I realize I’m cutting Jung short. The whole quote reads:
“You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.”
For our purposes today, I’m focusing in on that first part.
Because for a few years, I have stood stalwartly by the “fact” that I’m “just” a writer.
That’s what I do.
I am a content publishing machine. I am a ghostwriter on LinkedIn.
I toil over the keyboard. I interview my clients and find the right channels to spread their stories.
Plan. Write. Revise. Publish. Repeat. On and on and on.
Then came lunch at P.F. Chang’s with a potential client.
Along with the delicious honey chicken, a piping hot personal insight was served up during that conversation.
We probably talked about writing for 2 minutes, and the majority of the 90 minutes was about strategy.
We created a plan to achieve a particular goal.
We discussed the unique value the business provides to the market and how we might maximize it.
What was the value they were offering that people cannot get from anywhere else?
The words of Srinivas Rao come to mind, “Only is better than best.”
How would we create this blueprint to guide us in the decision-making process?
Could we follow this formula?
Uncommon value + effective delivery + communicate in a compelling way
I sat there in the booth, thinking, “this is my best pitch yet.”
Was I giving them anything spectacular? No.
In fact, I didn’t talk that much.
I was aligning a potential plan so the parts of the formula sang together beautifully in three part harmony—as all strategies should.
In the end, they decided to move forward with me.
“You are going to really help us, Morgan.”
I walked away from that experience with my mindset adjusted.
My value isn’t solely tied to the creative work I bring at the tail end of the equation.
I participate in each facet of the strategy process.
Does that make me a creative or thought leader strategist?
I think it does.
As soon as I affirm the idea, a barrage of doubt bombs rain inside my head.
“You’ve never led a multi-million dollar company. You’ve never done A,B,C,X,Y,Z. You can’t sit there and call yourself that! Don’t be ridiculous.”
To combat the strike, I respond.
“I’ve never been a CEO, but I ask questions, I search for open space, I hunt for the totally different, I uncover the hidden characteristics, I look for the raw material, I expose weaknesses and reframe them as strengths. That’s who I am.”
The enemy sulks away into the shadows after that.
So, the question looming at the end of the article remains:
Am I really, “just a writer?”
Of course not.
It may be the same for you.
You might discover that your current language and beliefs don’t exactly line up with what you do.
This could be true for yourself or your business.
Maybe there’s a potential adjustment to make.
Think about it this week and tell me about how it goes.
Remember, you can always hit reply or find me on LinkedIn.
Let’s be friends outside the inbox. ✌️