank up the Alpine and drop some lead on the gas. Remember: Moving forward means investing time in things that matter – not burning time trivially persisting on inconsequential wastes of energy. How much time are you wasting (not) focusing on your priorities?

5. Make progress by making peace with inadequacy. Here’s a trend that’s not going away: Finished is the new perfect. As such, progress is a form of accepting. For example:

Accept that you might fail.
Accept that you’re never really ready.
Accept that you don’t need to know how.
Accept that you don’t need a complete script to start shooting.

The sooner you recognize that you’re the only one waiting for you to get everything right, the sooner you can move forward. What is your bottomless need for perfection preventing you from achieving?

6. Listen smarter. The biggest secret to moving forward is closing your ears to people whose toxic noise is holding you back. Don’t listen to people who nastily try to induce insecurity in you. Don’t listen to people whose imagination can’t encompass what it is that you want to do.

Also, don’t listen to people who put a damper on your natural versatility. And don’t listen to people who did something once and think they know everything about it.

People like this undermine your execution. Instead, learn to listen to people whose opinions matter. Surround yourself with a trusted team of life-enhancing high grade people. Spend your time with individuals who are examples of the way you want to live.

Growing bigger ears, after all, means growing more mature ears. Are you listening to people who mindlessly judge you or compassionately honor your perspective?

7. Wage a war against inertia. In The Paradox of Choice, we learned that the desire to avoid regret induces people not to act at all. Barry Schwartz dubbed this principle inaction inertia. So, your challenge is simple: Reduce your number of choices.

If you want to move forward, stop killing yourself trying to pick the best of everything. Stop plaguing yourself with post-decision doubts. And stop exhausting yourself running ridiculous searches of every possibility. Choices cause stress, and stress stops you. According to Schwartz:

“The more choices you have, the longer it takes to commit; the longer it takes to commit, the more you regret and reevaluate every decision after the fact; and the more you regret and reevaluate, the less satisfaction you ultimately receive from the choices you make.”

Eventually, there comes a point of diminishing returns. Eventually, you need to stop choosing and start moving. Remember: When massive resistance is marshaled against you, you’ll never run out of reasons not to choose. Decide anyway. Even when it seems senseless to others. Are you a great chooser?

8. Leap and the net will appear. Lastly, it’s impossible to make progress if your ego is too invested in trying to define what progress looks like. Just start moving. Let your feet do the talking. Progress will define itself for you.

Otherwise you’ll prematurely commit to a false definition of advancement. That assumption functions as an arrogant clamp that closes you off to potential growth opportunities.

I’m reminded of Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. In the final scene, we see that only when Indy has courage (and faith!) does the path appear before his feet. The cool part is, when he looks back, the path was there the whole time. He just wasn’t tuned into that frequency yet. Are you willing to close your eyes, extend your leg and breathe deeply into the next terrifying step?

BOTTOM LINE: Your hands are tired of being sat on.

If you (really) want to move forward…

Stop sleeping in.
Stop wondering how.
Stop listening to idiots.
Stop striving for perfection.
Stop watching American Idol.
Stop making so many choices.

If action is eloquence, progress is a standing ovation.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Why haven’t you moved forward yet?

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* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur, Mentor
[email protected]

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If You Seriously Can’t Execute (At Least) One of Your Ideas After Reading This Blog Post, Then I Am Just Going to Snap

I’m not an angry person.

My feathers err on the side of unruffleable.

But I am human. I do get emotional. And if there’s one thing that makes me want to slowly rip each of my toenails off with a needle nose pliers dipped in sulfuric acid, it’s people who spend their time flapping their gums instead of shuffling their feet.

To coin a phrase: The executionally deficient.

But instead of resorting self-mutilation (again), I’ve decided to channel my frustration into something a bit more productive.

Here’s a helpful list of seven reasons why you’re (not) turning your ideas into realities.

1. You’re too busy networking. Attending lunches, conference and coffee meetings is a great way to meet people – but it’s also a great way to avoid work. My suggestion: Stop playing dress up and go create something. Stop schmoozing and start shipping.

Not that face time isn’t valuable. Just don’t overlook the importance of workbench time.

Also, be careful not to get sucked into the vortex of online connecting.

Social media is great for guzzling your time, feeding your ego, finding mindless entertainment, causing additional stress in your life that you don’t need, helping you contribute more unoriginal thinking to the echo chamber, and allowing you to participate in (yet another) online pissing contest.

But when it comes to execution, social media is largely a distraction. Choose wisely. Are you too busy connecting with people who don’t matter to execute stuff that does matter?

2. You’re talking your ideas into the ground. There is an inverse relationship between the number of people you tell about your exciting new idea and the number of days before that idea (actually) comes to fruition. Julia Cameron outlined this concept in The Artist’s Way:

“The first rule of magic is self-containment. You must hold your intention within yourself, stoking it with power. Only then will you be able to manifest what you desire.”

Hey: I’m all for sharing your goals with the world. And memorializing your intentions. And bringing your dreams to fruition through visualization and peer accountability. I also think it’s easy to blow lid off your ideas by telling too many people about them. Will your lack of self-control slowly dissipate your idea into the quicksand of non-execution?

3. You’re dissipating yourself in useless activity. It’s amazing: People always seem to make time for what’s (not) important to them. My suggestion: Stop saying yes to everything. Learn to be discerning. (Not snobby, but discerning). Create an opportunity filter if you have to.

Otherwise your agenda will collapse too easily and you’ll never execute anything that counts.

Remember: If you don’t set boundaries for yourself, other people will set them for you. And then they will violate them. And then they will tell all their little friends to the same. All because you never set a precedent of value on your time. Are you a businessperson or a professional volunteer?

4. You’re trying to do everything yourself. Which means you’re a perfectionist. Which means you’re a control freak. Which means you’ve never going to declare anything done. Which means you’re never going to be fully sated.

For example, my friend Mara is currently redesigning her blog. When she sent me a ten-page document of comps, pictures and sketches – which looked awful, by the way – I asked her one question: “Mara, are you a blog designer?” As suspected, she replied, “No.” At which point I suggested, “Then you need to pay someone who is.”

Lesson learned: Next time you find yourself trapped in control-freak mode, simply ask yourself the same question: Is this what I do for living? If the answer is no, pay someone who does do it for a living while you go do something that matters.

Learn to surrender control of your ideas and let the pros do what they do. Learn to trust smart people. Execution will happen faster, better and cheaper. How much money is one hour of your time worth?

5. You’re not willing to pay the (financial) price. People come to me for help all the time. Some are entrepreneurs. Some are business owners. Some are corporate workers. Some are single parents. Either way, I’m happy to advise. For a fee, that is. Notice my one-on-one department is called Rent Scott’s Brain, not Waste Scott’s Time.

Interestingly, the minute I put a stake in the ground and set a precedent of value on my availability, people flinch. They back off. And they always feed me the same, stock excuse: “Well, it’s not that I don’t think you’re worth the money, it’s just that…”

Wrong. It has nothing to do with me, and everything to do with your unwillingness to commit with both feet. That’s exactly why I charge for my time: Because people who don’t pay me don’t hear me. I charge enough so people will actually listen to – and take action upon – what I say. And with financial investment comes greater commitment to execution. Every time. Who have you hired lately?

6. You’re placing too many cumbersome demands on yourself. I’m all for diversification. Pursuing multiple projects simultaneously is usually a smart move. But having too many irons in the fire does nothing but slowly melt your ability to execute into a steaming puddle of silver goo. Terminator 2 style.

The problem is, you’re your own worst enemy in creating chaos in your life. You have to be willing to hang up your Superman cape and ask yourself, “Where (and why) am I constantly trying to impress myself?” Remember: The dog who chases two rabbits doesn’t just go hungry – he looks stupid while starving.” Are you a victim of your own lack of focus?

7. You’re spending most of your time whining about the progress you’re not making. Sadly, this is a popular (but poor) energy investment decision made by entrepreneurs. It reminds me of an old Calvin & Hobbes comic I read as a kid. For some reason, this particular strip always stuck with me.

During a parent/teacher conference, Mrs. Wormwood explains to Calvin’s mother, “If he put half as much energy into his work as he did into his protests, he might actually score well.” Do you know someone like this? Work with someone like this? Marry someone like this?

It’s amazing: If people sat down and actually mapped out their energy investments, they’d be astonished at how out of whack their priorities were. My suggestion: Don’t let this happen to you. Beware of investing your finest energies running in place. Treadmills are great for a convenient workout, but the scenery never changes and your knees always end up hurting like hell.

Remember: If you’re wasting all your time externalizing the reasons for a lack of progress, you’ll never actually make any. Learn to greet obstacles as exciting challenges that you can creatively attack. Do you complain about the wind, hope the wind will stop, or adjust your sails?

REMEMBER: Failure isn’t due to a lack of ideas – it’s due to a lack of implementation.

I challenge you to plug yourself into these seven execution equations.

You’ll have those feet shuffling in no time.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How are you closing the execution gap?

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For the list called,”11 Ways to Out Market the Competition,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

How to Create an Unfair Advantage for Yourself without Taking Steroids

Life isn’t fair.

You’ve been told this since you were a kid.

I’m here to tell you something different.

But don’t worry.

I’m not suggesting you cheat.
I’m not suggesting you commit a crime.
I’m not suggesting you pump your veins full of steroids.

JUST REMEMBER: You can play the “life isn’t fair card” and wallow in your self-pity, or, make a conscious to join forces with the unreasonableness of life.

Here’s how to create an unfair advantage for yourself:

1. Study your advantage carefully – it’s not what you think it is. I’ll never forget the day my mentor pointed out my unfair advantage. Completely blindsided me. I thought my advantage (as a writer, speaker, entrepreneur) was based on volume alone. But Arthur explained to me that volume +velocity was the real differentiator.

“Scott, your biggest advantage is that nobody can keep up with you,” he said. “That’s what you bring to the table. You are dangerously prolific. You will out execute anybody. Nobody who does what you do can do what you do, as fast as you can do it. And nobody who does what you do can do what you do, as much as you can do it. And even if they could, they won’t.”

Thanks to a pair of unbiased eyes, Arthur helped pinpoint my unfair advantage: That my velocity and volume are unmatched and uncopyable. That it’s not about intellectual property – it’s about executional velocity.

Your challenge is to gather feedback from dispassionate observers. Ask people with no stake in your company what they think your unfair advantage is. You might be surprised. How are you immune from imitation?

2. Unfair means committing to being the best. Actively seeking reasons for your mediocrity – then defending them to the death with twisted logic – is a one-way ticket to failure. Instead, think about the one task, that if you could do exceptionally well, could propel forward in your business.

Then, ask two questions: What is the next step in becoming remarkably proficient in your ability to perform that task? What three people need to experience you performing that task in person?

Remember: As Seth Godin wrote in The Dip, “Average is for losers. Quit or be exceptional.” Are you spending your time searching for excuses for poor performance, or investing your time in becoming a better performer?

3. Develop deep domain experience. Meet entrepreneur turned venture capitalist, Mark Suster. A recent post on his blog suggested the following:

“You never really have a handle on the minute details of the industry until you’ve lived in it,” Mark writes. “That’s where domain experience comes into play. It brings wisdom and relationships. This gives your business a faster time to market, a better designed product, more knowledge of your customers problems – a higher likelihood of success.”

Now, obviously you can’t change the past. So, if you’re short on domain experience, find someone who’s been there. Pursue a mentoring or advisory relationship. Hell, pay them if you have to. Nothing wrong with investing a few thousand bucks in an unfair advantage.

Just remember: Don’t drown yourself. “Too much domain experience has the potential to harm you,” says Suster. “You might become cynical of all the things that can’t be done because you’ve got the scars to prove it.” How will you out experience the competition?

4. Diminish your unwillingness. Marathon junkies frequently train in Colorado to practice running at higher altitudes. This gives them an advantage over the competition when running in, say, Boston, two months later.

But it’s not being unfair – it’s being geographically strategic. It’s training smart. And it’s going the extra mile (no pun intended) to excel beyond the mediocre masses. Whether you’re an athlete, entrepreneur or artist, you can’t just pound the treadmill in your living room while catching up on season three of Lost.

You’ve got to get out there, practice with distractions and make yourself better. Even if you have to climb a mountain to do so. How are you leaving the pack in your dust?

5. Pork isn’t white meat – it’s green money. The best way to bring home the bacon is to raise your own pigs. Let me say that again: The best way to bring home the bacon is to raise your own pigs. I’m reminded of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. Steel Tycoon Orren Boyle argues that competitor Rearden Steel has an unfair advantage because it owns iron mines, while his Associated Steel does not.

Lesson learned: Whatever industry you work in, ask the key questions. What if you bought your own equipment and made it yourself? What if you built everything proprietary and created your own studio? What if you never had to hire anyone ever again because you learned how to do it yourself?

Just a thought. After all: Having done it yourself makes you a more educated entrepreneur. Plus execution occurs faster. Maybe being a pig farmer isn’t as bad as it sounds. How much (more) money could you be earning working solo?

6. Reduce your mass. During a recent post-race interview, NASCAR driver Robby Gordon complained about the unfair advantage of fellow driver Danika Patrick. But not because she made racing history as the first female driver. And not because she’s beautiful enough to make drag queens drool.

According to Gordon, “Danika weighs seventy pounds less that most drivers. Her car is lighter. She goes faster. And I won’t race against her until something is done about it.” Good luck, Robby. NASCAR’s bylaws don’t indicate a weight restriction. Either learn to drive faster or take a trip to the liposuction clinic.

Lesson learned: Lowering mass means raising profits. Cut. Cut fast and deep. Cut down to the bone. Just be sure not to cut an artery. Or muscle. And be sure not to cut so deep that you diminish your capabilities. What do you need to delete from your business?

7. Hack the rules. Don’t break them – hack them. Huge difference. And you have three options: Change the rules so you can win at your own game, change the game so there are no rules, or play the game but become the exception to every rule.

The question to ask when faced with one of these so-called rules is, “Can this rule be ignored, modified or changed?” By doing so, you give yourself permission to refuse to accept your current circumstances. This opens the floodgates to diligent work on creating a new set of circumstances.

Learn the rules, learn which of the rules are irrelevant, and then hack the hell out of them. What could I do in this moment that would be the exact opposite of everyone?

8. Work (your ass off) and you shall receive. Snowboarding legend and multi-gold-medalist Shaun White receives constant criticism for his success. But not for his natural athletic ability over his competitors. And not for his trademark mop of flowing red hair. Rather, for his personal training facility in Colorado.

That’s right: White has his own private half-pipe. On a mountain. In the middle of The Rockies. Totally friggin awesome.

And it’s not like his parents cashed in his trust fund to pay for it. It was only after fifteen years of hard, long and smart practice; his commitment to building a personal brand and his ability to command legions of fans that White (finally) earned a major sponsorship from Red Bull. Then, while training for the 2010 they made Shaun’s half-pipe a reality.

Lesson learned: Hard work pays off; but hard patience pays millions. How long are you willing to sweat in obscurity before the right people notice?

REMEMBER: Just because life isn’t fair doesn’t mean you have to be.

As long as you’re not doing anything illegal, unethical or disrespectful – hitch a ride on the current of unfairness.

Take advantage of your advantage without remorse.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How unfair are you willing to be?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called,”11 Ways to Out Market the Competition,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

The Smart Entrepreneur’s Guide to Finishing What You Started

Anybody can start.

Starting cost little money.
Starting involves limited risk.
Starting requires minimal stamina.

But starting isn’t how you win.

You only win when you execute to completion.

And that’s the big problem: Execution is uncomfortable and inconvenient.

Today you’re going to learn how to finish.

Whatever project you’re working on, whatever endeavor you’re committed to and whatever idea you’re drumming up, here’s how to lean into the tape. Here’s how to finish:

1. Develop a relentless bias toward action. This requires a major attitudinal shift. Consider these ideas for initiating the change. First, surround yourself with reminders of the beauty of action. Post sticky notes, messages or signs that read, “Action is eloquence,” or “Those who ship, win.”

Second, surround yourself with people whose bias toward action inspires you. Build edit-ability (not just accountability, but edit-ability) into your relationships. Ask each other what you’ve finished recently. You could even each other every Friday at five with a list of the things you’ve finished that week.

Finally, surround yourself with evidence of your achievements. Post your goals where you can see them every day. Then, once you finish, grab a Sharpie and write, “I did it!” atop each one. How will you develop an attitude of action?

2. Flex the muscle of why. Customers buy why – not what or how. The final product merely gives life to your cause, your mission and your currency. Sadly, too many entrepreneurs begin with a flawed assumption. They don’t know why they’re doing what they’re doing. Or, they know why they’re doing what they’re doing, and it’s the wrong why.

Either way, starting with the wrong questions means even the right answers will still steer you in the wrong direction. Without flexing your why muscle, you set the whole process in motion into the wrong direction. And with ever step you take, the finish line fades farther and farther away. What’s your strategy for keeping your why alive?

3. Silence the voice of no. People and companies with a history of not finishing need to lower the volume on the voices inside their heads. In a recent presentation, Seth Godin illustrated this point perfectly, “People don’t ship because their lizard brain says, “They’re all gonna laugh at you!’”

Your challenge is to recognize those voices and devise a strategy for overcoming their primal powers. My suggestion is to smile every time your lizard brain takes the stage. Nothing will piss it off more. Except maybe when you finish. What voice are you listening to that’s causing you to swiftly abandon things?

4. Breathe through the pain. During some of the longer postures in Bikram Yoga, I frequently find myself struggling to finish. It’s amazing how long sixty seconds feels when you’re doing a full backbend in 110° heat.

Fortunately, I discovered the secret to finishing. And you can apply this principle on the yoga mat, in your life struggles or to your business ventures. Let your body do the one thing it naturally does best: Breathe. There’s no better way to recenter yourself.

Plus, breathing helps you reignite momentum from a relaxed, non-destructive space. Most people lose touch with their breathe. Then they clumsily plunge forward from a place of contraction and fear. No wonder they never finish. How’s your breathing?

5. Adopt agile development. I read an enlightening blog post on How to Finish Big Projects. They used the software industry as the quintessential example:

“All software developers use a method they crazily call Agile Software Development, aka, ASD. They build a releasable product within weeks. Then, they build outward to create successively bigger product releases. The first releasable product has the most important stuff done. They’ll term it Version 0.1. Next, they’ll expand that version outward with additional features and term it Version 0.2. Gradually, the successive small releases ultimately form one juicy-good completed software item. Completo.”

Lesson learned: Focus on the most important component of your project first. You can fill in the holes later. Is enough as good as a feast for your company?

6. Limitation is the springboard to completion. The word “finish” comes from the Latin finire, which means, “To set boundaries.” Call it a deadline. Call it a limit. Whatever floats your creative boat. The point is to have a definite moment when you give yourself a swift kick in the ass and declare, “The hay is in the barn.”

Otherwise Parkinson’s Law – that work expands to fill the amount of time given to accomplish it – will eat you (and your idea) alive. Remember: Finished is the new perfect. How much longer are you going to wait before shipping something that’s never going to be perfect anyway?

7. When the finish line is in plain site, look out. Every time I go swimming, I conveniently develop a burning cramp during my 40th lap. Right in the calf muscle. Hurts like hell. But I always laugh it off. I know it’s just resistance coming to get me.

Nice try. Too bad I learned my lesson from The War of Art: “The danger is great when the finish line is in site. At this point, resistance knows we’re about to beat it. It hits the panic button. It marshals one last assault and slams us with everything it’s got.”

Don’t get complacent. No high stepping with ten yards to go. Stay focused. Otherwise the resistance will slap that pigskin out of your hand and cause a fumble at the one-yard line. Are you giving up one percent too early?

REMEMBER: Woody Allen was wrong.

80% of life isn’t showing up – it’s following through.

I know it’s inconvenient.
I know it’s uncomfortable.
I know it’s harder than starting.

But those who ship, win.

Go finish something.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How are you executing to completion?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “27 Ways to OUT the Competition,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur, Mentor
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

How to Make Ideas Happen at an Alarming Rate

Marry Poppins was an entrepreneur.

She summarized business execution in six simple words:

“Enough is as good as a feast.”

What about you? How skilled are you at executing?

Let’s explore a list of strategies to help you make ideas happen at an alarming rate:

1. Convert your workspace into a progress-rich environment. It’s emotionally invigorating to surround yourself with evidence of your achievements. What’s more, keeping past progress in front of your nose stimulates focus – even if it’s incremental.

As I learned in Making Ideas Happen, “As a human being, you are motivated by progress. When you see concrete evidence of progress, you are more inclined to take further action. Surround yourself with it. Celebrate it.” What’s on your wall?

2. Take massive, rapid and consistent action. That’s how momentum accumulates. Just like Newton said: A body in motion stays in motion. My suggestion is to shoot for five High Valuable Action Steps. Every day.

Even if you take an occasional step backwards – at least you’re still stepping. Movement (backwards or forwards) is necessary to prevent atrophy. Some people just stand there. They’re called nouns. Verbs, on the other hand, move. Which one are you?

3. Increase executional velocity. As a writer, my biggest advantage is that nobody can keep up with me. I am dangerously prolific. Nobody who does what I do can do what I do as fast as I can do it. And, nobody who does what I do can do what I do in the quantity that I can do it.

Lesson learned: Making ideas happen is less about intellectual property and more about executional velocity. Contrary to what your lawyer tells you, there’s very little you need to protect. If somebody wants to steal your ideas, fantastic! Let them.

First of all, that’s a great compliment. Robbery is the sincerest form of flattery. Secondly, by the time they execute your idea – which they probably won’t – you’ll already be ten ideas down the road. Screw ‘em.

Lastly, if people want to hijack your brain, tell them to go right ahead. Just remind them: “You can steal my ideas – but good luck stealing my initiative and execution.” William Wallace never thought of that. Remember: The creations of innovative persisters will always dwarf the accomplishments of the copying and surrendering masses. Who’s faster than you?

4. Structureless environments paralyze. Not that you need to regiment every element of your creative process. But structure allows growth. And the impact of an idea is directly proportionate to how well it is organized.

My suggestion: Preserve the sanctity of your workspace. Not an office – a workspace. Call it an office and slice your creativity in half. Call it a workspace – a factory of creativity – and you make ideas happen. Is your content as brilliant as the system that manages it?

5. It’s not what you do – it’s what you avoid. People frequently ask me how I manage to be so productive. My answer is very logical and simple:

No meetings. No employees. No interns. No busywork. No filing. No copying. No excuses. No hurdles. No bullshit. No asking permission. No begging for forgiveness. No memos. No status reports. No kids. No television. No surfing the web. No mass media. No coworkers. No putting out fires. No gossip. No worrying. No headaches. No managing people.

No walking on eggshells. No task requests. No micromanaging. No useless planning of things that don’t matter. No processes to weigh me down and diminish my energy. No waiting for people. No endless list of people trying to reach me. No distractions. No decision-making hierarchy. No distance between the owner and decisions that matter. No awkward staff lunches. No committees. No socializing. No compromising.

No doing activities that aren’t focused on my #1 goals. No doing activities that don’t leverage my gifts. No doing activities that aren’t income generating. No office politics. No office. No clothes. No shoes. No commute. No traffic. No interruptions. No paperwork.

After deleting all of that noise, what are you left with? Work. That matters. Think about it. If that were your daily environment, you’d make ideas happen at an alarming rate too. Remember: Productivity isn’t about what you do – it’s about what you avoid. How many of your amazing ideas will never see the light of day because they’re gasping for air under the weight of irrelevant time-wasters?

6. Align your action with accomplishment. Bob Parsons, CEO of www.godaddy.com, recently published a helpful productivity module on his video blog. In order to keep productivity at bay, he suggests asking two questions: Is this conversation directly leading to what I need to accomplish? Is this immediately relevant to my success?

If the answer is no, respectfully remove yourself. Focus on finding what matters instead. What questions do you ask yourself to stay on point?

7. Commission you inner doodler. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey said in a recent presentation, “Start drawing your idea. Get it out of your head and see it from a completely different perspective.” Even if you suck at drawing. Even if you’re more left-brained than a computer science professor at MIT. Draw it anyway.

Tap into the unused creative faculties collecting cobwebs in the back of your brain. Produce visual understanding by letting the idea hatch before your eyes. My promise is that you’ll get so jazzed about the organic growth of your idea, that the thought of (not) executing it will give you indigestion. What have you drawn today?

8. Attitude is soil. And if it’s saturated with too much fertilizer, anything that grows in it – not matter how big and beautiful and profitable it may be – will always have a stinkshit core. I’m reminded what Seth Godin wrote in a recent blog post:

“No one ever succeeded because of execution tactics learned from a Dummies book. If your attitude at the top of the hierarchy is messed up, no amount of brilliant tactics or execution is going to help you at all.”

Lesson learned: Exquisite execution doesn’t last when underscored by an excremental attitude. When you make ideas happen, how does your breath smell?

REMEMBER: Many of your execution failures are not due to poor planning but to your timidity to proceed.

Mary Poppins was right.

Enough is good enough.

Go make your ideas happen.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How are you increasing your capacity to execute?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “27 Ways to OUT the Competition,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

The Toby Keith Guide to Closing the Execution Gap

Thank God for country music.

Especially Toby Keith’s song, “A Little Less Talk And A Lot More Action.” Sing it with me:

“I was getting kinda tired of her endless chatter. Nothing I could say ever seemed to matter. And I knew somewhere amid all this distraction, was a little less talk and a lot more action.”

LESSON LEARNED: Too many businesspeople are accustomed to a steady diet of blah-blah-blah; when what they (should) engage in is a daily discipline of go-go-go.

What about you? Do you give people lip service or foot service? Here’s a list of ideas to help you close the execution gap:

1. Plan is a four-letter word. Planning paralyzes action. Planning straightjackets success. Planning blinds vision. And failure doesn’t come from poor planning – but from the timidity to proceed. And yet, people still obsess over it. Why? Because planning preserves their sense of control.

The problem is, planning is a big decision. And big decisions cause you to prematurely commit to a trajectory that (might) later prove to be unprofitable. What’s more, over time, the more you plan; the harder it becomes to invite healthy derailments. And that’s how you miss unlabeled opportunities to grow: When you’re too busy managing the stress of planning to count the money of executing.

The secret isn’t to evade the future. Or refuse to admit that obstacles will mount. Rather, to plunge forward planless – but with a compelling vision as your parachute. As I learned from Rework, “Just get on the plane and go. You can pick up a nicer shirt, shaving cream and a toothbrush once you get there.”

Remember: Planning is the polar opposite of improvisation. And when you stop improvising, you stop monetizing. Are you blindly following a plan that has no relationship with reality?

2. Take no for an answer. Did you know that the word, “No” is a complete sentence? Yep. If you want to close the execution gap, learn to bring this beautiful sentence to the forefront of your vocabulary. And, learn to stop being apologetic for what you delete from your life.

Bolster entrepreneurial awareness by asking yourself, “Is this an opportunity or an opportunity to be used?” and “Is this an opportunity or a distraction in disguise?” That’ll keep the bloodsuckers, timewasters and energy vampires away.

That’ll also prevent you from shooting yourself in the foot. Because when you refuse to take no for an answer, you waste valuable time trying to force a yes that never going to happen. What attractive offer have you wisely turned down this week?

3. No more overanalyzing the inconsequential. It saps your energy, steals your time and spoils your initiative. Plus it drives your colleagues crazy. My suggestion: Stop investing energy in your fears. Let them go. Just because everyone else is freaking out about meaningless trivialities doesn’t mean you should too.

Instead, free yourself from the overwhelming sweep of collective panic. Don’t let widespread jealousy infiltrate your outlook. It’s a form of resistance, and it will creep into your attitude if you’re not careful. What consumes your time but doesn’t make any money?

4. Forget about your so-called competitors. Who cares what they’re doing now? Who cares what they’re doing next? Stop obsessing. Save the time and energy you would have spent worrying about things you cant control and reinvest it in making yourself stronger and smarter. Otherwise, by fixating on someone (or something) beyond your sphere of control, you lose unrecoverable time that could be devoted to becoming uniquely great.

But, if you remember the credo of Optimists International, you’ll be fine: “Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.” Focus less time making war on the competition and more time making love to the customer. You’ll win. When was the last time the competition stayed up all night worrying about you?

5. Locate your compass for finding what matters. Then, invest meaning there. You can decide on details later. For now, just go. Be intelligently impatient. Even when it seems senseless to others. Even when mistakes are inevitable. Don’t let yourself get lost in what doesn’t count. Nothing threatens your bottom line more than a preoccupation with the irrelevant.

The secret is to constantly ask yourself, “Ten years from now, what will I wish I had spent more time doing today?” Remember: Just because you work (diligently) on something doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to change anything. Are you creating things to do – right now – to avoid the important?

6. Establish a choice-making rhythm. First, decide how you’re going to decide. Physically write out your core operating values. Your personal constitution of daily non-negotiables. Then, create a governing document for daily decision-making. This exercise builds congruency in your behavior and assures stronger, more consistent and more aligned choices.

Once you’ve done the required prep work, the hard part is to keep the beat going. Like a metronome. Tick. Tick. Tick. And if you want to maintain your choice-making rhythm, keep asking yourself, “What can I (easily) do – right now – that’s good enough?” It’s that kind of imperfectionist attitude that closes the execution gap the quickest. Are you a great decider?

7. Abolish the excuse barrage. What’s your favorite excuse? Personally, I like to give people the old, “I have no excuse” excuse. Works every time. But all kidding aside, here’s the next strategy for closing the execution gap: Let action eclipse excuse.

Consider these three questions to help you do so. First: Is there anyone else who has the same excuse as you, but is moving ahead successfully nonetheless? Odds are, there’s at least three people out there like this. Have lunch with them. Find out what they’re doing differently that you could glean from.

Second: What lies are your excuses guarding? Yikes. Self-confrontation’s a bitch, huh? Still, it’s a solid move for pinpointing the lies you’re telling yourself. And if you’re willing to isolate the excuse-ridden undertow leading you out to sea, you’ll be one step closer to execution.

Third: Whom are you using an excuse? It’s dangerously easy to use other people as excuses for not accomplishing your goals. Your challenge is to walk the fine line between helpful feedback and hurtful resistance.

Otherwise you’ll bounce from excuse to excuse line a pinball machine. Except you won’t score any points and Pete Townsend won’t write a song about it. Test your excuses. That’s the only way the barrage will be beaten. What excuse are you falling in love with that’s preventing you from getting started?

8. Persevere through the low. In 2009 when The Great Recession kicked in, I actually considered the option of panicking. Fortunately, I didn’t – although I did think about it … hard. Instead, I learned to persevere by accepting what is, leveraging my downtime, keep support flowing, stir the pot and to find a use for every crisis.

Ultimately, economic downtime was the perfect vehicle for renewing my resourcefulness. What about you? Will you persevere through the low, or sit in a corner crying until the high makes a comeback?

I hope the latter. Because hardship is at the heart of execution. Better you hit bumps in the road and be projected forward than sail smoothly without realizing you’re (actually) standing still or worse, going backward. How are you building your resiliency?

REMEMBER: Even if you have zero competition, at a bare minimum, you’re always competing with inertia.

Maybe Toby Keith was right:

A little less talk if you please.
A lot more loving is what you need.
Let’s get on down to the main attraction.
With a little less talk and a lot more action.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How are you closing the execution gap?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called,”11 Ways to Out Market the Competition,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

12 Ways to Increase Your Capacity to Execute

You know what you need to do.
You know how you need to do it.
You know when you need to start.

So what’s the problem?

WELL, MAYBE: Increasing your capacity to execute isn’t just about what you do – it’s also about what you avoid, what you stop doing and what you stop thinking.

Consider these ideas for turning ideas into action:

1. You don’t need to respond to every attention magnet. People who dissipate themselves in useless activity or let their agenda collapse too easily are forever doomed to an execution-free life. All because they haven’t trained themselves to be ruthlessly self-protective with their time. Nor have they made the conscious decision to put their own needs at the top of their own list.

And I get it. I’ve been there before. I’m busy too. But overburdening yourself is easy because it makes you feel busy, important and needed.

Too bad that’s all a lie. Too bad checking your inbox forty times an hour doesn’t make you any money. Too bad spending your evenings fiddling around on Facebook, stalking ex-girlfriends from college – who, by the way, look five times better than they did a decade ago – isn’t helping you turn your ideas into action. Does distraction overwhelm and enslave you?

2. Decide who to ignore. Feedback is enormously profitable, but only when it comes from people who matter. Otherwise, it’s nothing but procrastination in disguise. Just another confusing, unnecessarily discouraging, self-doubt-producing, undue-stress causing waste of energy and tears.

My suggestion: Don’t torture yourself over feedback from someone whose opinion doesn’t count. Execution is the byproduct of listening to the right people while ignoring the wrong people. It’s about self-trust and healthy impatience.

Stop exposing yourself to harsh, unsolicited feedback and start trusting your voice. Demanding excessive reassurance is a one-way ticket to entrepreneurial purgatory. Whose advice have you outgrown?

3. Beware of the over commitment trap. It’s like owning a truck: The week you buy it, everyone you know needs help moving. And you don’t want to feel like a bad friend, so you allow yourself become entangled in other people’s pointless wars. No wonder you never execute. You haven’t learned to be respectfully discerning about whom you give permission participate in your life.

Like my mentor taught me, always ask two filtering questions, “Is this person asking me to create a future that I’m going to feel obligated to be a part of?” and, “Is the level of help this person is asking me to offer commensurate with the type of relationship I have with them?”

Remember: If you don’t set healthy boundaries for yourself, other people will set them for you. And then they will violate them. And then they will tell all their little friends that it’s okay to do the same. All because you never set a precedent of time valuation. Are you sacrificing your life by spending too much time being everybody else’s dream machine?

4. Decide for yourself first. The world will attempt to superimpose onto you its prefabricated definition what success should be. Please avert your ears. Don’t become one of those people who give mass consciousness permission to think for them. Otherwise your execution track record will be about as consistent as Shaquille O’Neal’s free throw percentage.

My suggestion: Stop listing all the reasons why you should avoid taking a risk. Waiting squanders momentum. And when you let your desires stay sobbing, awaiting your hand to take action upon them, momentum becomes a statistical improbability.

Instead, don’t wait until you have five years experience. Don’t wait for instructions. Don’t wait for overwhelming evidence before you trust yourself. And don’t wait to be rewarded to do it. Just go. What are you rationalizing your way out of?

5. Refuse to exist in an inhibited condition. If the innovation of others intimidates and inhibits you, you lose. The secret is to use the success of others to fuel your own execution. Two examples come to mind. First: When I sense the warning signs of an approaching storm of creative blockage, I just read Gaping Void or Seth’s blog. Their innovative spirit and cutting edge philosophies never cease to light a fire under my (occasionally) uninspired ass.

Second: When I notice the declining momentum of one of my mentees’ executional patterns, I do what good mentors do – model. Take Carrie, for example. She’s been bragging to me for the last three years about her new book. Which I’ve read. And which I think is tremendous. The problem is, she can’t pull the trigger. She can’t make the book real. She can’t ship.

Instead of getting on her case, hounding her every week or trying to solve her execution problems for her, I just write another book. Then I mail her a copy. Then she wants to kill me. And then I ask her to channel that frustration into her project. And then she does. So much for existing in an inhibited condition. How can you fire inspiration into yourself (or others) today?

6. Capitulation is the enemy of execution. I’m all for delegation. But when you deliberately plant your entire idea in the hands of another person, he owns you. Which makes him the sole shot-caller. Which means execution just made one hell of a pit stop.

From now on, try this: Diversify the baskets you put your eggs in. That way, if one person moves like molasses, you can reach out to someone who moves like Speedy Gonzalez while you’re waiting. For example, my book production team consists of four people: Jeff for layout, Sue for cover art, Jess for edits and Chris for printing.

Now, after twelve books, I’ve learned that each person has their own individual pace. Which is fine. I respect that. So, in order to get the books done in a timely manner, I shotgun the assignments. Like a golf scramble. Everyone starts at a different time. That way, my books finish at (roughly) the same place in the process.

Your challenge is to figure out the time sensitivity of the people you’re working with. Otherwise the sole basket in which all your eggs lie might get chopped down by deforestation. Not exactly the kind of execution you had in mind. When was the last time you over delegated?

7. Complacency is the BFF of inaction. Declaring victory too soon is an exercise in entrepreneurial foot shooting. The best policy is to wait till the check clears. Or to hold off until the product is delivered. Or to stand by before you start telling the world about your new website. Otherwise you look like a putz trying to explain yourself to people when that error 404 page comes up.

Julia Cameron addresses this issue in her Artist’s Way series: “The first rule of magic is self-containment. You must hold your intention within yourself, stoking it with power. Only then will you be able to manifest what you desire.”

I made this mistake several times early in my career. From interviews on major media networks to new book projects, it seemed like the more people I told, the less likely the idea was to come to fruition. Woops. Looks like I shot myself in both feet. Lesson learned: Think long and hard before waving your “Mission Accomplished” banner on the poop deck of your career. What is the cost of inaction?

8. Celebrate quickly and quietly. Preserving yesterday is fun for about a week. But eventually, it’s time to get back to work. Otherwise you become so addicted to your victory dance that your sore knees atrophy your ability to execute again in the future.

Truth is: When you overvalue prior successes, the arrogance of the past comes back to bite you in the ass. As John Mayer explained during a 2009 interview with Esquire, “To evolve, you have to dismantle. And that means accepting the idea that nothing you created in the past matters anymore other than it brought you here. You pick up your new marching orders and get to work.”

Remember: If you’re too removed from action, you’ll never be able to see what’s wrong. Are you sabotaging your own ability to repeat past performance?

9. Lower your expectations. Never execute as if you’re going to get it right on the first try. You won’t. Nobody does. What’s important is that you reflect on your experience, document your reflections and then internalize those lessons so you don’t screw up as badly next time.

Otherwise you’ll continue to let yourself down. Which murders your confidence. Which prevents you from taking positive action in the future. Remember: When you expect nothing, failure is impossible. Is your addiction to perfection adding undue pressure that nobody is going to notice anyway?

10. Don’t mistake knowledge for wisdom. Although I hesitate to draw another simplistic, narrow-minded chalk line that divides the entire human race into two convenient categories, what the hell. Here goes nothing. There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who take the tour, and those who get a guest pass. Which one are you?

Look: Reading a thousand books might make you an expert, but that doesn’t change the fact that you (still) haven’t executed anything. Learning (reading books) builds knowledge, but doing (taking action) builds wisdom. Ultimately, filling yourself up with irrelevant knowledge is akin to eating an entire can of Texas BBQ Pringles: They taste great, they fill you up, but their nutritional output isn’t the worth the time investment or the orange stains on your fingers. What percentage of your brilliant mental effort is invested in the immaterial?

11. Don’t share your execution goals with negative people. All they’re going to is deflate your enthusiasm, piss you off royally and inspire you to throw in the towel. Invest your energy elsewhere. Life’s too short to surround yourself with mediocre people. They rarely challenge and inspire you, plus they tend to smell like hot trash.

You need to play wit people who are better than you. You need to hang with people who, by virtue of their presence in your life, make executing your goals a natural byproduct. How much time are you wasting on relationships you’ve outgrown?

12. Comfort is rarely part of the equation. To increase your capacity to execute, it’s possible you’re going to have to choose an inconvenient lifestyle. Sorry. It’s part of the deal. Waking up at 5am might be a pain in the ass, but it’s also a pleasure for your bank account.

That’s the crucial moment: When discipline trumps desire. When you refuse to let your stamina become stifled by your endless excuse barrage. As my friend Sam Silverstein explains in his new book, “An excuse a story you tell to yourself about yourself. And you always convince yourself to buy that excuse before you try to sell it elsewhere.”

Lesson learned: When you ignore the inconvenient, you allow the lust for what is familiar block the beauty of what is possible. How, specifically, did you make yourself uncomfortable yesterday?

FINAL WORDS: Vision without execution is hallucination.

Edison said that.

Which brings me to my updated version of the same maxim:

Talking smack without doing jack is whack.

Ginsberg said that.

Look:

You know what you need to do.
You know how you need to do it.
You know when you need to start.

The world is standing by.

Life is curious to see what you will do.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How are you increasing your capacity to execute?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “27 Ways to OUT the Competition,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

You let your kid wear a nametag everyday?

People think my parents are crazy.

Which, if you think about it, kind of makes sense.

Because when someone hears my story, one of the first questions asked of my parents is:

“Wait, you let your kid wear a nametag everyday? Are you INSANE?”

And usually, my parents just laugh. They get this question all the time. Hell, it’s been nine years.

But the cool part is the way they respond to it.

Actually, I remember I first time I told my parents about my crazy idea.

November 23rd, 2000. Thanksgiving dinner table.

“Mom, Dad … I want to wear a nametag everyday for the rest of my life!”

Once they reattached their jaws, believe it or not, the first word out of their mouths was, “Cool!”

Well, at least that was the first word they said out LOUD. I imagine the silent dialogue sounded a little more like, “What drugs is our son taking?”

So I guess it’s not surprising that people think my parents are crazy.

Of course, that’s not accurate.

Although I might be insane, my parents aren’t. Actually, they’re like, the most levelheaded, down to earth, smartest parents anyone could ever ask for.

Why?

Because they trust me.

They always have.

Since DAY ONE of wearing a nametag – in fact, since day one of turning 18 – they’ve always attended to me with this attitude of, “Scott, you’re an adult now. We’ve done everything we possibly could to instill in you a foundation of love and respect and character. And because we trust ourselves, we now believe that you will trust yourself. And so, if you really want to wear a nametag everyday, well, I guess there’s nothing we can do to stop you.”

Of course, that was usually punctuated with, “But you’re not REALLY gonna do this all the time, are you?”

“Yeah, I really am,” I’d shrug.

And they’d just smile.

So, Mom and Dad, today I wish you a Happy 35th Anniversary.

Thanks for staying married.
Thanks for trusting your own resources.
Thanks for never getting lazy with each other.

And thanks for remaining sane so that I could continue to be insane.

I love you!

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How do you show your kids that you trust them?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “45 Recession-Friendly Strategies for Entrepreneurial Evolution,” send an email to me, and YOU get the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

If they can’t come UP to you; how will they ever get BEHIND you?

Buy Scott’s new book and learn daily practices for becoming a more approachable manager!

Pick up your copy (or a case!) right here.

When someone googles your name, what do you want to happen?

In my humble opinion, I want four (types of) things to happen:

1. SEARCH RESULTS. First and foremost. The instant barometer of your brand. Because if you don’t exist on Google, you don’t exist. And ideally, you’d like people to see as many of the following hits at the highest possible ranking:

o Content demonstrating your unique expertise. Blog posts. Articles. Newsletters. Whitepapers. Ebooks. Tweets. All of which fall underneath the umbrella of your philosophy. Your unique approach. Your theory of the universe. What did you write today?

o Interviews supporting your Thought Leadership Platform. Podcasts. Television. Radio. Print. Blog interviews. All of which validate your authority by virtue of third party media reaching out to YOU. And these interviews are either about you, quoting you, or exploring your expertise. When was the last time you were interviewed?

o Videos portraying your interesting personality. You speaking on stage. You in action. You behind the scenes. You doing what you do. You being you. All of which show people (instead of “tell” people) why you’re awesome. And these things help your customers get to know YOU. How much money are you losing by (not) leveraging online video?

o Testimonials confirming your perceived trustworthiness. Links to your content. Re-tweets about your awesomeness. Blogs about your products. Word of mouth about your service. All of which reinforce for potential clients, “Somebody has trusted this person before me.” Who’s talking about you?

o Pictures showing you in action. Ideally, doing what you do. Acting on your passion. Working with clients. Being YOU. Pictures consistent with your brand. NOT pictures of you hanging out at bars getting schnockered with your former sorority sisters. Do you want to become known for what you’re about to do?

o Profiles or bios. On Google. On Social Media sites. On your own sites. On sites where you contribute content. They give people a snapshot of you. Just few bits of personal information, but presented in a way that makes the mundane memorable. How boring is your profile?

2. SILENT DIALOGUES. This comes second. This is the stuff people think when they see your name. And ideally, you’d like people to say to themselves:

o “Wow, this guy is everywhere!” Because branding is about increasing activity level. And if you want to be in the right place at the right time, then you need to be in a lot of places. How many places are YOU in?

o “Man, she sure publishes a lot of content.” Because writing is the basis of all wealth. And the more you give away for free, the wealthier you will be. Is everything you know written down somewhere?

o “Looks like everyone’s talking about them…” Because the only thing worse than being talked about is NOT being talked about. And if people aren’t actively telling their friends about you and your company that means you’re probably: Selling a stale brand, perceived as a commodity, not word of mouth worthy, boring, unremarkable and normal and (not) making the mundane memorable. Who’s talking about you?

o “I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this woman before!” Because (clearly), you’re SUCH a big deal and SO ubiquitous that people assume everyone has already heard of you. And it’s their fault for being in the dark. And now they have to make up for lost time. Ideally, by giving you lots of money. Who’s heard of YOU?

o “I think I’m in love!” Because the secret to getting people to fall in love with you is to help them fall in love with themselves first. The secret is to become S.O.F.A.T., i.e., a person people can STUMBLE upon, become OBSESSED over, FALL in love with, become ADDICTED to and TELL their friends about. That’s all that marketing is: Transferring love. Who’s in love with you?

o “Oh yeah, I’ve heard of this guy before…” Because it’s not about marketshare; it’s about MIND share. And the shelf space you hold in people’s minds is the most important real estate in the world. Are you the universally presumed perpetrator?

o “Whoa! That’s a lot of hits for just one person…” Because your web presence is SO vast and diverse, people assume you either paid for SEO (ha!) or hired a crack team of specialists and programmers to build it for you (double ha!) Of course, neither of those are true because, with the right strategy and a WHOLE lot of content, you might not need them. Why aren’t you blogging yet?

3. IMMEDIATE ACTION. That’s what you want to happen next. People impelled to click and explore you and your business further. And ideally, you’d like people to:

o Read, watch or listen to something you’ve published. And realize how smart and creative you are. Are you a Smokin’ Hot Piece of Brain Candy?

o Invite a coworker over to their desk. So they can ogle over your awesomeness. Do you pass The Cubicle Test?

o Email, call, text or tell someone about her findings. Not just because you’re worth making a remark about, but also because it’s EASY to remark about you. Do you pass Tell a Friend test?

o Become a part of your permission asset. By subscribing/following your blog, tweets, videos, ezines, RSS feed and the like. How many people are anticipating YOUR marketing?

o Revisitability. Another one of those words I just made up. And it’s absolutely essential. It’s about that addiction. It’s about that “I can’t get enough of this guy” attitude. It’s about people who come back to your blog or website or Twitter page just to see what you’ve been up to. Who revisits you every day?

4. CONTACT. Here’s the final step. After people have googled you, reacted and taken initial action, this is the crucial component. It’s when you compound attraction with outreach. Because ideally, you’d like people to email, call or reach out to you in SOME way so they can:

o Thank you. Because something you’ve done, written or posted has helped them obtain more money, sex or happiness. (Oh, come on. We both know those are the ONLY three desires that drive buying behavior.) What are you the answer to?

o Tell you they’re one of your new fans. Because customers are overrated. Clients are worthless. And prospects are for amateurs. You need FANS. People that are insistent upon you, your products and your service. Because the more fans you have, the less selling you do. How many do you have?

o And finally, BUY something. Because they see value in your products or services. And they’re ready to give you their money. Hooray! Q.E.D! What is the reason someone is willing to give you money?

So, that’s my theory. That’s what I want to happen when someone googles MY name.

What about you? I’d love to hear your answers…

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What do you want to happen when someone googles your name?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “29 Pieces of Simple, Easy Advice That Will Change Your Business Forever,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

How long did it take you to launch your business?

I get that question a lot.

And if I had enough time to give my (full) answer to everybody who asked, here’s how it would go:

How long did it take you to launch your business?

That depends on what you mean by the word ‘launch.’

If, by “launch” you mean, “Come up with your idea,” it took about three seconds.

If, by “launch” you mean, “Realize that your idea was a good one,” it took about twelve hours.

If, by “launch,” you mean, “Officially start your company,” it took about a week.

If, by “launch,” you mean, “Put up a website,” it took a few months.

If, by “launch,” you mean, “Create a product to sell,” it took about a year.

If, by “launch,” you mean, “Get to a point where people actually know who the heck you are,” it took about a year and a half.

If, by “launch,” you mean, “Make money,” it took about two years.

If, by “launch,” you mean, “Make a PROFIT,” it took about two and a half years.

If, by “launch,” you mean, “Grow to a point where customers actually seek YOU out,” it took about three years.

If, by “launch,” you mean, “Figure out what the hell you’re doing,” well, I’m still working on that one.

What about you?

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How long did it take you to launch your business?

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
For the list called, “65 Things I Wish Someone Would’ve Told Me When I First Started My Company,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

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