The barriers have been smashed. Start acting like it. (Flickr photo credit: sheeshoo)
Let me share something with you. The biggest difference between those that are finding social media success and those that aren’t is that the latter see traditional barriers where they no longer exist. In the world before social media, barriers were everywhere. They took the form of gatekeepers and rules of conduct that blocked access to those who, at least in part, held the power to change things for us. They were erected by people who could not be bothered, and it was normally only those with an almost absurd amount of drive or the means to pull strings that could shatter them.
Of course you have to work your ass off to be successful in your social media efforts, but hard work alone won’t cut it. Start acting like you’re already there.
- Don’t be afraid to write about subjects you’re still learning. What matters is that you’re adding to the conversation when others are holding back and adding nothing.
- Read what those you admire read. You’ll start understanding how they think, and you’ll be able to engage with them about things you know they find interesting.
- Disagree openly with them when they give you reason to. Understand that 99% of the people trying to get in front of them do so by publicly agreeing with everything they utter, retweeting everything and sucking up in general. Be part of the 1% that tells them the truth when they’re wrong, and you’ll earn their attention and respect.
- Click send. The worst thing you can do is ask yourself, “Who am I kidding?” It’s strange as hell seeing my writing on blogs like Convince and Convert and MarketingProfs, but if I didn’t stop worrying about whether it was really good enough, if I didn’t click send, it wouldn’t have happened at all.
The delta between our aspirations and our reality might be wide, but we have more ways than ever to navigate it. Write about what you want to become known for and it will begin to read like the writing of someone who’s already recognized. Engage with those you admire without worrying about if they’ll pay attention, and eventually they will. The barriers are in your head.
As you might have heard by now, I got the job at Bazaarvoice. I’ll be their first Social Media Manager, and the work so far has been every bit as exciting and challenging as I had imagined. It was, literally, the “dream job” in “How I’m Using Facebook Ads to Find My Dream Job.”
How I did it:
I got scrappy to win. I had to relearn the focus techniques that helped me rise above the very real, very difficult ADHD I’ve always struggled with–the same methods that let me beat the odds at UT and even become, of all things, a study habits tutor for the University. The week before my final interview I buried myself in those very same stacks every day and methodically prepared. That’s not easy for me. Singular, sustained focus is foreign to my DNA. But just like I did before every test of every semester, I told my DNA to go screw itself and willed it.
I made uncomfortable choices. There were two fantastic offers on the table by the time I even scheduled my final Bazaarvoice interview, and I was waiting to hear back from two other interviews that went well. Yeah, it was a “good problem to have”. But it didn’t make it any easier to decide. In my life, hedging bets has never worked. Neither has taking the safe one. I had to tell these incredible people that I had met, all of whom had gone out of their way to reach out and offer me a way out of this jobless, moneyless slump I was in, “no thanks”. I had to tell my family, “I got a great offer today, but I’m not going to take it because there’s a chance I’ll still get the one true gig.” I asked nearly everyone I cared about, “Am I making the right choice by taking this risk?,” and everyone I cared about answered back in the most honest way they could, “Will you be happy if you don’t?” The answer was clear and it was “No.”
I asked favors of people I had no right to ask. After the first couple pride-swallowing phone calls, I realized that people want to help. Maybe they were rooting for the underdog, or had other reasons, but I decided to stop asking why someone would help me and just ask them already. No one let me down.
What I won’t do now:
Forget the people that helped me. People, if you’re reading this and you don’t know it already, I’m there for you whenever you need it and I owe you a whole lot more than a pretty thank you card. Just name it.
Rest on my laurels. When someone hires you, they’re giving you a chance and nothing more. I may have worked hard to get this gig, but I’ll work even harder to make sure no one ever thinks twice about why they hired a 25-year-old comic book geek to steer one of Austin’s great startup success stories through the social media universe. I’m going to earn every damn paycheck.
Forget what it was like. To not have a job or a dollar in the bank. To doubt myself and wonder, “how are you gonna screw this up now, Ian?” To ask my girlfriend why the hell she chose me over the blue-blooded frat boy on the partner track. To apply to the temp agency. To max out my credit cards. To wonder if my family was telling the truth when they said they were proud of me.
No, I’ll remember it all when that kid I’m interviewing someday can’t stop his hands from shaking or looks away when I ask him about a gap in his resume or stutters or pronounces my name “Green-lay”. “That was me, not so long ago,” I’ll think. And I’ll tell him, “you’re doing just fine, now tell me…”
I’ll earn that moment, and I’ll give him that chance to earn his, too.
The amazing Elise Greenleigh
I don’t often shell out advice. I’ll be 25 this year, I’m not yet successful, and I’ve got a lot more to learn than teach. But my sister, bless her soul, needed it. She’s 21 and has had difficulty sticking it out and getting things done–a problem I’m all too familiar with (see: unfinished screenplay). She was in Austin last year checking out UT, and the prospect of committing to it was scaring her. I remember that feeling. All the bright possibilities swirling about with the hazards of life, imagined pitfalls and bumps in the road.
“It is scary as hell”, I told her. I couldn’t articulate what I wanted to say next. I looked up at the TV (not normally a source of wisdom), and it all clicked.
“See that guy?” We were watching Foo Fighers: Live at Wembley Stadium and I pointed at Dave Grohl as he was joined on stage by none other than Jimmy Page. “That guy is who you need to learn from. That guy has earned his dream.”
How many musicians get to play with the famously-reclusive guitar god? Watching and listening, I could tell that this moment was the apex of Dave Grohl’s entire career–more likely, his entire life.
Kurt on the left, Dave on the right.
It would have been so easy to give up. Who would have blamed him? Kurt Cobain was his close friend and band mate. “It was probably the worst thing that has happened to me in my life,” he said of Cobain’s suicide. He could have put away the drumsticks and lived the rest of his life content that he was in Nirvana, a band that changed music forever. He could have given up so many times. He could have, but he didn’t.
He picked up a guitar. And he started Foo Fighters. Blood, sweat and tears made them the epic band they are today. Hard work and passion got him to that moment on stage in front of hundreds of thousands at Wembley, playing with perhaps the most idolized rock star of all time.
Instead of Cobain’s death causing the death of Grohl’s music career, it seems to have strengthened it. In a small way, I know what that’s like. I lost my best friend in 2004 to a chance aneurysm. He was 18 and full of life, and just like that, gone. I was having a difficult time already, living in Texas so far away from my friends and family in California, working menial jobs, feeling uninspired by community college and thinking about moving home. Looking back, I think my friend’s death made me reevaluate everything. As a few grieving friends of mine turned to drugs and alcohol, I flew back to Austin with a new understanding of the fragility of life and the need to make the most of every day. It would have been so easy to quit and return to my comfort zone. But I stuck it out, transferred to UT and eventually graduated–the biggest accomplishment of my life so far.
My sister had recently lost a friend, too. She was at that juncture with which I’m all too familiar. Instead of doing what seems so natural, what makes people like Dave Grohl so successful, and hopefully, so happy, is taking the leap and not looking back. They showed resolve when everything in them screamed “give up” and no one would have blamed them. I tried to convey this to her, to be a good big brother. But ultimately, she’ll have to learn this herself. I have no doubt that she will.
As I sit here, I try to imagine what my on-stage-with-Jimmy-Page moment might be. Honestly, I haven’t the faintest. But I know it will feel damn good.
Something that I felt today, something that I heard
Swingin’ from the chandeliers, hanging on your word
I remember watchin’ you, once upon a time
Dancing from across the room, in another life
A little bit of resolve is what I need now
Pin me down, show me how
A little bit of resolve is what I need now
Pin me down, show me how
Lookin’ back to find my way, never seemed so hard
Yesterday’s been laid to rest, changing of the guard
I would never change a thing, even if I could
All the songs we used to sing, everything was good
A little bit of resolve is what I need now
Pin me down, show me how
A little bit of resolve is what I need now
Pin me down, show me how
One more year that you’re not here has gone and passed you by
What happened to you, what happened to you?
One more tear that you won’t hear has gone and passed you by
What happened to you, what happened to you?
A little bit of resolve is what I need now
Pin me down, show me how
A little bit of resolve is what I need now
Pin me down, show me how
A little bit of resolve
One more year that you’re not here
Has gone and passed you by (A little bit of resolve)
A little bit of resolve
One more year that you’re not here
Has gone and passed you by (A little bit of resolve)
Foo Fighters, “Resolve”
Foo Fighters with Jimmy Page and John Bonham (photo credit: flickr user free-ers)
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