Never underestimate the power of negative inspiration

Thanks to our brain's inherent negativity bias, it's easier to notice what makes something suck than to see what makes it great. 

But that brief exposure to what we don't want to can create a powerful energy source that can be channeled into positive executional directions. 

That's why occasionally listening to shit music and reading bad books and seeing dreadful plays is a useful endeavor. In the moment it might make us want to gouge our eyes out with a rusty fork, but in the long run, it might also inspire us to do great work that makes a real difference in the world. 

And so, next time you come across a work of art or a product or a service that is so bad it makes your teeth cry, remember that every emotion, negative or positive, is still an energy source, which means it can be converted. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS...
Are you exposing yourself to enough bad art?

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Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  
scott@hellomynameisscott.com
www.nametagscott.com

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What else can I do for you to make me more comfortable?

When the housekeeper knocks on the hotel room door, and we politely decline turn down service, that’s setting a boundary. 

It’s a minor moment, but it’s representative of a macro issue. 

Not taking responsibility for other people’s emotions. Overcoming the terror of potentially disappointing others and looking selfish in the process. 

And so, even if there is a pang in the pit of our stomachs because we think we’ve offended the maid and hurt her feelings and insulted her profession, we just let it go. 

Because by saying no, we have once again resisted the seductive slide into codependency. 

Besides, it’s their job. The sole purpose of a hotel employee is to make our stay more comfortable. To cater to our needs. 

Take it from a guy who not only worked in guest service at a luxury hotel, but spent years traveling the world, staying in hotels and training hotel employees on guest service. 

It’s in the job description. They’re generally very happy to comply and appreciate when guests vocalize their needs. 

Just say no and see how it feels. 

You have plenty of towels anyway. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS...
What else can I do for you to make me more comfortable? 

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  
scott@hellomynameisscott.com
www.nametagscott.com

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Feel cleansed for having imagined

Ethel’s groundbreaking psychiatry research argues that human fantasy should be understood as one of our major modes of adaptation. That the culture shouldn’t make us pay a terrible price for the things we imagine. 

After all, at the heart of every fantasy is a germ of frustration and, therefore, a desire for change. And so, the force of fantasy can transmute our visions into personal healing and even world changing actualities. 

As someone who’s always had a hyperactive imagination, this philosophy about fantasy makes me feel less alone in the world. Like I’m not crazy or deviant or sick for all the movies playing inside my head, no matter how poorly written, badly directed and cheaply produced they are. 

It’s like my favorite therapist says:

There are no bad thoughts, no bad feelings, only healthy and unhealthy ways of expressing them. 

It’s empowering as hell. Knowing our conscious fantasies are private property, feeling proud of the bizarre places our brains take us, and then feeling cleansed for having imagined, it’s literally the stuff dreams are made of. 

Robbins said it best in his colorful and hilarious autobiography:

From the beginning, imagination has been my wild card, my skeleton key, my servant, my master, my bat cave, my home entertainment center, my flotation device, my syrup of wahoo; and I plan to stick with it to the end, whenever and however that end might come, and whether or not there is another act to follow. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS...
Are you feeling guilty about journeying to the far off island inside your mind?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  
scott@hellomynameisscott.com
www.nametagscott.com

It's the world's first, best and only product development and innovation gameshow!

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Reality is not obligated to conform to our wishes

Having healthy boundaries means learning to face other people’s reality with maturity, respect and understanding. 

Even if it’s painful. 

Here are a few examples that have been a struggle for me over the years, both personally and professional. 

Instead of ignoring someone’s flagrant signs of disinterest, accept whatever relationship people are comfortable having with you. 

Instead of chasing people who clearly don’t want to be with you, accept that it simply wasn’t meant to be and you can’t manage other people’s feelings. 

Instead of getting super clingy and needy and smothering, grant people the space they’ve asked for. 

Instead of assigning magical qualities to people, idealizing, pursuing and then blaming them for not fulfilling your fantasies, accept that they’re not your soulmate and get on with your life. 

Instead of interpreting the boundaries people set as personal rejections and attacks, celebrate the fact that they’re taking care of themselves, even though it’s not especially helpful it gratifying for you. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS...
What boundaries do you have trouble accepting?
* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  
scott@hellomynameisscott.com
www.nametagscott.com

It's the world's first, best and only product development and innovation gameshow!

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Aim for greatness, not bigness

Scaling may lead to greater distribution, broader impact and higher profits. 

But when you scale, you’re likely to dilute quality and destroy your ability to work on the razor's edge and lose that unique personal thing that made you successful in the first place. 

A talent manager once emailed me and asked, what are your scaling aspirations? 

Um, they don't exist?

Look, I was burned out enough going it alone, and so, there was no desire to scale in order to burn out even more. Sure, it’s an exciting idea to think about building out my brand on a global scale, boosted by a powerful machine of producers and third party managers working every angle to turn it into a million dollar empire. 

But frankly, that sounds exhausting. And it doesn’t sound like me. My hunger and drive and ambition aren’t at that level anymore.

Not everything was built to be bigger. Some things are best left unscaled. 

As my mentor used to say, if size mattered, the dinosaurs would still be around. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS...
Are you aiming for bigness or greatness?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  
scott@hellomynameisscott.com
www.nametagscott.com

It's the world's first, best and only product development and innovation gameshow!

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It’s the first thing we notice about you

Whatever you think makes you an outsider, is precisely what makes you valuable. 

Truth is, you are uniquely qualified. Something has prepared you to come into this world hardwired. Even more than you know.

Your distinctive life experience has equipped you with a valuable perspective that few people have, but all people need. Which means you have a vital role to play in this world. 

You have a real opportunity to use your life to make something that will outlast it. 

The question, will you leverage this unfair advantage that you have? Will you raid your past for raw material and fabricate it into something that improves the world? Will you use your pain in a way that benefits other people? 

You don’t have to dream about becoming something valuable. Because of who you are, the streets you’ve walked, the people you’ve talked, the battles you’ve fought, is precisely what enables you to make a difference. 

Don’t back away from that expression. 

You have an unmatched advantage, waiting for a spark. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS...
What if who you already are was enough to get what you want?
* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  
scott@hellomynameisscott.com
www.nametagscott.com

It's the world's first, best and only product development and innovation gameshow!

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Your mind is an idiot, don’t rely on it

Most standardized testing manuals tell students the same strategy. 

Don’t try to do all the work in your head. 

Thinking a great place to start, but after a while, more thinking equals less doing. You’re stuck in the paralysis of analysis. And it’s not the healthiest emotional state for solving the problem. 

Only by writing your ideas down, the test prep experts say, do you avoid making careless errors on simple problems. Because it gives your brain a break. There’s no need to rely on the limited bandwidth of your working memory if you have the option of putting everything into a concrete form on actual paper. 

But this principle has much broader applications than standardized tests. Whatever kind of work we’re doing, we should all be careful not to do too much of it inside our heads. 

It’s like the waitress who tries to earn bigger tips by taking the entire table’s order without a pad or a pen, but then mistakenly serves your dairy free wife a cheeseburger with a side of ranch and a chocolate milkshake. 

Just write it down. 

Insisting on doing everything the hard way isn’t impressive, it’s exhausting. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS...
Are you doing too much work inside your head?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  
scott@hellomynameisscott.com
www.nametagscott.com

It's the world's first, best and only product development and innovation gameshow!

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Fear has a lot of shady disguises

Anger management has been a field of study since day one. 

Maybe before then. 

Seneca and other philosophers have been offering advice for countering uncontrollable rage for the past two thousand years. 

But what’s interesting is, people don’t need more resources for anger management. Because anger is a defensive feeling that protects another feeling. It’s just a roadmap to our real emotions. Which, the majority of the time, are grounded in fear. 

And so, if we want to take responsibility for our anger, before punching a hole through the drywall, we might ask ourselves what we’re afraid of. 

What’s scary to me right now? What old fear did this new anger just bring up for me? 

Performance reviews come to mind. Employees who receive less than stellar evaluations quickly become angry, and occasionally spiral into a manic death rage that results in broken furniture and multiple teeth being knocked out:

This company is pathetic, the boss has his head up his ass, our clients are simpleton cheapskate jerkoffs, and the popcorn in the employee break room tastes like flavored styrofoam. I cast you all to the bowels of hell. Do you validate? 

All of these things may be true. Something like a bad performance review can certainly provoke some genuine appropriate anger. 

But at the core, it’s all fear. 

Fear of being unwanted, unworthy, unemployed, insert other thing we’re scared of here. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS...
Are you allowing your anger to be a constructive force rather than a destructive indulgence?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  
scott@hellomynameisscott.com
www.nametagscott.com

It's the world's first, best and only product development and innovation gameshow!

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