Yesterday, I wrote an article about what I think I want the most when I wake up and take on my job each day. So last, as I was humming the Joe Cocker version of “With a Little Help from My Friends:”
The background singers ask the question:
Do you need anybody?
The answer – “I need someone to love.”
Could it be anybody?
The answer – “All I need is someone, Knows where I’m goin’, yeah”
A Moment of Clarity
That is the answer, I realized in that moment of clarity. Thanks, Joe. I am absolutely confident that this was not the intent of your revision of this song but hey, I will take the help where I can find it. May you rest in peace.
What People Really Want
This is what “they” all want. Help from someone that knows where they are going. They do not want you to tell them where to go, or why to go or when to go. They just simply want help in getting there. They want someone who has been there before and can lead them on the way.
The Burden of Masters
“Luke, we are what they grow beyond. That is the true burden of all masters.” Yoda.
This is the heart of intent, correct? People know when you are a master or a charlatan. Are you trying to help other people down the same path and hopefully beyond, or are you simply peddling wares? We all want the former. We want the master; we want the one that will tell us what to do so we can go do it ourselves.
Reflections on StoryBrand
I went back through my Readwise notes from several years ago when I first read “StoryBrand” by Donald Miller. I vaguely understood this conceptual device, as I am a lifelong fan of Joseph Campbell, another philosopher who “jacked me up.” Miller was and is spot on with his concept of the story as an instrument for understanding what “they” want. I am glad I got this song stuck in my head for a few days because now I am reminded. My intent really matters. Will I be the helper? Will I be the guide? The sherpa? The mentor? Or will I be the snake oil salesman, the swindler, the shyster, the imposter?
Influencing Others
Success is usually dependent on our ability to influence others, according to Dale Carnegie in 1936, but note that this book focused largely on, how to win friends. How do we win?
– We become genuinely interested in the other person.
– We remember them.
– We listen.
– We talk about their interests and not our own.
– We make them feel important, sincerely.
With all the complexity in modern marketing and all the “tried and true” techniques for sales, we tend to forget the most important value behind human-to-human interaction: sincerity and genuine intent. Honestly, this is what I respond to the best. I will pick up a call and talk to anyone who I feel can be a potential guide. I would do well to remember this when I try the same.
