Some people fight change. They think it helps them avoid losing their way, falling, or failing.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Right?
Wrong.
I look at my competitors who are still using elevator music, editing on outdated software, or shooting with old cameras and these words come to mind:
“Today, you’re either going to get better or you’re going to get worse, but you’re not going to stay the same. So which is it going to be?”
- Joe Paterno
In a world of constant innovation and progress, staying the same is getting worse. Your position is slipping, even if you’re holding still. Everybody is changing.
Getting better is the only way to not get worse.
Lately, I’ve wondered if I’m slipping a bit myself. I’ve been seeing a lot of time-lapse imagery in TV shows and movies such as House of Cards, Gold Rush, and Art of Flight. We’ve used time-lapse before, but not at the level I’m seeing out there now.
Regardless of what industry we work in, we’re all going to change. That’s a fact.
Today I’m choosing to get better. I’m saying goodbye to the wife and kids, jumping on a plane to one of the most beautiful places on the face of the earth, and we are going to master the art of time-lapse for our clients.
I want to be the best, and I need to keep moving forward.
The difference between a winner and a loser is your attitude.
Losers let losing define them. They let losing be their judgment, instead of their stepping stone. They spend the rest of their time trying to make excuses, instead of making improvements. Losers don’t win, because they see a loss as the end, not the beginning.
Winners see losing as a way to measure progress and know that they are pushing themselves. Losing means they’re not where they need to be…yet. Losing means needing to make adjustments. Losing is progress.
I was super busy all week with two productions and just got to this.
Now that the dust has settled and the real facts are available, I wanted to quickly weigh in on the giant “Applebees Unjustly Fires Poor Waitress” fiasco.
I’d like to get your thoughts on it too.
Here are the facts before I get started:
1) An Applebee’s waitress received this stupid note from Pastor Alois Bell on the signed credit card receipt.
It says “I Give God 10% Why do you Get 18″
2) Chelsea Welch, a different waitress (not the one who served the customer), took a picture of that credit card signature receipt with her phone and posted it on Reddit.com along with the caption:
“We wish this situation hadn’t happened. Our Guests’ personal information—including their meal check—is private, and neither Applebee’s nor its franchisees have a right to share this information publicly. We value our Guests’ trust above all else. Our franchisee has apologized to the Guest and has taken disciplinary action with the Team Member for violating their Guest’s right to privacy.”
6) Applebee’s social media team tried to engage upset people.
People called them names and accused Applebee’s of hypocrisy for breaching their own privacy policy by sharing a customer’s “receipt” earlier in the year.
(looks like an informal positive comment card to me)
We’re witnessing an old-fashioned online lynching.
What we’ve got here is a company protecting their customer’s privacy (I don’t want my signature online) and being dragged through the mud by idiots looking to lynch Applebee’s.
The idiotic pastor’s note was truly stupid. Great servers deserve great tips.
However, it would take another true idiot to think it’s okay to post a customer’s signature (customer is the key word) online while mocking them, even if what they were mocking was indeed stupid.
No, I don’t think Applebee’s had the perfect response on Facebook.
No, I don’t think there is such a thing.
Yes, I’m calling a lot of names here.
Here’s why:
It’s not okay to hurt a business because you don’t understand how to run one.
It’s wrong to post nasty stuff about companies or people when you don’t have the facts.
It’s easy to play armchair quarterback when it’s not your business.
The local owners, people that work at Applebee’s, and their family members are real people who get affected by idiotic boycotts, 40,000+ nasty comments, and all the distractions this has caused.
But this isn’t just about Applebee’s. It’s about you and me.
I had something like this happen on our Attention Era Media Facebook page last year when we posted this video and asked if people liked their idea:
A large feminist group began saying we supported misogyny and tying women up for commercial purposes. It wasted a ton of time and hurt our new brand.
For what?
For entertainment.
People like to hear themselves talk on social media, especially if there’s an ignorant mob that agrees with them.
I know people that work for Applebee’s. This is not amusing.
This is not entertainment. Don’t kid yourself. Idiots hate Applebee’s and they’ll hate you too.
It’s the new year and I have three thoughts on my mind. Thought I would share them with my fellow 8pm Warriors.
1) Focus on the positive stuff.
Yes, the economy has been bad. Some places around the world, it’s still bad.
However, there are still opportunities everywhere if we take the time to look for them. Focus on the bad things will only blind us from seeing the amazing people, places, and opportunities that surround us.
For every dark muddy mess on the ground, there is a beautiful sunrise if we just look up.
Keep your chin up.
2) Don’t be afraid to do great things. Don’t settle.
Just because nobody is doing it, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t either. Don’t be afraid to be the first.
Stop writing, thinking, talking, and working like everyone else. There’s a better way if we’re not afraid to be the first.
Yes, you may be wrong. But following behind others your whole life will always be wrong.
Nobody changed the world by copying others.
3) Don’t do it alone.
Amazing work is too hard to do alone.
You will fall…and when you do, you’ll need someone to help pick you up.
If you’re isolated and nobody “gets it”, don’t hesitate to use the power of social media and the internet. You’re not alone, even if you want to be.
Let me know if you need help, feedback, ideas, encouragement.
8pm Warriors need to stick together.
A couple weeks ago, I got this shot of an old man walking on the ocean in Vancouver. He was alone.
In 2013, my goal is to do big, crazy, bold things. I’m going to walk across the ocean if I have to…but I’m not going to do it alone.
Thanks for a great 2012 and I look forward to getting to know you better in 2013.
I know great people that haven’t done so well over the past five years.
They have no life insurance, health insurance, pension, or 401(k). They get sick, but they don’t go to the doctor. In pain, but they push on.
Some call them crazy. Others call them ignorant.
“Why work 80 hours a week for yourself to avoid working 40 for someone else?” “Why don’t you sleep more?” “Why don’t you get a stable job?” “Odds are you won’t make it anyway.” “You have a one in a million chance.”
The odds are against them. It’s true.
However it’s also true that the odds were against every single person in history that did anything amazing, brave, or beautiful. They were all crazy. They all ignored their odds.
That’s why they made it.
Their odds were one in a million, because THEY were one in a million.
They left the family business to pursue their risky passion for writing, like my brother-in-law. They took big risks in uncertain times, like my friend Claudia did with her dental practice.
If you’re still reading this, you probably have seen similar stories.
You might be having doubts right now. The last couple years have been really tough on leaders and entrepreneurs.
If you’re like me, you’ve had many failures. You’ve wondered if it’s the right course. Yet we press on.
For every “one out of a million” story, there is always a second person who had the skill and passion to make it too. They just quit too soon.
What makes for amazing stories, are the people who didn’t quit when everyone quit on them. They are the Thomas Edison’s who failed 10,000 times to invent the light bulb. They fight like Steve Jobs, who got kicked out of the company he started, but still kept on pushing forward.
If you believe in what you’re doing, do not quit.
That’s how you accomplish amazing things with your life. That’s how you change the world. If you love what you do and passionately pursue it, the rest will take care of itself.
It seems like our society has never had more thoughts and less action. Instead of action, let’s tweet our thoughts or Facebook poke our loved ones. Right?
Here’s one fellow 8pm Warrior’s brilliant thoughts:
“The reason I think life gets harder as we get older is that we get used to thinking that a thought is an action. We lose spontaneity.
When we were little we had a thought and ran out and did it. But we learned to sit still and be careful.
But when you learn to be careful about some things, you become careful about most things, even important things.”
If you’re paying money for Yellow Pages ads, but not investing in new media…you have a problem.
The same goes for newspapers, direct mail, and so many other forms of media that half of the country doesn’t even know exists.
Watch how these two young men treat the Yellow Pages. It’s an alien.
Makes me feel old.
I remember having classes in school on how to use the Yellow Pages. Now it’s a joke.
The average person pulls out their phone and searches for a business using the internet. Younger generations have never used the Yellow Pages, rarely read the newspaper, and hardly open their mail.
The world has changed. Those who haven’t, now have a major problem.
Spread the word. The Yellow Pages are dead. What’s next?
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