Are You Overlooking These Fifteen Success Essentials?

It only takes one missing ingredient to ruin the whole batch.

This goes for cookies, pancakes or any other baked goods you might enjoy.

But what about life? What about work? What about love?

These things have ingredients too.

But sometimes we forget to include certain essentials. For example:1. Art without risk, isn’t. Safe work is rarely celebrated. Let go of the fear that your work is too revealing of your inner world. Be bloody or be broke. What system can you put in place to remove the restriction of your creative expression?

2. Courage without fear, isn’t. Self-doubt is highly underrated. Let go of need to hide the fact that you’re completely terrified and have no idea what you’re doing. Be scared or be screwed. When was the last time you doubted yourself?

3. Creativity without community, isn’t. It’s hard to be creative alone. Let go of the myth that self-expression is a solo act. Be surrounded by creative people or be suffocated by creative drought. Are you still trying to play basketball without a backboard?

4. Friendship without forgiveness, isn’t. Love wasn’t designed to be fair. Let go of the insistence on treating people equally. Be unfair or be unpaired. Whom do you need to give a lifetime pass to?

5. Happiness without circulation, isn’t. Some things shouldn’t be kept to yourself. Let go of the misconception that you need to keep your joy bottled up. Be public about what you love or be pitied. When something amazing happens to you, how many people do you tell?

6. Humor without humanity, isn’t. If people are laughing, people are listening. Let go of the lie that you have to make jokes to be funny. Be yourself or be faced with crickets. Are you artificially injecting laughs or speaking the universal language of human absurdity?

7. Life without witness, isn’t. Everyone needs a good mirror. Let go of the belief that you don’t need an audience to thrive. Be visible or be winking in the dark. Who bears witness to your story?

8. Love without ache, isn’t. If everything’s perfect, somebody isn’t being honesty. Let go of the fairytale that relationships should never have problems. Be struggling or be single. When was the last time your lover annoyed the hell out of you?

9. Marketing without permission, isn’t. Interaction trumps interruption. Let go of the illusion that you can bother people into buying from you. Be respectful or be ignored. Do you feel entitled to yell at people, or have you earned the right to whisper to them?

10. Opportunity without leverage isn’t. There’s always time to kill two stones with one bird. Let go of the lie that luck is real. Be listening for the knock or be left behind. Now that you have this, what else does this make possible?

11. Revolution without ridicule, isn’t. Brace yourself for the waves of antagonism. Let go of the assumption that everybody has to love you. Be a little hated or be a lot forgotten. Will you accept the bullets as the price of winning?

12. Selling without solving, isn’t. When you’re the answer, you can name your price. Let go of the fantasy that your customers are stupid. Be the answer or be the adversary. What pervasive, expensive, relevant and urgent problem do you solve?

13. Service without soul, isn’t. True power comes from personhood. Let go of the desire to outsource the human function. Be a real person or be picked last. How does your brand bring its humanity to the moment?

14. Success without significance, isn’t. Contribution trumps currency. Let go of the dogma that making money is what matters most. Be contributing or be consigned to oblivion. Are you making sales, making a point, making a mark, making a difference or making history?

15. Work without play, isn’t. It’s nothing but drudgery. Let go of the delusion that there’s a separation between professionalism and playfulness. Be a kid or be kicked to the curb. Are your growing younger?

REMEMBER: When you skip key ingredients, something is going to taste off.

In work, in life and in love, make sure you’re not overlooking what matters most.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What are you overlooking?

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* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Publisher, Artist, 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

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Adventures in Nametagging: Psychics, Sushi & Prescription Drugs

“Acts of friendliness in moments of anonymity.”

That’s why I wear a nametag:

To invite people to join me, to remind the world that face to face is making a comeback and to create spontaneous moments of authentic human interaction infused with a spirit of humor, playfulness and connection.

And if a picture is worth a thousand words, a nametag is worth a thousand stories.

Here are my most recent adventures:*DAY 3,872: Today a man sitting next to me at the airport used my name. I asked him if he was psychic. He said no. I wonder if he knows that I know he knows?

*DAY 3,873: Today I met my friends for sushi. They invited a girl named Sonal, whom I’d never met. When we shook hands she thanked me for wearing a nametag and said, “That’s so non-threatening.” Never thought of it that way, but I supposed it is one less name to remember.

*DAY 3,874: Today I went to Walgreens to refill my prescription. While waiting in line, I heard a voice yelling, “Scott!” repeatedly. I looked up, expecting to see a friend of mine. Instead, I saw a man with Tourette Syndrome. We made eye contact. He continued to saying my name. What a strange disorder.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What was your best nametag related adventure?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “35 Things You Simply Can’t Do,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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

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

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

11 Words That Don’t Matter Anymore

There is a language crisis going on.

Buzzwords are so abundant in our professional vocabularies, I’m pretty sure they’re getting their own channel on Oprah Network.

HERE’S THE REALITY: Language that limits, loses.

Today we’re going to explore a collection of dangerous words, their real definitions and a few suggestions for what you can focus on instead: 1. Advertising is just a word for people who don’t have enough friends. Instead of interrupting customers with annoying, treekilling drivel that’s going to be ignored and forgotten, create an act. A moment that deepens the emotional connection over time. Otherwise prospects will take their attention elsewhere. Do your interactions matter?

2. Aspiring is just a word for people who don’t want to commit with both feet. Instead of shirking the responsibility to go full time and go pro, stop waiting to be who you are. Life doesn’t have a preheat setting – you’re either on you’re off. Otherwise you’ll never become what you need to become. Are you still amateur?

3. Compliance is just a word for people who want you to edit yourself. Instead of putting a ban on individual expression, give people permission to let their personal brand shine. Petition them to inject personality everywhere. Otherwise employees will take their loyalties elsewhere. Who are you trying to make just like you?

4. Fearless is just a word for people who are afraid to be human. Instead of ignoring reality and pretending like nothing scares you, accept fear as a regular part of the life experience. Instead of fighting with it – bow to it. Otherwise you’ll never reach your full potential. Are you ignoring your fears or investing them?

5. Feedback is just a word for people who don’t trust their voice. Instead of subjecting yourself to unsolicited discouragement from people who don’t matter, stick your fingers in your ears. Ignore everybody. Otherwise one piece of information will fill your entire identity screen. How will you stay on the path of your own heart?

6. Hopefully is just a word for people who lack faith. Instead of using negative, acquiescent language that cripples your ability to win, speak in a way that leaves people no option but to believe you. Otherwise the things you hope for will never turn into the things you actually experience. Are you wishing your life away?

7. Impossible is just a word for people who choose not to believe. Instead of assuming that every obstacle is insurmountable, dive deep into the reservoir of human potential. Trust your abilities. Otherwise you’ll never tap into the resources available. Are you willing to greet the resistance with a welcoming heart?

8. Interesting is just a word for people who are afraid to say how they really feel. Instead of being so damn diplomatic, give the truth a shot. Be completely honest where most people would say nothing. Otherwise the world will start to expect sugarcoating with every message you deliver. How are you branding your honesty?

9. Professional is just a word for people who seek sanitize the soul out of business. Instead of delivering emotionless, forgettable non-service, bring your humanity to the moment. Put heart first. Otherwise customers will take their business elsewhere. When does the feeling formality keep you from communicating freely?

10. Recession is just a word for people who sleep too much. Instead of crossing your fingers and praying that the winds of opportunity will fill your sails, get up one hour earlier and take daily massive action toward what you want. Otherwise your dreams will stay dreams forever. What consumes your time but isn’t making you any money?

11. Ready is just a word for people who are afraid to jump. Instead of waiting for the perfect moment when your strategic plan is in total alignment with your personal vision statement, just go. Take the plunge. Otherwise you’ll trap yourself on the treadmill of preparation forever. What is waiting getting in the way of?

REMEMBER: When you limit your language, you limit your life.

Don’t get sucked into the buzzword vortex.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What word are you tired of?

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For a list called, “10 Ways to Make the Mundane Memorable,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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

–Gilly Johnson The Australian Mentoring Center

Rent Scott’s Brain today!

How to Throw Yourself Under the Bus

Failure doesn’t come from poor planning.

It comes from the timidity to proceed.

THAT’S MY THEORY: If commitment isn’t the answer, rephrase the question.

The problem is, commitment is hard. Maybe the hardest.

What you need is a way to commit that makes it very hard to turn back.

IN SHORT: You have to throw yourself under the bus.

But this isn’t about self-sabotage. This isn’t about self-mutilation. And this isn’t about doing something stupid, reckless and expensive.

This is about courageously confronting your own dream.

Even if it makes your stomach flip.

Whether you’re starting a business, starting a family, running and organization or running a triathlon, here’s how to throw yourself under the bus:1. Never break faith. If you’re ready to go all in, go full time and throw yourself under the bus, the first step is to believe you’re worthy of your own dream. To believe that a benign power is supporting you at all time.

This has nothing to do with religion, and everything to do with your personal faith. In yourself, in your dream and in your ability to do something that matters. Because unless you begin by answering your call to adventure, you’ll never build the momentum needed to carry your dream forward.

Personally, I restock my reservoir of faith every morning. During my daily appointment with myself, I make a mental list of everything I have faith in. Everything. And a tremor of bliss never fails to take me over. Invest in yourself. Create a daily ritual to remind yourself that you believe in yourself. Will you go on your soul’s quest, or will you pursue the life that only gives you security?

2. Cut off all escape routes. Ancient warriors used to burn their boats before storming the beach. That way, when they looked back to see the flames, victory was their only option. That’s commitment.

If you want to practice the same in your own battles, you have to put yourself in a position where there’s no turning back. You have to execute quick enough so there’s no time to second-guess yourself. Otherwise procrastination and self-doubt will get the best of you.

For example, when I got a nametag tattooed on my chest, my whole world shifted. New opportunities started coming my way out of nowhere. That’s the best part: Once you throw yourself under the bus, doors that were never there open. The world doesn’t just pay attention – it pays dividends.

Don’t commit to thinking about committing. Take the plunge and get into it up to your eyeballs. What action could you take to paint yourself into a committed corner?

3. Stick your fingers in your ears. It takes a prodigious act of courage to make something the burning point of your life. The hard part is discerning which voices to listen to along the way.

My friend Mark once told me that you can’t benchmark normal in the past. Couldn’t agree more: History yields to instinct. And that’s something each of us has to remember: If you don’t maintain a healthy respect for your own opinions, you’re finished.

What’s more, it’s not enough to trust your instinct – you have to defend it, too. Otherwise you end up pursuing something that someone else convinced you that you should want. If you’re going to be besieged by a relentless voice, it may as well be your own.

May as well let your public actions speak your personal legend. Sure beats letting people bash your opinions out of you. Who have you elected not to listen to anymore?

4. Burn your return policy. Yes, it takes lot of guts to really say yes all the way. And yes, life often asks more of you than you’re willing to give. But maintaining anything less than total commitment is a recipe for disaster. And if you think it about, throwing yourself under the bus is actually more efficient, too.

Consider the alternatives: You could rationalize your way out of risk. That’s too much work. You could waste energy trying to find reasons not to take action. What a nightmare. Or you could procrastinate your way to mediocrity. That just plain sucks.

May as well purposely and publicly choose to play big. May as well show the world that your work isn’t just another expensive hobby. Because if your emotional commitment has the depth of a thimble, you’ll never get around to mattering. Are you letting yourself stay where you are?

REMEMBER: Not deciding is a decision, and it’s a terrible one.

Don’t act like you’re not tired of being one foot in.

Put the strength of heart behind you.

Throw yourself under the bus.

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

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For a list called, “12 Ways to Keep Your Relationships Alive,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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

–Gilly Johnson The Australian Mentoring Center

Rent Scott’s Brain today!

The Art of Mattering

Mattering is a choice.

The choice to be consequential.
The choice to fulfill your whole capacity for living.
The choice to take responsibility for feeling insignificant.

At work, in life and in love.

Consider making these choices to assure your work matters:1. Art that mirrors, matters. People need to see their own truth staring back at them. That’s why artists are artists: They have an unmatched sensitivity to the human experience. How does your work reflect people’s reality back to them?

2. Work that dares, matters. Safe is a very dangerous place to be. If you’re not risking failure, risking your face and risking you future, you’ll never get anywhere. When was the last time you did something for the first time?

3. Innovation that simplifies, matters. If your idea doesn’t solve a real problem for the world, you’re just doing something cool. Never underestimate the marketability of practicality. Does usefulness has a palpable presence in your work?

4. Leadership that infects, matters. Infection has nothing to do with being sick. It’s about transferring emotion, putting something into people and influencing them through your state of being. What are you breathing into people?

5. Love that sends, matters. When you love someone, you should want to parade them around the room. Their existence should be a reflection of your own. And when you gush about them, you should glow like a gas lamp. Who sends you?

6. Technology that humanizes, matters. If you create a collaborative experience, you win. If you create acts of individuality in moments of conformity, you win. And if you encourage regular expressions of digital personality, you win. Are you a robot?

7. Interaction that elevates, matters. The point is to leave people better. To help them walk away from an encounter with a more colorful vision of what they can contribute to mankind. How do people experience themselves in relation to you?

8. Experience that educates, matters. We learn not from our experiences, but from intelligent reflection upon them. It all depends if you’re willing to listen for lesson, then document and share it. What did you write today?

9. Design that points, matters. Information expects a passive recipient, but design demands an active participant. Pierce people’s consciousness, create a smile in the mind and put your audience to work. Do you make people blink and think?

10. Attention that accumulates, matters. If people complain that you’re only doing something for attention, good. Attention is a scarce resource. It’s an endangered species. That’s why anonymity is bankruptcy. How are you turning your attention into permission?

11. Content that confronts, matters. Writing is a contact sport. You have to reach through the page, grab your readers by the lapel and whisper sweet nothings into their hearts. Are you a great date for your reader?

REMEMBER: Mattering is a choice.

And if you commit to it, people will thank you for making that choice.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What’s your mattering strategy?

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For the list called, “50 Questions Every Entrepreneur Should Ask,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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

Never the same speech twice.

Now booking for 2011-2012!

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

A Young Artist’s Guide to Playing For Keeps, Pt. 11

You’ve chosen an uncertain path.
You’ve adopted an inconvenient lifestyle.
You’ve embarked upon an unconventional journey.
You’ve felt the voice inside you growing more urgent.
You’ve committed yourself enough so you can’t turn back.

IN SHORT: You’ve decided to play for keeps.

This is the critical crossroads – the emotional turning point – in the life of every young artist.

I’ve been there myself, and here’s a list of suggestions to help you along the way:(Read part one here, part two here, part three here, part four here, part five here, part six here, part seven, part eight, part nine and part ten

1. Paint yourself into a committed corner. When I started my career as an artist, I never had a plan. But I never had a backup plan, either. And looking back, I realize how powerful that notion was. After all, backup plans are nothing but sabotage waiting to happen. It’s like quitting in advance. As Tom Peters once told me:

“The best, if scariest, path to commitment is purposefully going public and cutting off escape routes.”

That’s the essence of playing for keeps: Answering your whispered call. Deliberately putting yourself in a position where there’s no turning back. Taking a risk. Then watching what the universe does.

Without that level of commitment, you’ll never hold yourself accountable. You’ll never go all in. And resistance will happily stand by to help you throw in the towel. Are you jumping off the edge or sliding down the side of the mountain on your butt?

2. Interact with flaming intensity. As an artist, people need to see that you are possessed. They should feel that you are on fire every time they interact with you. And your flame should shoot a ray of beauty into their hearts that inspires their belief in you, your work and your why.

Without that exchange, without that infection of emotion, the people who matter most will continue to resent your calling, resist your creativity and restrain your expression. And the weight of that negativity will be the end of you.

No, your job is not to make everybody happy – it’s to stop time. To give people a brief and precious glimpse of what they really are. If your work can accomplish that task, it will change all who see it. Forever. What does the recipient of your art receive?

3. Complacency is the hallmark of comfort. As an artist, your title fight is never as important as defending it. That’s the peril of victory: When you’re the challenger, nobody sees you coming. You have the element of surprise on your side.

But when you’re the champ, everybody sees you coming. And because they know what you’re capable of, they throw everything they’ve got at you. This is a dangerous incarnation of resistance. And if you’re not careful, it will beat you senseless.

That’s why I put everything I’ve got into anything I write. Every sentence is an innovation. Every sentence has my entire life behind it. And every sentence is coated with as much blood as possible. Because I know that if I don’t get a fraction better with each one I write, I do my readers a disservice.

Real artists stay hungry. They root out any sense of entitlement. Otherwise complacency knocks them out in the first round. Are you too comfortable?

4. Learn to pull teeth. Inspiration is great – when it shows up. But most of the time, it needs to be yanked out of hiding. You have to create it. You have to channel it. You have to command it. Every. Single. Day.

And that’s the complaint: Creativity can be like pulling teeth. But there’s no point in making mountain out of a molar. If something is like pulling teeth, maybe it’s time to get a new pair of pliers. Here are a few from my toolbox: First, honor the wave. When inspiration strikes, go with it. Write until the vein is out. Because it might not fill up again for a while.

Second, inspiration is the fruit of sustained effort. Build structure into your creative time. Force yourself to be due at the page. Third, book blank time. Regularly go perpendicular to the activity at hand.

By physically and mentally displacing yourself, you allow the lungs of inspiration exhale into your life. Are you standing by for inspiration to arrive or stepping up and taking it?

5. You can’t set art off in a corner. Performance isn’t a nicety – it’s a necessity. You have to be willing stand up and be recognized for your work. Otherwise your art will be ignored. In a recent interview on public radio, songwriter Sheryl Crow made an interesting point on this topic:

“Nobody buys records anymore. That’s why touring is so essential. The best way to afford being an artist is, always has been, and always will be, to go out and play for people.”

When was your last show? When is your next show? Because if you’re not regularly getting up in front of people and giving the gift of your art, what’s the point of doing it?

Without a collision between your work and the outside world, you’re just winking in the dark. Your art is the tree in the forest that nobody heard. The upside of exposure is everything. Are you safe and invisible or risky and everywhere?

6. Artists who don’t sell, suffer. I once met a romance novelist at a writer’s conference. We got on the subject of book marketing, branding and the like. And when I asked her which channel she found to be the most profitable for promotion, she said something I’ll never forget:

“I write books – I don’t sell them.”

That pretty much ended our conversation. Clearly, that woman had zero understanding of what it means to play for keeps. Yes, you’re an artist. But you’re also a salesman. And if you’re not there to sell, you’re just a visitor.

Believe me, I’d rather jump out of a burning building in my boxer shorts — again — than make a sales call. But it’s part of the artistic package. Every product must be sold. Beware of sliding into an entitlement attitude that assumes your art will sell itself. When was the first time someone took you seriously as a salesperson?

REMEMBER: When you’re ready to play for keeps, your work will never be the same.

Make the decision today.

Show the world that your art isn’t just another expensive hobby.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Have you committed with both feet yet?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “52 Random Insights to Grow Your Business,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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

Never the same speech twice.

Now booking for 2011-2012!

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

11 Things You Can’t Outsource

I totally get it.

Outsourcing reduces production costs, helps you stay focused, improves overall product quality, expands your knowledge base, accesses new talent, mitigates risk, has greater tax benefits, enables scalability, creates more leisure time and transfers liabilities to third parties.

What’s not to like?

THE ONLY PROBLEM IS: People have become so in love with the idea of outsourcing, that they try to outsource things you shouldn’t outsource.

Here are eleven of them. Feel free to add your own:1. You can’t outsource reputation. If you don’t make a name for yourself, someone will make one for you. Do you want to become known for what you’re about to do?

2. You can’t outsource presence. If you have to resort to gimmickry to let people know you’re there, you’re not. Does your open door policy actually work?

3. You can’t outsource revolution. If want to change the world, you’d better be ready to lead when your followers show up. Is your tribe waiting for you?

4. You can’t outsource luck. If you want to be in the right place at the right time, you have to be in a lot of places. How could you exponentially increase activity level?

5. You can’t outsource blood. If you want your art to matter, you can’t paint with another man’s palette. Are you trying to get into the hall of fame by playing covers?

6. You can’t outsource responsibility. If you’re searching for someone else to take ownership of your misery, good luck. Do you admit you’re the result of yourself?

7. You can’t outsource experience. If your brand dies a virgin, you did something wrong. If you can’t find the time, what if you tried compressing it?

8. You can’t outsource courage. If your fire comes from anywhere other than within, the embers won’t last. Are you waiting for someone to turn your key of ignition?

9. You can’t outsource friendship. If you don’t know how to talk to people with your mouth, you will be alone. Are you filtering your life solely through pixels?

10. You can’t outsource compassion. If it’s your heart, you don’t have to prove to people that you can’t live without it. How do you make people feel seen and heard?

11. You can’t outsource personality. If you don’t have time to do your own social media updates, you shouldn’t be on it. Are you paying strangers to tweet for you?

REMEMBER: Beware of turning outsourcing into a fetish.

Stay human. Stay real.

And make sure you’re not contracting out the human function.

Customers will notice.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What are you trying to outsource that shouldn’t be outsourced?

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

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

–Gilly Johnson The Australian Mentoring Center

Rent Scott’s Brain today!

Adventures in Nametagging: Gelato, Fire Breathing & The Bliss of Not Knowing

“Acts of friendliness in moments of anonymity.”

That’s why I wear a nametag:

And if a picture is worth a thousand words, a nametag is worth a thousand stories.

Here are my most recent adventures:*DAY 3,863: Today the girl behind the counter spotted me and said, “Nice to meet you Scott, my name is Stephanie!” The other two guys in line looked confused, then looked at me, then cracked up. I was not rewarded with free gelato.

*DAY 3,870: Today at the Shakespeare Festival, I walked past the fire breather. He asked if I was the Nametag Guy. I said yes. He told me he read my blog. I said thanks. He never broke character the whole time.

*DAY 3,871: Today I ran into my friend Brian. He was talking to a girl who introduced herself as Christine. “I see you’re wear a nametag,” she said. I told her I always wore it. She chuckled. Then Brian asked if I was going to go into my entire spiel about. I said no, and that some things are better left unexplained. Christine responded, “I kind of like that I don’t know.”

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What was your best nametag related adventure?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “35 Things You Simply Can’t Do,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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

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

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

How to Stick Your Fingers in Your Ears

Listening is overrated.

History has proved this time and time again.

For example:

Henry Ford. If he listened to his customers, they would have asked for faster horse.

King David. If he listened to his family, he would have kept his job as a sheepherder.

Thomas Edison. If listened to his critics, we would still be going to bed at seven.

John F. Kennedy. If he listened to his generals, Russia would’ve deployed warheads.

Steve Jobs. If he listened to his pundits, we’d still be carrying cases of compact discs.

THAT’S THE SECRET: When you’re willing to stick your fingers in your ears, you can change the world forever.

Tired of listening to people? Consider these ideas:1. Safeguard your vision. Although you don’t need permission to dream, you do need protection to make that dream a reality. Otherwise the vultures will destroy your seed before you have a chance to harvest it.

The secret is to remain vigilant about the company you keep. In the book Ignore Everybody, Hugh McLeod explains:

“You don’t know if your idea is any good the moment it’s created. But neither does anybody else. The most you can hope for is a strong gut feeling that it is. And it’s not that your friends deliberately want to be unhelpful. It’s just that they don’t know your world one millionth as well as you know your world, no matter how hard they try, no matter how hard you try to explain.”

Stop gushing to people who are going to belittle your ambitions. Surround yourself will mirrors that make you feel beautiful. Are you listening to your voice or a program created by someone who doesn’t get you?

2. Learn to trust your voice. Feedback is useful when it comes from people who matter. But more often than not, feedback hinders performance. Feedback burdens your capacity to act. Feedback induces unnecessary self-doubt. And feedback forecloses your creativity’s full expression.

That’s why your fingers belong in your ears: It protects you from being swallowed by everybody else’s vision. It protects you from people who will try to dilute your core mission by injecting their views. And it helps you develop a chronic predisposition to persistence.

Decide that you’re on a mission and nobody is going to stop you. Otherwise the arena of feedback will be an exhausting and fragile place to be. Who’s stopping you from executing by offering irrelevant feedback you didn’t ask for?

3. Listen for the guilt. Being approachable means not afraid to be confident. It means dogged persistence in your own truth. It means you’re not haunted by the fear of standing for something. And it means you’re willing to stand up in front of the world and put yourself at risk. Even if people think you’re crazy.

The problem is, following your own heart might break everyone else’s. And that’s a hard reality to swallow. In fact, the guilt that lay within that reality is the culprit of a million dead dreams.

But you can be a prisoner of your own remorse. Better to follow your heart and fall on your face than swallow your voice and watch freedom escape. Besides, the people who love you just want you to be happy. Give them what they want. Is it worth making your idea ten percent better if you feel thirty percent less free?

4. Pick the path of initiative. You don’t need a map. You don’t need to wait for instructions. You don’t need permission to use someone else’s machine. And you don’t need to put your life on hold until someone more successful than you stamps your creative passport.

Lean into your dream. Forgiveness is cheaper than permission. Personally, I’d rather take action and risk being scolded than stand by for approval to do something great. Besides, the last thing you need is more advice that will force you to work against your instinctive grain.

You are the shaper of you. Don’t destroy yourself in response to an invitation from others to stop living. Battle that which blocks your free expression with everything you’ve got. Because in the end, that’s all you’ve got. What do you need to give yourself permission to stop waiting for?

REMEMBER: If you’re too busy listening to everybody, you’ll never hear the sound of your own voice.

Don’t deny what is central to your makeup.
Don’t let one piece of information fill your entire identity screen.
Don’t let people’s feedback define who you are or dictate how you see yourself.

Believe in your dream.
Believe in the availability of your own answers.

Stick your fingers in your ears.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Who are you still demanding excessive reassurance from?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For a list called, “49 Ways to become an Idea Powerhouse,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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

–Gilly Johnson The Australian Mentoring Center

Rent Scott’s Brain today!

What People Really Buy

People don’t just buy what you sell.

They buy who you are.
They buy who you aren’t.

LET ME ASK YA THIS: Are you disclosing what matters?

People don’t just buy what you sell.

They buy what you stand for.
They buy why you stand for it.

LET ME ASK YA THIS: Who knows your mission by heart?

People don’t just buy what you sell.

They buy the posture of your spirit.
They buy the intention of your heart.

LET ME ASK YA THIS: Are you willing to be touchy feely?People don’t just buy what you sell.

They buy the process you endured to make it.
They buy the resistance you overcame to ship it.

LET ME ASK YA THIS: How are you making the invisible inescapable?

People don’t just buy what you sell.

They buy the experience of interacting with you.
They buy the experience of themselves around you.

LET ME ASK YA THIS: How do you leave people?

People don’t just buy what you sell.

They buy the mythology you create around what you sell.
They buy the humble beginnings that first ignited your work.

LET ME ASK YA THIS: Are people aware of the emotional labor you’ve invested?

People don’t just buy what you sell.

They buy the story you tell that taps into their existing worldview.
They buy the meaning they create for themselves in response to that story.

LET ME ASK YA THIS: Is your legend worth crossing the street for?

People don’t just buy what you sell.

They buy the future reactions from others who see them using your product.
They buy the elevated status they receive from those reactions.

LET ME ASK YA THIS: How much cooler are you making people?

People don’t just buy what you sell.

They buy the belief that you will deliver on your promise to solve their problem.
They buy the faith that if their problem isn’t solved, you’ll work tirelessly until it is.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What are your people really buying?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For a list called, “62 Types of Questions and Why They Work” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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

–Gilly Johnson The Australian Mentoring Center

Rent Scott’s Brain today!

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