Busy brands. Frantic lives. Overfilled inboxes. Exhausted lifestyles.
My friend Daymond John wrote something brilliant in describing his new book, Rise and Grind, that really hit home for me: “We all get the same 24 hours. It’s about how you use them.”
Busy Brands Aren’t Born. They’re Made.
We’re in a period where there’s a cultural epidemic.
It all has to do with what we spend our time doing.
It impacts our lives.
It impacts those of us who create brands, especially those of us who manage busy brands.
It impacts everything.
“I’m Really Great at Watching TV”
The fact is, you’re not. And you never will be.
Nor will you be great at staring at the newest music video.
Or catching the most current blockbuster.
Or reading the hottest new novel.
Or reading the most blog posts.
Or downloading the most eBooks on how to get more done.
There was a time when we all focused on things we did:
- mastering our skill doing something
- perfecting our art
- refining our craft in cooking, or drawing, or writing.
In life, you’re known for what you do, not for what you consume.
This applies to people as much as it does to brands.
And I am not talking about “planning” to do things. But in actually doing things.
Otherwise, it’s an exercise in telepathy, and trust me, people’s skills in reading your mind for what you intend to do are not as reliable as you may think.
It’s what I cover in this week’s One Minute Wednesday:
Pay Close Attention to Directions (Consumption Goes Inward. Creation Goes Outward.)
Starting today, replace just one consumption activity with an activity of creation.
- Instead of watching some program or video, create one.
- Instead of seeking answers from anywhere, provide some advice and help to others.
- Instead of sitting watching TV, go out for a brisk walk (or better yet, call a friend who also was going to sit and watch some TV and get both of you to go on that walk)
- Instead of looking at what others have created, draw or paint or letter something yourself.
Then tomorrow, you can replace two consumption activities with two activities of creation.
I was truly hit with this concept when I read this terrific article on Medium titled Stop Consuming. Start Creating. by Josh Fechter.
In this article, he outlined a pivotal shift he’d taken in his life by simply changing a cultural trend he had adopted, replacing activities of consumption with activities of creation.
After a bit, he found his life changed, dramatically.
He summarized it this way:
“Rather than reading over one hundred books in the following year, I wrote over three hundred blog posts and a book.
“Rather than watching YouTube videos, I shot over three hundred videos in the following two years.
“Rather than relying on a gym to exercise, I worked out with what I had. Now, I compete in triathlons and obstacle course races.”
Pick Your 30-Day Challenge
Do the above replacement exercise, one per day.
The alternative is this:
My buddy and dear friend Ted Rubin introduced me to this concept which I tested out and found it was like a magic pill of awesomeness.
Every day for the next 30 days, contact at least one new person, someone you do not know and speak with them, find out something about them, be interested and engaged and figure out something you can do for them, something that adds value for their time.
And do that a minimum of one person each day for the next 30 days.
Be prepared for some magical shit happening.
Seriously.