The Desert of Arizona
An Hour Before Sunrise 40 Degrees
School trained us to be all things to all people. You had to do well in math. You had to do well in English. You had to do well in biology and physics. But it was even more shortsighted in that. If you weren’t doing well in an area… if one subject was a “weakness” for you, they’d actually tell you to spend MORE time on it.
To any critically thinking individual, this is a poor use of time and energy. I’m happy to admit I think much more clearly today. But back then, I fell for this hook, line and sinker. I didn’t even think about it. I just went through the motions like a brainwashed monkey.
And when I went out into the world, I operated under the program that the goal was to be all things to all people.
The goal wasn’t to disqualify a prospect that wasn’t a good fit. The goal was to sell every prospect I could who came through the door by morphing myself into what they said they wanted.
So basically, when I opened up shop as a tech consultant in Chicago all those years ago, I pretty much walked around the city with a sign on my head that said, “Will Be All Things to All People.”
I made it, but barely.
I spent most of my time being paid to do things I could do instead of being paid to do the things I was put on this earth to do.
In business, and specifically in the Incomparable Expert business, forgetting WHO YOU ARE FOR is a problem. It’s not because your marketing won’t work and it won’t even keep you from charging premium fees.
But it WILL tend to have you waste your life force helping people who are not in the situation where you can deliver your best results.
And that’s far worse. Because if you do that enough, you will create a body of work that is HARDLY at the “Incomparable” level. You’ll wonder why your people aren’t getting results. And it will all be your fault.
I know this, because I’ve done this.
But if you develop the discipline, the lead flow and the focus to work with the folks for whom you are a perfect fit, your body of work will resonate through the marketplace like a trumpet.