Why Do I Resent Your Success?

Every time I read an article about
someone in my field doing something amazing, my heart always ends up in
conflict with itself.

The fundamentally affirmative part of
me encourages people’s success to inspire my own productivity:

Good for you. Right on, man. I am
genuinely delighted for your success, thrilled by your accomplishments and
fueled by your energy. In fact, I’m going to use your life as a glowing source
of inspiration for my own. Because if you can do it, I can do it too. This is
awesome. Where’s my notebook?

Meanwhile, the resentful part of me
downgrades people’s accomplishments to justify their level of success:

You son of a bitch. You’re not as
talented as I am. You don’t work as hard as I do. You haven’t been around as
long as I have. You don’t deserve it as much as I do. You can’t do it as well
as I can. You don’t even want it as badly as I do. What about me? When is it
going to be my time? This is bullshit. Where’s my gun?”

Ah, the joys of being human.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

How do you respond to other people’s success?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

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* * * *

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.

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The Cost of Following Your Dreams

The hard part about hiring yourself is, every paycheck is
different.

Some are big, some are small, and in lean times, some are
not existent.

But we asked for this. It’s all part of the job description.
The minute we go out on our own, we forego financial stability. We trade in consistent
and predictable compensation for the freedom to follow our dreams without
looking over our shoulder.

And in return, we have to get good at coping with and thriving
in that environment.

First, by strategically building a support system of
colleagues who know what it’s like to not know where the money is coming from. These
people are especially helpful when you’re trying to change the world and pay
the mortgage at the same time. Eek.

Second, by constantly sweeping our radars for passive income
and savings opportunities. These diversification options are abundant and
practical, and with a little research, can be the difference between a real
career and an expensive hobby. Phew.

Third, by carefully monitoring and documenting our spending
habits. These rituals keep make us as moneysmart as possible, reminding us that
we all have to wear the accountant hat, no matter how creative we are. Dang it.

Fourth, by honestly appraising our professional history.
This reflection fuels our instinct for the future and enables us to make
smarter, faster and better decisions, and not make the same mistakes twice. Thank god.

Personally, this is my least favorite part of the job.

I’m not a manager. I’m not a businessperson. I’m an artist. I just want to make
stuff.

But I’m also a realist. And I know that if I want to
underwrite my addictions and support my lifestyle, I don’t have much of a
choice.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What is the cost of following your dreams?

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]

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What Happens Without Accountability

The hard part about working alone is the lack of
accountability.

With the exception of our clients, there’s nobody to say
when we’re toast. Nobody to hold our feet to the fire. Nobody to care if we
don’t execute. Nobody to yell if we stroll in to work at eleven.

Nobody to bust our
chops when sales decline. Nobody to give feedback on a poor performance. Nobody
to offer encouragement in a time of struggle.

Nobody. It’s just us.

This causes two problems. First, there’s the issue of
productivity. With nobody but us to answer to, it’s easy to get distracted, hard
to stay motivated, easier to procrastinate and tempting to rationalize our way
out of feeling guilty for poor work ethic.

But the deeper problem, the one we hate to confront, is that
working without accountability makes us feel like welack direction and purpose. Ittrains us to selfishlydo
whatever is most convenient to get what we want, without taking others into
consideration, without keeping our eye on the bigger picture.

Fortunately for us freelancers,
there’s no shortage of coworking spaces, peer networks, trade associations,
artist collectives, mastermind groups and online programs to mitigate
accountability issues.

Still, it’s hard.

Sometimes hiring yourself can
feel like winking in the dark.

And with nobody to hold our
feet to the fire, it’s not always easy to get warm.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What’s your biggest accountability struggle?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “38 Ways to Make Customers Gasp,” 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]

What happens when you wear a nametag all day, every day, for 4000+ days?

Strangers make fun of you, mostly.

Check out Scott’s comic strip, Adventures in Nametagging!

Welcome to Entrepreneurial Purgatory

Tom Petty said that waiting is the hardest part.

That everyday, we see one more card, take it on faith and
take it to the heart. And even though it doesn’t feel like heaven right now, we
can’t let it get to us, and we can’t let it kill us.

Good point.

But what happens when waiting feels like the only part? What
happens when every day fells like another goddamn sentence in entrepreneurial
purgatory?

Because when you hire yourself, you spend a lot of time
waiting.

Sometimes for the mechanical
things:

Waiting for the phone to ring. Waiting for the client to decide.
Waiting for the check to arrive. Waiting for the board to vote. Waiting for the
proposal to be accepted. Waiting for the go ahead email. Waiting for the
paperwork to go through. Waiting for the invoice to clear. Waiting for the beta
launch. Waiting for the site to go live. Waiting for the results to come in.

And sometimes we wait for the intangible things:

Waiting for the smell of blood. Waiting for the perfect
moment. Waiting for the ideal client. Waiting for the stars to align. Waiting
for the lightning to strike. Waiting for the little breaks to finally accumulate.
Waiting for the free work to finally pay off. Waiting for the next big idea. Waiting
for the incubation of the current idea. Waiting for the economy to bounce back. Waiting
for the revolution to begin. Waiting for the movement to catch on.

This has been my life for a decade.

And every day, when the waves of anxiety come flooding in, when
I’m five seconds away from ripping my hair out in a fit of freelance rage, I remind
myself that waiting isn’t just part of the job – waiting is the job.

So I hustle while I wait.

I practice fertile idleness and juggle multiple threads of
work simultaneously, always up to something, always diversifying my interests,
always making myself useful. And I never feel fractured, that I’m spreading
myself too thin. I even manage the process with a simple snapshot of every
project, every pursuit, every endeavor and every idea I’m working on at any
given moment. That way, it’s all under the same umbrella.

Now, no one thing can knock me off course. It’s a diverse
portfolio of productivity. And by spinning a lot of plates, I don’t sit there
every morning and wonder if the deal is closed. I just live my life.

And when it happens, it happens

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What are you waiting for?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “99 Questions Every Entrepreneur Should 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]

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

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who I am and what I have to offer. Now, I am attracting clients I want
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Tag: entrepreneurial purgatory

Why Do I Resent Your Success?

The Cost of Following Your Dreams

What Happens Without Accountability

Welcome to Entrepreneurial Purgatory