To give or not to give…

Clearly Pooh had run out.

This is indeed the question lately. What are we concerned about giving or not? It’s something we all come equipped with, and something we all have the option of distributing freely, or simply stating that we have exhausted our supply and have no more to hand out.

You know what it is. Do you have any left to give? It’s quite fashionable to suggest we don’t have any more, and that means we understand ourselves best. But your heart needs to be ‘in something’. That starts with frankly giving a **** about whatever wonderful idea you’re brewing up.

When it comes to starting your business and assuming the mantle of a walking talking poster board, it may take a little forethought to figure out how you present yourself, and by association the flavor of your brand, to all and sundry. Are you engaging and open-minded with your potential customers, or are you so assured you’re poised to dominate the market that you may not stop to listen?

With this in mind, I’ve been reading Pooh. My 4-year old self was unable to absorb the lessons while my Grandmother read the stories to me, so I’m playing catch up now. After the initial fog of weirdness that comes with understanding the little bear’s life view starts to dissipate, a few salient pennies drop:

1. Be fully open to experiences, yet don’t be weighed down by them. Knowing things doesn’t mean you need to feel you actually know anything, let alone everything. This is the “Uncarved Block”.
2. If you can let go in this way, you can be yourself. This means acting effortlessly in tune with what’s going on around you. It’s a very good thing, your customers will feel part of what you’re creating as you’re not hiding behind a wall of knowledge.

It’s very liberating to drop the idea that since you’ve accumulated knowledge you have to be in a position of knowing. Sure, you do know a lot about what it is you’re selling, you created it. However, it shouldn’t mean in any way that you’ve acquired some kind of mastery over it, and you literally have the market birthed and cornered.

Pooh isn’t troubled by mastery. He goes with the flow, speaks about just how sweet the honey tastes, and effuses the product with such understandable love that it’s difficult to ignore. If he set up shop on a market, his honey would sell itself…because he’s being himself. He certainly gives a **** about his product. The Bear has ****s left to give.

Step 1 is therefore…why not make sure you’re selling something…whatever it is…that you love. Don’t be coy, and don’t be waylaid by distractions or mirages that obfuscate where you want to get to. That’s how to not give a ****, but showing the world you know your priorities.

Evil Pooh or not, I am working to figure out tech that operates for you, not the other way round. More to come.