Stop Playing Safe…

You see a competitor has a strong market share, so you decide to just cede the space to them.

No one’s ever done it before, so you decide it’s better not to attempt it.

You launch your cutting edge, innovative product, but market it with boring, conventional advertising because that seems “normal.”

You build a cookie-cutter website because all the other companies in your industry do it that way.

You think about rescuing a puppy or kitten from the shelter, but decide against it because in ten or 15 years they’ll die and you’ll be so sad.

WTF! Is that really how you want to run your business? Is that really how you want to live?

I wrote Risky Is the New Safe because I knew that for most people and companies, the biggest obstacle they face is thinking it is safe to play it safe. And nothing could be further from the truth. The rules have changed, and playing things safe is actually the riskiest thing you can do today.

Please. Stop playing it safe and take a risk, because that’s where the breakthroughs live. Please. Stop living safe and start really living.

Do something bold, daring and adventurous today!

How to Save the World

There is a lot of talk today about how to monetize things.   If you create a new app, business model, or venture – partners, employees and investors will all want to know how you’re going to monetize it.  But what about monetizing a tribe?  

Recently I was chatting with a friend about the TRIBAL event I’m launching later this year and the subject of monetizing your tribe came up.   My friend asked if I had seen a post on Facebook from a mutual colleague of ours railing against monetization, and suggested it might be directed at me. Who knows, probably was.

The colleague was decrying how everyone was trying to monetize him, and he didn’t want to be monetized. That sounds right, and I’m sure most people who read his post nodded in agreement. After all, who wants to be victimized by those evil, greedy, money-grubbing monetizers?

But if we do a little critical thinking on it, things don’t look quite the same…

Of course no one wants to be “sold” or monetized. But everyone will gratefully trade away some of their money for things that solve their problems or add value to their life.  All true prosperity is created by value-for-value exchange.

If you have a toothache, you will gratefully trade a couple hundred dollars to a dentist who can make it go away.  When I saw that R8 Spyder at the Audi dealership, I decided I wanted it more than the $155K I had laying around.  When you see a charity really making a difference, you’re happy for the opportunity to fund their good work.

So how does this dynamic relate to leading tribe?

Well there are many different types of tribes and causes that bring them together. You could be a consultant who’s championing a new way of manufacturing for an industry, a non-profit who is rescuing homeless orphans, or Jimmy Buffet leading his band of “parrotheads.”

No matter the objective you’re seeking to accomplish, if you have a tribe that follows you, they pay you a great honor. They’ve given you a platform and of course, with that platform comes responsibility.  Part of that responsibility is never betraying their trust, and providing real value to them.  But please know that these responsibilities don’t include leading the tribe for free, or for “the greater good,” unless that is something you feel moved to do.   (And are financially able to.)

For most tribe leaders, a big part of your responsibility is finding a way to monetize what you are doing with the tribe.  Because for most tribe leaders, if they don’t do that – they won’t be able to continue doing what they do.  If you really believe in your work and want to be able to continue doing it, you have to get the money thing out of the way.  And the consciously aware members of the tribe will understand and support this.

Jimmy Buffet has provided joy to millions around the world.  But if we parrotheads didn’t buy his CDs and concert tickets, that wouldn’t have happened.

Lee Ann Kim had a vision to create a film festival for the Asian community in Southern California.  But to do that, she has to hire good people and pay them.  So like all non-profits, she has to monetize the people who believe in the cause.

I do a lot of counseling with aspiring speakers, coaches and authors who have a message they believe the world needs to hear.  And the world does need those messages.  But the people who own those messages need to buy cat food, doctor bills and groceries too.

Yes there are people who sacrifice personal wealth and material comforts to serve others in noble causes.  I’m sure someone would bring up Mother Teresa in the comments if I didn’t mention her here.  But know that she was able to do that because she had followers who sent her money every month to continue her work.  (I was one.   Not because it was my responsibility, or because I was being noble.  I did it selfishly for the joy it brought to me. )

The meek may inherit the earth, but not if they’re only paying the minimum balance on their credit cards each month.

Do you feel led to lead a tribe? Great, go for it. The world needs more people like you. Or as Seth Godin said in his brilliant book on the subject, “We need you, to lead us.’

However, if you really want to make an impact, make a difference and become the change – find a way to monetize what you want to do.

Live Rich (advice for future)

                           Live Rich

I was working on the elliptical machine when the BBC began flashing their BREAKING NEWS headline. Turns out it was a jewel heist, replete with photos of a shattered vault, and bored tunnels through concrete. It was the kind of romantic headline we had when I was a kid.

A basic jewel theft, probably by a cat burglar, a simple enough crime, soon to be solved by Batman, Spider-man or Remington Steele.

Our headlines today are Ebola pandemics, ISIS throwing homosexuals off rooftops, flesh-eating bacteria, Boko Haram kidnapping schoolgirls to be sex slaves, and possible nuclear annihilation.   So forgive me for feeling a little romantic for the days when the headlines were about robberies and ballplayers cheating on their spouses.

But of course the word wasn’t really so simple even 50 years ago. We’d survived two devastating world wars, the major superpowers were on the brink, and here in the States our president had been assassinated. We still had tribes that hated each other, there were still dishonest people and planes sometimes crashed.

The difference today is people can send fighter jets or missiles to attack the far-away people they don’t like; the internet can spew hate worldwide in an instant, and the population has doubled, with all of the challenges that come from that.  The religious zealots seem scarier, the hate levels seem higher, and chemical, biological and nuclear weapons are proliferating in the hands of some very frightening people.  To top it all off,  we have a datasphere that can instantly report every bad and negative calamity that happens anywhere on the globe real time, 24/7.

Who can blame a guy (or gal) for pining away for a simpler time?

Alas, we don’t have that luxury. So what is a person with prosperity consciousness to do, when faced with a world of mayhem and destruction, which seems hell-bent on self-destruction? How does one win against such seemingly insurmountable odds?

Prosperity begins with you.

You can start by living rich. Wake up with gratitude, celebrate life and cherish the people and moments around you. Get the money thing out of the way. Find ways to serve, not because you’re obligated to, but because you desire to.

People who are hurting are hard-pressed to help the afflicted. Become successful yourself. Get your own needs met.  Please. Live rich.

Then view the world with compassion, live by the principle of fair exchange, but try your best to out-give the universe.

Say ‘thank you.’

Over tip.

Speak for those who can’t speak for themselves.

Take care of the street musicians and the buskers.

Mentor someone.

Smile more.

Forgive everyone. Including yourself.

Recycle.

Support the arts. Lots of them.

Show gratitude for the soldiers that protect your country.

Have lunch in the park.

Send someone flowers.

Respect the elderly.

Give someone a hug.

Schedule a sunrise viewing.

Find a charity you believe in and support it.

Allow dignity and rights to every human you meet.

These actions may seem simple, almost inconsequential to the challenges we face. But that’s the only way we make the world a better place: One person at a time, beginning with ourselves.

So when the headlines seem darker and the situation seems dire, I travel back to my days at Unity on the Bay, where we ended each service holding hands and singing “The Peace Song,” written in 1955 by Jill Jackson Miller and Sy Miller. It begins and ends, the same way:

Let there be peace on earth,
And let it begin with me.
Because one thing is certain: No matter how hard you may try – you can’t out-give the universe. Live rich and you’ll make the world richer for it.

-RandyGage