17 Mar 2009
Re: Seth Godin's Demonization
Thanks to the great network I have on Twitter, I learned of a post that Seth Godin made about Demonization. Here is the full quote of his short, but powerful message.
“The closer you get to someone, something, some brand, some organization… the harder it is to demonize it, objectify it or hate it.
So, if you want to not be hated, open up. Let people in. Engage. Interact.”
The morale of this message speaks directly to how I build my personal brand, engage with peers, and generally behave out in the public. As I posted previously, my personal brand is all about helping other people. It doesn’t matter who they are or my personal opinion of them, if they need help I want to help them. If I leave someone with the impression that I am someone they can rely on, then I consider that meeting a success.
A good friend of mine, Mitch Loder, once told me that one of my greatest qualities is my sincerity. I live by the philosophy that everyone deserves to hear the truth, no matter what. To do so would be dishonorable, and disrespectful to the person I am currently interacting with. If being honest to a fault is being sincere than I guess I am guilty as charged.
The last part of Seth’s post is by far the most powerful “Let people in. Engage. Interact.” This is what drives me when I am interacting out in the public. Being in the public means everything from walking around the mall, having a drink in a bar with friends, or posting your current status on Facebook.
Following those last three sentences will bring me closer to more people and organizations than any type of self promotion or advertisement. It may never make me rich, but hopefully it will provide with enough monetary income to provide for my family and give them anything they might ever need.
What does Seth’s message mean to you?
