The Art of the Shove

My favorite scene in Good Will Hunting is the following conversation between Matt Damon and Ben Affleck:

“You know what the best part of my day is? The ten seconds before I knock on your door. Because I let myself think I might get there, and you’d be gone. I’d knock on the door and you wouldn’t be there. You just left.”

“But instead, you’re sitting on a winning lottery ticket and you’re too afraid to cash it in. And that’s just stupid. Because I’d do anything to have what you got. So would any of these guys. And it’d be an insult to us if you were still here in twenty years.”

That’s called a shove.

And it’s what you do for the people who matter to you.

Here’s why:To shove is to applaud someone’s risk.
To shove is to elevate someone’s hope.
To shove is to disrupt someone’s inertia.
To shove is to provoke someone’s decision.

Who have you shoved this week?

To shove is to give someone a permission slip.
To shove is to kindle someone’s awesomeness.
To shove is to pour gasoline on someone’s fire.
To shove is to deliver someone’s encouragement.
To shove is to petition someone to take the plunge.

Who shoved you?

To shove is to dare someone to commit with both feet.
To shove is to help someone fall in love with himself.
To shove is to show someone what he can’t see for himself.
To shove is to challenge someone to start playing for keeps.
To shove is to throw someone over the other side of the wall.

Who do you know that needs to be shoved?

To shove is to disturb someone into taking action on what matters.
To shove is to remove what robs so they can embrace what excites.
To shove is to adamantly refuse to let someone stay where they are.
To shove is to call someone on the carpet when mediocrity descends.
To shove is to petition someone to bring her dreams to center stage.
To shove is to believe in someone more than she believes in herself.

Who is just waiting to be shoved by you?

THE POINT IS: To shove people is to love people.

And someone who matters to you needs one.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Who will you shove this week?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For a list called, “153 Quotations to Inspire Your Success,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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

“I usually refuse to pay for mentoring. But after Scott’s first brain rental session, the fact that I had paid something to be working with him left my mind – as far as I was concerned, the value of that (and subsequent) exchange of wisdom and knowledge, far outweighed any payment.”

–Gilly Johnson The Australian Mentoring Center

Rent Scott’s Brain today!

The Fleetwood Mac Guide to Going Your Own Way

“Remember to wear your dark suit!”

That was the advice my roommate gave me two hours before the career fair.

Unfortunately, I didn’t own one. Or any suit, for that matter. So I did what any smart college senior would have done: Drove to Goodwill and bought one for seven dollars.

Later that day, with a stack of resumes in my hand, I headed toward the auditorium.

And as I walked across the threshold, amidst a sea of stale, corporate exhibits, piles of free notepads and hundreds of fellow students hopping from booth to booth trying to prove themselves to people they didn’t even like, one question entered my mind:

“What the hell am I doing here?”So I went home and finished my book.

Nine months later, I published it. And nine years later, I published twelve more.

Fleetwood Mac was right: When you open up, everything’s waiting for you.

That’s the beauty of going your own way. And if you’re even teetering with the idea of doing so, you might want to consider a few of these ideas first:

1. Accept the uncertainty of the journey. Personally, I love not knowing. It inspires the hell out of me. In fact, I think intelligence can be impediment. Because if you think about it: If you knew what you know now, you probably never would have started.

Instead, try this mantra: “Don’t be stopped by not knowing how.” That’s what I live my life by. After all, life is boring when you know all the answers. And sometimes what you know limits what you can imagine. In my experience going my own way, you have to leave room for the unexpected. To attend to life wherever it moves. And to get lost regularly and excitedly.

Otherwise you end up giving up on the moment before the miracle shows up.

Look: Hugging uncertainty is an act that entails commitment of the heart. And it will take all of you. But without it, your addiction to knowing how will make the journey a lot rockier.

Remember: Uncertainty is an exhilarating dance. Take its hand and spin it for the world to see. Have you accepted fear as an inevitable part of the equation?

2. Grow smaller ears. A few thousand years ago, stoic philosopher Epictetus wrote, “If you go your own way, prepare for reactions.” He was right: Whatever you commit to, there will always people waiting for you to fail.

Maybe because they envy your path.
Maybe because they feel disenfranchised by your success.
Maybe because they see you living your truth and it pisses them off because they’re not living their own.

But the reality is: If people can’t respect you for going your own way, their respect isn’t worth having in the first place.

Take Hugh Macleod’s suggestion: Ignore everybody.

Don’t be oppressed by those who try to silence your individuality. Don’t be destroyed in response to someone’s invitation to stop living. And don’t be limited by the thoughts that other have set in motion for you.

Give up your obsessive need for approval from anyone other than yourself. Learn to believe in the availability of your own answers. Do you have the courage to follow your inner guide even if you look like an idiot and risk alienating those who don’t understand?

3. Find adequate moral support. The hardest part about going your own way is going it alone. Sure, it’s great for productivity – but where’s the fun in celebrating your victories when nobody’s around to watch you blow out the candles?

I’m all for doing the work to please yourself – but I’m also tired of being lonely.

And that’s where your support system comes in handy: You need people who will be whatever gets you through. People who will gladly sit with you in companionable silence. And people who will enthusiastically carry you to the other side of the wall.

The secret is: You can’t force it. When the loneliness creeps in like a mist, sporadically calling everyone you know to compensate for the anxiety is like eating a huge bag of Twizzlers, then crashing three hours later.

My suggestion: Instead of digging your well when you’re thirsty, set up your life up in a way that the water is always flowing. And like a human oasis, it will be there when you need it. Then, just remember to live your life as a thank you in perpetuity to the people who reside there. Because if you forget who helped you on the way up, it’s going to be a lonely fall on the way down. Who’s got your back?

4. Calculate your own currency. Every endeavor needs cash to thrive. Even charities. Make no mistake: Non-profit is a tax code, not a goal. However, while profit is a healthy form of applause, money isn’t the only thing that matters. Your challenge is to figure out what your currency is.

Here’s a counterintuitive way of doing so: Honestly admit what has never been part of the equation for you.

As an author, for example, people frequently ask me how many books I’ve sold. And I have no idea. Nor do I care. Number of copies sold isn’t currency that’s important to me. The cool part is, by owning that, I’ve learned what is important to me: Contribution, legacy and reader engagement. And I have a boatload of that.

Decide what you want via the process of elimination. It’s less threatening and intimidating. Otherwise you’ll be so focused on making money that you’ll forget to make a difference. What’s your personal definition of wealth?

5. Getting stopped in your tracks helps you own the path. If you think taking the first step is hard, wait until you encounter your first obstacle. Yikes. Resistance will knock you on your ass so hard your teeth will hurt. Then again, just imagine the resilience you’re developing. We should all be so lucky.

Besides, as long as you view your obstacles as inconvenient – not insurmountable – you’ll make it out alive. As my friend Rusty reminds me, “Attitude is the only difference between an ordeal and an experience.”

The key is to stop battling the resistance and start befriending it. Identify what lesson life is trying to teach you by asking the following question, “How can I use this situation as an opportunity to learn something about myself and change for the better?”

Remember: If there’s no resistance, you’re doing something wrong. Accept the obstacles as part of the path and answer the invitation to evolve. Are you willing to greet the resistance with a welcoming heart?

6. Put yourself in the way of success. Opportunity never stops knocking – you just stop listening. Or, you do hear the knocks, but because opportunity comes disguised as hints, whispers, clues, mistakes and discomforts, you choose to ignore them. If you want to turn embers of possibility into blazes of reality, you’ve got to take the initiative path.

In the book Poke the Box, Seth Godin calls this instigation capital, or the desire to move forward combined with the ability and guts to say yes.

“Many people and organizations have money, networking abilities, smarts, tools and a great reputation. But the key ingredient they are lacking to make it successful is the ability to move forward. And the market responds to the power that comes with this kind of capital.”

My suggestion: Stop waiting for permission. Stop waiting until you’re ready. And stop waiting until you know what you’re doing. Say yes to everything. Keep the field of activity open. Possibility hinges on the lever of proactivity. Are you lingering on the balcony instead of dancing on the floor?

HERE’S THE REALITY: Going your own way can feel like digging your way to hell with a plastic fork.

But it sure beats going to the career fair.

Instead of one-size fits all, try my-size fits me.

Everything’s waiting for you.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Have you learned to fall in love with your own set of blueprints?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For a list called, “153 Quotations to Inspire Your Success,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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

“I usually refuse to pay for mentoring. But after Scott’s first brain rental session, the fact that I had paid something to be working with him left my mind – as far as I was concerned, the value of that (and subsequent) exchange of wisdom and knowledge, far outweighed any payment.”

–Gilly Johnson The Australian Mentoring Center

Rent Scott’s Brain today!

How to Elevate Your Employabilty, Part 3

Approachability is about increasing the probability.

Of getting noticed.
Of getting remembered.
Of getting what matters most.

And for millions of people right now, that means getting and keeping a job.

According to this month’s report from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment has reached a staggering level of nine and half percent.

Yikes.

Fortunately, there is way to increase the probability of employment.

No, I’m not talking about bringing a handgun to your interview.

That doesn’t work. Just ask my ex-girlfriend.

The real secret is to make yourself more employable.My name is Scott, and I’ve never had a real job.

I started my company the day I graduated college and never looked back.

But I have dedicated every waking hour of the past decade to experimenting, experiencing and educating on approachability.

And if you do it right, approachability converts into employability.

Tired of watching Law & Order reruns all day? Here’s part three (read part one here and part two here!) of a collection of employability skills to help you increase the probability of getting – and keeping – a job:

1. Grit trumps work. In a recent article in FastCompany, Dan & Chip Heath reveled that grit – that is, endurance in pursuit of long-term goals and an ability to persist in the face of adversity – is a key part of what makes people successful. The secret is to bolster grit by creating unacceptable consequences of failing.

When I first started my publishing company, I was living in my parents’ basement. Not exactly ideal conditions for building an enterprise. Ever tried to book a speech with your mom yelling downstairs to find out if you want asparagus with your salmon?

Two words: Dial tone.

But, that frustration grew into the source of my grit. And the motivation to persist became clear: Get the hell out of the basement. Only took two years, eight months and twenty-nine days. Where will your motivation come from?

Don’t abandon yourself during trying times. Adversity is exercise, obstacles are aphrodisiacs and suffering is sandpaper. Besides, I bet not every part of you has given up yet. Are you constantly formulating escape plans, or tunneling your way out one spoonful at a time?

2. Focus trumps knowledge. Any idiot can be smart. Employability is a function of your ability to focus your face off. That’s what companies want: People who know when to stop brainstorming and start executing. You don’t need another idea – you need an “I did.” In order to strain the impurities out of your life and free yourself to execute what matters most, two factors must be considered.

First, focus comes from deleting internal noise and discarding irrelevant work. Which isn’t about time management, getting things done or streamlining the quality of your process so you can maximize the efficiency of strategic productivity. It’s about creating a filter for your work. Do you have one?

Second, focus comes from the emotional environment of your workspace. And your challenge is to let people know – specifically – how you preferred to be praised. Because when you can count on the emotional release of consistent public recognition, focus will become a non-thought. What internal and external factors keep you from keeping focused?

3. Action trumps acquiescence. Demonstrating that you’re actively engaged in helping the organization succeed is a surefire way to retain employability. And while it’s not smart to develop a reputation for challenging everything, it is possible to rock the boat without sinking the ship. Here’s two ways to do so:

First, disagree openly. Good naturedly test the limits without alienating the people who matter. Use the phrase “I respectfully disagree” as a vocal hanger to command attention and prime people’s brains for your argument.

Second, be more challenging. Instead of nodding with unexamined enthusiasm, gently poke people’s assumptions in a way that encourages them to rethink their own solutions. Challenge unspecified attribution with phrases like “According to whom?” and “What evidence do you have to support that?”

Remember: Just because you have the right to remain silent doesn’t mean you should invoke it. When was the last time you took the risk to stand up and speak out for something you were passionate about?

4. Story trumps statistics. Numbers lie. And they can be manipulated to prove pretty much anything. On the other hand, if you position yourself as a compelling storyteller, it will be impossible to disagree with you. What’s more: Stories aren’t just remembered – they’re retold. And success in any organization is measured by the number of positive stories that are circulating about you.

But here’s the secret most experts won’t tell you: It’s not enough to tell the story – you have to stick the landing. Here’s how:

First, extract the universal human experience from the story so every listener can relate to it. Second, tell people what you learned from the story and how that lesson can make their lives better today. And third, drive home the actionability of the story by giving people simple instructions that make them think, “I believe this, I can do this and I’m willing to try this.”

All the statistics in the world won’t be able to contain your employability. Are you known as an employee who depends on numbers or commands with story?

5. Attitude trumps age. If you’re a newbie, here’s how to be taken seriously when you’re the youngest person in the room: First, stop taking yourself so seriously. Be strong enough to be simultaneously self-effacing and self-confident.

Second, identify opportunities for bold contrast. Develop your ability to deliver powerful perspective wrapped in a concise package, to the right people, at the right time.

Third, replace bitching with evidence. When you have a problem, complaint or issue, calmly present your issue to the powers that be in a quantitative, organized, legitimate and nuts and bolts fashion.

If you’re a veteran, try this: First, learn the new tricks that matter. Even if you’re an old dog, if there’s a new trick that counts – you still have to learn it. It has nothing to do with old age and everything to do with old thinking.

Second, don’t just get over yourself – stay over yourself. When you share a success story, use someone younger as an example. When share tell a mistake moment, use yourself as an example.

Finally, stop trying to manufacture commonality. Treat people as individuals to be cared for, not as labels to be related to. Are you leading with the rings around your trunk or the flavor inside your fruit?

REMEMBER: You can’t make anybody hire you.

What you can do is increase the probability of getting a job by making yourself more employable.

And you won’t even need a handgun.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How employable are you?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “37 Things Not To Do This Year,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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

Never the same speech twice.
Now booking for 2011-2012!

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

How to Elevate Your Employability, Part 2

Approachability is about increasing the probability.

Of getting noticed.
Of getting remembered.
Of getting what matters most.

And for millions of people right now, that means getting and keeping a job.

According to this month’s report from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment has reached a staggering level of nine and half percent.

Yikes.

Fortunately, there is way to increase the probability of employment.

No, I’m not talking about bringing a handgun to your interview.

That doesn’t work. Just ask my ex-girlfriend.

The real secret is to make yourself more employable.My name is Scott, and I’ve never had a real job.

I started my company the day I graduated college and never looked back.

But I have dedicated every waking hour of the past decade to experimenting, experiencing and educating on approachability.

And if you do it right, approachability converts into employability.

Tired of watching Law & Order reruns all day? Here’s part two (read part one here!) of a collection of employability skills to help you increase the probability of getting – and keeping – a job:

1. Assertive trumps aggressive. Assertion is based on respect for yourself without justifying, claiming or withholding. It’s about becoming a public spokesperson for your values. It’s about engaging your backbone to solidify your boundaries. And it’s about being proactive instead of lapsing into passivity.

If you want to rock the boat without sinking the ship, try this: Don’t accept passively what is happening as the only way. Good naturedly test the limits. Become known as someone who takes action quickly, but without tramping people along the way.

Remember: Companies keep people who initiate. People who can travel without a map. After all: If you don’t make a name for yourself, someone will make one for you. What is the cost of nonassertiveness?

2. Intellect trumps smarts. Any idiot can be smart. Real job security comes from being an intellectual. Here’s the difference: Smart people have all the answers; intellectuals ask all the questions. Smart people study content for the purposes of memorization; intellectuals entertain ideas for the purpose of democratization.

And smart people accumulate facts; intellectuals explore ideas, extract universal truths from their experiences – then use those lessons to make other people better.

That’s the kind of person companies want to hire: Someone whose mind can plug itself a variety of workplace equations. Someone who can step back from the corporate canvas and say, “Wait a minute. Does anyone else smell that?”

Think of it this way: Companies, much like baseball teams, pay the most money to hire athletes – not shortstops. How many positions do you play?

3. Why trumps how. Anyone can learn how to do anything. But if they’re not in touch with why they’re doing it, the lack of vision will stain every part of the process. That’s what employers are looking for: People who are plastered with purpose. People who are the walking translation of their vision.

If you want to tap into the reservoir of whypower and pinpoint the deepest motivations behind what you do, try this exercise: Make a list of a hundred reasons why you do what you do. Keep a copy in your wallet. And on your next interview, pull it out and read it. I’m serious.

People won’t just pay attention – they’ll pay money.

The point is: You can teach a monkey how to email, but you can’t teach it why the message important. Will overrides skill. Demonstrate a deep enough purpose behind your work and you can invent the technique of your work. Are you at war with how when you need to be in love with why?

4. Commitment trumps talent. I’m not saying competence is overrated – I’m saying competence is commonplace. What differentiates you is your dedication. What keeps you around is your commitment.

Those are the people that companies retain and promote: The ones with a proven history consistent commitment. Period. Talent is so last century. Now it’s merely an assumption. A commodity. And if it’s the only thing you bring to the table, you will be ignored.

On the other hand, if you compound talent with commitment – and communicate to the people who matter most that you’re fully committed – they won’t just pay attention, they’ll pay dividends. All you need is a commitment device. Because if your commitment isn’t symbolized, memorialized and personified in a tangible way, you’re just winking in the dark. Which of your fears are diminishing your commitment?

5. Passion trumps leadership. To make yourself more employable, you don’t need a title on the outside – you need a burning fire on the inside. That’s the thing about employability: It doesn’t matter who you know, it matters whose life is better because they know you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a leader, it matters is how many people are warming their hands by your fire.

Here’s how to ignite the flame: The word “passion” comes from the Latin passio, which means, “to suffer.” Therefore, the two questions you have to ask yourself are: What would you suffer to do? What would cause you suffering if you did not do it?

That’s passion. And if you can uniquely infect people with that fire every time you interact with them, they won’t even care what title you hold. True power comes from personhood. When you walk into a room, how does it change?

REMEMBER: You can’t make anybody hire you.

What you can do is increase the probability of getting a job by making yourself more employable.

And you won’t even need a handgun.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How employable are you?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “37 Things Not To Do This Year,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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

Never the same speech twice.
Now booking for 2011-2012!

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

How to Elevate Your Employability, Part 1

Approachability is about increasing the probability.

Of getting noticed.
Of getting remembered.
Of getting what matters most.

And for millions of people right now, that means getting and keeping a job.

According to this month’s report from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment has reached a staggering level of nine and half percent.

Yikes.

Fortunately, there is way to increase the probability of employment.

No, I’m not talking about bringing a handgun to your interview.

That doesn’t work. Just ask my ex-girlfriend.

The real secret is to make yourself more employable.My name is Scott, and I’ve never had a real job.

I started my company the day I graduated college and never looked back.

But I have dedicated every waking hour of the past decade to experimenting, experiencing and educating on approachability.

And if you do it right, approachability converts into employability.

Tired of watching Law & Order reruns all day? Here’s a collection of employability skills to help you increase the probability of getting – and keeping – a job:

1. Character trumps beauty. Remember the prettiest girl in school? She received constant praise from everybody, had the world handed to her on a silver platter and rarely had to work that hard to win.

But by the time she hit thirty – and the beauty started to fade – she regretted never making any effort to be special. Woops.

That’s the difference between eye candy and brain candy: One is physical attractiveness with little or no substance; the other is psychological attractiveness with high mental appeal. And unless you’re applying for a position at Hooters, focusing on the content of your character – not the level of your beauty – is what will get you hired.

And don’t get me wrong: It’s not that you shouldn’t be mindful of personal presentation. But you don’t have to be good looking to be attractive. Are you catching people’s eyes with beauty or capturing people’s hearts with brilliance?

2. Flexibility trumps strength. Being flexible isn’t about touching your toes – it’s about responding to life – and doing so with an attitude of openness, creativity and self-belief. Here’s how to demonstrate your professional plasticity:

First, actively seek out ways to be stretched. Be emotionally flexible – that is, maintain a wide spectrum of emotions rather than responding rigidly and defensively.

Second, adopt a predisposition to compromise. Be mentally flexible – that is, entertain multiple viewpoints and values and beliefs that are different than your own.

Finally, be what the moment requires. Be contextually flexible – that is, sustain your strength amidst the rapidly changing nature of the economic environment.

Remember: Nobody cares how much weight you can lift – they care how much you change can adapt. Does the muscle of your life have a broad range of motion?

3. Heartset trumps mindset. The problem with attitude is that it can be faked. Read enough affirmations and you can convince anyone that you have the mindset of a winner. Heartset, on the other hand, cannot. And because this is a term I’ve coined, let me break it down for you:

Heartset is the emotional repertoire that enables your spirit to persist. It’s the durability to slog through what matters and the inner infrastructure that keeps you plugging away.

Heartset is also the emotional contract you make with yourself. It’s the identity and predisposition that determines how you interpret situations and respond to life. You can’t fake that. And only when make the conscious decision to adopt a winning heartset will people start to notice.

Remember: Anybody can be successful for a short period of time before the rest of the world finds out about you. But if you’re counting on faking it until you make it, you may never make it. How do you bring your humanity to the moment?

4. Truth trumps academics. The reason I’m so widely read as an author is not because I have an unparalleled command of the English language – it’s because I write in blood. That’s what my readers have come to expect: More honesty per square inch than anyone out there.

Sure, it’s not exactly academic, but at least I won’t bullshit you. How are you branding your honesty?

Maybe it’s by being microscopically truthful in those little moments where lying would probably be easier and quicker. Maybe it’s by encouraging the truthful self-expression of everyone around you. Or maybe it’s running the risk of appearing inconsistent for the sake of preserving the truth.

Either way, remember this: Honesty is attractive because it is rare. And unexpected. And underrated. Be known for it. Would you rather be remembered as the employee who thought he knew everything or the employee who always told the truth?

5. Execution trumps creativity. People know me as the guy who wears a nametag every day. But that’s not my real claim to fame. What matters is that I leveraged the simple idea of wearing a nametag everyday into a successful enterprise. That’s execution. That’s taking action on what matters most.

Your challenge is to position yourself as someone who does the same. Straight out of my latest book, Ideas Are Free, Execution Is Priceless, here’s a rapid-fire list of my best practices for doing so:

First: Be strategically impatient – stop waiting for permission to start.

Second: Build executional capacity into your idea from the onset – calculate the cost of inaction to motivate you.

Third: Develop massive intolerance for the inconsequential – make a list of twenty things that consume your time but don’t move you forward, then stop doing those things.

Fourth: Hustle while you wait – give away your talent to the market until they’re ready to pay for it.

Fifth: Ignore feedback from people who don’t matter – decide whose advice you have outgrown.

Lastly: Finished is the new perfect – when you get to eighty percent done, ship. Become a master of execution and you’ll never be fired.

Remember: You don’t need an idea – you need an, “I did.” Can you turn a seed into a forest without any rain?

REMEMBER: You can’t make anybody hire you.

What you can do is increase the probability of getting a job by making yourself more employable.

And you won’t even need a handgun.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How employable are you?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “205 States of Being That Matter Most,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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

Never the same speech twice.
Now booking for 2011-2012!

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

5 Ways to Weather Ridicule

Oscar Wilde was right.

Ridicule is the tribute paid to the genius by the mediocrities.

It comes with the territory of sticking yourself out there.

THE SECRET IS: How do you weather that ridicule before it knocks the life out of you?

Try these ideas:1. Take a bite out of reality. Choosing not to believe in the devil won’t protect you from him. Take it from a guy who’s been mocked pretty much every day of his life for the past decade: Ridicule is rite of passage. It comes with the territory of being successful. And it should be attended to with love, gratitude and respect. Here’s how:

First, consider it an honor to be criticized.
Second, you’re nobody until somebody hates you.
Third, anything worth doing is worth being attacked for.
Fourth, if your dream isn’t being attacked, it isn’t big enough.
Fifth, if everybody loves your work, you’re doing something wrong.
Sixth, if nobody hates your work, you’re not being honest enough.

Once you wrap your head around those realities – and once you make peace with the war against your success – it’s amazing how free you become.

Remember: The more successful you become, the more torpedoes will be shot at you. But being attacked is a sign that you are important enough to be a target. Will you accept the bullets as the price of winning?

2. Seek acceptance, not approval. It doesn’t matter if people like your work. What matters is if they label it as being real. The rest is just gravity. My suggestion: Screw meeting worldly approval. Stop acquiescing to the status quo. Creating a career of approval creates a diminished existence, which creates work destined for mediocrity and doomed to disappoint.

And you know the people I’m talking about: They just sort of stare at you with these judging eyes and crossed arms, as if to say, “What are you going to do about the fact that I don’t like it?”

Answer: Nothing. You’re going to get on with your life and get back to your work. Because life’s too short to let your art live in a desk drawer, too valuable to have lunch with idiots who downsize your dreams, and too precocious surround yourself with people who aren’t open to your energy.

Keep your distance from those who would dampen your ardor, and keep away from those who would discard the highest vision of yourself. Whose voice are you done listening to?

3. Brace yourself for the waves of antagonism. When people meet me and discover I’ve written a dozen books, their gut reaction is to say, “Yeah, but what are you, like, thirty? What did you write twelve books about? How much could you have possibly learned in your meager existence on this planet?”

And even if they don’t say that – I know it’s what they’re thinking. And over time, my response has evolved from, “Wait, why aren’t you more impressed with me?” to:

“You know, there is nothing I could say that would make me good enough in your eyes. So I don’t need to defend my books, and I don’t need to defend my brain. If you don’t want them, don’t buy them.”

And although I rarely take the time or energy to go through that whole thing, sometimes it’s necessary. Sometimes you just have to stare people straight in the eye and say, “Guess what? I don’t have to react to you.” It all depends how much self-control you’re willing to exert.

It’s like staring at plate of cookies after you’ve given up sugar and realizing that they no longer have power over you. Goddamn it’s liberating. Who was the last person you gave your power away to?

4. Consider the source. Let’s be clear: Feedback, at the right time, from the right people – in the right amount – is priceless. That’s the best way to grow, get better and learn who the heck you are.

But if you’re constantly getting rottisserized by people who don’t matter, it’s time to move on. As Walt Whitman wrote in Leaves of Grass, “Dismiss what insults your own soul and your very flesh shall be a great poem.”

When people dismiss your art as craft, hobby and decoration, learn to tell people you respect their opinion of your work – and then get on with your life. Otherwise the nonstop barrage of unhelpful feedback will slaughter your finest artistic impulses.

Remember: People who attack your work are terrified of attending to their own misery. Never let anybody keep you small, scared and dreamless. Will you risk rejection by exploring new artistic worlds or court acceptance by following already explored paths?

5. People will try to push boulders into your path. In nature, those who leave their flock and go their own way get eaten. In the art world, it’s not much different: People are usually unkind to the new. As I read in Art & Fear, “Historically, the world has always offered more support to work it already understands.”

No wonder originality is such a pain in the ass.

But, that doesn’t mean quit. That means instead of waiting for the rest of the world to tell you your work is okay, tap into your sense of interior stability. Instead, follow the path of your heart. Curb your dependency on externals for equilibrium and draw strength from places you love.

Forget about what people will think of you once they see your work. Better to risk executing what matters than to be a victim of resistance. Whose opinion are you willing to ignore?

REMEMBER: Weathering ridicule comes with the territory of sticking yourself out there.

But as much as it stings, think of it this way: Being ridiculed means being noticed.

That’s the other thing Oscar Wilde was right about.

The only thing worse than being talked about – is not being talked about.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Who hates you?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “153 Quotations to Inspire Your Success,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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

Never the same speech twice.
Now booking for 2011-2012!

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

How to Follow Your Heart Without Losing Your Mind

Following your heart is more than just doing what you want.

It’s about working without a map.
It’s about giving the soul its bread.
It’s about penetrating the stuckness.
It’s about nourishing your compulsion.

Also.

It’s about taking your dreams seriously.
It’s about honoring the constants in your life.
It’s about abandoning things whose time has passed.
It’s about stepping out and exposing your dream to the light.

THE QUESTION IS: How do you follow your heart without losing your mind?

Funny you should ask:1. Believe in the availability of your own answers. If you want to follow your heart, the first step is to establish an internal dialogue with yourself. Dive in and see what unfolds. Only then can you create the necessary space to hear what your heart is whispering to you.

Try this: Repetitively ask the following question right as you drift off to sleep: What am I afraid to know about myself?

In my experience, it’s not a question – it’s a catapult. And that’s the cool part is: By the time you wake up, the answers are waiting for you. Even the ones that sting. And when they present themselves, your only job is to stand steadfast in that knowledge, and then execute from that place of true knowing. The rest is just gravity.

Remember: You know you’re free when you don’t have to bury things anymore. If overnight, a miracle occurred, and you woke up tomorrow morning and your problem was solved, what would be the first thing you would notice?

2. Self-doubt is underrated. Although there’s a part of you that wants to believe your confidence is unthwartable, you’re still human. And all humans doubt. The good news is: Doubt protects us. Doubt keeps us humble. Doubt helps us keep checks and balances on ourselves. And doubt forces us to examine what we think and why we think it.

In fact, if you completely believed in yourself – all the time – do you really think you were stretching enough?

Perhaps it would serve you better to lean into your sense of scared-shitlessness. After all: Fear is the final compass for deciding what matters. Maybe try asking yourself, “What signal is my fear sending me?” Your answer might be the best thing you could have learned about yourself.

Get used to doubt. There is no courage without the presence of fear. Fear is the prerequisite of bravery and bravery is the precursor to power. Throw your shoulder into it. When was the last time you doubted yourself?

3. Grow smaller ears. If other people are charting the course of your life, your life is no longer your own. And that’s not only dumb – it’s dangerous. For example, whenever first timers attend meetings of my professional association, I always tell them the same thing:

“Don’t listen to anybody. Not even me. Listen to you.”

Not exactly the advice you’d expect to hear from the chapter president. But the last thing we want is another newbie getting sucked into the vortex of conflicted advice.

What might be smarter – and what might keep those people on the path of their heart – is if they wrote down the things they kept saying to themselves. Even if the confrontation hurt. Even if they were afraid to have those opinions. And even if they liked their thoughts so much that they didn’t want to let them go.

That’s how you keep a light on the truth. That’s how you keep consistent with your core. It’s slightly hurtful but enormously helpful. Are you using up everything you’ve got trying to give everyone else what they want?

4. Guilt throttles thrust. One of my readers recently posed a question that forced me into a revision of thinking: “How do you follow your heart when it breaks everyone else’s?”

Tough call. On one hand, if you follow your heart without watching the wake you leave behind, somebody you love might choke. Then again, you don’t want to miss out on a life changing opportunity because you’re a prisoner of your own remorse.

Here’s what I think: The people you love aren’t keeping you here – the guilt of leaving them, is.

You have to trust that the people who matter most you want you to be happy. You have to believe they want you to be successful. And you have to know that they want you to live where you can grow into the best, highest version of yourself.

I remember when I first told my parents I was moving to Portland. They were shocked, scared and begged me to give it a second thought. But the decision was already made. The voice inside me had simply grown too urgent.

The cool part was, that one leap opened doors I never would have had access to otherwise. And the treasure that lay beyond the threshold changed my world forever. Are you struggling against your own energy?

5. Uncertainty is an asset. Certainty is highly overrated. Personally, I love not knowing. It inspires the hell out of me. In my experience, when I attend to life wherever it moves, and when I leave room for the unexpected, everywhere I end up is beautiful.

That’s the key: You risk rejection by exploring new worlds. Otherwise you court acceptance by following explored paths. Blech. I suppose it all depends on how directionless you can afford to be.

Now, I respect your life situation. I’m sure it differs from my own.

I think that’s the biggest challenge of following the path of your heart: It’s rarely well lit. And everybody is afraid of the dark – everybody. My suggestion: Instead of being stopped by not knowing how, try being sparked by knowing why. With purpose as your baseline, you’ll be able to gather enough momentum to sustain your efforts until how comes your way.

Look: Life is boring when you know all the answers. Ambiguity is an exhilarating dance. Take its hand and spin it like a prom date. Are you willing to tear yourself away from the safe harbor of certainty?

6. Learn to love being hated. Being hated isn’t something you do intentionally to make a name for yourself – it’s something that happens incidentally when you make a name for yourself.

And when I say, “being hated,” I don’t mean that people literally want to cause you bodily harm. It’s more like resentment. Jealousy. Animosity. All of which stem from envy.

But that’s the harsh reality of following your heart: Do what you love and the money will follow – but so will the resentment. Typically from jealous people who aren’t following their own.

When this happens, when people try to push boulders into your path, here’s what you have to remember: Being attacked is a sign that you are important enough to be a target. It’s an indicator of success and a right of passage. And if you’re not willing to piss a few people off, you risk never turning any of them on. The question worth asking yourself is: Would you rather be hated by some or ignored by all?

REMEMBER: Settling is a silent epidemic.

Stop telling yourself that this too shall pass.
Stop being a guest star in other people’s existence.

Just go.

Otherwise you really will lose your mind.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Would you rather follow your heart and fall on your face, or swallow your voice and watch freedom escape?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “153 Quotations to Inspire Your Success,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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

Never the same speech twice.
Now booking for 2011-2012!

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

How to Use Your Personal Brand to Switch Careers

You’re not in the job market – you’re in opportunity market.

As such, branding is no longer a novelty – it’s a necessity. It’s the price of admission. And it’s got nothing to do with dressing for success, company logos or flashy websites.

Branding is the best version of you.
Branding is how people experience you.
Branding is how people experience themselves in relation to you.
Branding is what you’re known for, what you’re known as and what you’re known for knowing.

Think of it from an algebraic perspective:

Your brand is the coefficient, and the goal is to make that number a little stronger every day. That way, when a new job enters the equation, you’re prepared to multiply the hell out of it.

Reprinted from my regular column at The Ladders, here’s how to use your personal brand to pave the way for career transition:1. Develop a predisposition to compromise. Meeting life in the middle doesn’t make you weak or small – it makes you human and malleable. And if you’re starting over, I can’t think of two more appropriate adjectives to describe your ideal state of being. Ask these questions:

*What if you adopted your skills to a more vibrant industry?
*What if you repackaged your talents into a volunteerism lifestyle until the economy shifted?
*What if you gave away your talent to the market until they were ready to pay for it?

Remember: Don’t commit solely to one course of action – cast a wider net. Learn to live larger than your labels, uncover new territory for personal and professional expansion and profitable use of everything you are. Will you accept the flux of life – then learn to ride it?

2. Quality can’t be your sole signature. People need to fall in love with your process as much as your product. Because if they don’t love the person doing the work as much as the work itself, starting over is going take forever.

My suggestion: Articulate the portrait of the person you want to be. Start serving people from who you are – not who you pretend to be. As you extend your brand into the marketplace, consider branding your service, your language and your honesty.

That’s what will get you noticed, get you remembered and get you the job. What gives your personal brand its power?

3. Make creativity a conscious priority. Readers often ask me how I decide what to write about each day. My answer is simple:

“I don’t – I just listen for what wants to be written.”

That’s how creativity works: It’s a process of surrendering. And if you plan to start over, that’s the smartest attitude to maintain. Because opportunity never stops knocking – you just stop listening.

The secret is to lock into the right frame of mind to pursue opportunities as they arise. To maintain the emotional willingness to open yourself to new possibilities.

For example: Examine the smallest revenue centers of your business. Then ask, “With some reinvention could this become a brand new business unit?” Who knows? By giving your artistic voice another outlet, you might activate a market segment that just can’t wait for your arrival.

Remember: Creativity isn’t an entitlement – it’s is nurtured by constant cultivation. How do you reap what your brain sows?

4. Create a network of human healing. In the book, Who Gets Sick, Blair Justice revealed how beliefs, moods and thoughts affected health. In one particular study, his research found that social support protects your health by reducing the intensity with which you look at and react to stressful events.

What they failed to mention however, was that that you don’t realize how strong your support system is until the world on top of it collapses. And trust me: You don’t want to wait for that to happen.

If you plan to start over, plan to create a network of healing to keep you alive in the process. Because without support from your loved ones, the road less traveled will become very windy.

The point is: Success never comes unassisted. You personal brand can be an island. Ask for help early and often. And believe that the people who love you most want nothing more than the opportunity to come through and show you so. Do you live in an atmosphere of encouragement and expectation-free support?

REMEMBER: Branding isn’t a novelty – it’s a necessity.

As you make the transition through the opportunity market – not the job market – remember that if you don’t make a name for yourself, someone will make one for you.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How do people experience you?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “205 States of Being That Matter Most,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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

Never the same speech twice.
Now booking for 2011-2012!

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

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