Tag: purpose

In on the Action

As I walked through the grocery store, something caught me off-guard.

The usual brands were front and center in the hard seltzer aisle as I passed it by — Budweiser and Truly and White Claw. But so was Sonic. And there were boxes of Topo Chico Hard Seltzer all over the place.

Now, I’m not a drinker, but I know enough to be perplexed. After all, Sonic is a family-friendly drive-in chain — not a distiller. And Topo Chico? That’s my favorite brand of mineral water — more of a North American Perrier than an Anheuser Busch.

What were these brands all doing masquerading as purveyors of hard seltzer? Heck, what was so special about hard seltzer in the first place?

I found few answers. But as it turned out, I might not have been asking the right questions.

I’m not the oldest book on the shelf. But when I see the younger generation, I feel ancient.

These days, toddlers spend long car trips playing games on digital tablets. Children upload and share videos on their phones. And teenagers use strange slang — like Bae, Turnt and On Fleek.

When I was young, none of this was possible. We’d spend car rides listening to CDs or even cassette tapes. The Internet was slow, laggy, and only available on computers. And the most exotic slang we used was the word Dope.

Yes, much has changed over the years. And as our habits have evolved, so have the products we’ve used and the businesses we’ve frequented.

For example, oil and gas companies had the highest valuations on Wall Street when I was a kid. Their power was solidified through an empire of drilling wells, refineries, and gas stations. And even those of us who were too young to drive recognized their influence, thanks to the branded toy trucks we got as gifts around the holidays each year.

Now, it’s tech companies topping the Fortune 500. Tech companies that either weren’t around in my youth or that were struggling for survival back then. And as they soar, those once-powerful oil and gas companies fade, suffocating under their own antiquity.

The common thread? Money talks and people walk. In a capitalist society, dominance can ultimately be fleeting. Getting in on the action with the next big thing is critical.

That mantra is what led Sonic and Topo Chico into the hard seltzer aisle at my grocery store. But were these moves necessary?

Football can be a chaotic sport.

Gigantic athletes outfitted in shoulder pads and helmets collide with each other dozens of times per game. Quarterbacks make ridiculous throws to their receivers while running for their lives. And on kickoffs and punts, the two teams charge at each other with full heads of steam.

But no action on the gridiron is more chaotic than the fumble.

When a player loses the ball, it falls to the ground with a thud. Suddenly a massive dogpile emerges on top of the ball, with players pushing and shoving to recover it. These scrums are not particularly enjoyable to look at, but they’re ultimately consequential in the game.

Whenever a new trend, technology, or product emerges in society, businesses treat it like it’s a fumble recovery. There’s a mad scramble for position, with little planning or organization behind it.

Eventually the dust settles, and a winner emerges from the pile. And the rest of the pack? They emerge bloodied, bruised, and emptyhanded.

The costs of this failure can be especially profound. Football players can bank on the opportunity the next play will bring. But businesses who come up short after betting it all? They’re toast.

This outcome might seem tragic, but it’s exactly how the powerhouse of American business came to be. There were dozens of soda purveyors in the 19th century. Only Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Dr Pepper ultimately stood the test of time. The same pattern played out for automakers, entertainment studios, and smartphone providers. Where some have survived, many others have failed.

To some degree, this survival of the fittest is now taking shape in the hard seltzer world. As the spiked beverage gains acclaim, plenty of companies are vying for those consumer dollars.

But this time, it’s not just brewers and distillers getting in on the action. Players from outside the sector have entered the game. Players like Sonic or Topo Chico.

Because of all this, it’s pure chaos in the hard seltzer aisle these days. But eventually, the dust will settle, and someone will emerge with the football. Everyone else will fade away.

If Sonic and Topo Chico end up in the everyone else category, the financial implications will be bearable. Families will still frequent Sonic for drive-in dinners. Teetotalers and designated drivers will still drink their weight in Topo Chico sparkling mineral water. Business will go on as it did before.

But their brands will be tarnished in the process. They will be ridiculed for veering too far out of their lane. They will be mocked for rushing to get in on the action — even when it made no sense to do so.

And this criticism? It will be justified.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with reinvention.

Reinvention is what took Apple from a computer company to the multifaceted tech provider we now know it as today. Reinvention is what transformed Scott Harrison from a nightclub promoter into the founder of a groundbreaking charity. Reinvention is what allowed me to leave a budding journalism career and find a foothold in the marketing world.

Reinvention can be a beautiful thing. It can help us shine brighter.

But only if we approach it with purpose.

Apple had an existential purpose behind its reinvention. So did Scott Harrison. And so did I, even though it took me years to uncover it.

But Sonic and Topo Chico? They have no existential purpose behind their reinventions. They’re just jumping on the dogpile and blindly hoping they come away with the football.

Don’t follow their lead. Don’t transform yourself into something else just to be in on the action. All you will find on that path is delusion.

In business and in life, it’s best to be true. True to yourself. True to your values. True to your purpose.

As we head into a time of renewal and transformation, take heed of that. Focus not on the scrum on the periphery. Let your heart and your head be your North Star.

That’s the action you must get in on to thrive.

An Ode to Utility

Utility.

What does it mean?

On a basic level, it means usefulness. It means everything having its place, with nothing going to waste.

On a personal level, it means my life philosophy.

You see, I’m utilitarian to a fault. The idea of wasting money on resources I don’t need bothers me. And the thought of wasting the day away doing nothing makes me nauseous.

The way I see it, resources are way too strained for me to go off-script with a day or an item. Everything must have its purpose and nothing should be left to neglect.

This also means I must maintain internal discipline at all times. I can’t shut off my brain for a day or mindlessly chase a thrill now and then. My mind is always working, my joy always tempered by my sense of responsibility.

This can drive those in my inner circle crazy.

“Live a little,” they say.

But I’ve lived a lot. Long enough to know that there are no shortcuts.

All of our actions balance out in the end. Better to be cognizant of this construct throughout than to live in a boom or bust cycle.

Yes, as great as it might be to live carefree, we have many responsibilities to manage. Our possessions, our bank account and our well-being are just a few. Forgetting about these for a while means we’ll need to work extra hard to tend to them later.

I’d rather do the hard work before I commit. To stay agile and think lean.

This keeps me on task and on purpose. Which helps me live a more fulfilling life. One that’s worth the grind.

So, how do I do it? Well I start by considering the use case. Then I consider the cost.

If I can’t find a good, regular use for what I’m considering, it’s not worth getting. It will simply waste away as clutter, and my hard-earned dollars will be better spent elsewhere.

And if something is prohibitively expensive, I don’t pursue it. Utility is about living within one’s means, and budgets do matter.

Of course, there are exceptions to these rules. Gifts and family heirlooms are not always utilitarian, but they are valuable. And sometimes I feel a financial splurge is necessary, even if it stretches beyond my means.

But I balance out these moments of excess with frugality. After all, the ultimate goal is utility. And utility requires a return to my purpose-driven normal.

Now, I realize my reality is a bit extreme. Not everyone has my laser focus when encountering each decision. Many don’t want to have it.

That’s understandable.

But we would all benefit by looking at the big picture now and then.

We would all benefit by considering our footprint. Of how we use what we obtain and what value that brings us.

We would all benefit by thinking of our purpose. Of how our lives fit into our grander plans.

And we would all benefit by recognizing that the little things can make a big difference.

We are all blessed to walk this earth.

Let’s live each day with purpose. And act with utility.

Dig Deeper

Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.

The late Jim Valvano uttered those words when I was I was far too young to understand their significance. But I’ve seen the highlights of his 1993 ESPY speech several times. And each time, they’ve moved me to tears.

Here was an accomplished basketball coach dealt a cruel blow — a cancer diagnosis in an era where treatment was far less effective than it is today. He had every excuse to shut it down, to prepare for the seemingly inevitable, to quit.

But he didn’t.

Jimmy V decided to devote his life to raising money for cancer research, in hopes of saving millions of people in a future he knew he wouldn’t be around for. He refused to let his wit, his humor and his exuberance for life fade away, even as he fought a battle more grueling than most of us could ever imagine. And he combined his mission and his virtues into one of the most important and inspirational speeches I’ve ever come across — a speech he delivered energetically at a time when he barely had the physical strength to stand.

It was inspirational, emotional and powerful. And it continues to remind us that quitting should not be an option.

***

Things ain’t always rosy. That’s a fact. Over the course of our lives, we all have times of struggle — times where it feels like everything’s spiraling out of control and we just want to throw our hands in the air and say “Screw it all.” I know I have.

Now, the cause of this outburst might very well be mundane in the long run, but that won’t stop our blood from boiling due to the frustration. It won’t stop us from thinking that throwing in the towel is the most feasible option. After all, self-preservation is an instinct we all share.

In moments like these, we must heed the words of Jimmy V.

Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.

There is always more we can give, more we can do, more we can try. A no can lead to a yes, an untenable situation can yield a more suitable one — and yes, a rainbow might be hiding behind that storm cloud.

We can — and should — iterate. We can learn from our current stress-inducing predicaments to build a more efficient and smooth future for ourselves.

But what we can’t do is give up.

***

Now, this is not to say that we should keep smoking, just because kicking the habit involves the word “quit.” And if our job is leading to nothing but misery, moving on might be prudent. I once left a job and moved 300 miles without having a new employer lined up; while the struggle was quite real at first, it ultimately paid major dividends.

But does axing a nicotine fix or saying sayonara to an untenable position really count as giving up? I’d say no, as each is but a small step in concrete plan to improve our well-being.

On the other hand, when a project we undertake turns out to be more difficult or exhausting than we’ve anticipated, we must not entertain the notion of quitting. We must fulfill our obligations, even if the end result is not quite to our expectations. For completing what we undertake gives us the satisfaction of closure, as well as the strength to rise to the next challenge.

***

Life is linear — and our path through it will be littered with challenges, frustrations and self-doubts. These are opportunities. Opportunities to see what we’re made of. Opportunities to grow. Opportunities to dig deeper than we knew we could.

A generation ago, a man with seemingly nothing left to give devoted everything he had to saving and inspiring future generations. What’s your excuse?

Be The Answer

I earn a living as a search marketer. That means, in my professional life, I’m responsible for helping clients increase their visibility across the Internet — on search engines, directories and social media platforms. I’m a hired gun, a desperado using a very particular set of skills — as Liam Neeson would put it — to make a difference in both the success of my clients and my own livelihood.

This all might sound meaningless and corporate to you — that’s OK, it sounded that way to me too at first. After transitioning from the broadcast media industry to search marketing, I struggled in finding true meaning in my work. I wanted to make a positive difference in the world around me; although I felt the broadcast media industry largely failed at this task (more on that in another post), I still felt a little less altruistic — and a bit empty.

Over time, I realized that I wasn’t looking at my role from the proper perspective; I was focusing on the six inches in front of my face instead of the bird’s-eye view for the industry. That change in perspective was truly enlightening.

By looking at the bigger picture, I have realized that I was positioned in a unique industry — one that has continually transitioned into more innovative version of itself in recent years, and one that has largely been dominated by the cornerstones of 21st century culture: Google and Facebook. Both of these companies have leveraged the combination of innovation, consumer needs and rapid growth of their user base to create de facto monopolies over the Internet marketing world.

Good fortune, good timing and brilliant business maneuvering helped both Google and Facebook rapidly grow into the dominant cultural forces they are today. But unlike so many corporate narratives from previous generations, the story does not end there. Instead of simply chasing profits and stepping on consumers, Google and Facebook used their dominant positions to carry out their missions — organizing the world’s information and connecting the world, respectively. Since both companies dictate the market, the search marketing industry was obligated to follow their lead. These initiatives have helped consumers improve their experiences on the Internet — and yes, they’ve also helped Google and Facebook send their own profits skyrocketing.

It’s in this context that I came to understand the true purpose of the industry I came to work in, and of my role in that industry. You see, each time Google or Facebook changes something up, the search marketing industry changes with them. The most recent focus of the industry is providing information for what Internet users are asking for — both actively (in a search bar) and subversively (through demand for websites with good user experience).

How does a search marketer such as myself factor into all this? Three words.

Be The Answer.

By providing the best answer at the right time on my client’s websites consistently, I can help Internet users find solutions, and my clients find success. If you strip away that Neeson-esque “particular set of skills,” this is what my job is all about. It’s that simple.

***

Be The Answer has become my mantra and my rallying cry. It’s brought purpose to my career, but it’s also brought a necessary level of perspective to my life. And I bet it could have the same effect on yours.

How so?

Start by asking yourself the big, scary questions:

  • Am I giving my all, every day?
  • Am I learning from my mistakes?
  • Am I treating people with kindness and respect?
  • Am I doing my part to make the world a better place?
  • Am I the spouse I should be?
  • Am I the friend I should be?
  • Am I the parent I should be?
  • Am I the son or daughter, the niece or nephew, the cousin I should be?
  • Am I satisfied with who I see looking back at me in the mirror?

Scour your soul to find the truth, even if you don’t like what you find. Then work on improving every day, until the answer is unequivocally yes. And when you get there, keep working to keep it that way.

Be The Answer.