Make Marketing Suck Less

Hey rebel. I always read the one star reviews on Amazon for the 3 Word Rebellion book. Now, does that make me a masochist? Maybe because there's only like two one star reviews for the book, but this review from Regis M. really stuck with me because it opened my eyes to one of my biases, a bias that I didn't even know that I had. And frankly, I'm actually really grateful that I see the world this way.

So let me read you this review and thank you, Regis, for actually leaving your name. I appreciate it. Most people who leave one star reviews don't do that. So that's brave and I applaud you. So here's the reveal.

“This book was nothing like what I was led to believe. Not sure how it earned all the positive reviews. Hardly based in the real world. The author seems to exist in a Twittstergramopia where everyone is a ‘thought leader.’ I appreciate her enthusiasm and applaud her pluck, but I don't know how this book is supposed to help anyone other than her.”

Here's the deal.

I do believe that everyone is a thought leader.

You listening to this podcast right now? Yes, you, I believe that you are a thought leader and I know I don't know you or heck, I might know you, but, I do know in my heart of hearts that you are a thought leader and that is my bias. I know that you have a thought or two in your head right now that could change people’s thoughts, or two that could change your industry or even the world, and that thought is worthy.

That thought is worthy to lead with and you're worthy to lead with it.

And yes, even Regis has a thought or two that is worthy to lead with and it struck me even further, this bias that I have, because after I released the brand message map, someone commented on an Instagram post that the map helped them realize that they had something to say because they always thought that they were just a service provider and that they didn't really have any opinions or a point of view because they just provided a service and that you couldn't have an opinion or a point of view unless you were a coach. Oh my God, that is just not true.

So I want to break it down for you.

I want to tell you why you can be a thought leader and how simple thoughts can lead to a big impact and how it starts with you.

How all of it starts with you believing in your thoughts and how one simple thought can really have an impact on people.

So where did my bias come from?

And I had to do some thinking and journaling on this question, like why do I believe that everyone can be a thought leader? And I think I know the origin from it. It's pretty obvious looking back.

So, growing up, my mom was pretty mentally ill and there is an upside from having a mom who is mentally ill and can't trust her own thoughts. She always trusted my mind and my thoughts more than she trusted her own mind.

So she was always asking me for my thoughts and my opinions, so I always felt valued. I always felt like my thoughts mattered, and then this carried on when I joined the speech and debate team in high school in college, there's nothing like debating to make you see that your thoughts and ideas have value.

There's nothing like standing in front of a room and delivering a speech of your ideas and having people listen to your thoughts and winning a competition with your thoughts and ideas to show you that your thoughts matter. Then going into graduate school, you learn very quickly that your thoughts and ideas are appreciated, that your professors want to hear them, they want you to take published works and critique them because they want to know your thoughts. Then I was teaching other people for over 13 years how to think because I valued their thoughts. I wanted to know what you think about this? What would you do differently? What are your ideas? Come up with your own hypothesis, your own theory. I want to know them.

So I've gone through my life just thinking that, yes, of course my thoughts are valued and that I have good ideas.

I should be expressing these ideas.

I've been expressing ideas my whole life, so it has never occurred to me that other people didn't have that same experience. So when I come to my work or I get on a call with a potential new client, one of the things I do is I'm able to see their potential immediately with their ideas and their thoughts.

Sometimes I think I scare the crap out of them because I'm like, oh my gosh, I can see the potential in this. Like I can see the implication and how this can help people and what you can do with this idea, with these thoughts that you have. And I always assume that I'm talking to the next thought leader that I'm talking to the next Simon Sinek because of course I am.

That's my bias and that's where it comes from.

So. Yes, you can be a thought leader because no matter what your industry that you're in, no matter what your area of expertise, no matter if you are a multi-passionate, every industry can be improved in big and small ways, and it doesn't have to take a big massive thought or a big idea to shift an industry.

I always joke around that the iPhone was really not that revolutionary. All Steve Jobs did was look at his iPhone in his iPod and think, wow, when it'd be great if these were just one device instead of two, and he revolutionized an industry by combining two devices into one.

That's kind of a small thought right. So you can be a thought leader because you have a million ideas rolling around in your head. You've got a unique perspective. You have unique experiences in your lives, and. Knowing you, you've probably have a ton of tools in your toolbox, and when your experiences, your perspectives, those tools in your toolbox, they collide with your ideas.

That's when new thoughts form. Right? That's kind of the explosion of new thoughts and granted, some of those thoughts aren't going to be so good. Some of those are going to be rubbish and they're not going to go anywhere, but some of them are unbridled genius. But unfortunately, some of them will never make it out of the starting gate. Some of them will never make it out of your brain. Some of them will never make it out of your head because you have to believe that your thought is worthy of expressing and that it's worthy of your leadership and that you are worthy of being a leader of thought leadership. Because being a thought leader is about leadership.

And here's the rebel truth about Regis. My one star reviewer, and this rebel truth breaks my heart. Regis does not believe his thoughts are worthy of his leadership. He does not believe he has one thought in his head that would make him a thought leader. And that's sad. He doesn't believe that he has had a thought that could change a person, his industry, or the world.

He just doesn't believe in himself like that. And the reason why the 3 Word Rebellion has so many positive reviews, and this is what lights me up and gives me hope, is that the other people who reviewed that book positively, they do believe that they have ideas that are worthy of leadership, that believe their thoughts can change.

People can change industries and the world. 

They love the book because I'm giving them a framework to voice their thoughts, to get those thoughts in other people's hands, to make a difference, to make an impact in their life. And I love them because of their big thoughts and the belief they have in themselves to lead with their thoughts.

And my great hope for Regis and my greatest hope for anyone who listens to this podcast is that you realize that yes, you can be a thought leader.

You've got big ideas in that brain of yours right now that could change a life if you believe in it. If you believe in yourself enough to take it out of your head and express it and lead with it, you can make a difference. You can have an impact.

Thank you, Regis for that one star review and thank you to all of my five star thought leaders out there.

I love you and I am rooting for you.