You're special, but not unique

If you aren't familiar with the tragedy of Jonestown that took place in 1978, it's really a striking moment in American history.

Over 900 people "drank the Kool-aid" (literally) and committed mass suicide in the middle of the jungle in Guyana near the northern coast of South America.

Why? How? and WHAT?!

I have a theory that groupthink will lead more people into/out of a movement than any inherently good thing about the movement.

For instance, when you're isolated in a jungle with 900+ people and everyone else is drinking the Kool Aid and laying down to sleep peacefully, you tend to follow and do it yourself. Even to that extreme.

This also stands true for people making purchases. Think of the cult-like following that Apple foster over the past decade. The phones aren't the best ever and they aren't cheap, but they're safe and most other people have them so it's easy to jump on board and feel good about it.

About 95% of people are followers and only 5% (or so) are the "initiators".

This is valuable information for any salesperson or marketing guru. Do for that first 500 followers or customers what you won't be able to for the following 5,000.

The first 500 are the spearhead, the influencers, the ones who initiate a movement. The more you make them feel special and welcomed, they elevate from customer to brand ambassador.

Again, think of what happened to Apple. People camped out for those phones and iPods, etc...

They also shared with their friends and validated the decisions they made.

They build the "social proof" if-you-will that their friends would look at and think "OK when I need a new phone, this iPhone thing seems really cool!"

Decision made. Brand accelerated. Apple becomes one of the most valuable companies in the world.

There are heaps of ways we can see ourselves and those around us influenced by this principle of "social proof".

Nobody wants to look stupid and most of us care what others think about us. We also seek safety especially when facing the unknown. Therein is the power of this principle.

Some organization goes a long way

A little planning goes a long way. It's well worth it to invest the time upfront and work more efficiently later.

You just have to believe it will work that way to convince yourself to actually do the planning.

Planning and organization also give you substantial peace of mind and can be a procrastination-buster (because you have a plan to follow and you can see the steps it takes to complete the project).

Try spending a few hours planning and a few hours working instead of many, many hours working with no plan.

Fat, juicy days ahead

Make this week a good week. Forget about any failures of last week. There are six fat and juicy days ahead of us and we're in this thing together. Let's use these days to the best of our ability.

Be proud of who you were today, tomorrow. Or... in this case, next week.

Threatening is easy, teaching is effective

It's better to teach why a thing is good or bad, right or wrong rather than threaten or coerce someone into doing something.

To coerce makes the situation better in the immediate moment, but as soon as you're gone resentment begins to breed and your rules or ideas are cast aside with a vengeance.

To teach why a thing is good, bad, right, or wrong will help your subject to make the inner-decision to choose the right or good thing and that is a constraining force that is not only still effective when you're no longer around but will leave everyone feeling much better about the decision in the long run.

In terms of sales, if you undercut or offer "killer" deals to rope somebody into buying a product, sure you got the sale, but not the customer.

As soon as they realize what you did, the jig is up. Why do we all think car salesmen and lawyers are slimy? Because we never feel like we have the power to make the final decision due to the near constant manipulation that takes place in those transactions.

When your customer realizes why they should buy your product, they can make that decision and purchase what you offer no matter the price. They also grow to love you and your product instead of growing jaded and disillusioned to your machinations.

Teaching is better than tricks and threats.

Here is a link to a study that speaks to this psychological idea in children.

Brilliance is uncomfortable

When you have a moment of creative insight, a moment of brilliance, it's exciting and the natural urge is to jump at the solution and consider the job finished.

Except great creative minds rarely settle with the first solution they happen upon.

They are comfortable with living in the unknown. Comfortable with being uncomfortable. By NOT taking the quick creative solution that first appears, they instead opt to continue searching and probing the abyss for other brilliant ideas. And they often find them.

This allows them to operate in a realm reserved for the elite. Those are the amazing people we look at and wonder how they're so good at what they do and why everything seems so easy for them.

This scarcity of willingness to float in the scary unknown of creative darkness makes that ability more valuable (as long as it's effectively used.)

It's uncomfortable to propose an idea that might fail.

It's uncomfortable to start work and invest time in art that might look horrible.

And it's uncomfortable to avoid settling for the easy way out or the first solution.

If you're comfortable doing what you're doing, the likelihood is that you are nowhere near your potential. Lewis and Clarke did not choose the easy path when they set out, but they discovered a whole new world in the American West.

I'll leave you with this brilliant talk by John Cleese where he has some interesting and powerful ideas about creativity and even talks about resisting the urge to settle. You're going to love it.

Distraction is our kryptonite

With the proliferation with the "Instagram lifestyle" becoming so popular, I see many young business-owners and entrepreneurs chasing what others are doing and trying to get the perfect picture to share with the unknown masses online or tweet the perfect set of words to get more likes and retweets. To get popularity becomes the "why" behind what many of us do.

But does those likes, follows, retweets, etc... do much to build your business? Do they build your social standing? And if so, does that help you make more sales? Do those "likers" turn into customers?

Are we even able to be honest with ourselves when we answer that question?

We'll probably just find some way to justify spending more time on social media instead of honing our business to a perfect machine or making the process and service(s) we offer our customers even better.

My generation seems to be shackled with endless distractions. We're browsing social media for hours, consuming endless amounts of Netflix, Hulu, etc..., and wasting our time away with video games.

As business owners, this chasing popularity is just another distraction we add to an already distracted existence.

I think I still have it in myself to a certain extent.

I know that I could still be more focused on business, more focused on delivering a better experience, more focused on being more responsive to clients, and more hungry to test and practice my craft and becoming a better photographer.

I could also spend more time improving myself with more fitness, healthier eating, and reading/studying things I want to learn more.

Don't mistake popularity for success especially if popularity isn't the success itself. Work hard and build your business.

Eliminate distractions. All of them.

No matter how scary, keep going

Even when it's tough, never give up. Become more tenacious.

No matter how dire, how scary, how improbable, no matter how much you're losing; never give up, never give in.

Never lose hope, work on getting better every day, and try to surround yourself with gritty people.

Never give up. Never.

"But I'm not as talented as he is..."

If you can't be as talented as someone else, if you can't sell for cheaper than someone else, if you don't have the resources that the other guy does, you can still do well by providing a better human experience.

Build a boutique when you can't compete with the megamall. Specialize in special. Be more thoughtful. Be more empathetic. Show them you care and the ones that care about that will become your greatest advocates.

Don't be afraid to repeat what works

When I find something that works I do it once and think that I need to reinvent the wheel.

It's one of the things that I get most frustrated with myself about. I find it hard to stick to one style of photography because I want to do one and then try all the others, too.

But when you find success, stick to it and make 100 of those images even if they're pretty similar.

Larry King didn't build a new set for each show he did. He just replaced the subject and let the artwork flow from his mouth.

Be more like Larry King, not me.

Just ask

It's hard to ask for what we want for fear of being rejected or fear of appearing vulnerable.

But it's better to not take everything so seriously. Call your cable company and tell them in a fun and relaxed tone of voice that you don't want to pay as much and that, as a loyal customer who paid on time for years, you would like some kind of discount. You'll probably get one.

Often we don't get the things we want because we hype them up in our own mind to the point where it's terrifying to think about being rejected so it's easier to just sit still and not try at all.

Try asking for everything. Ask for a lollipop at the grocery store checkout, ask for a discount when you want one, ask for a higher price for your work, ask for time, ask for funding to pursue your latest corporate venture.

You'll probably get it just because you asked. The dirty secret is that almost everyone is afraid to ask so you're not even bothering anyone when you do.

They want the credit, but not the risk

Staying the same and never moving feels safest. Saying "no" to every opportunity that arises feels like a warm hug. It's easy to say "no" and hard to say "yes" when opportunity knocks.

But to say "yes" and step away from your comfort zone is a mark of leadership. Leaders blaze a trail, they don't follow a path.

Where are they going? Nobody knows because nobody has gone there before. If the trail was blazed, they would no longer be a leader but a follower.

You don't always need to know exactly where you're going or how it's all going to work out. You do need to have faith, imagination, and initiative to make it work out.

Those who are too afraid to risk leading follow and content themselves with mediocrity. They also tend to criticize those who wish to lead.

They offer an opinion or make changes to your work. They're ready to meddle in your work just as long as they don't have to face the risk of failure.

Stick to your convictions and do what you think is best for the trail you're blazing.

So take risks, take initiative even when you don't know the details, and hold fast your convictions. You're the leader, the risk-taker, and the one who see things a little differently. Don't lose that specialness in a world that prefers the safety of mediocrity.

Which surgeon do you want?

Would you rather the surgeon have two amazing days of perfect surgeries each week, or spend seven days sweeping the halls?

Which is a more successful and productive week?

I often get caught in the trap of thinking more work = more production.

The reality for most of us is that more work done intelligently is more productive. Remember that saying "work smarter, not harder"?

Yeah, more of that.

Am I more productive if I manually lift all the wood boards to the upstairs bedroom, or take the time to rent a crane and have it all lifted up there by lunchtime?

The first method takes much more physical labor and therefore may seem like it's the better day of work, but the second method gets the job done, preserves your body, and the rest of the day is free to continue being productive.

Pace yourself and work more intelligently and you'll get more done while having more time to do the other things you love.

Show up every single day

If you've read any of my older blog posts you know how I subscribe to the theory of showing up day after day after day.

Even if all you actually do is the "show up" part.

I've been (surprisingly) pretty consistent posting here since November 2018 when I was sure that I'd only write for a couple days before forgetting about it.

Instead, a habit has been formed and it's turned into something I MUST do every morning.

Showing up every day buys me the equity to mail in a blog post like this on a day like today. I'm busy and I need to pound out a quick post just to make sure I do this.

I don't really even care about the quality of this blog entry, I just want it done. Usually, that means I'll actually run into something interesting.

So that's it. Show up. Every single day. That makes it easier to show up and the people you show up for will give you the benefit of the doubt when you show up like I have today.

I showed up, but not much else. But I did show up.

Jab, jab, jab, right hook

The title is a book written by Gary Vaynerchuk. I love the way the book looks, but I found the book itself to be very boring. Still love Gary, though.

The principle is that you hit people with lots of free content, videos, fun stuff, and engagement to build a rapport with them.

After doing the work upfront you ask for the sale and make lots of money for your company while actually providing value to people who support you.

The principle is really solid and is applicable to nearly every aspect of life.

In fishing, we let out the line and reel back in bit by bit.

In teaching, we offer lots of interesting and fun stuff before hitting students with the more difficult stuff.

We do lots of nice stuff for a person before asking the difficult question.

My little daughter will come to give me a hug and tell me how much she loves me... before telling me she broke the new TV.

When you learn the principle, you'll start seeing it everywhere.

It's funny though that in the world of YouTube videos people will start to get pretty uncomfortable with your content if you start selling a product in every video or only make sponsored content.

Web users have grown up with the idea that content should be free online.

As a content creator, I find myself creating multiple videos NOT promoting anything and then every few days offering a sponsored video.

But isn't it funny that we're still willing to sit down and watch a TV show or football game that is 40% commercials? Where would that ratio get you with a YouTube video?

Funny how we adapt to different mediums. We all have to adapt constantly to what our customer or viewer expects. I'm still working on finding the best balance.

George Washington didn't ask for permission

Leaders are forged, not chosen. So stop asking for permission to be special.

Martin Luther asked nobody for permission before nailing his 95 theses to the church doors. George Washington didn't ask for permission to carry on the American Revolution. Bill Gates didn't ask for permission to revolutionize the way personal computing would work.

These leaders had faith in what they believed in. That faith is critical to anyone who wants to make a change. Without faith, there is no "leap" and without the leap, there is no change.

Have faith that you can do it and that even if you fail it won't be the end of you.

Lasting change won't be made by asking for permission. You need to do and figure out the rest of the stuff later. While those who have faith are willing to be martyred, they're also fit to be glorified.

Lurking in the shadows is crippling

Do you lurk or do you interact? We all seem to have a natural inclination to put ourselves out there or to withdraw and observe from a distance.

Those who put themselves before the crowd are more natural leaders, those who observe from a safe distance are more naturally lurkers.

Being a lurker isn't a bad thing, but it will make it more difficult to be a naturally strong leader.

How do you increase the chance that something good will happen for you by only watching what unfolds?

Are you more likely to be discovered (or have your work discovered) by sitting back and watching?

It's easier and feels much more safe to NOT put yourself out there in front of the crowd where we can be rejected or mocked. But we also prevent yourself from being discovered as well.

But instead of changing, we find excuses to rationalize our unwillingness to step out of hiding.

Make the choice to overcome your fear and desire for safety. Make the choice to do something. Make the choice to be noticed.

We don't all make it to 50

It's easy to talk about what you want to be doing in your fifties, but nobody wants to talk about what they'll be doing when they're 100.

It's easy to assume we'll make it to 50, but nobody really believes they'll make it to 100. Most don't make it to 100, but many don't make it to 50 and yet we all assume we'll be going strong at 50 years old.

So I'm going to start saying "WHEN I'm 100 years old, I want to be doing X, Y, or Z..." It's easy to do that for age 50, but I want to be more optimistic. So "100" it is, maybe "105" just to keep things interesting.

Eating crab legs in a Bentley

They want you to fit in. Doing things differently makes you a marked man. It takes courage to be yourself. Fit in! Don't fly too high! Don't try to be too special! They will laugh when you fail and they will scorn when you succeed. But I say that doing things differently is the mark of someone who is more likely to succeed.

I heard a story yesterday from a guy who was appalled as he cleaned out a Bentley (you know, the very expensive car) at the dealership where he worked. The owner of the car had been shelling and eating crab legs in the car and dropping the shells on the floor. The smell was awful and the idea that anyone would do that to a $250,000 car was worse!

The car belonged to then-NBA-star, Allen Iverson. He and a group of friends would drive around while indulging in crab legs and throwing the crab bits all over the car.

That brings me to my point. Allen Iverson, one of the great players in NBA history and one of the most prolific scorers the league has ever known was eccentric and very different in many ways. I'm not saying that destroying the interior of your Bentley will make you great at whatever you do, but I would argue that whatever it was that led him to be OK with this crab situation was a contributing factor in what drove him to greatness in the sport he played.

Those who play to blend in never stick out. Kind of redundant, but it's true. If you always try to blend in it will be 10x harder to become great, to stick out, to make a difference.

So be you, be different, embrace what makes you different, awkward, and weird. That's the special sauce that nobody else has. Don't let special be choked away trying to appease others and blend in.

Can't knock out Tyson from your couch

Always show up. Always show up with your best. Always show up with your best even when you doubt yourself or everyone around you doubts you. Actually, don't ever doubt yourself. Reach inside and find a true belief that you belong, that you're able, and that you're good. You'd never believe somebody if they told you the sky is actually orange. You couldn't believe that. Find that belief in yourself and always demand the best of yourself and you won't fear a person or situation on earth.

On February 11th, 1990, Mike Tyson was set to fight Buster Douglas in Japan. Most oddsmakers in Vegas wouldn't even let people bet on the fight and the one place that did take bets made you bet about $35,000 to win $1,000. Everybody knew Mike Tyson would crush this guy like he had been doing to everybody. Mike Tyson was undefeated at 37-0 heading into the fight, having knocked out 14 of his last 16 opponents.

Buster Douglas could have been crushed by the hype, the doubt, the entire world sure he was just the latest victim for Tyson, but instead he came out and fought confidently and knocked out Tyson in the 10th round. It still remains one of the most improbable underdog victories in the history of sports.

He believed in himself even when nobody else did and he did it against the greatest odds imaginable. You're probably not under threat of imminent knockout, so why can't you believe in yourself? You can’t knock out Tyson from your couch. Show up confidently.

Change comes from the inside

When we find that thing that distracts us from work or pulls us away from our diet, or keeps us in bed for an extra hour in the morning (snooze buttons!) we willingly get pulled away from our goal.

The snooze button doesn't press our finger, the car doesn't refuse to drive us to the gym, and Netflix doesn't descend from the heavens and autoplay against our will.

After begin distracted from the things I need to do, I get angry at myself as if I wasn't the one who opened that YouTube video, or browsed twitter for an hour, or found something else to distract me from my work. There is a part of me that thinks "if I can just block more of these websites I could get more work done!"

Wrong. The change does not come from the outside, the change comes from the inside. I make the choice to suffer the pain of self-discipline now or suffer the agony of regret later. At the moment, I choose instant gratification rather than foregoing entertainment now for the longterm success of my project. I should get angry at nobody but myself.

So that's it. This is more a post sending a message to myself. Sacrifice today and be proud of what you did today, tomorrow.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes ever by Lord Chesterfield:

“A MAN is fit for neither business nor pleasure, who either cannot, or does not, command and direct his attention to the present object, and in some degree, banish, for that time, all other objects from his thoughts. There is time enough for everything, in the course of the day, if you do but one thing at once; but there is not time enough in the year if you will do two things at a time. This steady and undissipated attention to one object is a sure mark of a superior genius.”

— Lord Chesterfield