If you don’t
know Gary Vee (@GaryVee), he is in the business of building businesses.
What separates him is his ability to create an environment and culture
of no nonsense, hard charging, realistic, and self-aware partners and
employees. I have to admit, I will listen to any and all keynotes this
man gives because there is always something different, something golden.
That’s how good he is. He can take his perspectives and strategies and
apply them everywhere, to anyone. No matter who he is talking to, he is
able to take the “story” and apply it to them. He is incredible.
I
have taken his interview on 30 Days of Genius with Chase Jarvis,
extracted the information, and used it to answer common questions by
readers just like you, who are looking to take their lives to the next
level, or at least a different level than the one they are on.
Please enjoy.
How Do I Win?
The
first thing you need to do is think long game. Don’t worry about what
is hot right now, or what is viral right now, think 5, 10, 20 years down
the road. How are you going to get there? It starts with steps today. I
believe social media is necessary for every business, period. Did you
miss the Twitter boat? The Instagram boat? Are you on Snapchat yet? Get
there as soon as you can, and absorb it. Learn how to use it, watch
other people using it, and master it. No followers? Who cares? We are
looking years down the road. The ability to story tell on a variety of
platforms will only help you.
Maybe you missed out on the apps today,
but you have built your skills up so when the next thing pops you are
all over it and can make your mark there. Long game. Patience is key.
You
will eventually need to learn how to translate the context of whatever
medium you are dealing with to your message. Writing, photos, videos,
clips, GIFs, whatever. You need to be able to tell your story in a way
that allows the eyes and ears of your targeted audience can hear you.
The only way to do that is to learn how to use those platforms, and how
to get your message across. If you are in the creative field, it has
never been easier to stake a claim in your market. You are creative!
This allows you to move sooner, adjust more quickly, and buy up “real
estate” sooner than your contemporaries. This time that we are living in
now is geared for your skill set, you just need to take advantage of it
and stop complaining.
Effort
is such an undervalued component to “winning.” Outwork people. Period.
In time, you will win. People sell themselves short, they are too busy
binge watching TV, complaining that the chips are stacked against them.
That’s who you are competing with, complainers. You want to be one of
them? If your grandparents heard your excuses for why you weren’t where
you wanted to be they would come out of their graves and punch you in
the face. Wars, famines, ethnic cleansing, dust bowls, etc and you are
bitching about your followers? Opportunities? Complaining is for losers
who never get things done. Think about that the next time you are trying
to explain your position in the market. Boo hoo. STFU and get to work.
If
you are a complainer, you need to seriously sit down and evaluate where
and how you spend your time. You can’t complain your way to more
talent. You can’t complain your way to more opportunities.
Self-awareness is the game. Control your time. You don’t have to do
things that waste time. You are choosing to. It’s all on you. Catch the
game. There is always something new, something different. If you are
outworking people, if you stop wasting time, if you are the best at your
craft, you will win.
How Do I Build My Business/Brand?
The answer is the same, be self-aware, focus on the long game.
Know
where you are at. Get business before you start acting like you are the
shit. Do something first. Play the small clubs to get to stadiums. It
is a building process. If you are looking 10 years down the line, what
are the stepping stones to get you there? It doesn’t happen overnight.
It is grinding and grinding day after day for years and it slowly builds
up. Keep doing. Keep learning. Remember to come down from the clouds
and play in the dirt, work hungry, and learn.
Two tips to make sure you don’t get stuck while building out your business:
1.
Doing the right projects for the right people and the right time for
free can lead the big ones you really want to do. Play both ends of the
spectrum and stay out of the middle. Either you get paid $XXXX to do a
job because they are paying you, or you do it for $0 because it is
something that can jumpstart your career, or take it to another level.
If
Metallica wants you to open up for them at Met Life Stadium, do it for
free. It can lead to much bigger things than the few grand you would
demand.
2.
Never do the next job for the same price you did the last one. Keep
doing that until the market tells you it is too much. If you are always
the $500 guy, you will never be the $10,000 guy. Build it up, when you
can’t get a certain amount, the market has told you that you have
reached the ceiling. Find the ceiling.
Quotes
“Your
grandparents would come out of the grave and punch you in the face if
they heard you complaining about what you can’t do compared with what
they had to deal with.”
“We are so lucky. You could have been an ant.”
“If you are a white man in America, you should go to jail for complaining”
“Scale the un-scale-able.”
Gary Vaynerchuk Links
Chase Jarvis Links
Joey Links
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