"Only by coming to grips with difficulty can you realize your full potential."
-- Charles de Gaulle, president of France
Friday, September 17, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Dare to be Yourself
I recently received an email from a business colleague that really annoyed me. The problem wasn't that he sent me an email. The problem was that his email was "pitching" a seminar that he was attending, and he hadn't even written the email himself - someone else wrote it! (The reason I knew that is because I received duplicate copies of the same email from other business colleagues who travel in the same business circle.)
When I asked him about it, he told me that he just wanted to let me know what he was doing with his business. The problem with that is that the email he sent me had absolutely no personalization in it whatsoever. The opening line said "Hey There!" (as opposed to Hi Sharon, Dear Sharon, etc.), and after that it was nothing more than a generic sales pitch, with a personalized link that I could use to register for a seminar (from which he would then earn a commission).
In life, people seem to fall into two categories: leaders and followers. Leaders dare to be different and pave the way for change. Followers don't make waves; maintain the status quo and support the leaders whose visions they subscribe to. You can't have one without the other. However, there are also times when leaders need to maintain the status quo and followers need to make waves. The challenge often comes in discerning which time is which.
Each one of us was born with our own unique gifts and talents, so why are we so eager to be like everyone else?
When it comes to your career, there are times when you do need to conform to industry standards. For example: your headshot and resume need to be 8x10; you need to look like your picture and your website needs to be very easy for casting directors, agents and others to navigate. Beyond that, however, your look is your look, your audition is your audition; your talent is your talent; and so on and so on.
As I said earlier, the fact that this gentleman sent me an email wasn't the issue. The issue was that there wasn't one ounce of him in it!
For the next week, I would like to offer you a challenge, and my challenge is this: I dare you to be yourself every single day, no matter what! Are you up for it? I hope so!
And, for those of you who take me up on my challenge, drop me a note and let me know how it goes!
When I asked him about it, he told me that he just wanted to let me know what he was doing with his business. The problem with that is that the email he sent me had absolutely no personalization in it whatsoever. The opening line said "Hey There!" (as opposed to Hi Sharon, Dear Sharon, etc.), and after that it was nothing more than a generic sales pitch, with a personalized link that I could use to register for a seminar (from which he would then earn a commission).
In life, people seem to fall into two categories: leaders and followers. Leaders dare to be different and pave the way for change. Followers don't make waves; maintain the status quo and support the leaders whose visions they subscribe to. You can't have one without the other. However, there are also times when leaders need to maintain the status quo and followers need to make waves. The challenge often comes in discerning which time is which.
Each one of us was born with our own unique gifts and talents, so why are we so eager to be like everyone else?
When it comes to your career, there are times when you do need to conform to industry standards. For example: your headshot and resume need to be 8x10; you need to look like your picture and your website needs to be very easy for casting directors, agents and others to navigate. Beyond that, however, your look is your look, your audition is your audition; your talent is your talent; and so on and so on.
As I said earlier, the fact that this gentleman sent me an email wasn't the issue. The issue was that there wasn't one ounce of him in it!
For the next week, I would like to offer you a challenge, and my challenge is this: I dare you to be yourself every single day, no matter what! Are you up for it? I hope so!
And, for those of you who take me up on my challenge, drop me a note and let me know how it goes!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
Quote of the Day
"My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition."
-- Indira Gandhi, Indian prime minister
-- Indira Gandhi, Indian prime minister
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