The pursuit of passion may well begin with knowing ourselves better. Avoiding self-delusion, recognizing our natural tendencies, knowing our abilities and seeing ourselves in honest and true ways – those are among the elements required for improved self-awareness.

This is hard work. It’s demanding. It’s often stressful. Coming to terms with who we really are can be some of our most important work. We ought to give it more time and attention. We ought to strive hard to figure it out.

It’s made harder because we like to compare ourselves with others. We look to emulate others. We often judge our success or failure based on how others are doing, or have done. It’s a trap. And it will consume us. Because there’s always somebody who is stronger, faster, bigger, better, more popular, prettier, more handsome, richer, funnier…

Be who you are, but be the best person possible. Improve. Grow. Develop. Mature. Be unique. Be remarkable.

Please Subscribe To The Podcast. Connect With Me. Become Part Of The Community.

Right Click Here To Download The Audio

Passion. Lots of us are still searching for ours. We hope we’re gazing in the right direction to find it.

It’s not the easiest thing to discover. You’d think it would jump out at us plain as day. After all, it’s our passion. It shouldn’t be so hard. You’d think we were looking for a Balinese starling, the rarest bird in the world. Passions, like rare birds, are often very tough to spot in real life. But, there’s no zoo where we go to look at our passion. We have to find it in the real world.

Books. Speeches. Blogs. Podcasts. Webcasts. Videos. Forums. There are about 33,700,000 results on Google for “find your passion.” Clearly, many people are still on the prowl to find their passion.

Why is it so hard? Do you need binoculars or a microscope? It all depends on how close or far away you are from finding it. But, how do you know if you’re even in the ballpark? What if we’re looking in the wrong area of the sky? What if it’s right under our nose?

Today’s show focuses on just one question that might serve to help. Be forewarned though, it might not help at all!

Please Subscribe To The Podcast. Connect With Me. Become Part Of The Community.

Right Click Here To Download The Audio

The time it takes to be average or bad could just as easily be spent being creative. But, we all have roadblocks that get in our way. That doesn’t mean we have to accept average or bad – in ourselves or in others. It does mean we need a better, perhaps deeper understanding of the challenges that stop us from being creative.

Jeffrey Gitomer is brilliant. He’s creative. I have a man-crush on him. He’s in good company, too. Sir Ken Robinson has the current top spot. Sorry, Jeffrey. Gitomer has long used a story of checking into a hotel as an illustration of how people – in this case, the clerk who checks in guests – lack creativity. He argues that they could just as easily be creative and provide a remarkable experience, but sadly – they don’t. They recite the same drivel day after day, guest after guest. Southwest Airlines proves the point with creative delivery of pre-flight instructions. If you’ve ever flown Southwest you recognize creativity immediately. Same FAA mandated pre-flight instructions as every other airline. Completely different (better) experience for passengers though. Why? Because Southwest Airlines decided to use a creative delivery of the exact same message.

Maybe today’s show can help provoke thoughts about how you can be more creative. That’s my goal. Click PLAY and listen to at least 3 of the things that sometimes stand in our way of being more creative.

Be more creative. Be more remarkable. Deliver remarkable experiences. Achieve remarkable results.

Subscribe To The Podcast. Connect With Me.

Right Click Here To Download The Audio

The idea seemingly comes out of left field. All of a sudden you’re struck with a profound thought. An idea that spurs on creativity. And it’s something that never crossed your mind before. At least that you can remember.

The other day I’m talking with a friend about a few business ideas. He says, “I’ve been constantly thinking about it.” I knock him on his butt when I admonish him, “Well, stop it! Quit thinking about it.”

He thinks I’m about to start my usual sermon on taking action. He’s not the most action-oriented person I know, but he’s hardly alone in battling that challenge. But that’s where I took our conversation. He was shocked.

Small businesses are often very creative. Entrepreneurs, small business creators and owners, are among the most creative people on the planet. But sometimes they suffer what my friend suffers from – over thinking or too much thinking. Creativity is frequently sabotaged because people don’t consider the power of rest or relaxation in creativity. Business creativity is often helped by the distraction of rest.

“Give it a rest,” I tell my friend. “What do you mean? Give up on the idea?” he responds. “No, I’m not telling you to abandon the idea. I’m telling you to step away from it. You’re constantly thinking about it and trying to force it,” I say.

For the next half hour I admonish him to disconnect from the business idea so he can prepare his mind to accept solutions that he may not be able to recognize now. He’s so consumed with his business idea that he can’t find the best solutions for developing the best strategy to implement. For almost a month he’s been “consumed.” That’s his word for it. Consumed.

Dr. Phil would ask, “How’s that working out for you?” I’m not Dr. Phil, but I asked the question. Long pause. Silence. Very softly he said, “It’s not working.” Exactly.

Business people often comment that they’re constantly thinking about some issue, some challenge or some new idea. It’s a badge of courage. Or so they think. It demonstrates how committed they are to the idea. They think it’s how it should be. But, they’re wrong!

More often than not ideas and creativity comes out of nowhere.

Think of the ideas you’ve had in those times when you least expected it. It can happen while you’re shaving, when you’re in the shower, while you’re driving or in a variety of other mundane every day activities. It can also happen when we’re having a conversation about something that has nothing whatsoever to do with our “idea.” Something is said, or said in a way, that sparks this EUREKA moment for us. We often don’t know and can’t explain why an idea leaps into our mind. Sometimes, they just happen.

“Stop working so hard at it,” I tell my friend. In fact, quit thinking about it. We talk about the books he’s reading – all of which were designed (at least in his mind) to spark him to finalize a strategy for his idea. I suggest he stop reading those books. He’s associating each of these books with pursuing his idea so I tell him he needs to set those books aside for the time. I recommend a few historical books (he likes history). Read the story of the Louisiana flood of 1927. Why? Because it has nothing to do with his idea. It’s completely different.

Contrarian strategies are the order of the day when we’re trying to get unstuck. Or when we’re trying to be creative. Or when we’re struggling to develop a strategy. It seems counter intuitive to disconnect in order to make a more meaningful connection, but that’s exactly how it works.

Quite often our best ideas and solutions come when we stop thinking about it. Sir Issac Newton remarked that he discovered gravity by “constantly thinking about it.” I doubt that very much. If we could have followed him around I’ll bet we’d find that he spent many hours not thinking about it.

Right Click Here To Download The Audio

People who are still struggling to find success are often tempted to view those who are successful as being “lucky.” It makes them feel better about themselves. And their failures.

We know of many successful people. We know who they are. Some are online celebrities. But, we didn’t see them struggle. We didn’t know them when they were struggling, and poor. Sometimes we incorrectly assume they found success easily. And quickly. Worse yet, we may assume they were always successful.

I get a phone call asking me, “Do all successful people pre-think every action?” Words like “all” scare me. I’ve not found too many instances where broad brushes can properly paint an entire group of people. But I engage the conversation no matter.

I know people who have achieved wild success by shooting from the hip. They’ve not given much thought to anything because they were too busy moving. Sometimes they moved forward. Sometimes they moved backwards. Fast. Some are like those proverbial blind pigs and they did find it – success. Sometimes they hit it BIG.

I know other people who never make a move without giving it serious thought. They pre-think all the variables. They consider the possible outcomes. Nothing happens until they’ve properly considered every available piece of information. And success never comes. Failures happen slowly, but methodically.

There is no one-size-fits-all. However…

I think it’s a mistake to not pre-think our business and career actions. My advice is usually very specific because I rarely find people who share an identical circumstance, knowledge, experience, skill set, ability or opportunity. For the person who takes action – and lots of it – without ever considering the consequences – I encourage them to more carefully consider the possible actions they might take. For the person who thinks – but never acts – I encourage them to abandon another hour of data collection and take some meaningful action based on their current “best” information.

Generally speaking, I always encourage people to pre-think their decisions and actions. Have a strategy. Have a designed purpose. Answer your “why.” Nobody can guarantee success, but we can improve our chances. We can put ourselves in the best possible position. We can attract serendipity with meaningful actions.

You may become successful – we’ll use becoming a millionaire as a metaphor for success – without ever thinking about it. You may also be struck by lightning. Or win the Powerball. But the odds are not favorable. Develop a plan. Be strategic. Map out a route. Then follow that route as you course correct along the way. It will – in my opinion- greatly enhance your chances of success.

Will it happen tomorrow? I don’t know. You don’t know either. Nobody does. What I do know is you’d better prepare for success. You don’t know when you’re going to break through. Map out a strategy. Think about what you do.

Ask yourself questions and take some thoughtful time to answer them. Here’s just a few to help get you started:

- Will this action move me closer to my desired goal? How?

- Will this action be congruent with who I am, and what I’m trying to accomplish? Will it help me become who I hope to be?

Remain focused on what you hope to become. Work hard without being fearful of failing in public. Nobody is taking notes. Nobody is keeping score. That’s what makes today’s world so great. We can dive in without any worry of being embarrassed. Failure isn’t anything to be ashamed of unless you embrace it and allow it to define who you are. It’s merely a temporary state through which all successful people must pass. So, get on with it.

Right Click Here To Download The Audio

Sometimes you just have to share brilliance and creativity. Watch it. Ponder it. Use it.

Back in the 70′s I was in journalism school at LSU. I was 17 when I created my non de plume. It wasn’t because of writing and journalism though.

Stanley Bing may be among the biggest non de plumes of today. I have a serious man crush on Bing. It may be argued that Gil Schwartz isn’t half the man Stanley is – but they are one and the same. I must say I think Gil did himself proud with creating Stanley though. No matter, I’ve read everything Bing has written for public consumption.

John le Carre may be among the better known pen names. Did David John Moore Cornwell not have the ability to write killer spy novels? Sure he did. From the early 60′s he’s provided excitement for millions of readers. He is John le Carre.

Eben Pagen wears a guru badge among Internet marketers. He admits he reached a level of financial success with a product entitled, Double Your Dating. But, he did it under a non de plume, David DeAngelo.

Yesterday, Johnny B. Truant wrote a guest post over at CopyBlogger. In the post he admitted that Johnny B. Truant is a non de plume. Back in December James Chartrand of Men With Pens made a similar revelation at CopyBlogger.

Why create a non de plume?

I suspect there may be a variety of reasons. I have my own ideas, but as always I reserve the right to be wrong.

Right Click Here To Download The Audio

Making decisions. Any fool can. But add one word and it all changes. Making good decisions. Or, making great decisions.

One of the things I love about some books is the busting of assumptions. Myth busters.

Freakonomics was such a book.

I’m not a brilliant economist. In fact, I’m not even a dimwitted economist. But these guys shine a light on things in ways few of us ever considered before. Where most of us see nothing, they see patterns, explanations and details. The analysis of such things enlightens us. It makes us more aware. It can also help us think differently, better!

Most of us like to think we decide based only on hard facts, but that Pfeffer and Sutton book cover to the left is properly titled how most of us really do things. We fall prey to dangerous half-truths and total nonsense.

Another such book is Competing On Analytics. I loved this book when it came out a few years ago. Don’t let the title scare you off. Measuring things. Quantifying things. Looking at things from a different perspective – one that can be measured – can serve all of us well.

Sometimes we make assumptions based on incorrect data. We let our emotions soar or fall based on those assumptions. We launch forth with an enterprise riding high on the wave of blind optimism, assuming everybody will quickly see how terrific our offer is. Too often, we’re wrong.

The value of an analytic approach is found in the title question, “What if we are wrong?”

But merely asking the question is only part of the suggestion for making better decisions. There’s another component that you should always incorporate. Your failure to implement the second part of the equation to the question – What if we are wrong? – is vital to saving us time, money, emotion, passion and a host of other valuable resources.

Thank you for hitting play. Thank you for giving me a chunk of your time and attention!

Right click here to download the audio.

Send birthday presents to my mailing address located at the footer of this website, http://connectwithrandy.com.

Yes, it’s my birthday. And I’ll cry if I want to. Because I’m quite old. Ancient in Internet years!

My birthday doesn’t really have much to do with today’s show. Well, maybe it does. You decide.

Spend some time in self-examination answering the riddle, “At my best I’m THIS, not THAT…”

I’ve decided to do that myself. Today. On my birthday. Permit me to grant YOU a birthday wish…

Find out what you are best at. Pursue it for all you’re worth. Chase it down. Make it your own. Be remarkable!

Listen to today’s birthday show and you’ll find out who I have a man-crush on. A serious crush. His most recent book speaks to the subject of today’s show!

(This just in – voicemail of Max, grandson #1, singing “Happy Birthday” to me today. Enjoy! I did.)

All the best,

Right click here to download the audio.

Simon’s book website is here: http://www.startwithwhy.com/

I’m a big fan of the question, “WHY?” That explains why I’m a big fan of Simon’s work and the book.

Follow him on Twitter if you’d like. Listen to the Marketing Over Coffee’s John Wall talk with Simon. Subscribe to Marketing Over Coffee’s podcast while you’re at it. It’s among the best podcasts about marketing online. John Wall and Christopher Penn are both brilliant guys. I envy their youth, technical prowess – and their hair!

Enjoy. Think.

I was in high school when KISS took off. Admittedly, they were not the greatest musicians. Nobody would ever describe them as “world-class” in their musical prowess. But boy did they have style? Yes, yes they did.

They could play – some. Enough. KISS didn’t have to be the very best in order to achieve superstar fame (and money). They found a way to be remarkable by having a unique style. Today, the money is still rolling in. Public exposure is still reasonably high for a band that taken on more iterations than any other band I can name. From Dr. Pepper ads to reality TV programs, Gene Simmons has made a handsome living for decades. How? He is remarkable!

Nobody did quite what they did. That’s why they were remarkable.

Alice Cooper had a style that was also unique. He was a rocker who also used makeup. But he added a dark side stunt show. And it worked for him. He’s been playing golf in Phoenix for decades. All, thanks to Alice Cooper, the remarkable theatrical rock ‘n roll character who hasn’t produced new music in years!

Genesis wore costumes and makeup. They were also a great rock and roll band who brought theater to their lives shows. KISS, Alice Cooper and Genesis were all different though. When you heard KISS, you didn’t mistake them for Genesis. Each had a unique and different style.

From athletic footwear to professional athletics to rock ‘n roll to talk radio – to whatever it is YOU do, style often makes the difference. Spend all your time trying to be “the world’s best” and you’ll likely fail. But if you make sure your substance is sufficiently high in quality, then focus on your style – making sure your style is unique to YOU – then you’ll be well on your way to greater success!

Right click here to download the audio.

I’ve been part of many communities or organizations. Back in high school lots of guys wanted to be in different clubs because if you were accepted into certain clubs you could get good looking dates. Some clubs had strict criteria for admission. The National Honor Society required good grades, and solid recommendations from teachers. The sports teams required some athleticism (unless your high school teams weren’t very good).

All of the clubs and organizations had various requirements for admission. The more difficult they were to get in, the more exclusive they were – and typically, the more people wanted inside. The brainiac club (whatever name it was) was the likely exception.

It’s been said that people can only maintain about 150 meaningful connections. That is, we may find it difficult to manage personal connections with more than 150 people. I know some people who find it hard to connect with 1 person. And I know others who can’t seem to stop connecting. So, I’m unsure about that number, but I do tend to think most people wisely limit how many people they truly trust, rely on and consider “close friends.”

But then, there’s the “casual friend” or acquaintance. People we know. People who know us, or know of us. But it’s all virtual, or distant or quite casual. These are not people we’d call up to bail us out of jail if we ever got in trouble. Okay, bad example. These aren’t people we’d call up to borrow their pick up and ask if they’d help us move. That’s pretty personal. Or rude.

Enough beating around the bush. Community. Groups. Clubs. Call them whatever you’d like, but the other day I started thinking of all the groups that are part of my life. Some of them are paid groups. Some are free. At least in dollars. And I have a confession to make. You’re likely to think badly of me when I tell you my confession, but I can’t help it. I won’t lie to you about it.

Most of the groups to which I belong are utterly worthless. Hate me if you want, but it’s true – at least as I see it. Let me explain, if you’ve not shut me out by now.

Do you know how many forums you’re a member of? How many forums have you registered for? How many of them did you abandon over time? Me, too.

How much value do you get from all the groups to which you belong? Have you ever tried to quantify the value?

Well, I have. And I found that almost all the groups to which I belonged were…well, worthless. Now don’t get me wrong. Some of them were terrific time wasters. A few might even have offered some occasional entertainment value. But the time/money to reward ratio was ridiculously low in almost ALL of them.

No, I won’t list them, but I will tell you that I have unsubscribed to quite a few lately. I’ve canceled some subscriptions. I’ve exited the worthless groups to which I was joined. And it wasn’t just “low value” that caused me to do this. It was listening to the lemmings that started my self-examination. I realized that the mass group-think had begun to erode my creativity and productivity. I kept seeing the group collectively applaud the group’s rockstar. I suddenly realized that I was in a group, which necessarily made me just like the others in the group – I had become a GROUPIE.

Can you believe it, me a groupie? It’s true. And I hated myself for it. Come on. I know you can’t be remarkable and be a groupie. You can’t follow the herd and be unique. But in too many instances I found I was spending too much time (and money) doing just that. So, I decided to step out. Yep, I literally and virtually stepped out.

I quit. And it felt very, very good.

I unsubscribed from forums. I unsubscribed from RSS feeds. I canceled some paid forums. I canceled paid memberships. I decided I was going to be more selective with my time, attention and money! And it felt terrific.

You know what it felt like?

It felt the same way you feel if you make up your mind to not check email for a day or two. You just think it’ll kill you, but it doesn’t. In fact, once you embrace it – it feels quite good, doesn’t it? All that stuff you’re afraid you’re missing…you don’t miss at all. Life goes on. Sometimes a better life goes on.

I know your fear. Silence. Not knowing what’s going on. Being out of the loop. I also know why you won’t likely become remarkable. You won’t step out. You won’t say “good-bye” to the crowd. You love the crowd. You love knowing what everybody is saying on Twitter. You crave reading everybody’s Facebook update. You’re terrified that somebody somewhere will say something and you won’t hear it. And you’re petrified that your life will be meaningless without it.

You want to hear what everybody else is saying. Sometimes you want to chime in and tell them how wonderful they are for saying it. And how you agree. You always want to voice your approval of the rockstars in your life. You’re a lemming and you want to run full speed off the cliff. It’s fun. Everybody’s doing it.

YOU ARE WRONG.

So was I.

Most conversations aren’t worth hearing. Most aren’t worth participating in. Most information isn’t profitable in making you better, or in helping you become remarkable. Not every link on Twitter is worth following. Not every Tweet is worth re-Tweeting. Not every book is worth reading. Not every podcast is worth hearing (except for mine, of course). Honestly, sometimes mine aren’t worth hearing. Not every video is worth watching. Not every blog post is worth scanning. It’s a fact and you know I’m right – MOST communication and MOST groups are just not worth your time. Remarkable is scarce!

But, what if somebody says something and I don’t hear it? That’s your fear, isn’t it? Sure it is.

Well, here’s the sad truth. Even if all the conversations were worthwhile (and they aren’t), you couldn’t possibly hear them all anyway. Turn off the TV for a week. Don’t read any blogs for a week. Don’t read anything for a week. I love to read, but I’m telling you – go cold turkey for a week. Disconnect. Step out. Step away. Climb inside your head, with your own thoughts and your own ability to THINK. Write. Craft. Be creative. You won’t miss a thing. Your world won’t stop turning either.

But wait, Randy, what if I had done this when the Apple iPad came out? I wouldn’t have heard all the buzz about it.

So?

Keep following all the social media stars. Keep following all the gurus. Keep buying every offer from your favorite Internet Marketing SuperStar. Keep joining every community where people are gathering. Keep reading all the Twitter feeds. Keep chasing more followers. Keep looking for the secrets, formulas and blueprints. Keep failing. Please, do it…

Because when you refuse to step out from the crowd it makes it easier for the rest of us to become remarkable.

Update Monday, April 26th: You might enjoy this blog/podcast from Remarkable Retail if you’re rather fond of the idea of stepping out. Thanks!

This is art. Of course I would think so because Jerry Van Amerongen has given me more value than I can calculate. His creativity affects me. Daily.

How?

For starters, I’m a faithful daily fan of Ballard Street, his cartoon.

Additionally, I’m a paying customer. Hanging in my studio are four of his Limited Edition Giclee Prints. I look at them every single day. Jerry impacts my world. In a good way.

His passion serves me. It alters my feelings. It can positively change my emotions.

I’m also a paying customer because I’ve purchased all of Jerry’s books. My personal Facebook page consists almost entirely (and solely) of me posting his daily Ballard Street cartoon – so I’m not just a non-paying fan, and a loyal paying fan, but I’m an evangelist for him, too.

Seth Godin’s most recent book, Linchpin, speaks to the issue of art better than I ever could.

Right click here to download the audio.

All this talk about pursuing passion presupposes that if you aren’t chasing your passions, then you are miserable!

I don’t find that’s often the case though.

People are going about their lives, doing what they must do to support themselves and their families, and while they’re not jumping for joy every moment of every day – they’re not miserable. Yet, all the passion talk would have them feel that if they’re not really living the life of their dreams, then their success will always be limited and their lives will always consist of quiet (or sometimes loud) despair.

That’s a crock! And I’ll tell you why.

Right click here to download the audio.