I finally decided to follow the advice and the thrive of what I do best. I put my words out there and said, “Okay. We will make it real.. well.. it is real… but we will do this… what I do… what we do… uhh…” suddenly realizing that I don’t know what I do. Don’t get me wrong, I am great at what I do. I do it all the time. I get praise for it (that means I am good right?). I get paid for it. I even do it pro-bono sometimes.
I just couldn’t really figure out what “it” was or, even how to describe “it” to you. The businessman in me threw away a lot of paper and almost stopped the entire effort because you can’t share “it” with a broader audience if you can’t tell them what “it” is. Our business plan failed. We could not design a page because there was no way to share “it.”
It was in gathering testimonials that we realized how powerful “it” had been to others, to companies, and to groups of people. Those testimonies also helped us realize what “it” was. I do different. It does not matter what someone needs, the topic for an event, the problem at hand, or which new opportunity comes along — I am simply known for being of value by bringing different to the table. I connect the dots differently and I really think differently and I really see differently and I drive people nuts.
Differently has always been difficult for me even though I was succeeding. I helped start a church and we did it so differently that many normal church people just departed. I would sit in board meetings wanting to scream because the real problem seemed so simple to me but I couldn’t get the words out to get others to understand (I still have a few great translators who help me!). I get cranky because I can’t stand it when people make illogical arguments. I think too much. But all of this, with a great deal of growing and control, has become a lifetime of success helping other people be great and succeed.
In my 20’s I think I just did different because that is what 20 year olds do. In my 30s, I wanted to change the world and fix big stuff in our society (I still do) and knew something needed to change. Later and now, I agree more that if it isn’t broke, we may not need to fix it. But I just found myself thinking, “What if it could be better?”
Here’s the point – it is always valuable to get a different perspective and there are many people who can help. I see our secret sauce and I can identify the ingredients but it has just been so difficult to explain Different.ly. I suggest that you read some of the testimonials – that might help. Maybe spend some time with us.
