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Interesting Facts You Didn’t Know About Consumer Psychology

Marketing lessons from a “mad man”

 

 

 

 

 

Where Did the Term “Mad Men” Come From?

Long before the infamous AMC show, the term “mad men” was originally coined in the late 1950’s to describe the advertising executives of Madison Avenue.

They studied consumer behavioral psychology and were masters selling products by associating them to things customers cared about.

And they still exist. And they have some fascinating stories.

Meet Rory Sutherland.

 

Introducing Rory Sutherland

If you haven’t heard of Rory Sutherland yet, you have heard of his agency.

Sutherland serves as the Vice Chairman of Ogilvy, the historically infamous ad agency founded by the original King of Madison Ave, David Ogilvy.

Sutherland became Internet famous a few years back after his Ted talk video went viral criticizing Europe decision to spend £6 billion to construct a high speed rail in order to increase consumer satisfaction.

Because of his knowledge of consumer behavior, he could have achieve the goal in and sixth of the cost.

 

Here’s the video:

 

Perspective is Everything

So a few years ago the UK greenlit a massive engineering project to improve the journey of the Eurostar rail line.

Why?

In order to increase commuter satisfaction, the UK decided the best way to increase the journey was to spend an enormous £6 billion to construct a high-speed rail track from London’s St. Pancras station to the coast of Kent.

This train would shorten the commute from Paris to London by a grand total of…40 minutes on an overall three and a half-hour trip.

Sutherland’s cheeky critique on the project was that the UK made a fundamental mistake (like most businesses do).

His argument was that consumer satisfaction could have been achieved much cheaper by altering consumer perception. Heres the argument:

 

Consumer Satisfaction. I Don’t Think That Means What You Think it Means…

The UK assumed customer satisfaction would be achieve to shorten the length of the commute and the quality of the experience was not relevant or even an option given for them to consider.

Rory suggested rather than write a £6 billion check to make the experience shorter (the proposed brand promise), the capital investment would have been better spent using a fraction of the budget to simply make the journey 10 times more enjoyable (his proposed brand promise).

Considering the budget they were consider, for a fraction of the cost (£1 billion), they could have hired  male and female supermodels and pay to them serve free Chateau Petrus at $4,000 a bottle to every adult passenger on board

Effectively salvaging billions from the original budget, and in turn, passengers would have demanded the train to be slowed down, rather than save an extra 40 minutes of travel time.

 

 

There’s a War on Marketing?

Sutherland suggests that the war we face in marketing and advertising today, is that every operational role today believes that what they do is a rational science.

When human behavior economics proves we are anything but rational.

Sutherland has spent his career studying behavioral economics, a field that attempts to explain why people do what they do or more importantly why people purchase one product over another.

Advertising adds value to a product by changing our perception, rather than the product itself. Rory makes the assertion that a change in perceived value can be just as satisfying as what we consider real value.

For marketing to be effective, we must become as irrational as our customers perception. In a rather odd unassuming parallel, Sutherland compares this marketing mindset to military strategy. Here’s why…

 

 

What You Didn’t Know About Military Strategy

If you follow military strategy, the first thing you can’t be, is logical and efficient.

Wtf? Because that’s exactly what your enemy will expect you to do, making you susceptible to walk head-on into every trap the enemy sets for you in anticipation of your most obvious attempts to win the war.

Today’s consumers, while far from the enemy, are waiting for our much anticipated and obvious marketing tactics. They see right through them.

The strangest element which marketers face is the psychological one.

Rather than focus on rational improvements, we must make an effort to look at the far less obvious psychological innovation.

Don’t make the following mistake.

 

The Modern And Wrong Assumption of Consumer Behavior:

Sutherland states that the modern business assumption of the economics of a consumer purchase is as follows:

“Every purchase or exchange arrives as a standalone, individual, utility optimizing transaction between two people in a state of perfect information and trust. The conditions of which don’t exist and never happen.

The current business model sees marketing as an inefficiency, an added hard cost in the value chain because the current business framework assumes every consumer knows exactly what they want to buy and exactly what they want to pay to acquire it.”

Economics Don’t Care About Your Feelings

The economics doesn’t calibrate for human experience of emotions, feeling and instincts like trust and perspective.

The weirdness of human perception is that you can create high levels of satisfaction without high levels of expenditure if you really know what floats the customers emotional triggers.

 

This is Why Mirrors Are on Every Elevator

Ogilvy worked with a Midwest company that received a high level of complaints that their elevator was too slow.

So, naturally they went to Otis, (one of only 14 elevator companies in the US) who said for a few million dollars, they could replace and update the current elevator infrastructure decrease the time it took people to wait for the elevator.

Makes sense… but just before investing $2,000,000 on the project, someone said no.

Instead, they suggested, installing floor to ceiling mirrors on the walls outside the elevator. While people waited for the elevator, they participated in small acts of voyeurism and would pass the time looking at themselves in the mirror.

And that’s when they discovered something weird.

What they discovered was that people were complaining about the speed of the elevators. But what they meant was they were just getting really bored waiting for the elevator to arrive.

Once the mirrors were installed,  all complaints about the elevators completely vanished. Proving again psychological insight is just, as if not more powerful, then high-cost physical advancements.

Advertisers have become masters at creating intangible or “perceived value.” But intangible value gets a bad rap in business operations because it’s much more difficult to quantify.

 

When Marketing Fails. Take It From GoPro

Most marketing goes wrong when we focus on solving external conflict resolutions to solutions that are really internal.

For example, GoPro didn’t reinvent the video camera.

They changed the experience we had with every camera prior to GoPro. Before GoPro, it was difficult to simultaneously capture and experience life’s greatest moments while others participated with us as we captured our adventures through our own lens in a way that was never before possible.

One of GoPro’s greatest features is its easy-to-use video editing software that users access for free.

In addition to sharing life experiences, GoPro simplified producing and distributing videos with ease.

 

 

Conclusion: Marketing is, oftentimes, seen as creating a form of “fake” value…

But the truth is, all value is perceived.

Businesses that better understand consumers and what goes into their purchase decisions have the advantage.

When addressing innovation, it is critically important to know consumer psychological behavior.

 

For more information visit tylerhayzlett.com

 

 

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Best Practices Culture Entrepreneurship Management Marketing Personal Development

Think About Your Brand as a Movement

Meet the brands growing insanely fast using this marketing tactic…

 

 

The Best Advice I Got on Building a Brand

I met Russell Brunson in Las Vegas in 2008 at a small business event where he was talking about how digital marketing works online.

While I could tell that he knew what he was talking about, what I didn’t know at the time, was that he was about to build a $360 million company (called ClickFunnels), deploying the lessons he was sharing at the event I was attending.

 

The Sass Company That Created a Movement

One of the many things that made ClickFunnels successful is that rather than promoting their software subscription, they intentionally created a movement for their customers to follow instead.

ClickFunnels is a software that enables entrepreneurs to sell and promote products in an easy to manage platform anyone can use without needing a developer.

Basically, it’s just a landing page builder. But what’s weird is that over a million people follow them online, wear their T-Shirts, and are in love with the company.

Because instead of promoting their company they invite people to join their movement teaching people how to grow their business and change their lives instead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside Expert Secrets

Russell detailed the entire process in his book for anyone interested in copying the model.

If you haven’t read his book, Expert Secrets by Russell Brunson, then you need to stop what you’re doing and order it now.

It’s one of the most informative books on marketing I’ve ever read.

The UnderGround Marketing Playbook 

Expert Secrets is the underground playbook for creating a mass movement of people who will pay for your advice.

Brunson outlines a comprehensive guide on how to become the expert in your niche and build a tribe of loyal followers who resonate with your message and ultimately buy your products.

Russell believes that you can make money when you challenge yourself to help others in the biggest way possible, and why it’s beneficial to create future opportunities for people to join in on (ie, a mass movement).

You’ll get plenty of examples and stories illustrating how he created his own loyal following that turned ClickFunnels into a $360 million business.

 

 

One of the biggest takeaways of the book is knowing what and how to communicate your message in a way people want to take part in your success.

The most successful brands communicate their mission as mass movements of change or something you can join and be apart of.

 

This is a Game Changer if You’re Building a Brand

To start building a mass movement, begin by thinking about how you can help the most people overcome the challenges of selling a product versus selling a service.

It’s a game changer for thinking about how we communicate our marketing message.

 

Take it from the Steve Jobs who created a movement with Apple when he started a computer company in the 90s:

“To me, marketing is about values.

This is an extremely complicated world; this is a very noisy world; and we’re not going to get a chance to get people to remember much about us or about our company,

so you have to be really clear on what you want others to know about you and your company.”

 

 

 

Focus on What You Believe in

Talking about features and costs or how your company beats the competition is not the right approach.

The dairy industry tried for 20 years to convince you that milk was good for you.

Sales continuously declined for 20 years.

Then, they launched the “Got Milk” campaign, which didn’t even mention the product.

In fact, it actually focused on the absence of the product.

 

 

Apple is Committed to Passion

“To me, the best brand that tells a story is Nike.

Nike sells a commodity. They sell shoes. Or so you would think.

But in their ads, they never talk about their shoes, nor the soles, nor why they’re better than Reebok.

What does Nike do in their advertising? They honor great athletes. That’s who they are and what they care about.

At Apple, people want to know what we stand for. Apple’s core value is that we believe people with passion can change the world forever.”

– Steve Jobs

Elevate Your Customer

Remember when RedBull spent $65 million to produce one video so we could watch someone skydive 24 miles from outer space?

 

 

 

Felix Baumgartner became the first human being to break the sound barrier when the energy drink company sponsored the stunt.

 

But why would they do that?

They don’t sell their product. They sell stories of what’s possible.

Red Bull doesn’t rely on advertising. They have been creating a movement to inspire people.

They promote stories of people breaking the limits of what’s possible. It’s not a gimmick.

They don’t spend time explaining the benefits of their product and why you should buy from them.

They tell stories of what’s possible. They are leading a movement that people want to follow.

 

What Does Your Brand Actually Stand For?

RedBull doesn’t position themselves as a beverage company.

They are a peak performance movement that happens to sell five billion cans of their product to customers every year. They don’t create content for “why” to buy from them.

They sell passion, they sell energy, and they promote content from peak performing athletes.

So, when you’re at a store ready to buy an energy drink, you “choose the one that gives you wings!”

 

Attract Customers Like RedBull

The founder of RedBull has a net worth of $19.5 billion and is ranked #53 on the Forbes list of richest people.

He created a movement for consumers to follow.

He became the richest man in Austria and is easily the most famous individual to come out of his country since Arnold Schwarzenegger became Mr. Olympia.

 

 

 

How Did He Do It?

He knew that to attract the most customers, he would have to think unlike anyone in the beverage industry.

He focused on building a movement that would rally people together with a common purpose for a common result.

RedBull no longer competes on speed, quality, and price.

Their community or “tribe” is comprised of the most driven people on planet earth.

The product is just caffeinated water, but what they sell and promote is actually peak performance.

The more we make the customer the hero of our brands, the more likely they are to join our following and the more likely they will want to buy from us.

 

Make Passion Your Product (Even If You Sell Insurance)

Okay but would a more relatable business do this?

How would an insurance company create a mass movement?

Patrick Bet-David, an Iranian born entrepreneur and founder of PHP Agency turned the financial world upside down when he set out on a mission to save the insurance industry from their own up-tight self-destruction.

How does one make an insurance company “cool” to work with?

By creating a movement of change instead.

Instead of fitting into an industry that lacks consumer excitement, Bet-David redefined the customers’ expectations about his insurance company.

 

 

Meet The People Helping People (PHP Agency

He founded PHP in 2009 at the height of the recession.

In addition to launching PHP, he also launched one of the most viewed shows on YouTube with over 2,000,000 subscribers, called Valuetainment.

Their show has around 3 million subs and they are putting out high volumes of insanely valuable content to help other business owners. One of their original videos went viral with over 23 million views.

 

WATCH THIS:

 

The popular YouTube show, has a cult-like following, by helping other entrepreneurs grow their business.

By sharing his passion for building businesses, he was able to create a community of like-minded business builders.

Passionate entrepreneurship is his mantra for their show, company, and community. He didn’t simply launch a YouTube show.

He created a movement for people to follow and redefined how business leaders should communicate.

Bet-David doesn’t sell insurance through his content. He celebrates, encourages, teaches, and inspires other people to grow their businesses.

His team intensely shares valuable, in depth insights, and encouragement to continuously grow. They’re an example that nothing is impossible.

 

 

 

Invest In Your Audience

His company invests time to inform and inspire other people. This is why his followers are loyal and love Valuetainment.

He turned what he learned into four bestselling books and gained a ridiculously large digital audience.

Now, Valuetainment is a leading voice of business information online. They interview everyone including celebrities, pro-athletes, Mafia bosses, and the most interesting people who have endless passion to achieve the life of their dreams.

Patrick became a multi-published author, global speaker and internet celebrity by focusing on how to deliver content to other people who share a similar passion for running and growing businesses.

Thus, turning his passion into a movement worth following.

 

Even Hotel Brands Are Doing This

Marriott is known for serving those who love adventure.

After launching a successful blog from their chairman, Marriott International learned the power of pivoting their marketing strategy to approach people based on their passion for travel and love for adventure.

Upon recognizing its success, Marriott shifted to become a full media publisher and invested in a team of storytellers to produce and launch their own TV show, “ The Navigator Live,” a popular short film titled, “Two Bellmen,” and then ultimately, the “Marriott Traveler.”

In turn, Marriott International became a mass media site that shares and promotes content for millions of travelers with a shared interest in culture and adventure.

 

“In 2018 alone, Marriott Traveler attracted 3 million unique visitors, a 78% increase from the previous year. Visits via Traveler increased visits to individual hotel landing pages by 80%, and revenue from hotel bookings skyrocketed to 200% compared to the previous year. These results certainly make a solid case for content marketing.”

                                                                                    – Inc. Magazine

 

 

 

Lead Your Movement to a Better Opportunity

As Russell Brunson proudly stated in Expert Secrets, everything is based on beliefs.

It’s easier to influence people to embrace the opportunities available to them when your beliefs are clear, compelling, and honest.

The best way to build a mass movement is our ability to promote what we believe.

Also, every movement needs a leader, which Brunson calls “The Attractive Character.”

 

Becoming the Attractive Character

And if you’re the CEO, it’s almost certainly going to have to be you!

Thinking through how you, the CEO, positions yourself as the “attractive character” may sound vain, but it’s not.

The attractive character of your company is not about looking cool and popular. Its purpose is to provide the platform to explain your story in a “why” (or with reasoning) that communicates directly to your audience to prove that you understand what they care about in their interests.

Honest and authentic connections are key to the success of these types of initiatives. Consumers want to know you are a real human being and that you struggle through the same issues.

 

Share Your Experiences

Sharing both positive and negative experiences is a good approach to connect closely with your ideal customer base. Be open and share topics similar to these:

  • Articulate the frustration you experience
  • Share the approach and outcome about the wall you ran into when you confronted your industry to address the “elephant in the room”
  • Goals
  • Achievements

Ultimately, by opening the curtain to the inside of your company, you will convey truth.

With that truth, you will attract empathy, solidarity, and engagement.

 

 

Answer The Following Questions to Start Your Mass Movement

  1. How are you creating a new opportunity for them by providing them with the services, tools, resources, and information to help them achieve their goals?
  2. Which type of challenges did you face that allows you to help them prevent taking the same path?
  3. How can you convey that you are not like everyone who is trying to pitch them some service; that you are one of them

 

The Conclusion

The next time someone asks you what you do for a living, explain the outcomes you provide rather than what you sell.

As consumers, we need to really care about the ultimate outcome provided, not the process it takes to get there.

The attractive character is to explain the desired outcome people really want through the content they produce to help their customer overcome the conflict in their way.

Our job if we are to build a brand, is to take our customers on a journey.

Good luck!

For more information visit tylerhayzlett.com

 

 

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Best Practices Culture Entrepreneurship Industries News and Politics Personal Development

Fight or Die. The Content Wars

Who will survive the content wars?

 

When was the last time you went online to look for a premium content subscription to pay for?

Not for at least 10 years for most people!

In order to get your business, publishers first have to create content you actual want before they can sell you anything whether via ads or god forbid an actual premium subscription.

For a long time this has been a problem plaguing publishers of all shapes and sizes.

Getting anyones attention these days is no joke.

 

 

The Content Dilemma

When everything consumers want or desire is now only a “google search” away, the battle for their attention has now become the war.

But up until recently the pawns of the war have been traditional media publishers. But that has changed forever.

For example, YouTube is now the second largest search engine with how-to videos.

Podcasts are now exploding in growth with over 900,000 podcasts delivering amazing insights on any topic.

Anyone with a blog is now a “media site.”

In other words, anyone can create and compete in the media game. And so everyone is.

If you have anything to sell. You’re now part of the content wars. Here’s why…

 

The Death of Traditional Media

When  digital content took over, consumers were no longer willing to pay a premium for content the way they did in the past…Why should they it’s free?

For the first time in history, publishers had to ask themselves; what the hell do we actually sell?

Content? That’s what they thought they sold. But the digital age proved that idea wrong.

Publishers of all types, from news to music, are less than pleased that consumers won’t pay a premium price for content anymore.

What they’re learning to understand now is that they never sold content. They just sold access to content, and the price consumers paid was dependent on the cost of the format.

 

The music sector sold records, then tapes, then CDs. Now, they sell the devices to streaming services.

Print publishers sell paper via magazines and books, the content of which, only determines how much paper they can sell off each author or issue.

Publishers simply sell paper in binding form.

Economically, the print media are in the business of marking up paper. Now, traditional publishers are realizing that they never really sold content. They just assumed that’s what the consumer was paying for.

Traditional publishers had a monopoly and ability to the access the information we wanted.

But now that access can be created by anyone who produces content. Traditional media is dead.

 

Music Platforms Don’t Actually Sell Music…

Building an audience in the digital age is about capturing the access point to where consumers consume content. That’s why traditional media can’t keep up.

It can’t move where consumers prefer to consume their information. Take music for example.

Napster (the original digital stream source for music), crashed the music party in 1999 and started giving music away for free.

They attracted the masses onto one platform (illegally) to consumer music the way they wanted it (free).

Then advertisers took note and copied the model, taking over the music industry by controlling the distribution (legally through royalties (that they were willing to pay for on behalf of the consumer).

Now the industry doesn’t care about making money selling music anymore. They pay to give it away instead.

 

Today, iTunes is the new version of the brick-and-mortar record stores of the past.

Apple promotes extremely discounted music to sell Apple’s lucrative products, such as phones, tablets, earbuds. Music is just he bait.

Think about it. How is it that music streaming services like Spotify and Pandora, whose sole business model is to make money from the streaming of music, DON’T ACTUALLY MAKE ANY MONEY selling music?

  • 80% of Pandora’s net revenue comes from the ads playing to people listening to free music.
  • Only 20% comes from users who pay for ad-free listening.

In turn, Pandora pays musicians ridiculously low royalties established in 2016 at $0.00176. For each single song played by a single artist for one million times, the artists grosses $1,760.00. This fee is treated, essentially, as Pandora’s marketing expense.

 

They Sell Ads. Content Is The Bait

The kicker? THEY DON’T EVEN SELL CONTENT! They provide access to it. They pay to give away content for free, in order to sell advertising.

Pandora hasn’t turned a profit since it started in 2000.

After 13 years and 96 million subscribers, Spotify finally reported a profit for the first time in 2019 of $107M. They plan to spend all of it and another $500M to acquire podcast networks to build the same model.

They’re not in the business providing music to customers as that would require consumers to actually pay them for that service.

They are advertising companies, which we allow to advertise to us, in exchange for listening to the music they purchase, just like advertising during television programming.

 

By now you’re wondering, what the hell’s your point?

 

The Rise of Content Marketing

In 1995, internet pioneer, Esther Dyson asked an important question about the burgeoning web.

“What new kinds of content-based value can be created on the internet?”
– Esther Dyson

More than 30 years ago, Dyson observed that as the internet would become more populated with various content, and that the content owner’s intellectual property would depreciate in value.

“The likely best defense for content providers,” she argued, “is to distribute intellectual property free in order to sell services and build relationships.”

What worked in the past, won’t keep working in the future.

In a world with unlimited competition for attention, we must find a way to deliver value to our customers before they ever pitch to sell because if we don’t, someone else will.

The modern era of marketing has been an entire shift from advertising benefits, to teaching what we know to help the most people.

Businesses today are treating their content as the carrot to capture people who may be interested in learning about their field and who may likely become customers.

The Rise of Value-Rich Content


Subject matter experts today are standing out by providing the most useful, easy to find content to create a community around the passion they share for their subject matter.

The term, “content marketing” isn’t new.

It was simply adopted by the marketing industry wishing to put a stake in the ground.

In 2007, the industry wanted to highlight the shift away from annoying traditional interruption advertising to a more mature discipline of differentiated value-oriented content creation that would help people not just sell people.

 

 

78% of CMOs believe custom content creation is the future of marketing in order to sell our products and services in today’s cutthroat digital battlefield.

It’s not surprising, given how it influences 61% of consumer’s buying behavior with a 6x higher conversion rate compared to marketing that does not include a digital content strategy.

Businesses today that produce the most relatable content WIN.

 

With Today’s High-Volume of Experts, You Can’t Move Up If You Don’t Stand Out in YOUR Field!

For more information visit tylerhayzlett.com

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Best Practices Biography and History Culture Economics Entrepreneurship Industries Marketing Personal Development

The Rise of People as Brands

Today, anyone can create a platform around anything they love…

 

 

The Rise of The Services Industry

In the 1970s, the US economy moved from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based information economy.

Today, the service business in the US alone, represents 85% of the US private sector.

As service businesses emerged, the “brand promise” transferred from product quality to a specialized knowledge expertise and skillset.

 

Thus Gave Rise to The Knowledge Business

Business between the 70s and 80s used to be called the “Knowledge Industry”. 

That was soon forgotten in the 90s when the internet was born. The information era came with a new way of delivering information. The world wide web.

 

 

The Knowledge Business was about to become a global business endeavor and competition started to heat up.

 

The Rise of Individuals As Brands

In a 1997 Fast Company article,  Tom Peters sparked a phenomenon when he publicly acknowledged for the first time that developing individual personal brands is a necessity for businesses to compete in a cut-throat digital economy.

The key to getting ahead was then linked to your ability to establish a personal equivalent of the Nike swoosh.

The conclusion: “It’s that simple, that hard, and that inescapable.”

 

 

Fast forward almost 25 years. Peters and his original article still remain a leading authority on the topic.

But now, because anyone can be positioned as an expert, everyone is.

 

 

“The Brand Called “YOU.” You Can’t Move Up if You Don’t Stand Out.”

 

The Rise of Thought Leaders

In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a growing rate of increased competition for subject matter experts and ideas.

With so many “experts” right now, how will B2B businesses differentiate themselves to their desired customer in an era when everyone is a consultant, speaker, author, and coach?

How will we find customers in such a crowded space?

The good news is that demand for information is at an all-time high. The bad news?

The rapidly increasing supply of on-demand content. It’s definitely becoming difficult to stand out from the crowded room of other experts.

 

Based on a simple LinkedIn search using titles, there are:

  • 22 million consultants
  • 12 million authors
  • 6 million experts
  • 300,000 coaches
  • 300,000 trainers
  • 40,000 speakers
  • 6 Million Experts

 

The Rise of Coaches

6,109,719 people identified themselves as “experts.” There’s an expert on every topic!

Consultants surpassed experts with a whopping 22,009,581 million results.

Fortunately, if anyone desires to be coached, they will only be able to find the best fit by searching and meeting with the 5,904.507 available to assist you.

Even celebrities are coaches. For instance, Gwen Stefani identifies as a “music coach” because she is a judge on “The Voice,” a television show that evaluates musicians for the “next big star.”

 

 

The Rise of Media Brands

Today, every person and business has access to the same distribution tools as the largest publishers and media networks.

Today, anyone can create a brand reputation on any topic.

While it may appear that the rise of people as brands is a relatively new phenomenon, in reality it has been a 50-year overnight development in the making.

For more information visit tylerhayzlett.com

 

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Culture Economics Entrepreneurship Management Marketing Personal Development Sales Women In Business

In order to achieve your best, you must put a human on Mars

That is what Elon Musk is doing.

What about you?

Setting seemingly unattainable goals is the best way to succeed, stay focused, and execute in business living happily and fulfilled. Jim Collins, in his book co-authored with Jerry I. Porras, Built to Last, posed the idea of a BHAG. Establishing a Big Hairy Audacious Goal that visionary companies used to inspire bold missions as powerful ways to stimulate progress. The thinking behind such an approach is that to generate exceptional focused growth, a “moon shot” goal is needed. The manned lunar mission led to countless innovations in manufacturing, technology, computing, and human physiological support and nutrition resulted from this endeavor.

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars”

– Norman Vincent Peal

The NASA space program and the Kennedy mission demonstrated that great feats can come of extraordinary dreams. But of course, most businesses don’t have the entire financial might of the US government behind them when they start out.

 

What about other businesses?

In 2001, Elon Musk had the idea to colonize Mars and by 2007 he was stating it publicly. Within a few years, SpaceX was created, and the path was set. Today, Musk believes this will be a reality in 2026. Innovation and evolution have occurred along the way. With one of the most important being a reusable rocket which enables huge financial and technical advantages to allow multiple launches and easier commercialization of space travel. This created a funding mechanism to keep the program moving forward. Other advancements in solar energy, battery storage, tunnel boring technology, and electric vehicles across all his companies were either borne out of the big vision or supported it. Along the way, the impact of Musk’s big thinking has inspired competition, innovation, and cultural change.

When Steve Jobs rejoined Apple in 1997, he put the focus squarely on an ideal. That was “to build an enduring company that prioritized people”. Given the excess of the late nineties and rising stock market bubble, the focus on people-not-profit was aspirational. In the following decades, Apple would make user enjoyment and design the focus while they delivered some of the biggest evolutions in modern consumer electronic history. They literally changed industries from computer chip improvements by suppliers and operating systems, to hardware design and industry disruptions including music and cameras. Bill Gates and Paul Allen had the vision to “put a personal computer on every desk and in every home”, well it worked. Had they really understood the acceleration of their goal, they might have said: “to put a computer in every pocket”. Microsoft along with its competitors and suppliers ensured it. By creating the simple software that interfaced with average human and business users, computers quickly became ubiquitous. In time, size was reduced, and capability was vastly improved. The computational power of technology that once occupied entire floors in buildings now rests in the palm of our hand.

Be SMART

Putting a human on Mars seems like a goal for Elon Musk, but not everyone. Maybe your big goal isn’t quite that size, but it must stretch you beyond today. Of course, you might have been taught that goals should be “SMART” (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely). In fact, the principle seems to imply that goals should always be within reach. Inherently that approach wilts in the face of such audacious goals as described above. Maybe it is semantics and we’re really discussing dreams versus goals. Every dream or massive goal can be smashed into hundreds, thousands, or even millions of small “smart” goals that when achieved incrementally, produce an exponential impact. These pieces become the road map – or business plan – to reach that dream.

With what I call a “BFG” (Big F’n Goal) you can see the future through your future self’s eyes, and you are not constrained by the financial, geographic, or technical realities of today. What is needed to accomplish the goal, but doesn’t exist today can be invented or created in time. All dreams can be deconstructed and built step by step.

 

A cosmic ripple

Now, I am looking to make a cosmic ripple effect. I once set a goal to help direct $1 million to charity every year. Creating a business platform, assembling the right people and processes to deliver just that we exceeded $12.5 million in just six years! That Big F’n Goal changed my life and legacy. Today, we look beyond that to a new one-for-two-billion challenge by creating a billion dollars of wealth and a billion dollars of charitable impact. We know there is a multiplier, and it will just take a spark to ignite the imagination and vision releasing the energy of one hundred special, impact-minded entrepreneurs, and business owners to commit to their own Grow Get Give process to make that a reality.

We might not be going to Mars, but our impact will be inter-stellar.

LEGACY

Big goals can be accomplished one step at a time or all at once. When contemplating my legacy, I realized I didn’t want to wait. I had to ask myself the question, “What will give me the greatest possible reach to be that spark to energize others?” It is going to take an engaged community of a thousand, impact-minded, thought leaders and business owners, and we need just one hundred of the right entrepreneurs in our Grow Get Give Coaching family to light this match.

 

I asked, “How will they find me?” I could continue growing one or a few at a time years, trying to rise above the digital noise, but if I could reach millions of people at once, we could accelerate this. That is when I decided to join the biggest platform available today. In January I agreed to join creator Christopher Lavoie and The Social Movement TV Series as a producer.

We are assembling innovators, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders to share their genius, giving them just “4 days to save the world”. If you think you have what it takes to tackle the world’s greatest problems and want to learn how this will elevate your personal, professional, and brand currency, just watch this trailer and schedule a time to speak with me.

https://socialmovement.tv/schedule-producer4/

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Best Practices Culture Entrepreneurship Industries Personal Development

A Nightlife Industry’s Guide to Battling the Pandemic Depression

It’s been a year since live events shuttered its doors to the public. Like an eclipse engulfs the sun, our industry was stripped from us in an instant. For many, this absolute darkness created no change; their lives continued, their work-life maintained. Those outside of the music and entertainment industry might not realize how significant of an impact the pandemic has had on our lives. We are heavily misunderstood and the public has trouble empathizing with our pain and loss. Careers in the nightlife industry are often paralleled with assumptions of superficiality, escapism, endless partying, and substance-fueled nights. But for us that have dedicated our lives to the industry, we know that it’s more meaningful than these stereotypes. It’s our passion, livelihood, and a salient part of our identity. We thrive in an environment and lifestyle that fit our personality and inherent skills. This extension of ourselves is an element that we are yearning to realign.

The magnitude of the challenges that this year presented took a heavy toll on my mental health. Before the pandemic, I was working in the industry full-time, juggling multiple jobs and projects. This has been my lifestyle for the past 11 years, starting as a 15-year-old mobile DJ business owner. Depression was a foreign topic for me since I commonly carry an optimistic mindset. This past year I started noticing negative changes in my mood and behavior, consisting of perpetual waves of sadness and feeling like I lost my purpose in life. I realized that this different version of me wasn’t who I am, and I have decided to take action. I chose to turn my life around and made a list of the essentials I keep in my depression toolbox. It will help you, just like it did for me.

1. Allow Yourself to be Vulnerable

Having a career in the entertainment industry can be quite lonely at times because we always have to show our best face to the public and often work odd hours. Discussing topics of mental health and wellness isn’t usually in sync with the fun and excitement expected in nightlife. We learn to face our problems on our own because we live in an individualistic and competitive culture. It’s dangerous to let ourselves carry all this weight on our own. It’s human nature to seek connections and share experiences. Letting your darkest feelings out is truly a liberating and comforting experience. Reach out to your friends and family and find the courage to open up about your mental state. Additionally, you can look for a community of like-minded individuals or seek professional help. You’d be surprised to see how many people are willing to help and listen to you. Be ready to listen to them too, they might be going through a similar experience.

2. Watch Constructive Content

Social networking sites are great tools to stay in touch with friends and stay up to date with the world. But they’re also full of toxic and useless content. Choose how you spend your time online wisely and be picky about what you consume. It’s tempting to spend countless hours on social media to numb your brain and forget about your problems. Realistically, this isn’t bringing anything positive into your life. Find content that is beneficial for your mental health and it will direct you on the road to self-improvement. Read self-help books, take online classes, watch motivational videos, and apply what you learn into your life. Create constructive habits that will lead you to be the best version of yourself.

3. Don’t Suppress Your Emotions

Sometimes episodes of anguish come when you least expect. Should you curl up in a ball and cry or just completely shut down? No! The best thing you can do is allow yourself to feel everything. It doesn’t serve you to ignore the negative feelings and bottle them up until they snowball into something bigger than you can handle. Let them run through you, acknowledge them, and simply be an observer. Emotions last approximately 90 secs in the body and brain. The key is to not extend them by attaching thought into them, simply let them flow and move on to the next. Pain and sadness are part of being human and without them, we wouldn’t be able to grow and learn from our experiences. They will give you a deeper appreciation of happiness and strengthen your resilience.

4. Express Gratitude

It is a difficult time to be grateful with all the misfortunes happening in the world. But, instead of focusing on all the things we lack, why not appreciate everything we still have? Expressing gratitude brings you joy and helps you think about all the basic elements of life that we often take for granted. For example, you likely have a roof over your head, access to clean water, and are able to fill your belly. Be grateful to yourself and others for making sure these needs are met. Whenever you feel like everything seems to be falling apart, take a moment to write down a list of all the things, big and small, that you’re grateful for and say them out loud. The more you practice, the more you’ll start noticing additional things that should make the list. Feelings of contentment will naturally start flowing.

5. Engage in Physical Activity

Working in nightclubs and events can make one accustomed to physically demanding jobs and fast-paced environments. Maybe you were a bartender making 200 drinks a night at the local bar or an AV technician setting up heavy equipment for big concerts. Now that all of that is gone and most gyms are closed, it’s easy to stay unmotivated to work out on your own. But lack of physical activity is only going to make you feel lethargic and stagnant. Make it a habit to incorporate some type of physical activity into your day. Don’t pressure yourself to go too hard too fast. Start small and slowly increase the time and intensity of your workouts. Get that boost of confidence and energy your mind and body need. You’ll notice how you will carry that positive energy in other areas of your life.

6. Find New Hobbies

Now that you are most likely working in different industries (or not working) and waking up earlier, do you have plenty of time on your hands? Take advantage of it by tapping into your different interests and discovering new hobbies. Do all the things that you have been wanting to do, but your busy nightlife schedule wouldn’t allow you to try. Look for new adventures to stimulate your mind. Go hike at the nearest national park, learn how to paint, go skydiving, learn a new skill in an online class; you can do them all! There is still so much of this world we haven’t explored. You might end up discovering a new passion or favorite activity. Get out there and try something new.

7. Enhance Your Environment

Something that is missed about working in nightlife is the constant sensory stimulation, from epic stage designs to meeting different people every night. Bright lights, vivid colors, loud music, and the warmth of being surrounded by people might be absent from pandemic life. But, since we have to spend more time at home, why not make it fun? Do whatever it takes to create the perfect aesthetic and get your creative juices going. Switch to color-changing light bulbs, get or make some eye-catching art, place some speakers in your living room, install a disco ball… the possibilities are endless. Your environment influences your mood and impacts your behavior. Recreate the atmosphere that makes you happy.

This pandemic brought immense new challenges for everyone, and those who work in the nightlife industry face no exception. The time when we can go back to our beloved lifestyle is still uncertain. But when everything else fails, there’s nothing better than self-love. Taking care of your mental and physical health is the key to get through this successfully. Don’t be hard on yourself and remember the spark that makes you unique. You are stronger and more capable than you realize. Remember that this is only temporary. Treat yourself as you would treat a friend: gently pushing yourself to make the best choices that you can under the circumstances, with kindness, compassion, and patience no matter what that journey looks like for you.

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Culture Growth Health and Wellness Human Resources Leadership

5 Ways to Overcome the Fear of Your Kids Growing Up

Is this the little girl I carried?

Is this the little boy at play?

I don’t remember growing older,

When did they?

Girl on Swing

Have you ever seen Fiddler on the Roof?

It’s the tale of a Jewish milkman named Tevye who has five daughters. Those lyrics are from the lullaby he and his wife sing just before their eldest daughter gets married.

When did she grow to be a beauty?

When did he grow to be so tall?

Wasn’t it yesterday when they were small?

When you think about your children growing up, what emotions do you experience?

Do you feel hope and elation—or fear and anxiety?

Are You Scared to Let Your Kids Grow Up?

Research from the American Family Survey reveals that modern parents set arbitrary milestones to cope with discomfort about their adolescents growing up, which ultimately results in postponing their independence.

When asked what age kids should be “allowed to play at a park or walk home without adult supervision,” the answer was 13. But those same parents said they would let their kid get a job or go on a date less than two years later.

Pexels Mary Taylor 5896916

What these numbers really show is that behind the confusion is an underlying fear. But what are parents and caregivers so afraid of?

  • Fear of danger. The most prevalent of all parental anxieties is the worry that our children will be harmed. This fear is perfectly normal and understandable, but the answer can’t be keeping our kids locked up like modern-day Rapunzels!
  • Fear of the future or the unknown. If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that the world as we know it can change in the blink of an eye. Although we want to keep our children safe and happy 100% of the time, the reality is that so much is beyond our control. The unknown can be a scary thing—but only if you let it be.
  • Fear of separation or letting go. Next time you go to a wedding, look around to see who’s bawling their eyes out. (Hint: it’s probably the parents!) Watching our kids transition to adulthood can make us feel lonely and insignificant, but part of our duty as caregivers is to set them up for independence.

5 Ways to Overcome the Fear of Your Kids Growing Up

Although it’s normal to have parental anxiety, being able to address and ultimately overcome your fears is important—for you and your kids. It’s not easy, but the results are so rewarding.

Here are five strategies that may work for you:

  1. Be a positive mirror. Keep in mind that if you’re acting afraid, your child may pick up on your emotions and start feeling the same way. As caregivers, it’s our duty to make our kids feel secure, and in many ways that begins with our own behavior. Show them how to navigate the world and its uncertainties smartly, safely, and confidently.
  1. Be encouraging. If you can’t handle the thought of your teen going on a date, imagine how they’re feeling right now! Remember how painfully insecure you felt when you were their age? Your teen needs encouragement more than anything. Reassure them that, as Rainer Maria Rilke once wrote, “no feeling is final.” Whatever they’re feeling and experiencing will eventually sort itself out.
  1. Be honest. Encouragement is only valuable when it’s genuine and grounded in reality. If you sugarcoat life, you’re not doing your kid any favors. Take the pandemic, for example: telling your child COVID-19 will magically go away is dishonest and insincere. You may feel like you’re protecting them, but at what cost? A better approach is to explain the effects of the virus and educate them on how to stay safe.
  1. Be communicative. When my daughter Pia was a teenager, we would have disagreements about her going out with her friends and me not knowing where she was. Finally, she came to me one day and asked, “Mom, what can I do to reassure you that I’m safe?” We agreed that a simple text message informing me where she was and who she was with would ease my worry. Problem solved!

5. Be there. I cannot stress the importance of this last tip: let your child know that they can come to you anytime, anywhere, whatever they need. Listen to them. Empathize with how they feel. Just be there.

Don’t let fear cripple you from being the best parent you can be. Face your anxieties head-on and take concrete steps to overcome them so that you can be at peace with your child getting older.

And if you feel like you can’t cope on your own, by all means ask for help! It takes a village to raise a child and the Conscious Parenting Revolution is happy to be your support network.

Join our Facebook group to catch our coaches live streaming Tuesday Tips for Parents, every Tuesday at 6:10 pm PST. We’d love to see you there.

Love and Blessings,

Katherine

Categories
Culture Growth Health and Wellness Leadership

Being Creatively Grateful

If I do a “Self-Inventory,” the First Step of the Faremouth Method, and think of a year when I really could enjoy the comfort of a big holiday dinner with my family in a different state, this is it.  However, in 2020, getting on an airplane to go home to visit family or having a big feast with many folks around the dining room table isn’t advisable. It’s potentially even a high-risk activity. There will be other years coming to get together with family the way we used to. This year it’s more important to stay home in small gatherings with only those we live with, as the medical experts have advised. This is a perfect year to remember those special occasions of a time gone by with our loved ones who may not be with us any longer.

 

Holidays, for me, always bring back fond memories of my loving family and some of the interesting traditions and experiences that we shared.  I remember traveling to Florida, my parents’ retirement home, one Thanksgiving to visit my Mom and Dad with my husband, and two small sons.  We got there a few days early to shop for all the fixings for the big meal, and my then six-year-old son was always anxious to fish in the small pond near the condominium with Grandpa.

 

My Mother would start preparing all her special Italian dishes days before the actual holiday; her delicious lasagna, special veggie dip, amazing meatballs and sauce, pies, cannoli, etc.,  and we also would get caught up on so many things we all had been doing.  My mother seemed to always like to cook for a small army, and it was great to have the leftovers for a few days afterward.  Her cooking was always amazing, and to this day, I’ve still never mastered many of her special dishes that I watched her make so many times.

 

This one Thanksgiving I will never, ever, forget.  I remember hearing my mother get up extra early on Thanksgiving Day to get the turkey ready to put into the oven.  My kids, husband, and I got in the car with my Dad and drove to the ocean so the kids could pick up shells and get into the water.  It was a beautiful day, and it was great to walk along the beach and get away from the hustle-bustle of our lives to just relax.

 

After a few hours, we decided to head back to the condo to enjoy the big Thanksgiving meal my Mom had worked so hard to prepare.  My husband walked up the steps to the fourth floor of their condo and told me he was anxious to smell the fragrant turkey that he knew would be so delicious.  As we walked into the house, he looked at me with a funny smirk on his face because neither one of us smelled anything.  He walked into the kitchen and looked at the oven and came over to me and said, “Mary Ann, your Mom forgot to turn the oven on!”

 

I recall my Dad saying something like, “Oh, that’s ok.  We have so much food here.  We can extend the Thanksgiving celebration and have the turkey tomorrow.” That reminds me of a famous quote by Ernest Hemingway from his book, “The Old Man & the Sea,” that says:

 

“Now is not the time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.”

 

That quote really does remind me of the essence of Thanksgiving 2020.  We might not have the same opportunities to enjoy the normal traditions of the holiday, etc., but I think we can

be grateful for what we do have and make new traditions to enjoy what there is.

 

With so many people out of work, furloughed, or experiencing pay cuts, let’s take a look at some ways we can all be more creatively grateful this holiday season, and begin some new traditions we might consider putting into place that might allow us all to experience more joy during this beautiful time of the year.

 

Catherine Sanderson, professor of psychology at Amherst College, makes a good point when she says, “The key this year may be accepting that things need to evolve and avoid comparisons with celebrations from years past. If you try to replicate past holidays exactly, it’s like this year will feel inferior.”

 

  1.  Start New Traditions – Traditions can be great but new ones can offer creative experiences and bring people even more together. History offers plenty of examples of this. Jodi Eichler-Levine says, “During the era of mass migration from Europe to the United States, people who’d immigrated suddenly had no way to celebrate major holidays with those they’d left behind.” One particular cultural group began creating elaborate postcards to celebrate the holiday.  “They were this gorgeous new art form,” she says.  “People could share their sentiments even though they could not physically be there with their loved ones.”  How neat to let your creative artistic juices run wild this holiday!  Maybe those art supplies you have tucked away in that bottom drawer of your chest need to come out and create something to give to those special people you care about. It’s a win-win for all; you can create something and feel good about giving someone a gift they might really like!
  2. Embrace Change – It’s been said “Rituals make the ordinary extraordinary.” A pumpkin pie on a random day in November is just a pumpkin pie, but a pumpkin pie on the fourth Thursday of November is not just pumpkin pie.  It’s a part of Thanksgiving tradition.  Our intentions, coupled with the season, elevate it.  With the digital world and Zoom so upon us, why not get with family in different states and all share dessert together online?  It might not be quite the same as being with them for the entire dinner, but it lets family be together and might allow people who would not be able to make an in-person visit, even without the pandemic, feel a part of the holiday and have the ability to visit and enjoy the warmth of family and good friends.
  3.  Donate to Those in Need – This Thanksgiving might be especially poignant due to the pandemic as many people have lost loved ones or are experiencing a pinch in their pocketbook.  Consider volunteering your time or donating some of those clothes stuck back in the closet, or what you can afford dollar wise that you would have spent on all the food, etc., for the holiday to an organization or charity that’s meaningful to you in lieu of having a big feast.

 

I do believe traditions and holidays are something that we should hold dear and close to our heart.  Mixing it up a bit this year and maybe in years to come, might be a nice new experience for many to enjoy.  Covid-19 doesn’t have to cast a negative light on this time of the year.  Why not decide to get creative and focus on what we can do with what there is.  Doing our own self-inventory of how we can be creatively grateful this year is also a good mindfulness practice that has only a focus on the heart of the why we get together for holidays.

 

The turkey that never got cooked that Thanksgiving Day in Florida with my parents really was not even missed.  It became a standing joke for years to come that to this day we laugh about and brings smiles to our faces!  While we enjoy the food at the holidays, it is really the connection of our hearts that creates the lasting impact and memories.  I know my sweet Mother is happy she was able to give me good content for this article during this time of the year!

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Culture Growth Health and Wellness Human Resources Leadership

DO IT NOW – Making Our Dreams A Reality

 

Have you ever had times in your life that forced you to ask yourself some deep questions?  Those moments appear out of our control and are the catalyst for decision and change when we have to make choices.  The Second Step of the Faremouth Method is “Ask Better Questions,” and I’ve been doing a lot of that lately.  This week, a song came on the radio that seemed to really speak to me and catapult me into deep thought about my own life and dreams.  It is the song by Garth Brooks called “The River.”  This is a song about chasing your dreams and never giving up on what you believe in.  The lyrics remind us that life is shorter than we think. If we just stand on the sidelines of the shore, watching the river go by, then life will be gone before we have a chance to live it.  We can’t be a bystander in our life.

 

Garth Brooks uses the metaphor of a person’s life, being a vessel moving along a river.  We are like a ship that moves through life upstream in search of our dreams.  It is a constant battle to keep the vessel in the water because the shoreline is constantly changing.  We should not put off until tomorrow what we should do today.  We have to take advantage of the opportunities that come along, which support our dreams as they may not always be there.

 

Garth says, “a dream is like a river.”  Our dreams change like water moving along its path, switching streams, depending upon what life throws at you.  As life changes, the river can be calm, then fierce, and then calm again. As the course of the river changes, so does the route we choose to take.  Each person has a dream. When the river gets rough, and life is difficult, maybe like we are now experiencing with Covid, a lot of people push their dreams aside and forget about them. Their attention gets diverted by survival instincts while they ignore the passion within.

 

Brooks says, in his song, that he will sail his vessel until the river runs dry. This might mean that he will always chase his dreams until his life is over.  If you don’t follow your heart’s desire, you will never have a chance to experience the life you really want to live.  It’s been said you should be at one with your dreams like a bird in nature, flying above the water. “Ropin’ the Wind. Liberty, 1991.”

 

The song has a great meaning and a lovely melody to it.  It’s not always easy to pursue your dreams because much can stand in the way. The only thing you can do is just push forward until the river runs dry.

 

Let’s take a look at how we can apply the beautiful lyrics of this song, “The River,” to the New Work World.

 

1. “You know a dream is like a river, Ever changin’ as it flows”

 

We’ve all had many changes this year with Covid-19.  Reflect on some of the changes in your work world and how you have had to adjust and flow with them.  The only constant in life is change.  What have those changes made you realize about your job, your work habits, and your future goals?  Sometimes big changes force us to re-evaluate important aspects of ourselves that might inevitably force us to make changes and allow us to have a more fulfilling life.  What are your dreams going forward?  How can you try to make them happen?  Have you had to adjust or modify how you’re going to manifest your dreams?

 

2. “Trying to learn from what’s behind you, and never knowing what’s in store, makes each  day a constant battle just to stay between the shores….”

 

What have you learned from your previous work/education/life experiences that might have helped you cope with the big changes we have all undergone in 2020?  What have you done to keep yourself stable during these uncertain times? Have you tried more mindfulness practices? Have you spent more time outdoors in nature?  Have you investigated some classes, watched more movies?  What have been your coping mechanisms and what new or different ones might you try to stay between your personal shores?

 

3. “I’ll never reach my destination if I never try, so I will sail my vessel ‘til the river runs dry”

 

What can you do now to reach your destination?  What can you try today that might bring you a better tomorrow? Can you expand your current job function in the current company you are with to have higher management recognize and consider you for a promotion track?  Can you investigate other product lines your current company might get into that might make them more in line with technology changes?  Is there a product that could be sourced from current or new suppliers that you could investigate to give your company a more up-to-date brand and purpose to allow them to become more profitable in the future? Are there other industries that may utilize your skill set that would have more interesting experiences and opportunities going forward?

 

4. “So don’t you sit upon the shoreline and say you’re satisfied, choose to chance the rapids, and dare to dance the tide…..”

 

Even if you are one of the lucky ones who have stayed employed, what can you do now to get ready for more opportunities in the future?  If you have gotten cut or are on furlough, what can you do in your employment world to dance the tide of the future? Do you need to update your resume, talk to a career consultant, or become more active on LinkedIn?  The future work world will be a “new dance” of sorts.  It’s always prudent to become proactive and get ready for the future before you really have to.  Talking to professionals in the field always helps.  Learning new information about your industry or ones that interest you by doing your own research is always a smart idea to consider.

 

The last verse of the song is “And I know I’ll take some falls…..but I can make it through them all …..Yes, I will sail my vessel ‘Til the river runs dry, ‘Til the river runs dry.”

 

We’ve all taken our own personal and professional falls in 2020.  I think if we all adopt the mindset in the song, “The River,” where Garth says that he will always chase his dreams until his life is over, we will discover a life that is fuller, more meaningful with expansive growth and rewarding experiences!  Dreams remain dreams unless we do something about them. We have to search for ways where we can create and actualize them in our lives rather than just ponder about them in the future.  If we don’t act, they will remain dormant. By action, we can create anything we want and magnetize it into our reach. We need to start the process NOW!!

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Culture Growth News and Politics Personal Development

We The People Vote But Does It Count?

What happened to our voting system? It used to be that we, the people voted by mailing in our votes before the actual voting day, early vote, or vote at the polls the day of. Sitting in front of our televisions we found out the results of the election that night or early the next morning. No longer do we have a voting day. It is now a voting week or more. We the people voted, but did it count?

This year after the polls closed, the outcome of several positions including The President of the United States is still unknown. We have more technology connected to voting than ever before, yet we did not receive the results faster than when they were hand-counted.

Mail-in Votes

One of the problems causing the delay is allowing mail-in votes after election day. An excuse we are given is that the US Post Office has trouble getting the mailed votes in on time. Though, not an issue in the last decade, somehow it is now. Is it actually a Post Office problem?

A mail-in ballot is available to those who choose this way to cast their votes, by requesting to receive one. People fill out the ballot and mail it in. Obviously, we all know that in election years the official voting day is the first Tuesday in November. We want to be counted so why would anyone wait.

Unnecessarily, we wait for the results. In the past, we required to have the votes in on or by election day. Why we extended this deadline does not compute. Except for this year because of COVID-19, we all know that our taxes are due by April 15th. The IRS is firm on their rulings, so we do not miss the deadline. Why isn’t voting the same way?

Yet, this year we extended our absentee ballot due date. With all this technology we cannot get the votes in on time and counted efficiently. Surely, the voters want their ballot counted so their motivation is to send them in on or before time.

Instead, as the votes are counted, we observe data dumps in which candidate results are flipped. We also notice a number of votes for candidates disappearing during the counting delays. This is not about late absentee ballots coming in. It is about extending the date for accepting ballots, opening up the possibility of adjusting the results. The extra time allows for higher accessibility for tampering to occur.

The People Wait

The delay in getting the election results in itself, creates a problem, the waiting. While Americans are watching the process with no outcome, frustration and insecurity build as we wonder if our votes are counted correctly. We sit and stew, hearing different excuses for what is going on, realizing that our voting system is broken and our voices are not being heard.

In several close races like The President of the United States, results are still not available. That is disturbing. We watch as the process is manipulated, become aware of suspicious count movements, and observe scenes of legal counting procedures not being followed. What does that tell us about the current system?

The People’s Vote

Voting results so far reveal that Americans are split. We as a nation are divided, a major red flag. There is so much discord in our government it has severed the people instead of bringing us together. Again, the dinosaurs in our government are interested in getting their way instead of helping its people.

Is it time to address term limits, pulling out of office those who work around the system, to fight for themselves? The people will have a chance to elect those who understand the focus – the American people. Is it time to dissolve the two parties and have just one?

The Leaders Actions

A glaring tell is during the State of the Union. Each year half of the room sits when the President is speaking while the other half stands since he is in their party. The politicians have lost respect for the office. When our leader speaks, whether you voted for him or not, you stand up. My candidates have not always won but the office of the President is still the office.

You might have noticed that Democrats and Republicans lately have not put up any worthwhile successors. Are there no capable candidate – material people? Possibly, the best candidates choose not to run because, like the police, they are constantly being attacked. These are clues to be aware of. How can the people work together while we watch our leaders pull further apart!

“It is hardly too strong to say that

the Constitution was made to guard the people

 against the dangers of intentions.

There are men in all ages who mean to govern well,

but they mean to govern.

They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters.”

– Daniel Webster

In due course, from this election, the American people will realize we are a country divided. We need changes in our legislative system. The House and Senate are fighting on their issues and not solving matters for the people.

The People First

For example, during this year’s campaign one of the biggest issues, at least in the top two is the environment. At a time like this is that such an important issue? What about vital issues like COVID-19, Americans out of work, the supply chain is fractured so products are not available. These are the concerns of the American people. The environment can wait.

The first priority is the American people. Sure, there is an environmental problem and an illegal immigrant problem. Now is not the time to sue each other. Americans are hurting so some matters can wait. Take care of our citizens first and put the rest aside. To our leaders, pull together and help us!

How the People React

The American people have been decidedly vocal about our government, which is our right. Unfortunately, it is to the point of anger turning to violence. If our leaders cannot work together and stop their childish displays of actions and words, what is the likelihood of our citizens changing? I’m talking about the Democrats and the Republicans, it is a whole issue, not a party issue. This is not about what side a voter is on. This is about our American right to decide who we want to vote for. Government processes are taking that right away from us.

 People of America

Our government is not going to change. We, the people produce change. It is our duty to correct our government, admonish our media, and help our citizens. We are in this together and the only ones willing to work on it, the only ones that care about us. The politicians are not going to pull it together. The American people can and must.

“Loyalty to country ALWAYS.

Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”

Mark Twain

Voice of the People to be Heard

We can create change by working together to build each other up and not tear each other down. Riots and protest marches have been tried and do not work. Engaging in verbal and physical fights is not how to fix problems. Only pulling together will produce change.

We start now. It is necessary for us to communicate better with each other. Communication only occurs when the listener understands what the speaker meant, not by interpreting what they thought the speaker meant. When something speaks and you do not agree with them or you feel challenged, don’t judge. Find out where you differ by exchanging information. Nothing will ever become altered if we do not open up conversations among ourselves. To turn our country around, stop pointing fingers and respect each other.

“A patriot must always be ready

 to defend his country against his government.”

Edward Abbey – American author and essayist

We the People

Times have changed. Our leaders are not working for us. It is necessary to pull together to reform our political system. It is our duty to admonish the media, which contrives to keep the people divided. The answer to our problems is up to us, and by working together we reestablish our government.

You are either a solution to a problem or a source of the problem. It starts today! America needs a solution and we the people are it.