Pay Attention

I loved I Spy books when I was a kid and when I think about I Spy, I think about the photo of an old attic where the culmination of “stuff” creates a landscape that you can't take in all at once. Your brain cannot compute an ice skate, a bust of Eisenhower, and a toolbox, it doesn’t fit in a nice category. This is a microcosm of what is going on all day in our mind. We’re all playing our own game of I spy but without alignment to our identity, it’s like playing I-Spy without the “riddle” (what the book tells you to find). You're taking in the landscape, but you're not sure what it means or why you are there.

Yesterday I talked about taking stock. The next natural progression after taking stock would be noticing patterns or what is sticking out. You know that moment when you come to a realization of a pattern in your life that your best friend or spouse came to 3 months-3 years prior? “Yea, Ryan, I have been telling you this now for 3 months.” It might be weird, but I love that feeling. Sure, I regret that I didn’t come to it a little sooner or feel a little embarrassed that I was not listening with all my heart, but I FOUND SOMETHING! The attic is starting to make more sense. Cross that one off the riddle.

Others can typically see patterns in your personal life faster (and the same is true with your brand/marketing). There is loads of science behind why, but put simply, your brain is lazy so it will put things in groups and convince you it makes sense even when it doesn’t so it doesn’t have to search anymore. Others though, they just see what is in front of them, it’s easier to recognize the patterns and what is standing out.

This is what is actually happening when people say “You're too close to it.” Your brain has moved on, it’s over the complexity of it all. Today’s marketing landscape is complex to say the least. Hundreds of voices telling you to do hundreds of different things with hundreds of different tools. It’s an attic out there. I am going to offer two ways to combat your lazy brain.

1. Make sure you have an I Spy “riddle” (telling you what to look for). It starts with a defined brand identity/position, customer personas, and drumbeat statements. Knowing what you are looking for is great. But in the brand/marketing attic, the real magic comes when you know what you are not looking for.

2. Find a trusted friend, let them speak into your marketing and brand (If you don’t have a friend, first, let’s find you one dude, second, you can come to a Perception Lab 🙂)

Your attic is full. But clarity comes when you stop trying to see/do everything and instead know what matters. Find your riddle (it is funny it’s called a riddle…). Invite someone in. And start noticing what keeps showing up. That’s where identity begins and where more authentic marketing can take root.

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