New Year Bringing New Lessons from Life

We’re approaching episode 100 of the Making a Marketer podcast (!!), and this season I decided there will be occasional episodes where it’s just me–this is the second one of this kind (check out episode 89 for the other).

Taking what seems like just circumstances and seeing it in a different way! There are so many lessons in everyday life–we need to look for them. The lessons in this one didn’t creep-up on me, y’all – they just about slapped me in the face!

Holiday adventures, lesson from football, and new year / new work are all covered.

Could This Snowed-In Story be a Metaphor for Life Choices?

Have you ever been snowed-in? As someone who grew up in silicon valley, we only had snowPhoto of my car snowed-in in the lower Sierras of Northern CA after Christmas 2021 once in my childhood – and though it was just a dusting, we lost our minds, it was so cool!

I’ve had people tell me they would absolutely love being snowed-in and cut off from the world, a sort of forced tech detox, if you will. But, here’s the thing… without knowing when it will end? 

The day before I was supposed to leave my brother’s house (the day after Christmas) in the lower Sierras of northern California, the snow began to fall. It was so pretty and I was really happy about it! I did not think through how I would drive away from there in my front-wheel-drive Honda Civic, but it had never snowed enough to keep me there in year’s past.

Being without power for a day and a half is also disconcerting. Thankfully, my brother and his wife have a wood burning stove that heats the house (primarily), so we stayed warm!

I found myself being so grateful for my charging brick so we could at least listen to music. I also realized I had downloaded a movie from Netflix and had some shows on my iPad, so we ended up having some entertainment! I read a lot. I colored. I slept well.

My car being hooked up to be towed out of the snow and iceBy the time I was five days into being STUCK, my brother asked if I have AAA?

Aaahhhh, and there it was, my attitude improved – I felt the grumpiness leave my body, and I was able to enjoy our quiet little new years eve (with power, gratefully!) with a renewed sense of hope for getting my car towed out… and home the next day. Now, the getting out process wasn’t easy, but I did it!

Looking back, I’m playing Monday morning quarterback on that six days! I wish I wrote more. I wish I got more introspective. It’s the whole “If I knew then what I know now” kind of thing… But that’s always easier said than done, right? 

Lesson learned: I don’t do well feeling I don’t “have a way out” in any situation, so this was perhaps a metaphor to drive home this point – we should all get out (of whatever it is) earlier than we do. I didn’t want to drive on Sunday because the traffic was going to be nuts. Looking back, I should have spent the extra 2-4 hours driving home on Sunday so I wouldn’t have been stuck for almost 6 days! 

So I think we can do this in our business and personal lives. 

Exiting, saying goodbye — letting go of relationships, letting go of jobs, letting go of clients, whatever it is. Doing that sooner than it might feel comfortable, I think, is almost always going to yield more positive results. I think a lot of people who make change look back and say to themselves, I wish I had done this sooner.

Never. Give. Up. – Not a Cliche, y’all – But a REAL Thing!

I’m a huge sports fan, as many of you have come to realize over the years. Nothing makes me quite as happy as my team winning or as cranky as my team losing. My non-sports-fan-friends, please bear with me on this one–the lesson is life and business-related, I promise!

2019 was a dream year for my football team – the San Francisco 49ers. We started out 8-0,Photo of me and my sister Maureen after the 2019 Divisional Round win over the Vikings clinched home field advantage in the playoffs early, and it was so insanely exciting because they had been terrible the previous five years. This was our year! Of course, it ended with a Super Bowl loss to my co-host Jen’s Kansas City Chiefs, which was soul-crushing, but that season was such an amazing ride.

2020 was full of “you know what” and a TON of injuries. We were terrible, which got us a high draft pick for 2021. What came with that was all sorts of quarterback controversy this year.

Think whatever you like about Jimmy Garoppolo’s abilities as a quarterback, but he has led this team on and off the field with so much grace. A rookie quarterback came in and cast a shadow in a way, but it also lit up a competition the fans took to crazy levels. Jimmy never let all the noise seep in and destroy his ability to lead his team. They believe in him 100% because of his leadership.

Coming back the last week of the season from being down 17-0 to the LA Rams (winners of theMe in front of Levi's stadium with a Playoffs towel during the NFL Playoffs in 2019 NFC West division) and winning 27-24 in overtime is epic! It really was the last 2-minutes that were so extraordinary. A monster drive that ended with a touchdown to tie the game made overtime — and a chance to win, sending us to the playoffs — a reality. 

The pastor of the church I grew up in had a saying “Never give up” (I realize it did not originate with him, but that’s where I learned it). Sounds simple, but it is aPhoto of my church with the words "Never Give Up" on the outside of it challenge in the face of adversity (he also had it put on the building, as pictured to the right!).

No question, every human on this planet has been through plenty of adversity over the past couple of years.

If we’re able to keep our eye on what we’re working towards, the key is to stay at it. If I had given up on my business when my biggest client decided to shut down his business, I would not have had all of the great experiences and new relationships built over the past four years. Simply put, it hasn’t been easy, but I wouldn’t be where I am right now, which is exactly where I’m meant to be.

Lesson here: Keep your eye on the prize and keep a never give up attitude because doors will open that you did not expect. If you give up, you don’t know what could have been.

Quick Starts Are Deceiving (aka, good things come to those who wait)

That’s actually an awesome segue to my third and final lesson for this episode.

“It takes courage to begin. It also takes courage to end.”

-Mark W. Schaefer

In the last quarter of ‘21 when people told me “it looks like everything is going great for you,” I thanked them. And then I went on to explain to them “I’m a duck.” I wasn’t a duck because the water rolls off my back, but because on the surface things look cool – like I’m guiding across the water easily… but you know what’s happening under water, right? 

What you can’t see is all the kicking to keep moving and find my way to what is next. 

I spent the better part of 2021 – especially the last six months – searching in earnest for a new full-time professional “home.” 

While also knowing podcasting is something I wanted to lean-into further, I was in search for other opportunities there also.

TSNN's "Trade Show Talk" podcast logoAs I shared on the last episode, I’ve found a new professional home at Event Marketing Partners! This month it was also announced I am the host of Trade Show News Network’s new podcast, called “Trade Show Talk.” That show will also have two episodes per month, focusing on a different theme each month. We started out talking about Community and every person listening to this will benefit from the wisdom of the first two guests.

Did I mention I’m also hosting trivia weekly at a neighborhood bar/restaurant? I am.

All of this news caused someone on my Facebook page to comment “Congrats on a fast start to 2022!” to which I replied, “ ‘Fast start’ after many many months of working hard to make everything happen!!”

This brought to mind famous people I’ve heard commenting about people saying they are an “overnight sensation” – when it took them years of hard work to “get” that break!

Final lesson: Oftentimes it looks like things are just happening / coming together for people, but know that it’s extremely unlikely it happened overnight!

What’s Next for Making a Marketer?

Jen and I recorded episode 100 on Jan. 14th to accommodate our VERY amazing guest’s schedule and we can’t wait to share it with you (it will be published on Feb. 23)!! We’re keeping the person under wraps at the moment, but we will be dropping some hints in the lead-up to see if we can get any accurate guesses! 

Next up is Chad Illa-Peterson and we will talk storytelling – he’s going to help us learn how to discover our stories and the emotions that connect us with customers…

Do you have any examples of things you learned like I did over the last few weeks?

Here’s this podcast episode if you want to hear me talk everything in this post!

Do You Hire For Culture-Fit or Skills?

Having your work life disrupted causes the wheels to turn about what job and work environments should look like! Finding good employees is hard, right?

I find most work environments to be narrow and restrictive. I believe in everyone having their roles, but pigeon-holing people is a huge mistake a lot of organizations make. On more than one occasion I’ve had an employer who totally lost sight of my background. I am a writer at my core, and being in a position where that skill can be utilized is a bonus for anyone I’ve worked for.

But most of the time we’re told to stay in our lane (like being told writing “wasn’t my job” in the past). If you look at my career holistically, you’ll see I have many lanes. Someone introduced me for a speaking engagement recently, and she created my bio from my Website homepage… It sounded ridiculous when read all at once, the variety of things I do, but it’s reality.

Part of the reason I absolutely love owning my own business is because I’m not limited. I was referred to teach an association management company about social media, and they asked for a photographer referral so they could get their headshots also that day… Well, you’re in luck – I can do that too!

Why do employers do this? While I fully understand having job descriptions makes the Human Resources element of owning and running a business easier, I think more companies should be open to allowing their staff to color outside the lines.

People Matter

This is also why I believe companies should hire for the PERSON. If you meet a person who fits your company culture, but you don’t have a position they “fit within” at the time, why let that person get away? Hiring for a culture fit should be a priority because so often someone checks the boxes for appearing to be right for a job, but if they don’t fit in, you probably shouldn’t hire them.

Hire for the Person

When I interviewed for my first “real job” out of college they included a personality assessment. I made it through the in-person interviews well, and was told there was “this one more step.” If the assessment determined I wasn’t a fit for the group I’d be working with and around, I likely wouldn’t get the job… I was told it had happened before.

At the time I thought – wow, that’s harsh! I did get the job, and ultimately, I was given a copy of my results — they were fascinating. I still have that assessment many years later! I love to go backand read it, along with my performance reviews over the years, because they show a couple of things. First, they show how I haven’t changed personally, but it also shows how consistent I’ve been over the years. I now fully believe that assessment was a great tool because personal compatibility is crucial for teams to work well with each other, which ultimately makes for greatness in the organizations we work within.

I’ve also been on the end of the “didn’t get the job” after some pretty intense testing (think SATs all over again, but more cerebral than academic), and an interview with an occupational psychiatrist. Is that taking it a bit too far? Maybe. And I was crushed at the time because I felt like everything else in the process went well. Perhaps I wasn’t a good cultural fit for them, and I’m more understanding of that now.

Flying Solo

I consider from time-to-time whether I would like to work for someone else again. In fact, I got to thinking so much about it I started making a wish list of what would have to happen for me to take that step… it’s a pretty lofty list. The people I’ve had work for me over the years were hired because they were competent, but more than anything because we are compatible, and I know I can trust them.

Trust. That’s a big word in business, right? People do business with those they trust… and when we hire people we’re also trusting they will do a great job for us. What if you got that trust first, and then figured out how they could make a huge impact on your organization? Sounds like a great direction to go as far as hiring is concerned.

Finding good help is HARD. I’d love to see more organizations make it easier on themselves!

Just Jump

It’s been a really interesting seven months for me both personally and professionally. In September I was struck with the sudden reality that my parents will not always be in my life. Of course, I knew this already, but when you learn your Mom is being tested for lung cancer, it puts that reality right in front of you. And it sparks a whole current of change.

Then learning she’s terminal, and that Dad’s dementia is worse than we knew? Devastating. Of course, the weeks and months that followed have been really, really hard, with a ton of change for everyone in the family. A tremendous amount of loss.

Concurrently, my business has been doing really well. For more than 2.5 years I’ve had a marketing consulting business — a sole proprietorship that’s been steady. I’ve had a couple of peaks, but it’s mostly been consistent. Then suddenly in the span of four weeks this spring I had four separate inquiries and referrals for new business. Now, there are only so many hours in a day, so this pushed me to decide whether to take on new business and hire (previous contractors) to work for me on a regular basis.

Next level. I didn’t intend on having a corporation, but helping new businesses tackle their marketing and communication challenges, and growing my company, became a really interesting concept! I love a challenge, and new clients bring with them new opportunities to grow both mentally and financially.

43 Meter Jump… 141+ Feet!

So I jumped. There’s irony in the timing, too, because I just realized today is the one year anniversary of my first bungy jump off the Kawarau Bridge in New Zealand — the birthplace of the bungy. A metaphor for how I’ve chosen to approach life in general, and now also in business. With the bungy decision I didn’t think about “what if something goes wrong?” I just knew it would be exhilarating, and that would be the payoff.

I’ve filed incorporation papers! I’ve hired a graphic designer to create a real logo and assets for me! I’m putting all the pieces in place that will support a successful business, including hiring staff, and shopping for admin tools we should be using. This. Is. Real.

Exciting times! And terrifying. And exhilarating! And uncertain. But that’s all part of the adventure–if I don’t jump, I’ll never know. I’ve written before about being a “doer”… Which is a touch different than jumping into the unknown. The only way to stretch ourselves, and see where it will take us is to jump.

It’s not about having no fear, but considering “what’s the worst thing that could happen?” It might not work out the way I’m envisioning, but if I don’t try I’ll never know. It’s important to own the fear, but to do it anyway. Because it might just be the best choice I’ve ever made.

I’ve para-glided in Switzerland. I’ve skydived in San Diego. I’ve bungy-jumped in New Zealand. And now I’ve incorporated. Mom would be really proud. Let’s do this!!!

In case you’d like to see the jump video (complete w/gleeful scream)… CLICK HERE

From Great to Better

The season of resolutions is in full swing!

We all know a new year is that time people declare as a new start. It’s the opportunity so many see to make a “better effort” with their health or careers or personal lives… It’s natural.

Over the last few years I’ve tried to set goals instead of making “resolutions.” I made an effort to focus on making improvements with my mind, body, and spirit… Of course, it turns out I was a little over-zealous and the sum of the total wasn’t terribly realistic. Like most people at the new year, I had the best of intentions!

2014 was a great year. And so I decided as this new year approaches that I want to take things from great to better.

I know it won’t be easy to measure, but I’ll know it when I feel it, and that works for me! This past year was full of brief trips, seeing family and lots of football, finishing my masters degree, and running my own business. Notice the order I put those in? I have priorities!

It was a great year and my hope is 2015 will be even better. I also wish the same for you.