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I feel a responsibility to preface this post with a massive warning: I wrote what you’re about to read in my journal in a little coffee shop around the corner from my day-job office, shortly after a meltdown of epic proportions that involved me sitting in my car, crying like a little girl for the first time in as long as I can remember.  What you’re about to read is raw, bloody, laced with profanity and carnage.

The rational part of my brain is begging me not to hit the publish button.  The Tyler Durden part of my brain is telling the rational part to sit down and shut the fuck up.

Remember when I told you that you met me at a very strange time in my life?  Yeah, well, I have a feeling you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.  You probably should stop reading this and go do something else.

If you choose to keep reading, you do so under your own volition.  You’ve been warned.  This is the unedited version.

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My life is a total fucking train wreck.  If I was smart, I’d move away and start all over.

I can’t abide doing what I’m doing any longer.  Every fiber of my being is rebelling against the routine and going through the motions.

I’m so worried about how my actions will affect other people, I’ve forgotten the prime directive: how my decisions and actions will affect me.

My body is reacting viscerally to my job.  I know that every second I spend working for someone else is another second I’ve lost, another second I’ve wasted…and why?  For what? Because I don’t have the guts to stand up and walk away.  Because I’m worried about how my boss is going to feel.  Because I’m worried about how I’ll pay the rent.  Because I’m worried about how the soon-to-be-ex-Mrs. Kennedy will feel and what she’ll do.

I’m worried about everything, and a part of me just wants to say “FUCK IT ALL!!!” and walk away, to pull a Henry David Thoreau and go live by a pond in the woods…or join a fucking monastery…or the Foreign Legion…anything but stay here and pretend that I’m doing anything that matters.

I have an appointment with my tax guy in 15 minutes…MY FUCKING TAX GUY!!  How can I be expected to think about fucking taxes at a time like this??  How can I pretend that anything in my life matters??  Everything in my life is a total fucking joke…with one exception.  One thing is real…one thing has meaning…one thing, one person, is potentiality in human form.

The guys at the table next to me are talking about math…don’t they know?  Can’t they see that life is more than numbers?

I want to push the red button.  I want to take the nuclear option.  I want to eradicate every vestige, every element, every fucking particle of my old life.

I’m terrified to go home.  I’m terrified to go back to the office.  I’m terrified to go anywhere near anything that’s connected to my old life because I’m afraid I’ll end up plugging back into the matrix and go back to sleep.

My only choice is to push the red button.

You remember when Juliet fell in the pit with the bomb?  Remember when she started screaming and beating on the bomb with a rock?

Yeah…call me fucking Juliet…

What happens when you combine several hundred thousand square feet of the latest in consumer technology with the most unapologetically over-the-top city on the planet?  I’ll tell you what: your brain melts.

Miss Destructo gave me some great advice before I left.  She told me not to try to do everything.  I’m glad I listened.  Trying to cram the entire show into four days would have been like forcing an 80-pound kid to try everything at the Treasure Island buffet: likely to induce bouts of vomiting.  It is, quite literally, too much good stuff.

That said, I’ll definitely be back next year.  The CES Tweetup was far and away the most fun I’ve had at a Tweetup, the educational tracks were fantastic, and the trade show was pretty incredible to behold.  And, of course, it’s in Las Vegas, and I’ll use any excuse to make a trip down there.

And of course I brought back a couple of business lessons.  Stay tuned the rest of this week to hear about those, and check out my pictures of the trip on Facebook.

I just spent 4 minutes at the DMV.

For those of you who have grown up in California, that is a remarkable, perhaps unbelievable, statement. When I first got my license more than three decades ago, a trip to the DMV for any reason, any reason at all, meant taking a full day off from work and spending 99% of your time standing in lines and 1% of your time learning that you’d brought the wrong forms.

Today was different.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

I had an appointment for 11:20. After waiting in a short line I sat down at 11:15. I was called promptly at 11:20 and finished with forms, thumb-printing, payment and a new photo at 11:24.

It used to fill me with a sickening dread to think about the DMV. After three and a half decades the expectation of pain doesn’t just go away. We didn’t plan anything else this morning. I brought my laptop and some work to do. Our little one brought a big fat book to read. We came prepared to stay.

In 4 minutes it was over.

What Did You Expect?

For decades the California Department of Vehicles has set an expectation of a miserable experience. Then a few years ago they made a clear declaration of intent and set an expectation for a new experience. Now that we can make an appointment online we still prepare for the worst, but expect something better. Despite higher expectations I still do a dance of glee when I spend less than a full day at the DMV.

A vital note: the DMV doesn’t just promise a different experience when you make an appointment, the deliver on the promise. Making an appointment isn’t marginally better, it’s a whole different experience.

What’s Your Industry’s Reputation?

A Dark Place Indeed; United Breaks Guitars

Just as a light shines brightest in the dark, your generous, thoughtful, kind attention to suspects, prospects and clients makes you stand out.

C’mon and Shine Shine Shine!

Take No Prisoners!

Every entrepreneur is a salesperson. Selling doesn’t have to involve a plaid polyester sports coat. Stand out from the dark.

Shine.

Shine

Last post, I discussed the problem with the “fake it ’til you make it” approach to business, namely the difficulty it creates for building open, honest, transparent relationships with your clients.  I promised to follow with a post discussing the benefits of transparency in your business, so here goes.

#1 – Transparency Builds Trust

When I read a post by Johnny B. Truant that detailed a financial difficulty he had in the past and how he dealt with it, I felt an instant affinity for him.  I could tell as I was reading the post that this was a guy who really got it, a guy who could relate to the struggles I was going through and, as a result, I trusted him immediately.

Funny how that works, isn’t it.  I mean, I’ve never met Johnny; for all I know, he could be a guy who beats up Boy Scouts and steals money from nuns to support his toad-licking habit.  Whatever he is, though, I trust him because he had the guts to tell the world that his life isn’t always sunshine and roses, and that occasionally he gets kicked in the crotch, too.

When you’re that honest with people, you can’t lose.  Oh sure, some people would refuse to do business with you if they found out you were late on your car payment, but I’ll let you in on a little secret: they’re probably not any fun to do business with anyways.  Let them go, and spend your time and energy getting to know the people who get you.  Which brings us to…

#2 – Transparency Helps Your Choir Find You

I’ve been talking a lot lately about the idea of finding and preaching to your choir; in other words, spending all of your effort and energy marketing to that portion of the population that’s just like you.  Being transparent is the only way for them to find you.  If you’re spending your time “faking it”, hiding behind the illusion you think the world wants to see, they’ll never have a chance to connect with you.

Your choir is looking for a leader who’s not afraid to say the things they’re feeling.  That’s you.  If you step into the light and share your thoughts, your fears, your frustrations, they’ll love you for it.  And because they love you, they’ll buy your stuff, whether it’s an information product, a training program, or a more traditional product or service.  They won’t stop there, though: they’ll also tell their friends to buy from you.  Because you get it and you’re not afraid to say it.  Doesn’t that sound like fun?  Which reminds me…

#3 – Transparency Is Fun

Honestly.  I wouldn’t lie about a thing like that.  Seriously, once you get over your initial fear of being found out and exposed, telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth is exhilarating.  You’re no longer saddled with the fear of getting caught; you’re free to let it all hang out, and that kind of liberation from the psychological bondage of your past is, well…liberating.

So isn’t it time you let your light shine?

If you need some help figuring out how to do it, I’d love to help.  Post a comment or send me an email, and let’s figure out how to get you over what’s holding you back.  And for those of you who are ready to go “all out”, check out my new Blog Whisperer program, a 90-day course that will guide you through the process of getting your ideas out of your head and onto the screen so that your choir can find you.

Thanks for reading!

First off, I’d just like to acknowledge that my American Idol predictions last week (here and here) were a bit off.  No worries, though…a 25% closing ration isn’t bad!  Tune in tomorrow for my thoughts on AI this week, including more predictions about who’s going home.

Second, I’d like to let everyone know that I’ve added a couple of items to the “Free Downloads” page, courtesy of my friends Skip Anderson (B2C sales genius!) and Jim Keenan (B2B sales dy-no-mite!).  Also, a shout-out to Joel D Canfield for his help in getting the page to behave.  Thanks for your contributions, guys, and readers, look for more great tools to come!

Last, but certainly not least, a big thanks to all you who are reading this blog on a regular basis.  You guys make my day!

Cheers,

Jerry