It’s guest post Monday! Today’s post is written by Ellory Wells. Ellory blog about leadership and personal development on his blog, Empowering the 80 Percent. He also coaches people on how to achieve their goals in life, and is passionate about helping others succeed.Ellory loves video games, playing golf, and spending time with his wife. You can connect with him on Twitter. If you would like to feature a guest post on my site click here.
There once an architect named Sam and he had designed the perfect house. All the rooms were in the perfect place and of the perfect size. No detail was overlooked and the house was just right. The house was ready to be brought into existence! But Sam’s perfect house was never built. This is his story.
Note: This is a work of fiction. Names and situations either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Sam woke up with the sun shining through his window. The temperature outside was cool, and he could hear birds chirping in the trees. Today was the day that he put the finishing touches on the designs for the perfect home. Today was the day that he was done.
The project had taken him well over a year. He had gotten up early and stayed up late. Sam researched for hours, spending whole days at the library learning about all of the latest styles and techniques.
He toured homes too. Sam would go to open houses and real estate events all down the coast just to see how real people were reacting to each aspect of every home. Sam loved what he did. He was passionate about designing homes. This time, after putting his dream down on paper, he knew he’d nailed it. Sam had designed the perfect house.
And the house was perfect.
The kitchen was designed for a true chef, and the living space was laid out to be both cozy and spacious. Even the back porch was designed as an outdoor paradise! With its fireplace and shade elements, you could easily envision spending hours out there on the weekends with a glass of wine and your friends and family.
Sam really had designed the perfect house.
However, Sam had a problem. Sam had a fear.
Sam had a brilliant mind for architecture and design. He had the willingness to do all of the research and get all of the feedback necessary to create the perfect blueprint for the perfect house. But, Sam was afraid to tell anyone about it.
Sam was afraid that no one, besides him, would think that his design was perfect. Sam feared rejection, a rejection that might not even come.
Sam was also leery of promoting, advertising or marketing his perfect house. He had never thought of himself as a salesman. In fact, he did not like sales people. He thought they were always too pushy and manipulative.
But Sam knew, he just knew, that someone would come and ask him about his design. They would see his other work and just ask about his perfect house. It was an easy move from designing condos to designing houses; other people would see that too and ask him, “What else have you been up to Sam?” And Sam would respond, “I’ve designed the perfect house! You should see my blueprint!”
Yet, none of those things happened.
No one ever asked Sam about his perfect house.
No one even knew he’d designed it.
You see, Sam could have built and tried to sell this house for a dollar and no one would have bought it because they didn’t even know it was there. You can be the best at what you do, but if no one knows you’re there, you’ll never become all that you could be.
At least in the beginning, if you don’t market yourself and sell your personal brand, no one else will. Then, as a result, no one can buy it or invest in you and what you’re doing.
Even if you don’t consider yourself a salesperson, you are one. Every time you try to convince your kids to do something, you are selling them an idea. Each time you go into a job interview, you are selling a company on your skills and abilities, hoping they will buy your time.
The world needs what you have. We need your skills, your talents, your unique take one how to do things. But we can’t know about if you won’t tell us!
In the end, Sam finally sought out the help of another architect who helped him and coached him. Together they successfully marketed both Sam and his design of the perfect house.
Questions: What are you working on that you’re not sharing with us? How can I help you launch that idea/product/method and make it a reality?
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