“I want to be challenged by people smarter than myself. It’s why I became a participant and also why I’m making this move.” – David Armano talking about his transition to Dachis Corporation
I love this. I won’t presume to know what David was making at Critical Mass or what he’s getting at Dachis Corporation. But either way, I suspect it would have been a lot easier to stay put in Chicago with his wife and boys and continue playing his role at Critical Mass. After all, he was good at it.
It’s so easy to fall into a state of contentment where you are comfortable in your role in school, in work, in life. We’ve all had periods of time where long weeks at work have taken their toll on us, and in an effort to keep from burning out we toss the keys on the counter and sink into the couch the second we get home.
We’re busy at my office, really busy, and in an effort to keep pushing the tempo I’ve brought work home quite a bit recently. By the time I’ve spent a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon working through a proposal, I’ve found myself apathetic to my own endeavors outside the office.
Some people will say good; your day job takes priority. That’s true, but it’s still unfortunate. It’s unfortunate because my other endeavors help me immensely become a better employee for my everyday work. It inspires me, and reinvigorates me for another week in the office. Because my day job revolves around social media, it also enables me to learn tactics and polish skills that will invariably help me in the office.
Think of it as supplemental work during a college course. You know, the stuff you would never do because your professors said it wasn’t mandatory, but would really benefit you. Yeah, I didn’t do it then either, but now I can’t wait to do it most days. I love talking to Lewis Howes about the intersection of sports and social media. I love talking to Charlie Hoehn about really common sense marketing techniques everyday companies should be employing.
I can learn a lot from these conversations, but here’s the catch: I learn the most from myself after having these discussions because both of these guys (and countless others –thank you all) challenge me to walk away from those conversations and dig deeper. People like Susan and Matt don’t let you get away with skimming the surface.
As bloggers, we are in a very small percentage of people creating content for other people to read, interpret, analyze and dissect. In general we’re relatively smart and pretty ambitious, and it’s easy to forget that we’re not always right, in fact it’s not even about being right, but about having discussions that enable us to learn a lot more about ourselves and the things we’re passionate about.
And when you do? It’s an extremely satisfying feeling, one that’s akin to finishing 6th in an 8K mud run!
When I talked to Lewis last weekend, he ended the conversation with, “You’re doing some big things, just keep grinding.” It was the kick in the butt I needed to realize that I just have to stay consistent, and keep clawing to break through all the inertia. Surprisingly, something as simple as that helped me answer a handful of consulting e-mails that had been hanging over my head, catch up on my reader (and a few books), connect with some people I had been wanting to reach out to via LinkedIn, have drinks with an intelligent sports marketer, and write this post.
I think we all need these kick in the butts sometimes to remind us of our destination. Maybe it’s a database of quotes, watching an inspirational movie, checking out a Gary V video, or chatting with a friend who refuses to let you settle.
Maybe these people are smarter than us. I guarantee you 95% of the blogs I’m subscribed to are people that are smarter than me. And I love learning from these individuals, but sometimes it’s just someone who ‘gets us,’ and what makes us tick. Sometimes it’s completely unexpected.
The point is that ordinary people come home from their jobs everyday and sink into the couch. And there’s nothing wrong with that, but if you aspire to be extraordinary perhaps you should take a chapter out of David’s book, and truly challenge yourself when you start to feel that comfortable level of complacency creeping into your life.
What do you do to effectively shake up your own status quo? Who do you turn to when you need a kick in the butt? Where do you turn when you need inspiration for a post? A new project?
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Whenever I’ve gotten into a funk the methods and people you advocate seeking out always seem to help. Personally, Gary V is my choice of all choices in terms of kicking my ass into wanting more. Also love Penelope Trunk and Sarah Lacy.
I take inspiration seriously…and hope that I can inspire others eventually the same way these guys help me. Props on the post Ryan.
@Stuart – Thanks for the kind words about the post Stuart, and thanks for providing some of the people that you turn to when you need that kick-start. I read/watch most of Gary’s and Penelope’s content, but haven’t read Sarah in a long time. I’ll definitely check that out.
I know sometimes my ‘burnout’ comes from working long hours during the week, taking work home with me, etc. Do you still work from home? I imagine it must be really hard to stay focused and disciplined without co-workers and a boss to keep you engaged. What are some of the techniques you employ?
Nice post. It’s easy to fall into a trap of thinking that marketing is one of the most useless things to do with yourself. I mean, we don’t create anything, we don’t make the world a better place unless you count 30 second superbowl ads.
Luckily, the people we work for are amazing. People who design great products that are relevant and functional for their market, or sportsmen and women that are constantly pushing the boundaries of physical and mental human achievement.
If you want to feel truly humble, visit a museum. Then sit down at your desk with a sense of purpose that can only come from realising that you have to work damn hard to be remembered in this lifetime, let alone the next… or the one after that.
@David – Marketing is a trivial task, especially when we come to the conclusion that the best products can essentially market themselves. In spite of that though, I think Marketing is so much more than that. It’s a business and statistics and psychology and sociology and all of these disciplines rolled into one.
So that’s the key is getting behind something you believe in and the learning about what it is that makes your target audience tick and then providing them with value.
And your point about the Museum is both stoic in nature (and maybe that’s just because I’m reading Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations) and very true. Thanks for the comment!
“It’s so easy to fall into a state of contentment where you are comfortable in your role in school, in work, in life. ”
This is so true and essentially why I made the move. I left a comfort zone and my life is not any easier. I’m working much harder right now. And it’s natural to question if I made the right decision. But deep inside, something feels right. I have to go with that.
Thanks for this post.
@David – Alas, gut and intuition are two things I think we learn to trust as marketers. Sometimes I suspect it’s these two internal feelings that “kick us in the butt.” I think it’s admirable what you’re doing, and I hope that I have the courage when that time comes in my career to do the same.
Great post and something I needed today. I learn a lot from people who disagree with me, and as my friend Caitlin recently wrote about – competition is a good inspiration.
@Rebecca – Thanks. I know you’re working like crazy right now with Alice and it has to be hard to find time for your own blog(s).
I think I learn the most from people who disagree with me, and make me re-evaluate or at least think deeper about my own opinions. It either A.) gets me to see the other side or B.) forces me to bolster my own arguments and opinions.
I succeeded in school in part because I was so competitive. I haven’t brought that to the blogosphere yet, but maybe it’s something I should consider as I don’t doubt it would push me to deliver better content more consistently.
Ryan – This is an excellent post that comes at a critical time for students. With the spring semester winding down they need to remember to push through and finish strong. It comes at a good time for me personally because I know the feeling of getting bogged down and not feeling like getting the extra things done. But I need to lead by example for my students. They need to see me pushing myself and not asking them to do things that I am not willing to do myself.
@Tim – You bring up such a good point. A good percentage of the time it’s about kicking ourselves in the butt, but sometimes it’s important to find those we believe in and care about and ensure that care enough to kick them in the butt.
I had a coach once that I wasn’t too terribly fond of (primarily because I didn’t think he was a very good coach), but I always had a lot of respect for his character as a man. He never asked us to go on 3 mile jogs during baseball athletics without putting on his running shoes and joining in with the front pack. That speaks volumes about someone in my opinion. Kudos to you for setting good examples for your students.
I don’t really have an end to my work…it kind of just continues on and on and on. However, I love doing it and probably would do it for a hobby if I wasn’t getting paid for it.
I look at consumers as a puzzle and marketing as a key to unlock a different demographic. I also drink copious amounts of diet coke and regularly go hang out with people in the real world :).
@Stuart – So that’s where my inefficiency is coming from. I drink regular coke, which keeps me running/working out for a couple of hours daily and so I have less time for myself. It seems I might have to make the transition to Diet Dr. Pepper.
Really very fantastic. I have always surrounded myself with people who are brighter than myself, and though it is my favorite way to learn and interact, I do find myself feeling overwhelmed and a bit discouraged by the same. The hardest part is taking these inspirations from extremely bright people and using them in your own regard, which will be completely different from theirs. When my couch-dent starts getting a little bigger I try to remind myself of that – just because we might do things a little different than our ‘role models’ doesn’t mean that it has to be any less inspirational.
Thanks for the post. It’s now starred on my GRS feed. 😉
@Robin – Excellent points. Thanks for adding to this discussion. I know the feeling (of being overwhelmed by those smarter than us.) There are days in the office where those damn dots just won’t connect. (And that’s okay.)
Just recently I opened my free consulting offer and was astounded by the feedback and the people reaching out. I had a couple of people that I considered ‘online role models’ more or less request a session.
Were they just testing me? Did they REALLY care about my insights? I’m not sure, but it took a bit to get past the overwhelmed feeling that I couldn’t tell them something they didn’t already know.
Great post, Ryan! You know, it might sound weird but the first place I turn to for motivation is one of my hobbies. I go back to what I love because in doing what I love I’m inspired to do more. My hobbies are refreshing and they bring new light to projects I’m pursuing.
Sometimes I think we dig into our routine so deep that we start to stagnate; motivation to get up and do something else, something great, can come from a place as “small” a hobby, though. Or a song. And when you find that motivation to grow you’ll connect the dots between what you love and where you want to go.
If I need more push I turn to books. I’m a huge reader and I’ve always got something inspiring on my table to go to (this might seem odd but right now my book of inspiration is “The User’s Guide to the Brain” by John J. Ratey). And when I need some good writing inspiration I can’t help but turn to my fellow bloggers. You guys are fantastic and definitely people to learn from, and people who push me to be better.
Good stuff. 🙂
Great thoughts here Ryan – you and I are on the same wavelengths here. In many regards, we settle on being ‘content’ and forget that ‘content’ is not synonymous with happiness (at least not always) – it is up to you and me to strive to do more with our lives, raise the bar, increase our expectations and continue to dream bigger. I wrote about this in a blog about ‘changing the world with your blog’ – I talked about how we build online communities within to confines of our blog, but we can’t forget the importance of continuing to reach out, reach new people, and grow our community influence.
Keep raising your own bar.
Nice article. I saw it a couple of days ago but didn’t get to read it until right now.
After a while it gets really hard not to burn out. Then when you get that “kick in the butt” or second wind, it can really propel you to new heights, and that’s when your biggest gains are made.
It’s kung fu (not the martial art), but “achievement through great effort,” and you only get that when you manage to “kick yourself in the butt” and get going again.
Really great post Ryan. I wish I had more to add but I’m spent after a day of trying to figure out how I can use multi-variate regression to determine pricing strategy for an online t-shirt company (don’t ask). But, yeah, this post is awesome and I thought it deserved some kudos.