I don’t normally write about benchmarks of success. I decided to start changing that today. This is a post for those of you out there who have recently had an “oh shi-” moment but haven’t yet come to the conclusion that panic is excellent fuel for success.
Image by nep via Flickr
To sum up the entirety of this post concisely: if someone’s laughing, scared, or almost in tears, you’re doing your job. Of course, if you’re a kindergarten teacher, not all of these ring true. What I mean is: if you have become the butt of your competition’s jokes and your clients can’t sleep at night, then you’re a great creative. Why? Because you’re one step away from making your clients laugh and your competition cry.
Let me share a story: I have been posting ads on Craigslist (in addition to trolling writing job posts) every few days for the last few weeks in an effort to gain more visibility in Denver.
Recently, I crafted this little masterpiece:
I’m Michael. I’m no longer a business student, and have now turned belly dancer. I’m also a writer.
I don’t really come with a lot of perks, because I’m not a car or an executive position. But I like to write. I like to write almost as much as I like to think I’m good at it.
This advertisement should catch your eye because it’s short, sweet, and sounds fantastic when you translate it to Russian (I’m serious. Give it a try).
As for me… I’m a web developer, choreographer, teacher, muse, purveyor of shiny things, and possibly a Roman czar (though I can’t confirm that). You can get all the gory details on my sparsely-padded resume, when you email me. Now. Before the competition gets me.
It was a success for a couple days and got me a few emails (Though not nearly enough). And then, the unexpected. It was flagged for removal.
Someone out there thought my charm was obscene, irrelevant, or otherwise improper. I was hurt. Then I realized the truth.
My competition is scared.
Some writer out there decided I was intimidating enough to flag my advertisement for removal. I would be stealing business from them otherwise.
You can rest on the assumption that I am over the Moon happy about this. It means I’m not talking out of my ass and I can indeed be a writer, professionally.
If you’re a creative, or if you want to be successful, continue to push the boundaries on your business and your thinking. Challenge yourself daily. Evolve constantly. Defeat stagnation. Maybe soon your competition will be scared, too.
No related posts.