Trying to please everyone will please no-one

You know that feeling of panic?

You sit down to write and produce nothing but a sigh?

That blank page when nothing seems to work? You daren’t write anything?

Happens all the time.

Then, you finally manage to put pen to paper only delete everything because you think you can’t possibly get away with writing THAT, can you?

The fear of ridicule

You fear being mocked, not looking serious to all your deadly serious customers or subscribers who couldn’t bear to see you express an opinion.

But if your efforts to be conventional and temper your language mean you end up sounding just like everybody else (…and, tumbleweed), what’s the point?

Stop worrying about what other people think.

What’s better?

• to be unconventional, to express unpopular but heartfelt opinions, even to cuss a little if it so pleases you and get seen by those you want to work with
• be just like everyone else? vanilla, grey and “acceptable”

Writing in public is scary. You’re not writing in a vacuum.

Everyone has an instant right of reply and access to the technology to express it.

It’s all too easy for people to hide behind a hate tweet just like a spotty teenager with women issues.

Putting your name to an editorial that expresses a proper opinion sometimes takes guts.

Sea of Same?

I’ve been talking about the Sea of Same for a while now because I believe that resisting it is the way to attract the clients you want.

Your ideal clients are exceptional people that don’t want conventional.

• You are quite good enough.
• You don’t care about what other people think.
• You believe in your stuff.

You’ve been doing your job for a while now I think, and you’ve developed a decent level of competency.

You can design stuff, you can write, you deliver excellent customer service.

Whatever you do, you do it well. And the only way you’ll have a great business is to dare to tell people about it.

Otherwise, no-one will know about you, and you’ll be great in your little corner of the world.

Most of us getting terrified of what people think about them. Pleasing people and getting on with them is essential.

If they upset anyone, they think they’ll lose clients.

I have one word for you.

Bollocks to that.

There, I said it. Tut, tut if you like. The truth is that nobody thinks about you that much so you should lose energy thinking about them.

If you’re running a business that is even remotely successful, it’s likely that for every one person that hates you, there’s at least ten that don’t. And some of those 10 love you.

Concentrate on that. Be true to yourself; you’ll be happier.