So I’m listening to a story about a mom who goes on a bus and assaults this 17-year-old kid for being a bully. They’ve got Deepak Chopra on to talk about it all. And maybe he has something useful to say, I don’t know. It’s one of those things where you wonder to yourself, “Do we really need an expert to tell us what we should think about this?” Maybe we do. Maybe we don’t. Maybe we just don’t know enough to know.
But here’s what I do know. Instead, of telling us what to do, where to go, or how to handle it, he turned tail and ducked the question entirely. He told us what it is to be a bully. The social causes. How society needs to do something. Fine. But the question at hand is “What you do when your child is being bullied by some punk kid?” Call someone? Confront the bully? Call their parents? What are the considerations? He didn’t answer the question.
And why would he? He’s already earned his standing, written his books, and spread his gospel, so why take a side, when you can retreat to the comfort of your safe, little nook in the world? Talk about your cause. Talk about your organization. Platforms are great. You get to avoid the hassles and conflict of real life. Why risk disagreement? Because the rest of us aren’t Deepak Chopra.
Making a statement is where you show your worth.
And that’s really the thing of it. Can you have a strong opinion and not offend some people? If you have something you believe in, you’re going to have people who don’t want to hear it. Everyone has something worth saying. So the real question is do you want people to like you or do you want to matter?
This isn’t the age of Facebook or social media or sharing. It is the age of relevance. With all the likes, loves, and shares, it’s easy to lose perspective. Everyone is a superstar in front of an audience of 100. If you want to build a real following and you want people to stand by you, you need to offer more. More than a picture here and there. More than a few quips and a quick preview. You need to step forward and lead. People know when you’re putting something on the line.
We know what a USP is (if you don’t, it’s a unique selling proposition – learn about it). We can all talk about the brand and the audience and the values and the content. But where are you going to go after you’ve picked that palette, found your target, and settled in on being the thousandth version of true or real or romantic or vintage or whatever else you’ve decided you are? All those decisions can matter. But only when you back them up with actions. You have to make it real.
You have to make decisions.
Here’s how it works. We are not created in isolation. We are not created as some brand built over a week. We are more nuanced and intricate than any piece of marketing could ever be. And all the color palettes and slogans in the world will only add up to something if we can put it together as something more. We can talk about love or fabulosity or whatever we choose, but if we’re selling the same packages with the same pictures with the same process as everyone else, then we’re wasting the real value of who we are. Our true character is the only thing that’s going to tie it all together. We have to get that out there, and you do that by making decisions. And not the easy, meaningless ones, like whether to get 90 lb or 110 lb paper.
A real brand means making the call. It means doing the things that really let people see who we are. It’s saying something no one else is willing to say. It’s showing something no one else has shown. It’s saying no to opportunity, because it’s not right for you. It might be skipping out on Facebook or Twitter or whatever else you need to do to run your business the way you need to. Maybe albums aren’t your thing. Maybe black and white isn’t. Or color or smiles or in-person meetings. Whatever it is, you’ve gotta make the call. When the time comes, don’t duck out. Don’t avoid the question. Don’t stall. We all have those tasks sitting on our shelves. The ones we just don’t want to deal with, because we’re afraid to offend. Don’t worry about getting it wrong. Just make a decision. Then move on. Because the reality is, it’s not getting things right that makes you strong. It’s doing things at all.
The life of quiet desperation is a simple thing. It’s having a belief and sealing it in a jar until it suffocates. Beliefs need to enter the world to live. And they’re only good for so long before someone else discovers the same or they lose relevance. You can wait for the clicks, go after the latest thing, and chase the bigger and better. Or you can put yourself out there, make a statement, and command attention. But if you want to build a brand that has the legs to last, somewhere along the way, you’re going to have to make a stand. You never hear about the great ones who didn’t make the call. They make decisions time and time again. And that’s what makes all the difference.
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