Seeing It Differently
My friend Chris Brogan is an amazing friend and businessman, he has this newsletter of his called Blog Topics that delivers weekly ideas of what to blog about. Now before I go further, writing about him and his newsletter isn’t one of the topics, that’d be kind of messed up wouldn’t it? (I’ll get back to the newsletter in a moment.)
A lot of people want to be him, well, they want to be how they perceive his life. They think this guy just types a few words and is making business happen, they don’t see the real work. Some even think he has some secret way of doing things that he keeps for himself instead of telling everyone in his books. No really, I’ve had someone tell me this personally. Over the years I’ve met many people who think they can be Chris, think that Chris does things wrong, or even think he’s a hack. From what I’ve seen Chris just sees things differently and that to me is he’s secret. You can’t replicate one’s perception of the world. That’s why I not only subscribe but pay for Blog Topics. I’ve had a few people ask why I pay for it and if I doubt my own ability that much that I would have to pay for help.
Sometimes people just don’t get it. Yes, my blog could always use help, who doesn’t need help? But beyond my personal pandering I see this as a vital tool for me to get fresh ideas every week for my clients. I write quite a bit for my clients and sometimes creativity escapes me and I’m staring at a blank screen wondering how I’ll meet my deadline. Chris’ newsletter helps me out when I’m stuck. One thing I learned from Chris is to keep writing topics and ideas down because when you’re in a rut you’ll have plenty of material to fall back on. Also, when a client ask me for blog ideas I always have some that will work best for them.
Now this may sound simple and you might be thinking to yourself that I’m incredibly lacking intelligence and in need of a good schooling. You’re probably right but that’s also why you don’t get it and why you don’t see value when it’s gawking at your face with a big, bright, money sign written on it.
I guess what I’m trying to say is haters are always going to hate and sometimes it’s worth spending money on things that help you become a better person. If you don’t then you just might miss your big “O” and no one wants to do that. (By “O” I mean opportunity, if you thought otherwise then your mind is nothing more than grotesque wasteland. I’m just kidding, I did that on purpose.)
Sometimes we need to buy things to see how others do things successfully or even as a way for us to help our clients. Too often people get stuck in this concept that we must be the expert, no exception. You don’t become an expert by having finite knowledge and understanding. To become an expert we must always be learning. We must always see things differently.