One of my best friends is the manager for the Obesity Prevention Program for the State of Alaska. She has uncovered the secret to losing weight and has a FABULOUS idea for a book on the subject. It’s called, Eat Less, Exercise More.
The end.
I know, it’s a radical idea, and we laugh so hard every time we talk about it. And how huge this book could be in sales, if there were anything more to add, other than the title, but there isn’t. That is how you lose weight. It takes a long time, and there is no SHORT CUT.
My father used to call it the Strawberry Short Cut – it works when you’re driving from Point A to Point B (sometimes), but it doesn’t work when you’re trying to get from Point A to Point B, like say, from obscurity to the cover of Entrepreneur.
I use that example because Gini Dietrich and I always talk about what we’ll wear for our cover photo shoot when we get there.
And the funny thing, my other BFF, Dana Hughens, texted me the other day joking about an incident that will be retold in her Entrepreneur interview some day.
So I bet there are a lot of you out there with similar dreams. And none of us will make it happen by taking the short cut.
We notice them when others take them, don’t we? We notice when the restaurant didn’t use the freshest ingredients, or when the trim in the house we are looking at doesn’t quite meet at the seam. It’s obvious when you didn’t do your research before you went into a new client meeting. When you sent out that mass email hoping to get ink and pixels for your client, it was obvious you took the short cut, because of the lackluster results.
I read Entrepreneur like some people read US Weekly; with star-struck eyes, thinking about how easy they made it look, and how they are on top of the world right now. Neither is true. I should know better than that.
Stumptown Coffee, which by the way, is the most awesomest coffee ever, is on the cover this month and I was overjoyed to see them there. They are so far from an overnight success.
Founder Duane Sorenson opened his doors in 1999, made the coffee himself, and put the money in a shoebox at the end of the day. When the shoebox was full enough, he’d count it up and deposit.
His secrets? They aren’t secrets at all. He paid attention to detail, to his employees, and to paying top dollar for the finest beans.
I think about that a lot as we put in long hours working on Spin Sucks Pro. We have our moments of extreme frustration to elated optimism.
I think about that interview in the not-too-distant future. When they ask me what our the three “secrets” are. I’d have to say:
- Passion about PR and marketing…and changing the perception of the industry.
- Focus on quality content that helps you do your jobs more quickly and more efficiently.
- Giving you a place to discuss and debate, and to learn from one another.
It’s a great exercise. It presents a road map if you will, to get you from Point A to Point B. What would be your Three Secrets in your big interview?
See you at Point B. And no cheating or budging!
Thanks to Babble for the image. I just needed an excuse to post a photo of a strawberry shortcake.