At one point in this email, you’re gonna want to scream,
“THAT’S OK FOR HIM, NO-ONE ELSE WAS GONNA BE SINGING ALONG WITH MIGHTY MOUSE…”.
Be ready.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
I have lots of bad habits – biting my nails, not proofreading emails, biting my nails, and, probably the worst of the bunch…
… buying two brand new jigsaws from Amazon, mixing the pieces together, and then divvying them up between the boxes before donating them to a charity shop and sitting back and imagining the carnage.
“So, I’ve got a piece with flowers on… what have you got dear?”
“Gary Lineker…”.
Another bad habit that’s started creeping back in is consuming more content than I’m creating.
In itself, this isn’t the worst thing you can do, but when I slip into this mode, I start comparing myself to other people.
And that ain’t good.
Comparisonitis is a terrible thing and it’s the killer of many a good idea.
Not only that, it makes us ask that bloody awful question:
“Who are WE to do this…?”
So, I’m quitting comparing myself to other folk and thinking I’m not good enough to send an email to my list, post content on my wall, or continue to harass pensioners with my jigsaw related hijinks.
It’s one of the reasons I started the podcast and YouTube series – it forces me to create, rather than consume.
There’s a good lesson there – don’t try and “out-willpower” a bad habit – find an activity you can do that blasts you through it.
Like most life lessons, there’s a comedy angle to help add a little weight to the argument.
Andy Kaufman knew the power of not paying attention to what anyone else was doing.
He never watched other comedians before his set…
…
Ahem…
You: “Oh shit… sorry…
“THAT’S OK FOR HIM, NO-ONE ELSE WAS GONNA BE SINGING ALONG WITH MIGHTY MOUSE…”
You’re fired.
Thing is, if a famous comedian – a man whose act was so bizarre, it put him in a category all on his own – still recognised the importance of not looking at other people…
… I could do with learning the same lesson.
When it comes to marketing your business, I keep coming back to this phrase:
“You’ve got to give people a reason to choose you”.
It’s not about being crazy, wacky, weird, or hilarious…
… it’s about developing a voice that is unmistakably YOU.
One of the best ways to do that?
Create stuff and show up.
As you create, you’ll get even more ideas.
The rough idea you posted last week suddenly becomes a new tag line that brings everything together.
They won’t all be winners, but if I spend all my time looking at what every bugger else is doing, I won’t have ANY winners.
John