The Value of Being Awesome, Understanding Your Genius, and Having Rabid Enemies

Have you ever been to “Summer Camp for Adults”?

Ok, that’s not a real thing, but every year, the National Speakers Association’s annual convention feels exactly like that.

I go away for a few days, see old friends, make new ones, fill my days with activities, and stay up late into the night…um…socializing…

However, amongst all that madcap fun, there is serious learning going on. Whether it’s during a general session with 1300 attendees, a breakout room with 300, or just having a one on one conversation with a colleague, I always walk away with some new ideas.

Here are three simple but very powerful ideas I took away this year that can help you too, even if you are not a professional speaker:

1) Awesome Spreads

This may be my favorite quote from the entire four day event. It came from Scott Stratten of Unmarketing in his session about creating viral videos and online content.

He had a lot of good ideas and techniques, and one of his main premises was that “awesome spreads.” Simply put, if you create awesome content, it will spread. Non-awesome content doesn’t.

(I wrote a post on a similar idea: Steve Martin’s Simple Plan for Massive Success!)

If you want your business to grow, if you want your content to spread, if you want to get ahead in your career, then be awesome. Awesome spreads. Awesome works. Awesome succeeds.

The follow up advice to this was, “Don’t do anything unless it’s awesome.”

What are you doing, right now, today or this week, that’s awesome?

2) Understand Your Genius

The hardest thing about being brilliant is realizing that you actually are.

I don’t say this to sound arrogant. All people are brilliant in their own way, including you. However, because that brilliance comes so naturally, it’s easy to take it for granted.

The first step in living up to your full potential is to appreciate and value what you are brilliant at. As one friend at the convention put it, “you need to realize what your gift is.”

It can be hard to figure out what that is.

What’s your gift? What are you brilliant at? What do you do incredibly well that you take for granted?

Until you figure those things out, you’ll never be able to realize your full potential.

3) You Can’t Have Rabid Fans If You’re Not Willing to Have Rabid Enemies 

This one is from Larry Winget in his presentation about branding.

His advice: “Take a Stand.”

Do so even if it means alienating and angering people who disagree with you.

This doesn’t mean that you go out and intentionally piss people off. However, it does mean that you don’t try to please everyone. You accept the fact that your opinions and approach may not be for everyone, and that some people may criticize you or even hate you for it.

That can be disheartening and make you want to change your approach. Remember though, that having a few people dislike what you do is usually a good thing! If no one hates what you do, you’re probably playing it too safe.

If you keep to the middle of the road then sure, no one will really hate you. But at the same time, no one will really flock to you either. The more you pick a lane and take a stand, the more people you will find (and who will find you) who love what you do. The side effect of that is that you will also find more people who hate it. Oh well, it comes with the territory.

Don’t make it your goal to be contrarian just to get a reaction. However, when you are out there doing what you do and you find yourself pulling back because you are afraid of saying something that might garner some disapproval, then remember, you can’t have rabid fans if you don’t have rabid enemies!

Are you taking a stand or are you pulling back out of fear of angering people? Are you willing to have rabid enemies in order to get rabid fans? 

Looking back over these three points, I see that they all tie together quite nicely:

1. Discover what your genius is
2. Make it as awesome as you possibly can
3. Go and spread that awesome genius even if (or especially if) it makes some people hate you

Now that is a recipe for success in any business…

P.S. Hey, if you like this post, why don’t you share the love and click the Facebook “Like” button at the top of this page…?

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By Avish Parashar. As the world's only Motivational Improviser, Avish uses techniques from the world of improv comedy to engage, entertain, and educate audiences on ideas around change, creativity, and motivation. Connect with Avish on Google+

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