Ripe is Rotten

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I love this saying. Actually, I love funny or clever sayings in general – my guess is that this affection comes from my dad and family, all masters of the quirky and brilliant soundbite. Not to mention the “proud of myself because I made you roll your eyes” chuckle that usually follows. But this saying is a fave, at the top of my list.

This one actually comes from an old boss – another wizard of the one-liners. And it speaks to our need to keep learning… insert Shawshank reference, “Get busy living, or get busy dying.” Who just pictured themselves on the beach at the end?

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Love a beach sunset… always.

It’s true in business as in life. Ripe is rotten. At the point you lose that zeal for learning, always staying fresh (read that relevant), you drop to the ground like a bruised apple, getting passed up by the more discriminating pickers – whether that means prospective bosses looking for their next rock star or your teenager cracking on your mom or dad jeans. And heaven forbid you’re in business for yourself, and your customers think you’ve crossed over and are stale or passé.  The cider press likely isn’t far behind – squish.

Even in tough seasons… in fact, especially in tough seasons – those periods of big changes we all go through – I hope you’ll keep on keeping on. Find something to learn about, something that makes you even more fascinating and cutting edge – think exotic banana smoothie drink with an umbrella in a fabulous glass, instead of plain Jane bland banana smush. You want to be Superman, not Clark Kent, right? I want to be a little Julia Sugarbaker – confident and fabulous – not… well, whoever her boring opposite would be. Snore…

I’m off my soapbox now, so I’ll save the shameless and plucky Steel Magnolias reference for another day, you get the picture.

I attended a spectacular conference focused on learning how to pin down what makes you valuable and how to articulate it. The sessions covered the gamut from negotiating to networking, based on Mika Brzezinski’s Know Your Value & Grow Your Value books (I’m a fan, by the way). One of the speakers was JetBlue’s Bonny Simi, who chronicled her career evolutions, and they were GIANT leaps – 3-time Olympic athlete to sports reporter to pilot to executive. Talk about never rotten! (PS – this quick clip gives you a little insight into her journey and advice)

So just like I’m stretching myself here a little bit in the blogosphere, I’m clinging to the vine in lots of areas. Still not ripe yet, still growing. Stay tuned.

Nerdy? Or curious?

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It’s all about positioning.

I referred to myself in a previous post as nerdy. No surprise to those who know me, I’ve always been lumped in with the smart kids – maybe sometimes with the cool kids, mostly because I grew up in a super small town, so there was some overlap, but yep – nerdy kid, party of one, right here.

Nerdy can be gut-wrenching during the teenage years… not so bad once you emerge on the other side. It’s hard for the 14-year old bright kid to see that – but by the time you get into your 20’s and 30’s, most of us kinda nod appreciatively and think, “Okay, I see it now.” The adjectives change – now you’re quirky, curious, sharp or a quick study. See? Positioning.

Part of the evolution is becoming more comfortable in your own skin, no doubt. Whether you’re a person or a person selling a product or a feeling or an experience, it’s knowing who you are and where you fit in relation to everyone else – the competition, if you will.  But maybe some of it depends on which side of what my husband describes as the “completely overwhelming rapid-fire interrogation” you’re on, at least for the nerdy versus curious debate? P.S. (insert eye roll) It’s really not as tortuous as he describes. Mercy… give me strength.

It’s a matter of perception, right? It’s figuring out my unique position in relation to everyone else around me, and totally owning it. So for me… I’m planting my flag firmly in the cogitative camp.

Three words… a great exercise for me, and for you

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Continuing on the “who am I” train today… it’s actually a great exercise periodically.

What are three words I would use to describe myself? What are three words others would use to describe me? Are they the same?

Okay, so I was asked this recently. My three words today would be smart, committed and positive. The words sometimes change a little, depending on what’s swirling around me. You’ve probably done this too, right? If not, do it right now… stop reading and ask yourself what three words best describe you, and then come right back here. You might use words like driven, bold, pragmatic – or today’s word of the day on my dictionary app – pedagogue (I’ll save you a Google search – it’s someone who teaches). The point is to ask yourself about you – your fingerprint, your personal brand, your “thing.”

Here’s where it gets real. I ask others their three words to describe me. And not just my mom, who, let’s be honest, thinks I’m pretty close to perfect (sorry, siblings – lol). Seriously – if you’ve never done this, it’s enlightening. Ask a cross-section of people in your circle – social, work, family – what words they would use to describe you. Some of them will be very affirming… and some might be hard to hear or read. And that’s the thing about this exercise – if their words are on par with your words,  great! The attributes most important to you are on strong footing. The scholars call this brand congruence. I call it me being me – can I get a “Whoo hoo!”?

If, however, you feel they’re missing the mark a bit, I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing – in fact, it’s a good point of reflection. The fact that you asked and then actually do something about it is the important part, because a lot of us just be-bop through life assuming we know what others think… not so much, for some of us. So for that, fist-bump for you.

When my circle’s words aren’t exactly what I had in mind, it’s where I start to ask myself what little changes I can make to get closer to who I want to be/think I am. Maybe it’s working on a bad habit, or remembering to be grateful.

Wish me luck on my next round of words from those in my circle, and the fine-tuning that is sure to follow.

 

So what’s my story? What’s yours?

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Me again. Still figuring out this blog thing. I equate it to my professional world, where I work in marketing. Buzzwords abound, as in every industry. But stringing together a bunch of buzzwords – does that really tell my story? Is that who I am? Am I an experienced integrated strategic communication professional, laser-focused on the touch points that impact downstream revenue for internal & external stakeholders? Well, yes… but that’s just the tip of the iceberg, right? Blah, blah, blah. My story is more than that.

My team and I work with business owners and marketing decision makers — people who are trying to tell their story to their potential customers. And my advice is always to figure out what makes you unique. Your brand is your fingerprint, distinctly you. Your story shouldn’t be the same as anyone else’s. What’s “that thing?”

So that’s where I am, at least in the context of this blog. Examining my fingerprints, so to speak, looking for my voice. It’s kind of exciting – and not just because I get to break out my thesaurus, my favorite reference book. And there you go – now you know at least one of my fingerprints, maybe my thumbprint, reads something akin to nerd.

 

So this is me, starting a blog…

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meblog2

My sister and I have always said we’d like to write a book. Baby steps.

Where I work, we talk often about a crawl-walk-run approach to projects. You don’t start out running a marathon, so it makes sense that our wildly funny and best-selling epic from our incredibly interesting lives (my blog, my description… ever the optimist, right?) will have to start with a first sentence, a stretching of writing muscles, so to speak. Before we even get to that momentous first word of our sisterly tome, I need to get used to putting my thoughts into written form, developing a style. Not that I have a problem with speaking out, mind you.

I work in advertising, currently in marketing, so I am used to speaking, writing, presenting. But not always completely original material, so to speak. I hope this leads me down the path of sharing interesting personal insights, writing about things I know in a way that you’ll want to read what I have to say. That always makes the best writing, in my opinion. I am looking forward to writing about what’s important to me professionally – marketing, advertising and branding. With a sprinkling of fun things that are personal to me, thrown in to keep it amusing.

So here I go… my journey of a thousand miles is beginning. As soon as I hit the publish button, I will have taken my Confucius-y first step (actually, that quote comes from Lao Tzu, but you get my point).

The picture above is me, marking the occasion. I hope you’ll stay tuned.