The following post is from Comeback Kid: 101 Short Stories, Essays, and Insights to Improve Communication Skills
I’m not too sure how you found me.
Before, I thought I would’ve known.
I used to think everyone who is on this list found me through my Twitter account.
They saw my tweets, found a promo for my email list & boom…
Signed up.
My perception changed on multiple occasions.
I realized different people on this list discovered me in different ways.
One story was pretty fascinating.
I wonder if he is reading this right now…
In undergrad, I pledged a fraternity.
During my pledging process, I wanted to learn everything about the fraternity.
I wanted to know when it was founded, the founding fathers, what the fraternity stands for.
All that.
I realized how passionate a lot of the brothers were.
(Brothers are the titles for the fraternity members).
‘So how did you like the Frat?’
Whoa…you made a mistake, my friend.
‘What?’
You called it a Frat.
I once called it a Frat during a recruiting event. I wasn’t a member then.
That’s when a brother corrected me and said:
‘Don’t call a Fraternity a Frat, Armani. You wouldn’t like it if I called your Country a Cunt. Would you?’
I laughed when he said that.
He was being serious.
I respected him for telling me this.
He took his organization seriously.
I like people who represent things with pride.
Even if I disagree with it….if you’re going to work, do it with some effort.
I studied with effort.
Memorized the names of the founding fathers.
This was over a decade ago.
However, the names are still etched in my subconscious mind.
Imagine my surprise when one of the founding father’s emails me and says:
‘Yo ArmaniTalks! I am one of your fraternity brothers. I just discovered your website & bought your book. I like what you’re doing. Keep it up.’
This seems like a small comment.
But it was meaningful moment for me.
My younger self kept hearing & reciting their names.
I wanted to show that I knew the history of the organization that I was joining.
Now one of the members who created the whole organization was reaching out to me.
I view marketing as a powerful force.
I view education as a powerful force.
When I started ArmaniTalks, I did not do it for fame.
Don’t care about that.
My goal is the opposite.
If no one knew me & I could keep doing what I do, I’d prefer that.
However, that’s not realistic.
The core of the business is this list.
Behind the scenes work.
It’s the education that brings others to this list.
Some found me through twitter.
Some found me through a YouTube video.
Some found me through a blog.
The way this Fraternity brother found me was through a book.
I had a friend who interviewed me for a book & I was on the first chapter.
This showed me a few lessons regarding marketing on the internet.
If you can view promotion as educating, there is a tension-free process created from that.
A cool, calm, collected composure is built.
My brother was in sales for over 3 years.
He was top-tier in his field.
Even for him, he didn’t like ‘selling’ before.
For some reason, the phrase didn’t sit well with him.
Well, how did he go from the state of uneasiness to dominating later on?
He understood his version of ‘sales.’
He said he educated others.
This allowed him to feel like he was doing others a favor rather than taking something from them.
It was easier to close at that point.
In this era, self promotion is only sleazy if you think that’s the only kind of promotion there is.
But if you can have SOME SORT of education based marketing into your mix, that’s when the tension melts.
It doesn’t matter what field you are in.
Plumbing, engineering, writing etc.
Aim to teach.
Teaching is one of the noblest fields out there.
It’s like you are walking in the dark room of someone’s mind & turning the light on.
That ON light will never allow them to view life the same way again.
That’s my intention with this newsletter.
Are you sitting & observing others participate?
Or are you participating yourself?
Teaching is an honorable field.
Not one that you study from the outside.
But one that you bring alive from the inside.
Step into the arena.
Share your knowledge, skills & expertise.
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