At this very moment, the noise inside of my head is deafening — yet, here I am at my keyboard hammering out this piece for you.
My 12 year Navy career has just ended and I have a mountain of things that need to get done before I pack out for the last time. Japan has been the key to my transformation over the past 4 years, and I’ve learned to achieve laser like focus with all of the inner turmoil and external factors begging for my attention.
It’s impossible to achieve a state of peace by “trying” to quiet…
And How I Lived To Talk About It…
I had a plan. I just didn’t know how it was going to work.
It seems pretty stupid to forfeit a career with job security and benefits after investing 12 years of your life, when you just have 8 more years left to retire with a pension — right?
Well — I’m dumb enough to do it.
The truth is, I never really fit in with the Navy culture, not to mention the law enforcement community that I belong to.
“You need to stop being so nice Scott! You’re just doing your job,” wasn’t a good enough reason for me…
Trust Me, No One Is Born “With It”.
“Better write something, better make it good.” — Seth Godin
You’re finally done writing that 5 minute read that took you 5 or more hours to put together.
You hit publish and you check your stats every 5 minutes for 2 hours straight, just to see that your piece has only 2 views — with no reads and no engagement.
When you first start out, this is normal until you get the hang of things like hashtags or being accepted on to a publication to be a writer — but you’ve been at this for a couple of weeks now…
The Right Way To Start A Business With No Product
“Here’s my definition: A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.” — Seth Godin
When people first think of starting a business, the first thing they think about is coming up with something that people will buy — why else would they go into business if they didn’t have anything to sell, right?
They think they have to come up with some new “state of the art technology” or that they have to create the next big social media platform that…
The Magic Word Is “Empathy”
“I see you. I’m sorry for what you’re feeling. How can I help?” — Seth Godin
The moments when strangers do things for us out of the kindness of their hearts, those are the moments that stick with us for ever.
The friendly driver on your right that waves at you to go first as you pull up to a 4 way intersection with stop signs, as you barely come to a stop — knowing full well that it was their turn to go.
The time when you were a few dollars short and the person behind you in the…
A Great Story Does All The Work And Here's Why
“Identify the worldview of the people you need to reach. Describe the truth through their worldview. That’s your story.” — Seth Godin
The key to building an audience and turning a reader into a member of your tribe is your ability to build trust through the stories you tell.
Every organization is a tribe, a collective of people that can relate to and identify with the core beliefs that define what each organization is about.
Employees seek more than pay, they seek to be apart of something much bigger than…
The main reason your pieces keep get rejected is because you keep ignoring 3 fundamental rules that all “good” writers live by.
You’re writing has to flow like a casual conversation, in order for the reader to reach the end of your article before falling asleep, or passing on to the next article in hopes that it will erase the chalk board screeching noise from their ears that you subjected them too.
You also can’t back away and give up just because a piece doesn’t get the engagement you want, or even worst —it doesn’t even make it past the…
Lessons About “White Privilege” That I Will Never Teach My “Black” Son
“Society changes when we change what we’re embarrassed about.” — Seth Godin
It was 2006, 30 days before I would board that flight from Sacramento, California to Great Lakes, Illinois to make the transformation from “civilian” to “sailor”.
I was pulled over by a police officer — and I knew exactly what it was for.
I was going 20 miles over the speed limit, closing a chapter to what felt like then, was the biggest failure of my life.
I had just been fired from Frito Lay for being late for the 3rd time in the 2 and a half…
I Can’t Talk Right Now. Your Problems Can Wait.
Silence is not nothing, it is still an action. — Seth Godin
My father went down from a cardiac arrest, a few days before I was sent home to bury him. I was told that the chances of him surviving were 3% and that more than likely he would die before I made it home on that 12 hour long flight.
I remember it all as if we’re just yesterday.
I was awakened out of my sleep, to my step mother sobbing over the phone.
She could barely get the words out — and immediately I knew what this phone…
The Magic Word That Only Successful People Use
We think “yes” will let us accomplish more, will give us more of what we want, when in reality it prevents exactly what we seek. All of us waste precious life doing things we don’t like, to prove ourselves to people we don’t respect, and to get things we don’t want. — Ryan Holiday
From childhood, one of the first lessons we are all taught is to look both ways before crossing the street. …
Paul Scott Jr
Human. Father. Veteran. Author.
