There Will Always Be Another Excuse Not to Create

Any excuse to not create is dangerous.

I’m not ready. I can’t find the time. I don’t know what I’m doing. I have
nothing to say. I’m not good enough yet. I don’t have the right tools. I’m
afraid of revealing too much. I’m scared my parents will see it. I’m sure my ex
will hear about it. I know my friends will laugh at it.

Even if every one of those things is true, they’re still not good enough reasons
not to create. Especially since it’s impossible to fail at self-expression. When
we tell our story, we’re always successful, even if we’re not successful.

I recently got email from a reader
whose concern wasn’t about finding the time, but losing the time. She was
afraid to create because it would take time away from work, family and other
life obligations.

Who says we can’t do both? Why all the
compartmentalization? Seems to me, there’s time for it all. Even if we only
create in small spurts, that still counts.

Because no matter how good we are, no matter how successful
we get, there will always be another excuse not to create. There will always be
a chorus of voices trying to bury our music, trying to keep us from becoming
what we are.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What have you avoided creating this week?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “12 Secrets of Supremely Successful Writers,” 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!

Are Your Obsessions Societally Useful?

[ Buy prints to inspire your office! ]

I had no intention of turning my personality disorder into a career.

Consider my resume:

“Obsessive compulsive anal retentive control
freak attention whore who over-thinks everything and has zero patience, no
social filter, limited work experience and no organizational skills who can’t
follow simple directions, can’t share, doesn’t work well with others and has
serious identity issues.”

Get that man a corner office.

But that’s what happens when you hire yourself. You have no choice but to
leverage your limitations. You play the ball where it lies and make the most of
what you’ve got. Otherwise you go out of business.

This approach has served me well. By
creatively channeling my liabilities, by making good use of everything that I
am, I’ve made money, made a difference and made a name for myself, while having
a lot of fun in the process. Everything I got made fun of for, I now get paid
for.

I wonder what the world would look like if more people embraced the entirety of
their personalities, not just their strengths.

Perhaps our obsessions could become
societally useful.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What personality disorders could you leverage?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “11 Ways to Out Market 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]



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!

Are You a Consumer or a Creator?

There’s never been an easier time to consume.

We have more choices, more ways to obtain those choices and
more devices with which to enjoy those choices. Plus, throw in the power of
free, and those numbers multiply exponentially.

On the other hand, there’s never been a better time to
create.

We have few barriers to entry, fewer restrictions on what we
can publish and fewer limitations on how and where we can share it. We can give away every book we’ve ever written, for free, no strings. Plus, throw
in the power of permission, and those numbers shrink exponentially.

Lately, I’ve grown bored with consumption. I’ve read enough
books, seen enough shows and inhaled enough ideas to last me for a lifetime.

Which doesn’t mean I plan to stop, just switch gears.

Now, I’d rather write a book than read one. Now, I’d rather
publish a podcast than listen to public radio. Now, I’d rather have the mic in
my hand than a drink in my lap.

And I couldn’t be happier.

Life is short. Consumption can wait. For now, I’d rather go
out into world and seek adventure beyond my limited imagination.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What did you write today?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “17 Behaviors to Avoid for Effective Listening,” 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!

The Feedback Fetish

Feedback has become a fetish.

Businesses plead with customers to keep their seven-inch receipt,
go to their website, fill out a short survey and enter their name for the
chance to win free drinks, gift cards and other cash prizes, all for the low
price of their email addresses, which will most likely be spammed with future
offers of the same ilk and potentially vulnerable to online privacy violations
from hackers.

Meanwhile, customers don’t feel special, don’t feel heard
and don’t feel part of a community. They just feel like statistics. 

And don’t get me wrong, I’m all for building a listening platform. But surely there are other, better, cheaper ways to gauge customer sentiment
than wasting paper.

My friend Janelle is the social media director for a large
grocery chain. When her customers have feedback to share, they don’t use
surveys – they use cell phones. Whatever question, comment, complaint or
suggestion is on their mind, they publish it online. Instantly. For all the world
to see. And no trees have to die.

No wonder her company was ranked in Forbes magazine as one of the best in the nation.

The thing is, people have always had opinions, but now they’re
delivered to our face. Right now. From all around the world. For free. Forever.
Whether we like or not. And if you’re trying to decide which technology to
invest millions of dollars is, just so you can relentlessly tug customers on
the sleeves and trick them into liking you, think again.

Asking what survey to use is the wrong question.

The real question is, where are people are already giving their opinions
– whether you’re asking for them or not – and how can you convert that into a
smarter conversation?

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Are you making feedback a fetish?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “194 Books in Scott’s Success Library,” 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.

What’s Your Portable Sales Force?

The other day my client from Disney Destinations remarked, “I can’t believe there’s only one of you!”

Technically, he’s right. As a
freelancer, my enterprise solely consists of me, slogging it out, every day,
until the work is done. But that doesn’t mean the work goes unassisted. When
you hire yourself, you build a portable sales force. People and resources to
help to make it rain when you’re not around.

Here’s an overview of mine:

There’s my clients, whose condition I
try to improve every time we work together. That way, they won’t keep me a
secret. There’s my audience, whom I try to inspire every time they consume my
work. That way, they’ll come back again and again. There’s my suppliers, whom I
try to be easy to interact with every time we do a new project together. That
way, they won’t shy away from showcasing me in their portfolios. There’s my
content, which I publish every day with substantial volume, value, velocity and
vitality. That way, my daily gifts to the world contribute to an ongoing
body of work.

There’s my competitors, whom I try to
speak respectfully of every time we’re up against each other. That way, they
won’t mind referring me if they don’t fit the bill. There’s my colleagues, whom
I try to share resources with every time we’re brainstorming together. That
way, they won’t hesitate to extend same generosity when I ask for help. There’s
my editors, whom I try to make look like heroes every time they run my stuff.
That way, they wont forget about me for future issues. There’s my collaborators,
whom I try to be accountable to every time we work together. That way, they
won’t leave out my name when others are searching for partners.

This is my portable
sales force. It’s engine of my enterprise, the secret of my success and the
reason I rarely make cold calls.

Thank god.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What’s your portable sales force?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “22 Unexpected Ways to Help People,” 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!

Offline is the New Online

 [ Email me, buy prints, inspire the office! ] 

The purpose of online is to get offline.

Every time we email, tweet, retweet, direct message, instant
message, write somebody’s walls, upload pictures, publish videos, post reviews,
chime in on message boards, write blog posts, leave comments, press like
buttons and share links, our goal is to get one one step closer to interacting
with other human beings, face to face, in person.

The proof is everywhere.

In the political
realm, we’ve watched oppressive governments crumble, horrifying laws disappear
and war criminals meet their demise.

In the music
realm, we’ve watched performers leverage digital media to create live events
that bring joy to change the lives of fans forever.

In the movie
realm, we’ve watched online microfinancing enable the dreams of a generation of
hopeful filmmakers, whose ideas finally have a chance to make a difference.

In the business
realm, we’ve watched entrepreneurs use the power of mobile technology to hire
themselves, do work that matters and deliver value to their people.

All thanks to the bold people who used online to get
offline.

It’s not the future, it’s the present.

And if we never endeavor to communicate beyond digital, if we
never connect to each other by more than just pixels, we fail to experience the
truest, highest form of human interaction.

Online is the journey, offline is the destination.



LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What have you done offline today?



LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

If
this blog post resonated, perhaps you’d like a souvenir as a reminder.
To buy a print of my “nametaglines” photo for your office wall, send
an email to me, and you’ll have it in a week!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting

[email protected]

Scott has written and published over 1,000,000 words.

But did you know that you could commission Scott to write custom content for your publication, newsletter or blog?

View a sample of Scott’s commissioned work with American Express.

The Future of Human Marketing

There are a thousand ways to kill a startup.

Bad locations, unprofitable niches, sloppy execution,
unremarkable products, inflexible owners, poor hiring decisions, bad timing, broken
business models, the passion paradox, lack of financing, lack of market
traction, premature scaling, poor investor management, fights between founders,
uncontrollable growth, just to name a few.

No wonder half of them die before their fifth birthday.

But we can’t overlook the silent killer. The granddaddy of
them all. The one issue that, if addressed in the beginning stages of building,
might actually wipe out a lot of the other causes of death.

Knowing who you are.

When you know who you are, every moment isn’t a moral
challenge, it’s just a checklist. Decisions are easier, postures are sturdier, interactions
are warmer, relationships are healthier, risks are smarter, transitions are
smoother, failures are faster and commitments are stronger.

In short, your mission becomes more than a statement.

Two years ago, I started helping companies solve that
problem.

Through my strategic planning crusade – not just a process,
but a crusade – we take a company and figure out who they are, what they change
and why they matter. We uncover internal legends that reflect their brand’s
human purpose. And we hang limited edition art pieces as the social artifacts
from that process to remind people of that purpose, every day.

Now, the company brings their values to the forefront. Now,
their philosophy oozes with personality and emotion. Now, they can’t forget who
they are.

It’s not a nametag – it’s a brandtag.

It’s the future of human marketing, company culture and
brand interaction.

And considering the fact that fourteen hundred startups have
already launched since I started writing this blog post, I’m beginning to wonder
what would be different in the world if more companies knew who they were.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

How will you make your mission more than a statement?

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]

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!

Download Every Book Scott Ginsberg Has Ever Written, For Free, Right Now, For Real!

As an artist, I’d rather be heard than paid.

My entire career as a writer, publisher, performer and
consultant has flourished on the power of giving myself away. And considering the current
expectation of the marketplace, why charge
customers for a digital cow they’re already milking for free?

Enjoy all 13 of my books as free downloads. For real.

(Also, please tell everyone you know to come to www.StealScottsBooks.com)

My first book wasn’t a book: It was a brand, a stand, a story and a statement. I wrote it during my senior year of college at Miami University. I had no plan, no goals and no motivation other than, “Writing is the only thing I can’t remember not doing, and if I don’t write this book, I will regret it.” So I did. And it changed my life forever.

Steal this book now!

Any sophomore effort is rife with pressure and expectation. And since I needed substance behind the shtick of the nametag, I chose approachability. Or maybe approachability chose me. It was hard to write and required a lot of research, since I didn’t have much experience to dwell on. But it’s still my best selling title of all time, and it helped me own that word in the marketplace. Plus it got me a quiz for Cosmo. Wow.

Steal this book now!

Due to the nametag, everyone called me “that guy.” The difference was, they did so in a positive way. And I figured that would make a cool book. Polarizing title notwithstanding, I wrote it quickly and enjoyably, and it has sold well. My favorite part is the testimonial from my older brother, who has only read five books in his life, including this one. Score.

Steal this book now!

The most beautiful book I’ve ever done. My design team knocked it out of the park with this one. The cover is striking, the inside pages are colorful and the title is perfect. What I love most about this book is how heavy it is, due to the full color bleed on the print version. It just feels valuable. Plus, the dedication is to my parents, on whom I blame everything good that happens in my life.

Steal this book now!

The first in my series, this book was a response to my clients, who wanted to read short, fun, helpful books on specific job functions. Having worked in retail, food service and hospitality, it was cool to write from a service perspective. Not a lot of personal stories, just ideas I’d been learning as I traveled around the world, working with cool organizations.

Steal this book now!

 

I don’t like sales and I’m not particularly skilled at sales. So I wrote this book for myself. It’s got solid content on enabling customers to buy, not just selling. And I’m really happy with a few of the chapter about questions and conversation. It helped me sell more and sell better, and the feedback from readers has been tremendous. Especially in the professional services arena.

Steal this book now!

Managers are notorious for being unapproachable. I’ve certainly had bad ones in my day, so I wrote this book to help those in that role. And I’ll never forget the airport executive who grabbed a copy and asked if there was a chapter on getting employees to go away so you could actually get work done. I later added a chapter on boundaries to address that issue. Whew!

Steal this book now!

It’s a concept album. Not a book, a symphony. And it’s structured with movements, codas, interludes and the like. So much fun to write. Two books in one. Engaging cover in “flip-flop” style. And it absolutely drove my design team crazy. Total pain in the ass to produce. But, it’s hard cover, and it feels super fancy and credible. Amazing how touch affects credibility.

Steal this book now!

I’m not an angry person by any stretch of the imagination, but this book is basically me venting. Therapeutic to write, intense to read and I had a blast putting it together. But initially, I hesitated to publish it. And that’s how I knew it was important. So I did. Never charged for it. Always meant it to be a free download. And readers loved it. Especially me.

Steal this book now!

I wrote this book on the floor of the food court in the mall by my old house. The cover is absolutely gorgeous, fun and intentionally corporate. Sold tons over the years. The content I adore. And it’s highly spiritual stuff, since I wrote around the time I began practicing yoga. Kind of a time capsule into my life in my late twenties. Gotta love those ducks.

Steal this book now!

I think the bull on the cover of this book is the cutest thing ever. We must have browsed hundreds of graphics until we found the right one. Anyway, it’s another concept book. Most people didn’t get it. But my friends Adam and Jeremy and I came up with the chapter titles at our Sunday Sushi Club. Funniest table of contents ever written. Worth reading it just for that.

Steal this book now!

 

I wrote this book because I was tired of hearing people complain about how they had ideas, but never did anything with them. Considering I made an entire career out of wearing a nametag, who better to write this book than me? It’s the first daily devotional, which became my trademark style once this book came out. First of its kind, very strong content. 

Steal this book now!

 

It seems wrong to pick your favorite book, but this one is so freaking amazing. The cover is stunning, the content is gold and I think I had the most fun and felt the most like myself while writing it. Another devotional, making dozens of family references, this book will always go down as a turning point in both my personal and professional lives.

Steal this book now!

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What have you given away for free this week?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

Send a friend to www.StealScottsBooks.com and give me as a gift to them.

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg


That Guy with the Nametag


Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting


[email protected]



Sign up for daily updates
Connect

Subscribe

Daily updates straight to your inbox.

Copyright ©2020 HELLO, my name is Blog!