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Stir The Storm
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Last week's tip was about the huge success that taking a chance can
generate. Out of serendipity, I suppose, this week's tip includes a
real-world example of the failure that can just as often accompany such
risk.
"Honest Selling is not magic; it's common sense. The title 'wizard' just doesn't fit."
Ouch!
Imagine how loudly my inner voice screamed, cried and pounded its fists on my eardrums when I realized I couldn't argue with that observation. I spent more than a month gearing up to relaunch my tips and deciding if I could use the term "wizard." I researched my competition to see whether they were using the exact label. I even analyzed trademark issues.
And I still got it wrong.
Hindsight being brutally clear, I can see now that prior to my tips relaunch, the voice of my instincts tried to tell me that "wizard" didn't fit; to find something else; that it was overused; and that something better had to exist. But I didn't listen to the question of "whether" it fit, because I was wrapped so tightly in the box of determining "if" I could use the moniker at all. (Now you see what I mean when I say, "I can't believe how stupid I was just two weeks ago.")
That's because your inner voice is lightening fast, easily bored, highly creative and completely unable to shut up. So to solve a problem related to word creativity, stir the storm by tuning in your mind's ear to what your mind's voice is saying, and then recording that voice as it runs amok.
The next time you need a word-related idea, try this simple method for releasing and recording your creativity: In a quiet room, void of distractions for at least 30 minutes, open your favorite word-processing software.
Type the problem at hand, or the objective to be accomplished:
* "Wizard" doesn't fit Honest Selling.
Then let your inner voice run wild and type whatever it says, and don't stop until you experience a "lightbulb of clarity" moment:
BEGIN INNER VOICE
* "Wizard" doesn't fit Honest Selling.
* Just because "wizard" fits people who inspire me, that doesn't mean it fits me, too.
* I never really liked the name "wizard" anyway.
* Okay. I liked it. But something about it never felt right.
* I'm not a magician. I'm a magician's worst nightmare.
* If I'm not a magician, what am I?
* I'm a salesman who thinks lying to people is stupid.
* My dad taught me that.
* Most of the good things I learned about selling I learned by watching dad [a remodeling contractor] sell in the kitchens and backyards of homeowners.
* Why did these people like him so much?
* I remember a pastor and his wife who were sitting at their kitchen table with Dad discussing whether gambling was a sin.
* They thought he was a wise man for his ideas about gambling.
* I suppose he was pretty wise about selling, too.
* The wise man sells honestly and creates great relationships -- that's really what Dad taught me.
* That's what I'm doing here; I'm sharing my father's wisdom.
* It's 45 years since he started teaching me this stuff, and I still evaluate sales and selling through his eyes.
* He really was a wise old dog.
* What's another word for "wise"?
END INNER VOICE
After I typed that last bullet point my lightbulb of clarity flickered -- I'm sharing my father's wisdom -- so I ran for my dictionary.
Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary lists several synonyms for "wise":
"syn WISE, SAGE, SAPIENT, JUDICIOUS, PRUDENT, SENSIBLE, SANE mean having or showing sound judgment. ... SAGE suggests wide experience, great learning, and wisdom <the sage advice of my father>."
How cool is that? I'm sharing the sage advice of my father, who, among many other things, said, "Mistakes you don't fix will haunt you forever."
I'm fixing my mistake.
The "Wizard of Honest Selling" is dead.
Long live the "Sage of Selling," whose voice is actually a combination of my dad's wisdom, the wisdom of about a dozen other wise old dogs from whom I've learned so much, and, of course, a few of my own observations.
The next time you’re struggling with word creativity, stir the storm.
Quick Follow-Up To Last Week's Tip
One of my subscribers is a 25-year-old MBA graduate seeking her first "real job." After reading last week's tip, she rewrote her personal ad for seeking employment and sent it to me to see what I thought.
---
Recent MBA graduate/job-hunting expert. I can sell. I can learn anything about your market you want to know. I can keep events from crashing and burning. I can motivate a crowd that speaks English or French. I can excavate (literally), and paint everything from walls to fine art. I can travel. I can stay. I can bartend when needed and will hula-hoop when asked! And I will do any or all of this to excel at my first job while I leverage my degrees in anthropology and international business.
What more could you want in an employee? I am open to possibilities. Are you open to me?
---
Is a bald-headed, old fart like me allowed to say, "You go girl!"
FYI: You can find Amanda here: http://yellow-tie.net/Members/aday.
"Honest Selling is not magic; it's common sense. The title 'wizard' just doesn't fit."
Ouch!
Imagine how loudly my inner voice screamed, cried and pounded its fists on my eardrums when I realized I couldn't argue with that observation. I spent more than a month gearing up to relaunch my tips and deciding if I could use the term "wizard." I researched my competition to see whether they were using the exact label. I even analyzed trademark issues.
And I still got it wrong.
Hindsight being brutally clear, I can see now that prior to my tips relaunch, the voice of my instincts tried to tell me that "wizard" didn't fit; to find something else; that it was overused; and that something better had to exist. But I didn't listen to the question of "whether" it fit, because I was wrapped so tightly in the box of determining "if" I could use the moniker at all. (Now you see what I mean when I say, "I can't believe how stupid I was just two weeks ago.")
There's A Storm Brewing
You know how you'll be driving along thinking about picking up some bananas from the grocery, and 60 seconds later realize you're thinking about the shoelaces in the boots worn by clock makers in Russia during the Cold War?That's because your inner voice is lightening fast, easily bored, highly creative and completely unable to shut up. So to solve a problem related to word creativity, stir the storm by tuning in your mind's ear to what your mind's voice is saying, and then recording that voice as it runs amok.
The next time you need a word-related idea, try this simple method for releasing and recording your creativity: In a quiet room, void of distractions for at least 30 minutes, open your favorite word-processing software.
Type the problem at hand, or the objective to be accomplished:
* "Wizard" doesn't fit Honest Selling.
Then let your inner voice run wild and type whatever it says, and don't stop until you experience a "lightbulb of clarity" moment:
BEGIN INNER VOICE
* "Wizard" doesn't fit Honest Selling.
* Just because "wizard" fits people who inspire me, that doesn't mean it fits me, too.
* I never really liked the name "wizard" anyway.
* Okay. I liked it. But something about it never felt right.
* I'm not a magician. I'm a magician's worst nightmare.
* If I'm not a magician, what am I?
* I'm a salesman who thinks lying to people is stupid.
* My dad taught me that.
* Most of the good things I learned about selling I learned by watching dad [a remodeling contractor] sell in the kitchens and backyards of homeowners.
* Why did these people like him so much?
* I remember a pastor and his wife who were sitting at their kitchen table with Dad discussing whether gambling was a sin.
* They thought he was a wise man for his ideas about gambling.
* I suppose he was pretty wise about selling, too.
* The wise man sells honestly and creates great relationships -- that's really what Dad taught me.
* That's what I'm doing here; I'm sharing my father's wisdom.
* It's 45 years since he started teaching me this stuff, and I still evaluate sales and selling through his eyes.
* He really was a wise old dog.
* What's another word for "wise"?
END INNER VOICE
After I typed that last bullet point my lightbulb of clarity flickered -- I'm sharing my father's wisdom -- so I ran for my dictionary.
Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary lists several synonyms for "wise":
"syn WISE, SAGE, SAPIENT, JUDICIOUS, PRUDENT, SENSIBLE, SANE mean having or showing sound judgment. ... SAGE suggests wide experience, great learning, and wisdom <the sage advice of my father>."
How cool is that? I'm sharing the sage advice of my father, who, among many other things, said, "Mistakes you don't fix will haunt you forever."
I'm fixing my mistake.
The "Wizard of Honest Selling" is dead.
Long live the "Sage of Selling," whose voice is actually a combination of my dad's wisdom, the wisdom of about a dozen other wise old dogs from whom I've learned so much, and, of course, a few of my own observations.
The next time you’re struggling with word creativity, stir the storm.
Quick Follow-Up To Last Week's Tip
One of my subscribers is a 25-year-old MBA graduate seeking her first "real job." After reading last week's tip, she rewrote her personal ad for seeking employment and sent it to me to see what I thought.
---
Recent MBA graduate/job-hunting expert. I can sell. I can learn anything about your market you want to know. I can keep events from crashing and burning. I can motivate a crowd that speaks English or French. I can excavate (literally), and paint everything from walls to fine art. I can travel. I can stay. I can bartend when needed and will hula-hoop when asked! And I will do any or all of this to excel at my first job while I leverage my degrees in anthropology and international business.
What more could you want in an employee? I am open to possibilities. Are you open to me?
---
Is a bald-headed, old fart like me allowed to say, "You go girl!"
FYI: You can find Amanda here: http://yellow-tie.net/Members/aday.
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