Category: a slice of INSPIRATION

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Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Stuck? 4 questions to summon your inspirational muse

Posted on by Maria Ross

03.24.15 Summoning your muse (blog)

Everywhere you look these days, it seems inspiration is on everyone’s mind. Inspiration for your business, your family life, your soul. Heck, inspiration to help you find – and make – meaning in your world.

I’m currently working with two clients who are all about inspiring others in unique ones: one teaches mindfulness principles so that manic people can take a breath, shift perspective and choose healthier actions, leading to less anxiety, stronger relationships and better quality (and satisfaction in) work. Another is inspiring soul-seekers to peel back the dusty layers and get back in touch with who they really are and what they really want by running creative workshops, soulful camp experiences and more.

If you’re like me, you often need to find your inspirational vitamin boost in insightful people or special places. I call this “Summoning Your Muse.” Where are the places you go or people you seek when you need that motivational high? It’s not enough to keep your head down, locked on your work and your to-do lists: every human being needs to reflect, make space and see things differently in order to recharge.

Ask the right questions and inspiration can find you (Tweet this!)

When summoning your muse, here are 4 questions to ask and invite her in:

  • Do you enjoy your physical space?: I firmly believe our environment affects our mood and creativity. Do you work in a cramped, messy corner of your living room, or do you have a small, cozy nook that lights you up? Do you need space? Do you need color? Heck, is your chair comfortable? I find that working outside my home office in a funky little coffee shop helps me focus better and sparks new ideas. Think about your physical environment and what you need to be your most productive and create or find that space for yourself.
  • Who is on your cheerleading team?: Do you have a team of people you can call of when you need inspiration in different parts of your life? I have a friend I call when I need quick-hit, practical advice about life, one I call when I need a soulful, spontaneous girl chat about love and desire, one I exchange email missives with when we need to work out angst or transition, one I turn to for business motivation when I’m stuck or feel down…..you get the idea. Who is on your team and do you have any gaps?
  • Can you make space in your schedule?: I’m realizing that I don’t have space to think and create these days so I’m taking steps to change that. I’m going to be scheduling sacred time on my calendar to write, plan for the business, take an afternoon off at the park with my baby boy. If you get all crazy and fidgety when you end up having some time on your hands, then you have a problem! We all need quiet time, non-busy time, reflection time. Your schedule won’t magically open up for you so you have to put your foot down and demand what YOU want from your calendar. How do you want your day or week to look? What are you willing to give up, on what will you absolutely not budge? The weeks go faster as we get older – do you really want to look back and see that your year was filled with crap that you really didn’t want to do?
  • How can you shift your perspective?: A friend recently told me that I need to “change my conversation” about time. Time is, after all, a construct, and if I go in with the mindset that “I’m crazed! I have no time to do anything! I am way too overwhelmed” then, darn it, that’s my reality. But if I let go a bit and shift my mindset to “I have plenty of time to get everything done” or adopt a more curious or joyful approach, then I will indeed impact my reality. What is your mindset? Approach your work, life and relationships with joy, with curiosity, with abundance. Instead of “I have to…” think, “Wow! I get the opportunity to…” This could apply to working out, visiting family, attending a child’s school play. It sounds woo-woo but I swear, it really, really works.

Speaking of my “team” of muses, these lovely friends of mine have some great wisdom to share with you, too. Enjoy:

Want to more fully, richly commit to giving your best in everything you do? Read Empty the Tank by the soulful Alexandra Franzen

Looking for a snappy pick-me-up to make your spirit soar? Check out 9 Promising, Powerful Quotes Your Business Will Love by the witty and wise Sarah Von Bargen

Need a heart-boost about the great content you put out into the world when you think no one is listening? Devour Not getting the comments, likes and shares that you crave? Behold: the Silent Obsessor by the feisty Melissa Cassera.

Looking for ways to shift your mindset about the things you “have” to do to make them more joyful? You will adore Finding Prayer in All Things by the lovely Jamie Greenwood.

What inspires you? How do you handle being in a rut? Please share in the Comments below!

Image Credit: John via Flickr

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Leprechauns, Charms and the Space to Make Magic

Posted on by Maria Ross

03.17.15 Recharging (blog)

I took two weeks off for vacation and prepped everything in my life for a work detox. I call it a “work detox” not a full-on digital one, because I specifically set things up to take a break from work email, while still enjoying personal connections via social media: Coordinating a meetup with a friend via Twitter. Posting pics of my sweet babe playing among neon lights at London’s Museum of Childhood or a family photo atop the London Eye, bundled up in the cold weather despite the bright sunlight. Instagramming new fallen snow in the Scottish Highlands before it quickly melted away. Sharing a hilarious video of my mother-in-law’s Boxer and Jack Russell up in Scotland licking my baby boy with love and gusto – and his attempts to kiss them back.

Today is St. Patrick’s Day and my mind is filled with lucky charms, Irish blessings and pots of gold. It seems appropriate to talk about how to make more magic in your life on this special day.

But since I’m not a leprechaun, I can only share some ideas for how this two-week playdate away from work on foreign soil helped me recapture a bit of magic and verve in my own life – and how you might be able to do the same:

  1. Remove or Outsource the Clutter: I knew my Type A personality would go mad if I just “didn’t check email” for two weeks. But I didn’t want the time-suck that email brings distracting me from my family and vacation time. So I asked for help. My rockstar VA checked my email while I was gone, with instructions on how to respond, what to delete and when to send me an urgent text. And guess what? The sky didn’t fall. No one was upset. I had zero junk email piled up. My business didn’t shatter to pieces. If anything, more new business and opportunities awaited me upon my return. And more importantly, I used that time to create magical memories and slow down. Now that I’m more used to it, I’m also finding ways to check email only a few times a day.

What is taking up space in your life that doesn’t serve you or your business? Can you outsource it or delete it completely to make time for silence, laughter, and peace? You have to remove what’s not working before you can replace it with what does.

  1. Change your Environment: Okay, so we can’t always travel 6000+ miles from where our obligations and responsibilities surround us in order to “get away.” But shifting your location, surroundings or context can do wonders for throwing you just a bit off kilter so you are more aware, more alive, more thoughtful. When your surroundings are new, they tend to have a magical, sparkly glow. You’re simply paying more attention because things are unfamiliar. That shift in focus can result in amazing connections – like when I happened to meet the CMO of Pizza Hut for the UK at a café over breakfast. It can spark new dreams – like our desire to pick some other travel destinations for the year. And it can laser-focus you on what is important and what can simply fall away. Hint: A lot more can fall away than you keep telling yourself.

How can you change the scenery in your everyday life? Is it a staycation at a great boutique hotel or perhaps working out of a new coffee shop instead of your old office? Can you take a new route to work or repaint a room? Shift your surroundings so you can shift your focus.

  1. Appoint a Muse: Upon my return, I was lucky enough to have a call with one of my dear gal pals who is also a trusted colleague, inspiring entrepreneur, business-scheming partner-in-crime, idea generator and all-around cheerleader. I realized my joyful talks with her help me focus and keep me motivated on the bigger picture. She inspires me to dream big and find out what I want. Our calls are magical and I always hang up buzzing with energy, as if she’s weaved a little spell around me.

Who can you meet up with regularly to be your personal muse – and for whom you can do the same? Make sure you have these magical elves on speed dial and set up regular dates with them so you get out of your own head and your own ruts. Collaboration breeds all sort of creativity and wonder.

Bottom line: Don’t wait for the leprechaun. There are lots of way to create your own charms and spells to inject magic into your world. (Tweet this!)

Now it’s your turn: What are some ideas you can share about how to rejuvenate your business, spark our creativity or create magic in your world? I’d love to know so please leave a Comment below!

Image credit: Judith Doyle via Flickr

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

3 Crafty + Creative Ways to Set Goals

Posted on by Maria Ross

02.24.15 setting goals (blog)

Are you tired of goal setting? Confession time: I’m kind of over it.

This, from the woman who used to lay out her new year’s goals in nice neat bullets, organized by category: Fitness, Career Travel…I even had a category for Fun. The woman who makes lists and loves to be measured, assessed, graded. “You’ve never met a test you didn’t like,” says my husband.

Yes, I’m a recovering goal setter.

A few years back, after my major health crisis, I became gun-shy about goal-setting. I tried setting goals the old way but holding myself so accountable to a laundry list of big dreams overwhelmed me. During my fragile recovery, I tried to manage stress by removing as much friction from my life as possible – and that included all pressure to perform.

So what did this Type-A, former Honors student do to stay ambitious, motivated and organized? I started playing with new ways to set goals. And it has not only made me happier, it makes my life less stressful, more fun – and I actually achieve more while still keeping myself open to new opportunities.

If your goals are crushing you, it’s time to rethink how you set them (Tweet this!)

Here are 3 crafty and creative ways to help you enjoy setting goals in business and in life:

Pick a theme or two:

A few years ago, I decided to set New Year’s themes instead of New Year’s resolutions. In 2013, I chose Creativity and Abundance – and I achieved a lifelong dream of being accepted into an elite summer theatre program, plus I got pregnant. Creative and abundant indeed. This year, those themes are Enrichment and Savor. By enrichment, I hope to nurture great stuff that I already have rather than spending so much time inventing new things. And by savor, I mean presence, mindfulness and slowing down enough to appreciating the fleeting moments of my son’s babyhood and my current life, just as it is. Picking themes not only attracts the feelings you want into your life, it creates open space to discover that many different roads can lead to what you really want internally and externally, rather than merely following a checklist of things to do.

Experiment with choosing two themes that cover both the types of things you’d like to experience in your work or life, as well as the emotions and mindset that go with them.

Determine the feelings behind your goals:

This idea is courtesy of my friend Danielle LaPorte. She talks about goal setting not from the perspective of WHAT you want to do but HOW you want to feel. Danielle created the Desire Map program and teaches that, most of the time, you are not chasing a goal, but you are actually craving a feeling. So what if you flipped your intentions around and started with the how you want to feel and then map out what needs to be done to get you there? It’s an intriguing concept – and somewhat related to my point above about themes for the year.

Experiment with determining how you’d like to feel next quarter in your business or in the next six months of your life. Elated? Accomplished? Recognized? Naughty? Financially secure? Wise? Then you can map the activities that lead to achieving that emotion.

Outline broad-brush achievements:

This is a method I’m playing with this year (in addition to my Themes). Now brace yourself: this one goes against everything that this measurement-oriented woman and marketer has always believed. This year, I’m simply laying out large achievements, with no numbers or metrics attached to them. That’s right. I have no revenue projections or book sales goals. No website visit metrics. No target number of speaking engagements. Instead, my goals are broad brush starting from where I am now: Build up my platform and fan base, sell more books, focus on larger projects and less of them and make space to create my next book in 2016. This method is not for the faint of heart, but I have to tell you: I haven’t been this energized by goals in a long time. I’ll let you know at the end of the year how this worked out!

Experiment with letting go and determining some broad-brush achievements that will light your year on fire. You’ll be surprised how when you remove the pressure of numbers, you start to creatively brainstorm ways to make your goal a reality.

What do you think? Do any of these goal setting approaches resonate with you? Please DM me on Instagram – and let me know if you’ve got a unique spin of your own to share.

Image credit: Benno Hansen via Flickr

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Heed the mouse: Who do you serve and what do they need?

Posted on by Maria Ross

02.17.15 Brands for all markets (blog)

A trip to Disneyland and my husband’s profound comment recently put me in my place. Here’s the tale:

In my own book, Branding Basics for Small Business (2nd Edition), there’s a passage titled: All Markets Have a Brand Need. In it, I seek to clarify that “brand” is not just about high-end “luxury brands” but about being clear and consistent in the audience you reach and the market need you fill. From page 49:

Sometimes people think brand means expensive, as in “brand name.” High cost and exquisite quality are indeed brand attributes, but you could choose to sell a generic T-shirt or dinnerware that’s cheap and disposable, since certain audience segments have a real need for those items. As long as you clearly convey this message in everything you do, you can become known as the place to buy inexpensive white T-shirts or the most stylish, cheap, disposable dinnerware. Doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with that.

Having a strong brand doesn’t mean you have to charge the highest prices or offer the highest quality. It’s a nice side effect that often brand loyalty means customers are not buying based on price alone. But if your brand represents low prices (Wal-Mart) you can’t just all of the sudden start charging a boatload.

Brand is about setting expectations – and delivering on them. (Tweet this!)

Witness my recent trip to the Disneyland Resort to deliver a conference keynote. I texted a good friend that the Disney experience was so perplexing. High-touch customer service, calling you by name, a VIP Concierge at my beck and call (well, as the speaker, I guess!), and all staff (cast members) catering to your every whim. Such white-glove service – juxtaposed with people walking into a high-end steakhouse with flip-flops, mouse ears, and football jerseys.

And then I got snarky. As I’m prone to do.

“But such class and yet so much trashiness in one place is very confusing.”

OK, so I’m not proud of the “trashy’ comment. People are on vacation. Sometimes a vacation for which they’ve saved up for years. It was incredibly snobby even though I was just trying to be funny.  (Sorry, I’m human)

When I tempered this remark to my husband later on the phone, explaining how perplexed I was by the contradicting Disney brand experience, this clever man said,

“That’s what Disney is all about, though: that everyone deserves special VIP treatment, especially when they are on vacation. Doesn’t matter who you are: Disney treats you like royalty. That is their brand.”

And it hit me like a ton of bricks. There was no duality in the Disney brand. It was perfectly consistent with that brand strategy, as my husband described it. There are markets for everything and Disney’s market is making everyday people feel like royalty. So you see a wide array of demographics when you visit. Because it’s not about incomes, or tastes, or whether you like the opera or NASCAR. It’s about serving people of all ages who want to experience magic. Who want to be treated like VIP’s. Who want to be awed, delighted and spoiled rotten for a brief period of time.

There are all kinds of markets. And there are indeed all kinds of brands to serve those markets. Disney is not confused. It knows exactly who it serves and why.

The question is: Do you know who you serve? And can those people quickly tell from everything you say, do and offer that you will serve them exactly what they want and need?

Heed the Mouse. He’s a pretty smart little guy, isn’t he? (And so is my husband)

Your turn: Can you describe your target audience’s main desire that you serve? Or do you feel like you sometimes serve multiple audiences and have challenges creating a consistent brand as a result? Fire away in the Comments below!

Image Credit: Sean MacEntee via Flickr

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

The problem with perfection

Posted on by Maria Ross

02.10.15 seek substance before perfection (blog)

I have seen too many smart, savvy, brilliant people let their ideas die on the vine because they want to do something that many of us think is admirable. And it should make all of us angry and sad:

They want to be perfect.

All the stories that people need to hear. All the talent that could make the world a better place. All the benefits customers and clients are aching to achieve. None of it seeing the light of day because:

“I can’t start my business until I have the perfect website worthy of Vogue or Fast Company” (Right, because everyone expects a Phase 1 website to look as slick as an Apple ad)

“I can’t write my book because I don’t know enough about publishing or story structure so I need to attend more conferences and get more credentials.” (Right, because there is a “right” way to publish a good story and, besides, there’s no one who can help you along the way)

“I can’t send that email or post that blog post until I have an editor thoroughly check it for grammatical mistakes or typos.” (Right, because good ideas that have impacted everything from society at large down to one individual life were mocked because someone wrote “there” instead of “their.”)

Please make no mistake: This is not a defense of shoddy quality or mediocrity. I’m not even advocating poor design. You’re talking to the woman who cries when she realizes there’s a typo in my writing.

But you also know, if you’ve been with me a while, that – news flash – I’m human and I make mistakes. We ALL do. But it doesn’t stop me from continuing to serve you and deliver value. Waiting until something is 100% perfect before you share it with the world is just crazy – and impossible. You will always want to tweak something later. Always. It’s called “learning and evolving.” Besides, 80% of great is better than 100% of nothing, any day.

Think first about why you are chasing perfection? Is it fear holding you back? Tara Mohr, in her recent book Playing Big, purports that many talented women use this as an excuse to mask their fear and hide their light. But I’ve seen many men do this, too. “Perfection-seeking as delay tactic” crosses gender lines. I know, because I’ve been there myself and fight this everyday.

Seek to create substance, value, and inspiration first rather than perfection. (Tweet this!)

Don’t lose momentum. Get your message out in to the world. Shape it as you go. Learn from the feedback you get and improve things further. It’s why innovative companies launch beta projects: to gauge reaction and work out the kinks, fast.

Kindly request forgiveness from your audience. But don’t let the pursuit of perfection stop your message from reaching the people who need it most.

This is not permission to let quality slip. It’s a rallying cry to get your ideas out into the world and shape them as you go.

Do you agree? Where has this shown up in your own work? What ideas have you sat on for fear of them not being perfect? Please share in the Comments below!

Image Credit: finchlake2000 via Flickr

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Should you silence the critics? 4 tips to filter criticism

Posted on by Maria Ross

1.27.15 treat critics (blog)Criticism sucks. No getting around it. Regardless of how good your intentions or how crazy the critic, it never ceases to be a punch to the gut.

Here’s the thing: Good intentions can’t protect you from criticism. (Tweet this!)

As you may know, I survived a near-fatal brain aneurysm rupture and wrote a book about it to be a voice for brain injury survivors, as well as help anyone bounce back from crisis. I stripped the most vulnerable and scariest time in my life naked to help others.

Even with hundreds of heartwarming reviews and private emails from people who told me how my book inspired and informed them, it’s the outlying nasty comments that stick with me:

Behold this one, where the reader completely misunderstood my intentions: It might have been a good story, but…the constant bragging about herself got old. I made it right to the point where she was talking about her beautiful hair and how people were either jealous or downright hated her for it and deleted it off of my device.

Or this puzzling one which I don’t even get: I am happy for your recovery, but it was not because you had your college education which you seem to think makes you superior.

Or this one criticizing my writing (yes, I did hire an editor!): She needs to ask for an editor, several items are touched upon at least twice, it becomes annoying and it makes you feel like a terrible person when you are not rooting for her but begging for the end

Or this one where I strangely felt the need to apologize for not being close enough to death for her: Interesting story well told, but not terribly exciting or suspenseful.

And one that made me (and my husband) laugh out loud:

It’s her husband who deserves all the credit for pulling their lives back together.

Check out this past post, which is oh so relevant to how you can respond to criticism in your work or life. And this one for why you absolutely need to take a deep breath and ask for feedback, even if it might be negative.

But here’s my question to you: Should you silence the critics?

No. But treat criticism like a pot of pasta you are draining for dinner. Release the water and keep the good stuff!

Here are 4 ways to filter criticism when it strikes:

Take what’s valid and leave what’s not: I agree with some of the feedback saying the writing rambled a bit. And it was useful to learn what some people would have preferred to hear more about or how they would have liked it structured. This is something I’m constantly working on and, even with an editor, this can always be improved for my next book.

Focus on the good feedback: Who loved it? Who did it inspire, change, transform? Those people are your tribe. Don’t diminish the impact your work DID have.

Recognize they have their own lens: The strange comment about me thinking I’m better than anyone because I went to college (mentioned in the book to point out how confusing and complex medical information can be for anyone, even those with a college degree) is perhaps rooted in this woman’s deep bitterness about never going or maybe someone very arrogant held it over her head at one point in her life. I can’t change that perspective no matter what I do.

Let go: The “red hair” story was part of a larger lesson in identity: brain injury can rob people of many unimportant physical, emotional or cognitive traits that used to define them. The point was lost on this reader. And that’s okay. What am I going to do: find everyone who ever read my book and make sure they understood exactly what I was trying to say?! That seems a tremendous waste of energy better devoted to new creations and inspirations. (PS: I have to applaud Goodreads for making a note next to low ratings that asks the author to take a breath and not respond to the comment in anger!).

And I’ll say it again: Good intentions can’t protect you from criticism. (Tweet this!) Learn how to take what works and ditch the rest!

Image Credit: www.audio-luci-store.it via Flickr

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

All you really have is your story

Posted on by Maria Ross

1.13.15 tell your story well (blog)

Most of us have not invented anything new.

We are not doing something customers or clients can’t get elsewhere. We are not discovering a new element or identifying a new species or creating a way for humans to live on Mars. (Some of you may be working on this, but most of us are not).

But what you do and how you do it is utterly unique. Because you are the one doing it.

We know this to be true of art. But even in that case, chances are you’re not creating a medium that has never been used before, right? If you paint, there are other paintings. If you take photos, there are other photographers. It’s all about the artist’s perspective and what they create that makes us choose one over the other.

This is true in your business, too. You are an artist.

You put your own spin, motivations and values on the work. Working with you is unlike working with any other human being. The experience can never, ever be replicated, even if two people work from the exact same playbook.

All you have in this noisy world to stand out and attract the right people is your story. What is the meaning and mission behind your work? What is the main benefit your clients or customers will achieve? How will they feel when it’s over? How will it impact them days, months and years down the road?

That is your story and that is what you need to talk about. That is what people sign up for. It is what makes them choose you over the hundreds of other doing or selling exactly what you sell.

All you have is your story. Know what it is. Tell it well. (Tweet this!)

 

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

5 must-watch videos to delight your brand, brain and heart

Posted on by Maria Ross

12.16 videos that inspire (blog)

There is such a treasure trove of great videos out there. Videos that make us think, cry, and laugh. Videos that inspire us to action or give us pause in our own lives. And videos that crisply and clearly offer tips to move us closer to our goals.

Today, please enjoy these 5 great videos I’ve curated for you, in hopes they will inspire and delight your brand, heart, mind and soul. (Tweet this!)

The Power of Reinventing Ourselves. Dorie Clark’s inspirational, personal (and funny) talk about being yourself, living your truth and parlaying that into your personal brand so that you can uniquely stand out. Dorie’s first book, Reinventing You, is a recommended read in the 2nd edition of my book, Branding Basics for Small Business. Dorie’s next book, Stand Out, is now available for pre-order. It’s a book about how to become a recognized expert in your field – something we all need to discover these days in order to gain true professional security.

7 Problems Every Extrovert Understands. Hilarious! And I’m willingly to admit they are all true and have happened to me on my multiple occasions. Introverts in the house: you will love this as well, as you are the saints who put up with us.

How to Increase Your Twitter Engagement. My girl Amy Schmittauer of Savvy Sexy Social creates the most entertaining – and USEFUL- videos about how to use social media more effectively. Her sharp advice can even be found in the 2nd edition of my book, Branding Basics for Small Business – that’s how much I love her. In this video, Amy shares a little secret for how to tell if you’re doing what you need to do to increase your Twitter love.

Lennon and Samaras Share Title Success With Young Fan: OK, if you missed my post on this a few weeks ago, get ready for your heart to burst out of your chest and your eyes to well up with joyful tears. I showcased this heartwarming video of a young fan getting the experience of a lifetime at the Scottish Premiership soccer match as a great example of how need to make your customers be the hero of your brand – just like Celtic FC did here. The joy in this boy’s eyes says it all.

I’m Not Your Inspiration, Thank You Very Much: The previous soccer video is about making a fan the hero because of his loyalty and not simply because of his developmental challenges. Stella Young was a humorous and tireless advocate for disabled rights. Read more of her story here. Alas, she just came onto my radar this past week when she died at age 32. This TEDx video is a sharp, funny, wise call to arms to stop treating people with disabilities like they are exceptional JUST because they have disabilities and that it is insulting and unfair to treat them that way. Her advocacy and push for change – not her failing body – is what makes her an inspiration. You will crack up at her reference to “inspiration porn!”

Got other videos you love that you’d like to share? Please tweet me the link and I’ll share it out!

Photo Credit: Waferboard via Flickr

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Get inspired! 20 of the best branding + business quotes

Posted on by Maria Ross

12.9 inspiring marketing quotes (blog)

2015 is right around the corner (seriously?! What the….?!). If you’re like me, you are hibernating in a bit of strategy and reflection mode for what to do with your business or brand in the coming year.

For me, it’s about helping you (and myself) create more marketing with meaning. To find a deeper purpose in the work. To stand out by not trying to reach the lowest common denominator but by inspiring people who are committed to making the world a better place with their ideas, in ways big and small. (ahem…people like YOU!)

Whether you’re focused on your business, book, online platform or non-profit project next year, here’s some inspiration and clarity for you: 20 of the best branding and business quotes out there. Does one resonate with you? If so, write it down and pin it to your computer or desk so you can keep that focus right in front of you.

And please Tweet or share your favorite ones. There’s a tweetable down below for you with mine!

  1. “Content is of great importance, but we must not underestimate the value of style” ― Maya Angelou, Author
  2. “What people want is the extra, the emotional bonus they get when they buy something they love” ―Seth Godin, best selling author, marketer, and entrepreneur
  3. “Our job is to make change. Our job is to connect people, to interact with them in a way that leaves them better than we found them, more able to get where they would like to go. Every time we waste that opportunity, every sentence that doesn’t do enough to advance the cause, is a waste.” ― Seth Godin
  4. “Making promises and keeping them is a great way to build a brand.” ― Seth Godin
  5. “Time, energy and talent can be more important than a budget “― Scott Harrison, founder charity:water
  6. “A business has to be evolving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative interests.” ― Richard Branson
  7. “Engage rather than sell … work as a co-creator, not a marketer.” ― Tom H.C. Anderson, NextGen Market Research
  8. “Statistics suggest that when customers complain, business owners and managers ought to get excited about it. The complaining customer represents a huge opportunity for more business.” ― Zig Ziglar, American author, salesman, and motivational speaker
  9. “Give them QUALITY. That’s the best kind of advertising.” ― Milton Hershey, Founder of The Hersey Chocolate Company
  10. “Tell a story. Make it true. Make it compelling. And make it relevant.” ― Rand Fishkin, Founder of Moz (Tweet this!)
  11. “The future of business is SOCIAL” ― Barry Libert, Strategic Advisor
  12. “In this ever-changing society, the most powerful and enduring brands are built from the heart. They are real and sustainable. Their foundations are stronger because they are built with the strength of the human spirit, not an ad campaign. The companies that are lasting are those that are authentic.” ― Howard Schultz, Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time
  13. “People change, and so do their aspirations, and so should brands.” ― Laura Busche, Lean Branding
  14. “Make sure you test your brand story’s recipe with whomever you’re cooking it for.” ― Laura Busche, Lean Branding
  15. “Always remember: a brand is the most valuable piece of real estate in the world; a corner of someone’s mind.” ― John Hegarty, Hegarty on Advertising
  16. Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.” ― Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com
  17. “Too many companies want their brands to reflect some idealized, perfected image of themselves. As a consequence, their brands acquire no texture, no character and no public trust.” ― Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group
  18. “If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand.” ― Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks
  19. “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” ― Henry David Thoreau, Author
  20. “Entrepreneurs average 3.8 failures before final success. What sets the successful ones apart is their amazing persistence.” ― Lisa M. Amos

Photo Credit: C. Jill Reed via Flickr

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Why you are called to create something that matters

Posted on by Red Slice

Do you want to create something that matters? A business that makes a difference? If you want to change the world with your work, click through for advice from someone who has!

Do you want to create something that matters?

That sort of seems like a trick question, right? Who says “I’d like to create work that’s superficial, boring, and disposable?”

Nobody, right?

But sometimes we’re reminded about the importance of putting good things into the world by … magazines in the grocery store checkout line.

There I was, three months after giving birth to my son and buying a few groceries in a rare respite outside of the house. As I waited in line, my eyes scanned across the magazine headlines screaming at me from the checkout stand:

“Hate Your Butt? 5 Secrets to A Body You’ll Love!”
“Miracle Cream Erases Wrinkles Forever!”
“How to Be Rich and Powerful…And Work Less Than Three Days A Week!”
“(CELEB) Tells All About Her Life, Loves and Drug Use in Hot New Autobiography Buy it Today!”

A wave of panic flooded over me as tears sprang to my eyes. Frustrated tears. Angry tears.

Was this the world my darling little boy has just entered? This is what he has to look forward to once he learns how to read? Yikes.

Maybe it was post-partum hormones but, really…no. Anyone who knows me knows I have hated hyperbolic marketing and trashy reality TV (worse, people who are famous just for acting like infants) for a while.

And the digital marketing world is no different: people promising riches, 6-figure incomes, and pretty much everything but an evil lair in your own mountain hideaway (although it’s probably out there).

Despairing, I surfed social media when I got home and just felt sicker. All the noise, empty claims, the “Buy This!” and “You Need That!” It seemed everyone was promising people – entrepreneurs and women especially – a pot of gold at the end of their own personal rainbow.

I’m all for optimism. But I’m also for truth and value. For putting in the hard work required to build something wonderful. And many people I know offer such value to their clients and customers every day. You just can’t always hear them above the din.

Then, I finally got it. It’s not about silencing the crazies. They will always be there, promising people the sun, moon and stars, and yes, they will find an audience to believe.

But the more of us who pledge to put something good out into the world, something decent, and thoughtful and true – the more the tide will rise and lift us all up. It’s not about stopping them. It’s about stepping up ourselves and ensuring the stories we tell are honest, the work we deliver is quality and, most importantly, the marketing we create has value and meaning.

We see examples everywhere, if we look hard enough. People like Marie Forleo, Alexandra Franzen, and Jay Baer market themselves and what they offer with integrity, hope, and meaning. These are the ones we should emulate. These are the people we should strive to become.

Make meaning. You owe it to this noisy world to create something amazing and market it truthfully. (Tweet this!)