From an early age we were told that the way of success was the way of fitting in. Of getting it right. Of playing by the rules. Of course, there may be a few exceptions, but I bet the average LinkedIn user belongs to that generation who went to a traditional school with more or less traditional rules and grades. With activities where we had to color inside the lines and not one inch outside of them. With kids being lined up to make up perfectly straight rows where we belonged here or there based on a specific factor, which could be age or sex or height or even merit. In short, difference was seldom encouraged, least of all tolerated. Turns out those kids have grown up now and most of them are on social media. The vast majority of them want to use social media to stand out, to get their voices heard, to influence and lead, to make an impact. All of the things which, from an early age, they learnt to sacrifice in the name of a higher aim: fitting in. But how can you attract more leads, create a new community, launch a new remarkable product or service, or reach a new market if you and your brand or business or enterprise don’t stand out?
Earlier this year I was presented with an opportunity to create a new product in the form of a tailor-made marketing and communication consulting service and have been working on one-on-one sessions with translator colleagues and other budding entrepreneurs ever since.
Working in such close terms with people from all over my country, Argentina, has made me realise a long-forgotten truth for many of us social media users, content marketers and business owners from miscellaneous industries: You don’t need to be an influencer to make an impact on other people’s lives.
Many budding entrepreneurs want to know: How do I do it? How do I break into the XYZ market? How do I reach new and better clients? How do I DO it?
You do it. You don’t “just do it”—but you do it.
You get out of bed, you stand up from your chair, you ask for help and you set out on a journey that you can’t be 100% sure when or how it will end. But still, you go. And you do it. You take a leap of faith. You make your choices. You take the risk. You do it.
I know. I know what you are thinking. You are thinking you are not good enough. You are thinking you lack the spark, the means, the time to do it.
Whenever failure strikes… Whenever you fail to meet your own expectations… Whenever something just doesn’t go according to plan… Breathe in. Step back. Think. Remember why you are here, doing what you do, in spite of everything and everyone against you. Breathe out now. Yep. So… Why aren’t you doing something else, anyway?