I wonder, though, is there such a thing as trying too hard? Is there a point when effort becomes an unnecessary attribute? For those who set out to accomplish great things in life — whether it's leading a profitable business, finishing Ironman Canada, raising a child as a single dad (or mom) — a good amount of effort is necessary to be successful. But, are there times when putting forth too much effort hinders success?

This is one of the many explorations I'm taking in my life. I consider persistence a positive attribute of mine, however I can't always say I see the direct benefit of it. In some cases, the more effort I put forth, the less I seem to be closer to my end goal.

Interestingly, there are a couple of different takes on the word trying — one, the more common attempting or striving — but another, of which is extremely annoying. Does this imply that their is a tipping point when it comes to effort? Is it like Jimmy Cliff sang, the harder they come, the harder they fall?

A recent post by Seth Godin just spoke to the alternative to failure. Maybe, just maybe, this notion of trying has more to do with the process, rather than the end result. However, for a society that seems to center around achieving things, how do we create a sustainable model for failure? It's hard to imagine a business environment that supports failure since revenue is almost always the primary goal. In the personal world — which I only distinguish here due to the more commonly held view that it's separate from business — failures look like breakups, divorce, custody battles, housing foreclosures and so on.

Circling back to the Avis example, I think the thing that made this campaign — and ultimately Avis — successful is that trying harder was actually a clever way to communicate what was natural to them — that they care about the customer. This is part of their brand essence.

So, perhaps being persistent is simply part of my brand makeup and it would run contrary to my character if I simply achieved things without much effort.

How about you, what is your take on trying? Do you have examples of success where you didn't put forth much effort?

With the above description, I could be talking about virtually anything of importance to you — your last job interview, the first day of school, a pending case, your next marketing plan. You get the idea. 

What's interesting is the amount of punishment we put ourselves through when we're facing uncertainty. Ever the inquisitive one, I'm curious, why do we put up with this? Whether it's in our personal or business lives — which, by the way, I believe are one in the same — we go to great lengths to avoid being let down. We prepare rebuttals. We gather evidence. We do whatever we can to absorb the impact of not getting our way should the worst actually occur.

In the context of marketing, we're prepared to blame the other side — you know, sales or even worse, the customer — should the desired campaign results fall short. This behavior is extremely costly. We're slow to create and respond to market conditions. We become defensive and brand equity can suffer by losing its essence.

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
— Mother Teresa

Why does it seem, then, that we're afraid to be authentic? The reality is — whether we think it's right or not — we are constantly judged by others. And, we are constantly playing judge and jury on others. We may call it protecting our self interest. But, the reality is, we lose our ability to be vulnerable — which is where the magic happens and the storm waters sweep you off your feet and take you to a higher ground.

Addendum — After a great friend, Angela Bryant, shared this with me, I figured it would be a crime to not share it with you.

On one such visit, I was asked if I could do only one thing to shift the struggling economy, what would it be? Coincidentally, I've contemplated the shaky state of our world quite a bit lately — exploring ways that I could contribute positively to our Universe. I'll admit, when I confront the current state of the world, I often feel helpless. It's daunting. And therein may lie the problem and the answer.

See, I don't know that we have the capacity to comprehend the multitude of challenges we face as a global community. There's talk of the financial crisis, global warming, food supply shortages, terrorism and the list goes on-and-on. Mainstream media has beaten us over the head so often that we have become numb to the issues at hand. What results is a lot of great intention backed by a slew of inaction. I believe we just don't feel we can make a substantial difference to right the ship.

Okay, great. Now that I've painted such a bleak image, what do we do? Well, I believe that if we shift our attention to our respective local communities, we can begin to make an immediate difference. Building on the local successes, we will start to see a natural shift in the world much faster than had we stuck with trying to tackle global issues as a whole. We've seen this discussed in chaos theory or the butterfly effect. Keep in mind, all rivers begin as a single drop.

You are that first drop. What will you bring to your community? Share your ideas and let's see what we can do to inspire others — one drop at a time.

If my reality rings true with you, please say so. If not, please share your perspective. Local or global, I recognize the world is more than just me.

Postscript — Please know, I'm grateful for having exposure to a larger world — from my place in Seattle to getting married in Jamaica. I believe things like the eradication of polio and malaria benefit all of us. I just wonder, how much can we legitimately handle on a global scale?

I'm fed up with the notion of normal. I don't want it and quite frankly, nor should you. Why? Consider some of the words used to define normal — conforming...the common type...usual...

You're better than common. Yes, we have some common traits that unite us as humans, but do you really want to settle for what we have made the world today? Personally, I'm not particularly excited to just go along with today's norms.

Do you want to go around and be thought of as usual — as if there were nothing unique you have to offer? I'd be willing to put a hefty wager down that there is at least one thing you do which would be deemed unusual.

So, I call bullshit on this whole concept called normal and this is why I'm taking a different approach than before.

Coincidentally, two posts appeared today that held a similar tone — one by Kristin Eide, whom I just discovered today via a thinkspace tweet — the other by the infamous, Seth Godin. While Kristin's post is about a Seth Godin event she attended in Seattle, how they showed today was completely random. On second thought, perhaps it was not random at all.  

Before I go off on a tangent, let me reel this in and get to my plea.

I am begging you — yes you, the one reading this — to do a little soul searching and get brutally honest about your life and the lives of those around you. Can you lay your head down at night, rest peacefully, knowing that you gave all that can to the day and those around you? Trust me, I'm in this with you as there are times I've been gripped by my fear. Enough is enough, which is also why I'm reaching out to you.

Take a half-hour each day and do something different. At first, don't get caught up on what it is. Just do something different. Break the routine, take another route to work, and as Seth suggested, do the opposite of what you normally do — crap, there's that normal thing again. Simply open your eyes to another way. As you're doing so, take note of what you see and how you feel. Give up that hesitation and stop over-thinking this.

Life is precious — which means you are precious. Please share my plea with those around you and comment below.

My aim is to be able to end the day and say, "I made today better by being part of it and contributing to those around me." I hope this post is one way of doing just that.

Although I did not make the trip over to Pullman, WA this time around, I was interested to read the various comments streaming in via the Twitter and Facebook feeds. The common thread I observed centered around the importance of students creating a solid foundation for which to launch their careers. With the great uncertainty still surrounding the economy, it's understandable that this is a prime concern for students and one that certainly existed when I presented at last year's event, focused on Transformational Media.

The marketing world certainly is in a state of transformation. Most of the time, I love being a part of it, challenging conventional thought and setting new trends. Like anything, though, there are also downsides—it can be extremely taxing to keep up with the changes that seem to occur daily. Also, change is a big deal for people and organizations (which are simply a collection of people). We're creatures of habit. Even if something isn't working, it's difficult for us to shift our habits. After all, it keeps us safe. It's a dilemma I routinely face. Are there habits that you want to break? What habits do you have that work for you?

One habit I'm working on building is to share my voice more frequently. I'll admit, it's scary for me. I want you to like me. It's an ego thing, but when I get back in line with what I really want, it helps me deal with my fear of being judged. A legacy I am creating is one where businesses truly see the value of marketing, versus relating to marketing simply as a line item on their balance sheet. Just as Murrow did, sometimes you have to go against the grain. What legacy are you creating?

As any scientist will confirm, there are many times that anomalies (or variances) are present in research. One of their tasks is to confidently reproduce results within a certain range. I'm reminded of a communication course I had at Washington State University where we were distinguishing language. One of the attributes we identified is that communication is dynamic—ever changing. We don't need to look too far back to realize that there is some accuracy here. Today's version of sick has a drastically different meaning than its predecessor.

So, what's the point in all of this? While measuring your marketing efforts is extremely important, yesterday's success does not always dictate tomorrow's results. I work with clients to develop and test new ideas. We explore new mediums and we are constantly in action.

What do you make of it? Are there areas of your life, your business that are clinging on to yesterday? I've started the conversation. It's your turn to take it from here.

Perfection is a disguise. Well, at least in the context that I'm relating to. See, being perfect keeps me safe. Now, before you think my ego is bigger than Texas, hear me out. I do not claim to be perfect. I know better than that. What I'm saying is that my drive for perfection actually prevents me from putting my thoughts, opinions and the like out there for the world to hear or see.

How does this relate to marketing? All too often, I encounter businesses looking for the perfect marketing solution. That's fair. It's your business, your job, your accountability. You want it to work. Your ass is on the line. The problem shows up when this quest for perfection keeps you from taking meaningful action with your marketing (or any other area of your business or life for that matter). I'm not suggesting being careless. But, I do suggest getting in action. It's a life lesson I've learned and want to share with others.

So, where have you been sitting on the sidelines looking for the best answer? I bet you have great reasons or excuses, don't you? Me too! But, that's not the life I'm up to living. I've taken on vulnerability and as such, I have one thing to say right now. Perfection, I quit!

Now, send me your comments, critiques or otherwise. What will you quit? What will you start doing?

Adapting a concept I heard in a talk this week by Brené Brown, businesses have become numb. It appears most businesses these days operate in a state of fear – frozen in time – perhaps wishing for the "good ol' days" when customers weren't concerned about price, quality or service.

Maybe it's simply the fear of the unknown, but I've witnessed countless times where companies continue to take the same cookie-cutter approach to their marketing, year-after-year. They publish those thick and expensive catalogs, spend valuable resources putting together sell sheets for their sales team, suck up an immense amount of time attending trade shows, or waste dollars on yellow page advertising – all because that's what they've always done. Don't get me wrong, there are times it makes sense to utilize your marketing dollars towards these things. More often than not, though, this method of marketing is exactly like those day-old cookies, just waiting for the waste bin.

I hear companies say they are frustrated that they have to do more with their marketing, despite the fact they have less resources (translation = money) than before. In the end, they don't even know if their marketing works. Why then, would any business keep taking the same approach to their marketing? Times have changed. Consumers have changed. Media has changed.

My suggestion, break the mold and start creating marketing pieces that capture your market's attention in meaningful ways. If you don't know how to this, I'm happy to get you started.

Do you have similar arguments around your marketing efforts? Are you holding on to a particular point of view? In today's world, it's as important as ever to take an honest look at whether your marketing behavior is consistent with the results you are committed to producing. When you discover behavior that you don't like or are simply putting up with, either change the behavior or remove yourself from that space.

For instance, do you continue to run radio spots because that's what your business has always done, but suspect they aren't producing the results you're after? How about those weekly newspaper inserts? The price seems reasonable and you have the opportunity to get your message in front of a lot of people, though you've always questioned whether anyone actually reads them. Then there's the whole social media space. Every business seems to be jumping on the bandwagon, however you can't seem to make the connection between your business and the Facebook and Twitter communities.

The main takeaway is this – your business cannot afford to put up with marketing behavior that doesn't work. Inbound marketing agencies, like Zeitgeist/33, are dedicated to producing results for your business – and we can prove that it works. To lighten the mood some, enjoy the following.

 What are your thoughts? Oh, behave!