A Path to Mediocrity

I'm reading this fascinating book Creativity, Inc., written by Ed Catmull. Catmull is arguably the founder of Pixar Animation Studios. He writes about how Pixar as we know it came to be, lessons learned, and techniques they use to keep the studio creating and innovating.

So really what does this have to do with motherhood, direct sales, or just life? Why did I decide to spend my valuable time reading it? Well, first because I'm a creative person and I'm curious about other creative minds. Second, because in direct sales there is a wealth of advice, catch phrases, how-tos, and recommended motivational material but at some point it all starts to sound the same and ceases to be interesting. I don't know about you but I won't read it if it isn't holding my interest. In my experience the best advice comes from the insights gained from authors whose intended audience in anyone other than someone in direct sales. Naturally, a motivation speaker or how-to writer is going to tell us what he thinks we need and want to hear, especially if they want to sell books and fill seats at speaking engagements!

So today I want to share a little nugget from the book. Copying what has come before or success with minimal risk is a guaranteed path to mediocrity.

It may be flattering to pay homage to those that have come before us, paving the way in our chosen field, but it isn't going to result in any great contribution to our field or the world. So, again, how does this apply in my life? I don't run a business that thrives on creativity. But we do ALL in some way sell ourselves and none of us are exactly alike. So to bring this into a practical setting, I want to apply this lesson to direct sales. I can learn warm chatter techniques, use booking scripts, follow "party" or presentation outlines, and learn how to close a sale. BUT if I am not my authentic self when doing all these things I will not be a success.We have to take these techniques and make them our own. We have to be genuine and mean what we say. It's a mental trap to think we can't, simply because we cannot do something the way someone else does it or be what someone else is. We were never meant to be someone else and we can be a success just being our best selves.



photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/46753878@N07/8854830185">la lectrice</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">(license)</a>