You have to understand the 'who' from a marketing and philosophical standpoint
It's the 'who' that will be paying you dividends.
"Your success lies in how well you know, treat, and manage your customers. Ultimately, your paycheck comes from them.”
One of the biggest traps in marketing is that marketers think that they can sell to everyone.
They see companies like Apple, Nike, and Coca-Cola that target the mass market and achieve huge success, and they assume that this is the only way to build a successful business.
And they want to get the whole slice of that juicy, crave-worthy, and mouth-watering pizza.
However, what they fail to realize is that these companies have spent decades and billions of dollars building brand recognition and a loyal customer base.
So targeting the mass market may not be the most effective strategy for a new or niche business.
The truth is:
You don’t have enough time
You don’t have enough money
But these “limitations” are actually advantageous for your company.
Having a lack of resources is actually a good thing
A popular saying goes something like, “Cherish what you have, not what you don’t”, which is extremely applicable to such a context.
Instead of focusing on the limitations, what the companies should do is:
Be specific (psychographically) — to understand who the product is for, the motivations behind a purchase, their pain points, their desires, etc.
Pick a ‘who’, a problem they want to solve, whether they have the means to solve it, and whether you’re able to keep your promise
The beginning of wisdom
From a philosophical standpoint, Aristotle would put it, “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” Lao Tzu would add, “Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.”
As a marketer, we need to understand the ins and outs of the product before even “pitching” to our customers.
Having a thorough understanding of the product allows us to tailor our approach and messaging to effectively communicate its value to our target audience.
But at the end of the day, knowing the ‘who’ — whether it is yourself or who your product is for, is a truly valuable skill and the beginning of all wisdom.
Be afraid of staying the same
Marcus Aurelius said, "It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live."
Words of wisdom from the last of the rulers known (the Five Good Emperors).
To me, this quote means that we shouldn't be afraid to take risks and pursue our passions. Life is short, and if we spend all our time worrying about what might go wrong, we'll never truly experience all the amazing things that life has to offer.
I know it can be scary to step outside of our comfort zones and try something new, but the rewards can be incredible. Whether it's starting a new job, traveling to a foreign country, or simply trying a new hobby, taking that first step can open up a world of possibilities.
So, let's all take a cue from Marcus Aurelius and embrace life with courage and a sense of adventure. Who knows what amazing things we might discover along the way?
Question yourself
What are you afraid of?
What makes you nervous?
What makes you worried?
Are you afraid of people's opinions? Are you afraid of being judged by others?
Are you nervous about your future? Yet you're not taking any actions towards that goal?
Are you worried about failure? Are you worried that things may not turn out as you want?
Be introspective. Know what you're afraid of. Know your flaws. Know yourself.
Always question yourself. Be self-aware. Be honest.
Forcing yourself
We need to force ourselves to learn.
We need to force ourselves to write.
We need to force ourselves to build.
If we can do all these, you'll become unstoppable.
At the end of the day:
Become a mad scientist.
Become a systems-first thinker.
Become a purposeful person.
And create the life that you want.
Humility tops the game of life. Be a student. Learn from people worth learning from.
Breaking free from addictions to become your best self
There are 7 addictions we must break to become our best selves:
Comparison: Comparison leads to rushed goals, leading to the feeling of inadequacy in life.
Comfort: The comfort zone is where dreams go to die.
Quitting: To guarantee failure is to quit.
Distraction: You either can’t focus or you’re distracted by unimportant things.
Your phone: Mindless scrolling not only wastes your time but also builds the muscle for mindless scrolling, conditioning the mind to constantly seek more quick dopamine hits.
Multitasking: Multitasking spreads your attention and focus thinly.
Waiting for perfect conditions to start: Someone out there who is less qualified than you is living the life that you want simply because they took action.
Addictions are hard to break. Habits are hard to create.
To break free from these addictions (also called bad habits), James Clear theorized a concept called Habit Stacking.
The habit stacking formula is:
After/Before [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].
For example, "After I pour my cup of coffee each morning, I will meditate for one minute."
Or you can change it up a little.
When I [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].
For example, "When I think of quitting, I should remind myself of why I even started, and I'll write it in my journal."
The advice I always give to people who feel stuck in their lives is to start getting to know yourself.
Here's a thread for you to internalize:
I started picking up a book at 18.
That book was "The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness".
It has changed the way I view life significantly.
Learn the three concepts I learned from the book.
The boring tasks reap the best outcome
To be successful, we must risk looking stupid.
Because if you don't, you'll just be like the rest of the pack.
To risk being boring is the smartest move you can play.
Being boring means you're naked.
Being naked means you have the creative freedom to do whatever, whenever, wherever, and however.
The basic automatism of life is made up of different tiny habits.
"Systems" for simplicity's sake.
In every system, there will be a gap. A gap for you to solve.
Be as creative as you can.
Do the boring work. Add some sauce to it. Make it exciting to continue.
And you'll never hit a plateau.
Every day is a new day to learn and grow.
The force forward won't stop.
It's you against you now.
AI Tools to Boost Your Productivity
Quillbot - AI-powered chatbot to enhance your writing.
AISeo - Enhance your topical authority, elevate your E-E-A-T score, refine on-page and technical SEO.
Tome AI - Save hours on design and never use default templates again. Build presentations simply via prompts.
Superhuman AI - AI-powered email built for high-performing teams. It's compatible with Gmail and Outlook email accounts and is available for macOS, iPhone, iPad, and Chrome using a browser extension.
Fathom - Free app that records, transcribes, and summarizes video calls from platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams. Extremely useful for internal team and client meetings.
Perplexity AI - Chatbot that acts as a search engine, providing accurate and informative answers in real-time.
Top Learnings of the Week
OpenAI released Sora, their text-to-video model: Sora can create videos of up to 60 seconds featuring highly detailed scenes, complex camera motion, and multiple characters with vibrant emotions (link)
“Better than a real man”: A societal shift towards digital intimacy with AI as young Chinese women turn to AI boyfriends (link)
Gemini Pro 1.5 can process up to one million tokens in production: Gemini 1.5 is Google's next-generation AI model, which offers significant improvements over its predecessor, Gemini 1.0. Comes with a dramatically enhanced performance, a breakthrough in long-context understanding across modalities, and a larger context window, allowing it to process vast amounts of information in one go (link)
Thanks for the info