We rent stuff.
Physical stuff like apartments, stereos, sports cars from Hertz, and wood chippers. These things come and go over a weekend, a month, or even a couple of years. But what about the emotional stuff? Work deadlines, past projects, finances, family obligations, outside activities, and let’s not forget personal demons.
These thoughts rent space in the brain. Some unwelcome. Some uncontrolled. Most self-induced. I certainly have fallen victim to letting memories or situations rent space in my brain for far longer than they should. In fact, some I like, and never want to leave. I call those my top ten memories. Some memories are so positive that they have burned a permanent place in the mushy part of my brain. The trick is to finally say to yourself, there is “no vacancy” at the Cerebral Motel 6 for the memories that overstayed their welcome and serve to hinder and hold you down. If you figure this out, please let me know.
For a brand trying to scale up, this can be a tough challenge. The rented space in a company is not just the square footage of office cubicles and copiers. It’s new situations like trying to sift through the red tape of a growing corporate culture or navigating interoffice politics while trying to get to the core of real change. This rented space hurts productivity. It lingers. It bogs down, mired in process with little action.
When I first started Brandtatorship years ago with my business partner, we spent many days and nights worried about hitting deadlines, making payroll, billing, and what new business pitch to make to invest in. When you make the leap to become a small business owner, there are treasure troves of people who will congratulate you, tell you you’re crazy, be envious, and, my favorite, the “be prepared to wear many hats” comments. While that’s true, when the numbers at an agency get smaller, the responsibilities per employee do rise, but what the many hats commenters fail to follow up with is that the emotional baggage associated with wearing those hats is unexpected. Most of us did not go to college to be a small business owner; we graduated with degrees in design, marketing communications, or media, and being a business owner was on-the-job training. And as a result, this on-the-job training can cause undue anxiety and subsequently take up space in your brain.
I am done having stuff rent space in my brain, and I’m ready for productive days ahead, free of distraction and procrastination. When I figure this out, I will let you know, but for now, my unwelcomed emotional renters, be warned, your papers have been served.
Can you say the same about your brand?
