This is about how you can blow a bigger horn.
It works whether you’re a dentist drilling in Tacoma.
Or a mom selling cookies in Oklahoma.
You need to leverage your magic.
Step 1
The first question is the most obvious: what is your magic? Answer: it’s your Scooby Dooby Doo and your Faberge egg. Maybe it’s your golf swing that defines who you are, or perhaps you make cookies that would make us drive far. Maybe you keep bees and make us the honey, or maybe you’re the keeper of the secret to more money. Whatever it is, this is your biz, but it’s more just that, it’s also your act. It’s the thing about you that says, “Hey, look at me”, and it’s the one thing you would do all day long for free. It’s no trouble or effort, it’s like a day in the sun. It’s like tuna on a cracker or a good #1. Finding this part of your soul is a must, starting right now, you should make it your lust. Don’t be arrogant, and also don’t be shy. In the next paragraph, I’m going to tell you why.
Step 2
Step two is to think differently than you are now. And so you ask, “Hey Mr. Joe, are you gonna tell me how?”
Tell you I will if you’re ready to hear, just remember this message as a fellow marketeer: think differently about things in your life and your job, just like the Apple man whose last name was (fill in the blank). Being different isn’t just better, it’s today’s new black. And thinking anew is how you will find what you lack.
But there’s one more ingredient in this magic recipe. To learn that right now, go to Step 3.
Step 3
Leverage will get you from here to there. It’s the juxtaposition of one and a nare. The point of view here is simple to see. It’s the new math my friend and 1 + 1 is now 3.
This basic idea applies to your time, and anything else that makes your bells chime. If you’ve never done this you should and here’s why: it’s the difference between bad custard and your grandma’s best pie. Leverage is the thing will make you go big. Suddenly your audience of one is a Rolling Stones gig.
Next up is a story and I hope you relate. I made the whole thing up with some wine (it was late).
The Cookie Story
A mother is in charge of the next school fundraiser. She’s an A-typical, nothing to tweet about, middle of the road American woman who is nothing more special than the rest of us except she raised her hand. And one other thing…
She really knows is cookies. She always has. She knows the cookie, she bakes the cookie, and she loves the cookie. She reads books about cookies, she dreams about cookies, and she is a dedicated subscriber to the Cookie Channel. Her mantra in her new mission was fundraiser was clear: “Make the Cookie Great Again.”
At first she thought, “Ok, here’s my chance to really shine.” And shine she would because she was the Sensei of the strawberry sprinkled sugary shortbread sandwich. The problem was she could only pump out a few duz of her delectables a day. So she changed her thinking. “I need to work on my idea, not in my idea” she said to herself on day. And then presto, it came to her: to really make this thing go, she needed a battalion of cookie bakers.
So she emailed her list of motherly moms and put out the word out that she was looking for “a few good bakers – no experience required”. Soon she had the soldiers required for her cookie crusade. But she couldn’t teach them how to make the best cookie ever one at a time. So she changed her thinking again. She got out her iPhone and shot a set of short videos on how to be a better baker. Then she texted the links to her recruits, and within the hour they were telling her via social media how they loved, loved, loved her videos. Then she thought, “I think I’ll start a YouTube channel.” Soon there are thousands of thumbs ups and oodles of subscribers. She built a website and posted her videos as a Master Class. The PayPal button went crazy. It was awesome.
But this is about a fundraiser for the school. So let’s get back to that.
Now that she had production nailed, she needed some marketing. She created interesting names for her baked goods that brought them to life. “Lovers Lemon bars”. “Ninja Ginger Snaps”. “Boogers Sugars”, and of course the infamous “Berner Haselnusslebkuchen” (which by the way is a traditional Christmas cake from Berne in Switzerland made from ground hazelnuts; but you probably already knew that).
Soon there were Buy One Get One Free cookies, cookie punch cards, cookies with a free kiss, and for the more adventurous – cookie edibles. Her world had become a kind of crazy cookie carnival. She even found herself on the cover of Time magazine as one of the “10 Most Influential Women of the 21st century.” People just could not get enough of those amazing cookies. They made everyone happy, they revolutionized school fundraising, and each bite was like a fresh dollar bill dipped in seductive chocolate. Cha Ching!
Soon they’d sold enough cookies to give every child at the school a full ride scholarship, buy every family a new house, and give each staff member a shopping spree at Macy’s in New York (which is the world’s biggest store in case you didn’t know). So that’s the story of leveraging your magic. I’m a little drunk so I’m going to bed now.
Good luck and have a good week.
Joe Still
2024.05.05
Cite
“I have serious concerns about whether it’s prudent to give any foreign country substantial leverage over the U.S. economy. Instead of spending $80 billion on important programs here at home, we’re sending this money overseas just to pay interest on our debt.”
– Senator Tim Johnson