“Geese”
This was lovely, I just had to post it so that I could refer back to it often myself!
My wonderful client gave this to me, which, in my eyes, was the greatest compliment…
Enjoy,
PamGeese Story
In the fall when you see Geese heading south for the winter flying along in the “V” formation, you might be interested in knowing what science has discovered about why they fly that way.
It has been learned that as each bird flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own. Quite similar to people who are part of a team and share a common direction get where they are going quicker and easier, because they are traveling on the trust of one another and lift each other up along the way.
Whenever a Goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go through it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the power of the flock. If we have as much sense as a Goose, we will stay in formation and share information with those who are headed the same way that we are going.
When the lead Goose gets tired, he rotates back in the wing and another Goose takes over. It pays to share leadership and take turns doing hard jobs.
The Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep their speed. Words of support and inspiration help energize those on the front line, helping them to keep pace in spite of the day-to-day pressures and fatigue. It is important that our honking be encouraging. Otherwise it’s just – well honking!
Finally, when a Goose gets sick or is wounded by a gunshot and falls out, two Geese fall out of the formation and follow the injured one down to help and protect him. They stay with him until he is either able to fly or until he is dead, and then they launch out with another formation to catch up with their group. When one of us is down, it’s up to the others to stand by us in our time of trouble. If we have the sense of a Goose, we will stand by each other when things get rough. We will stay in formation with those headed where we want to go.
The next time you see a formation of Geese, remember their message that “IT IS INDEED A REWARD, A CHALLENGE AND A PRIVILEGE TO BE A CONTRIBUTING MEMBER OF A TEAM”
Drive-By Marketing
What do you do when you see a “drive-by” marketing crime being committed?
Meaning… client after client comes to me in relatively severe stress telling me about how their last marketing/”web” person/designer has royally screwed them over and, not only didn’t do what was agreed upon, but had the nerve to keep asking them for more money!
Now, I realize that these are relatively “desperate times” economically-speaking (to some people) and I also realize that everybody, and I mean everybody, is now a self-proclaimed guru of something or other, but come on – can we please keep some civility and overall human decency, is that too much to ask?
The internet has become an absolute free-for-all!
A playground for unethical bastards that get in and get out and leave their “clients” like roadkill on the side of the proverbial online superhighway…
The good news is that there is true opportunity everywhere to do the right thing AND make money, make friends, make great business contacts, etc…
The bad news is that there are so many entry points into this “system” (i.e., the web) that a sucker is born every millisecond in hopes of “getting rich instantly” and out of pure ignorance in not knowing what they need to do to get started on the web, these drive-by marketing criminals are having a hayday taking their money and leaving them for broke!
I have been working on the web full-time since 2001 having literally started from zero (i.e., what is a browser?) to teaching myself everything possible regarding the front-end (copywriting, marketing, web psychology, information architecture, video editing) and the back-end (web design, graphic design, blog setup, basic coding/programming). It has not been easy, but I felt that it had to be done in order to not be taken advantage of, when it comes time to launch different business ideas (for myself or for future clients) or to hire someone to help me piece together a project and needing to know if they really know what they were talking about, or are doing their job properly.
There are a lot of moving parts to this industry and it can become so overwhelming at times. And to be honest, you are late if you are just entering the web today in 2009.
Where have you been?
So, my advice is to do your homework… but try to do it without becoming too overwhelmed, because starting a business online is truly like peeling an onion and the layers just keep coming and coming. It can seem never-ending… trust me, I know.
KEY: Find people that you connect with personally at a gut level and then FOCUS on what they are doing and FOLLOW their lead. Save your money! There is absolutely everything you need out there for FREE! This is the big trend online right now, that is, to “Move the Free Line” and give away your best stuff for free in hopes of eventually getting someone as a customer later when they really like your “stuff”. So, take advantage of the “free” stuff out there right now and start to learn the different pieces to this puzzle.
Here’s a quick outline of what you will need to get started:
- A domain name which will be the address for your website (www.yourdomain.com)
- A good web hosting company (less than $10/month)
- An idea for a product (use your creativity)
- Some research on the market that you want to target for your creative product idea
- A web designer to build you a simple blog website
- A marketing partner that will hold your hand the entire time and TEACH you everything that you need to know to succeed online!
Easy enough… Now get to it!
Good luck in everything you do,
Pamp.s. I do everything on the above list and more (cheap)… Yep, it’s true. Call or email me with your ideas! 
Creativity is an Elixir
Have you ever felt like some days all the stars just line up and everything just flows so easily?
Then on other days, it’s not so much the feeling of being “stuck”, as it is just not feeling as excited as those days when you are really turned on…
What is that?
Why does that occur?
Well, I can tell you why.
The answer is that on the days when things just seem to “click”, you are resonating “clearer” than on those days when you are not.
Abraham-Hicks (whom I adore) talks of the “tuning in to a particular radio channel” and the fuzziness that occurs when you are a few knob turns to the right or left, meaning that you are not on the station that you are wanting to hear; and then, in turn, the clarity that you feel when you are “tuned in, tapped in, turned on” to the exact channel that you are seeking…
So, the question always begs to be answered, “Then exactly how do we tune our radio dial to be exactly on the station that we want?”
The answer is often too simple for many folks to “hear”… they themselves are not resonating near the “station” to even hear the answer of how to tune into the station…hahaha
Ironic, but oh so true!
The answer is: You MUST act completely against your social conditioning and just relax. “Physical Action” at this point will do you absolutely no good… no matter what, you will be spinning your wheels and getting more and more frustrated.
Creativity is an elixir for me…
Some days it feels like a light clear sparkling soda and other days it feels like thick maple syrup!
In other words, some days it trickles, sprays and gushes and other days it slogs, creeps and all out just sits there like a blob!
The point is that when it’s flowing freely, you know that you are resonating in a really good place, tuned into the “radio station”, so to speak — harness it, continue to smile, laugh and enjoy the ride… and when it’s slogging along, step back and go do something else completely off topic that will cause you to smile, laugh and enjoy the ride!
Do you get it?
You control the flow of your creativity, no one else… and the spigot opens bigger and bigger, causing more and more to flow through you, when you are smiling, laughing and enjoying the ride!
Sure hope that you can hear what you just read because it will change your life.
Don’t be deceived by its simplicity, it’s very powerful stuff!
Until next time…
Pam
Permanent State of Mind
I’d love to tell you that I’m “normal” and that I go to sleep every night and dream “normal” dreams and wake up every morning and enter into my day “normally” like every other human being on the planet.
But, I’m not. The pad of paper lying next to me every morning full of scribbled notes that I have no recollection of ever writing tells me otherwise.
Why? Because I am a copywriter… and as any copywriter, I literally “work” 24 hours a day EVERY day because you can’t turn your mind off and you can’t (nor shouldn’t) stop the flow of inspiration, whenever it decides to come.
For those of us who are lucky enough to “work” in this incredible field, we know that we are not normal. We are “mind sponges” that absorb everything around us consciously and unconsciously and then have the keen skill for somehow making minute, sub-cellular connections between the jillions of pieces of information that we absorb in one day and its relationship to the words that we need to mold in getting a point across for a client or a product.
Some people say that copywriters are manipulators because, after all, we are “salesmen in print” to be sure.
But, I tend to disagree with the word “manipulation”, not because I have a guilt complex, or need to feel better about how people describe what I do for a living. But rather, because I feel that copywriters, at their essence, write to emotions and massage these parts of people as they walk around relatively “dead” all day every day. People are starving for, or vulnerable to, something that will make them “feel” again… anything, to feel anything at all. The numbness is palpable.
It’s quite remarkable honestly to do what we do, and a great responsibility to help people feel alive again, if even for a moment.
By tapping on, touching lightly, roughing up, pushing upon or stirring up a topic that someone has a sensitivity to, is the responsibility of an ethical writer. We are selling what we know they need. It is a disservice not to “wake them up” and write to them from the inside-out.
We know they need it before they know they need it.
We write in order to allow them to want what they need.
We give them the permission to feel again.
I love being a copywriter… can you tell?
Who Are You Today?
If you’re like me, you’re wearing a LOT of different hats these days, which therefore, begs the question:
Who am I today?
Or even more specifically:
Who am I in this very moment?
Apart from the normal societal labels of mother/father, husband/wife, brother/sister, friend, co-worker, contracted freelancer, independent recluse (ha, that’s my favorite) and contributing member of the community, I would like to add one more and that is: Freedom-Seeker.
Now, I’m not really talking about “freedom” from the flag-waving, patriotic perspective, but rather from the overall approach to how we manage our lives.
How exactly we move through each of the experiences within the different labels listed above and define our own freedom with true elegance and an awareness as to who we actually are and more importantly, who we are in the process of becoming.
Can one really be a good father or a good sister or a super-active community member if they have nothing within themselves to give? My personal opinion is “no”.
That feeling of personal empowerment that comes about when you truly do feel free, is something that cannot, and I mean absolutely cannot, be described by the limits of language. It’s very similar to the word “happiness”, of which both words are nebulous at best.
I equate it to the overused cliche of learning how to ride a bike or climb a mountain by only reading about it in a book. Impossible.
The feeling of true freedom that we all seek is not in any book or movie or fighting of any war. It is in taking steps toward something that you really really want in your gut/heart despite the paralyzing fear and voice of logic in your head that screams otherwise.
Conquering that will leave you in such a rapturous state when you absolutely least suspect it. It will take you to a place that you’ve never been before mentally (or emotionally, for that matter).
It will leave you knowing that “you did it” in the most subtle, surreal way without a lot of hoopla and fanfare, typically not shrouded in bonuses, or titles, or slaps on the back from anyone.
More than likely you will be alone at the time.
And the grin on your face that appears, will feel like your face just can’t stretch any wider and that people must be staring at you because you feel like you’re glowing (and with that silly grin on your face as well, no less).
My “freedom event” occurred in the back of a rickety, noisy bus in the loud honking streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina in the year 2001.
That is when I knew true freedom for the first time in my life.
That is when I experienced true happiness and finally knew who I was for the first time in my life.
It was undeniable and left me wondering if everyone eventually feels this feeling.
Sadly, I fear the answer is “no”.
Have you had your “freedom event” yet?
Do share.
