Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 48 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Fall in love with mastery
— From 80/20 Sales and Marketing: The Definitive Guide to Working Less and Making More by Perry Marshall
Much is said in the world of business about the importance of having a USP: Unique Selling Proposition. It’s what makes your product or service different from the rest.
“But you also have a personal unique selling proposition that stands distinct from your current product or business,” says Perry Marshall, marketing guru, in his book 80/20 Sales and Marketing. “It’s the inherent groove based on your passion, personality, and experiences that you carry with you at all times.”
Marshall points out that “most people are vaguely aware of their natural, personal USP.” He continues, “I think one of the biggest wormholes that people get sucked into is, they get so enamored with the romantic version of what someone else does, the greener pastures, that they ignore the unromantic, plain, everyday genius that they themselves possess.”
As a marketing advisor, the thing that frustrates Marshall the most “is that it’s so much harder to get people to focus on their innate giftedness and natural USP.”
The author goes on to say that, “it’s easier to show people a bright shiny object and manipulate them into jumping on the next short-lived bandwagon than to master something that’s just beginning to flourish.”
He tells the story of him playing drums and attending a drum camp. While there, he took several clinics led by world-class drummers who, independently of each other, all made the same comment:
“The thing I hate the most about being on tour is _______________.”
How do you think they finished that sentence? Give it a shot. What do you think the answer is? Not sleeping on their beds? Living out of a suitcase in a tour bus? Not seeing their families? The ultra-long days?
Nope.
Here’s their answer:
“The thing I hate the most about being on tour is there’s no time or place to practice. I love to practice.”
To be super successful, Perry suggests practicing as much as you can. “Put yourself in a position where you get paid to practice, even if it’s only a modest amount of money.”
Practice. Practice. Practice. Preferably paid but, if not, unpaid. And then practice some more, until “whatever you love most is endowed with incredible force. Learn to love repeating even basic things over and over again, until you achieve [mastery].”
“Don’t fall in love with bright shiny objects. Fall in love with mastery.”
What should you master? That depends on your specific goals, but definitely “some aspect [related to your goals] that you naturally love and excel at—harnessing the natural forces of who you are.”
ACTION
TODAY: What is your USP? Take some time today to figure out what you’re gifted at (if you haven’t figured it out already). Ask your family, friends, and coworkers, they will gladly tell you about your gifts.
FUTURE: In a recent conversation with a friend of mine, she said, “the thing that you should charge the most for, is what comes the easiest to you.” Wise words. What is your genius and, are you mastering it to make the most out of it? If you are, congrats and keep going! If you aren’t, why not? What do you need to put in place for that to happen? Create the habit, the space, and the time for you to practice and achieve mastery.
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