The Sticky Brand: 366 Daily Meditations On Creating Value, Earning Attention, Building Leverage and Growing A Business That Doesn’t Go Away (FREE DOWNLOAD!)

What makes a brand stick? 

That idea fires me up. 

For the past twenty years, it’s the question I didn’t realize I was asking, and the question I didn’t realize I was answering. 

This new book is everything I have learned about creating a sticky brand. Here’s the synopsis from the publisher:

“Presenting a year’s worth of daily meditations, this book teaches you how to create a business that doesn’t go away. Delivered in digestible, daily devotional format, each inspirational chapter draws from Scott’s years of building sticky brands for himself, his clients and his employers. Offering jewels of wisdom and perspective that can easily apply to your own marketing practice, Scott’s words pleasantly bridge the gap between the obvious and the esoteric. Encouraging you every step of the way.”

The Sticky Brand

366 Daily Meditations On Creating Value, Earning Attention, Building Leverage and Growing A Business That Doesn’t Go

In these current times that are, to say the least, economically uncertain for millions of people, I hope this book useful to your life. 

You can buy it onAmazon.

And for those who are strapped for cash due to the pandemic, you can have the book for free, no strings, forever. View it online for free here.

Enjoy it. 

Hope it helps.

Thanks for reading.

Stay sane out there.

Hip to the linguistic nuances of the human tragedy

Carlin famously theorized that drugs were illegal because they gave people a new slant on the game that was being played on them. 

George wasn’t paranoid, he was simply experienced. 

And the good news is, we don’t need to use drugs to get hip to the nuances of the human tragedy. Each of one us can become less naïve by paying more attention to when people are speaking in code. When they are using certain expressions to rhetorically veil reality. 

Like when we receive one of those ambiguously worded emails from a stranger who claims to love our work and wants to talk about a potential partnership opportunity. 

Careful. Opportunity might be code for a demand on our time, energy and money. 

Or when an ad agency boasts about perks like bean bag chairs and ping pong tables and unlimited snacks for employees. 

Not so fast. Company culture might be code for no money and long hours. 

Or when a tech startup romanticizes their quarterly design sprints. 

Easy now. Hackathons might be code for you will work all weekend for nothing but free pizza. 

Of course, this habit of speaking in code doesn’t make people liars, cheats or malicious hacks. Merely human. Happens every day. People are trying to be diplomatic. They’re soldiers for the lie. And it’s not necessarily their fault. 

We all do what we have to do to feel the way we need to feel. 

Still, our challenge as communicators is learning to sniff out the code so we can protect ourselves from being misled, exploited and hurt. We must ask ourselves. 

Is there a thing behind this thing? Is this a subtext worth paying attention to? What motivational system might be at work? And how might this person be trying to subtly influence our decisions? 

Remember, the limits of our language are the limits of our world. 

Beware of those trying to lock you into ways of thinking and behaving that limit your ability to see new possibilities. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Who might be creating a cloud of connotation designed to put you in a susceptible frame of mind?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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Get good at not going away

Marathoners know they can’t develop stamina by taking walks in the park. 

It may be good for their health, and it may be an enjoyable way to spend the afternoon, but it’s not a sufficiently rigorous enough activity to move their story forward. 

The only real way to build the strength of their physical constitution is by ratcheting up the intensity. By extending their practice level on an incremental level. 

Even if it doesn’t seem like much in the moment, a mile here, a minute there, it still begins to accumulate over time. 

Before they know it, all the small parts, false starts and broken hearts will fertilize and nourish the soil. Enabling them to bounce back in the wake of continued disappointment. 

That’s the true gift of stamina. It inverts our mindset. We remember that life is not short, it is the longest thing we will ever do. 

Perhaps winning, then, is less about running fast and more about sticking around. 

If we are going to get good at anything, we may as well get good at not going away. 

Because life is not a walk in the park. It is not an easy job that poses no difficulty. 

Our job is to ratchet up that intensity just a little more each time. Trusting that our constitution will grow stronger and be available in our time of need. 


LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Are you welcoming every opportunity to build your resiliency? 

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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


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Not only is there is no reaction, but we forget that there used to be

Henri taught his painting students that the artist’s life was one long investigation of things and their reactions to them. 

This is an exquisite description of the creative process. But it’s also an interesting filter for witnessing our growth in general. 

Because our reactions are the barometers of our evolution. They are what define us, for better or for worse. In some moments, we sabotage ourselves by reacting in ways that do not serve our true interests. In other moments, we accept the nameable and predictable problems of human living and handle ourselves in a healthy and mindful way. 

It all depends on the day. 

The difference between these two examples is something called response flexibility. This is the space between reality and our reaction to it, and it’s where we either shine or shit. 

Imagine coming home for the holidays. At dinner, we experience a strong emotional stimulus, like an older sister nosily bombarding us with questions we don’t know the answer to, or a parent who puts layer of disapproval over every one of our life choices. 

Typically, these moments would shrink us into the adolescent version of ourselves. Perhaps a scared, vulnerable preteen who acts short and pissy and petulant with their family members. 

Which brings us back to response flexibility. Instead of reacting immediately as we normally would, we could pause for a split second and choose how to react. Like noticing and naming our bodily sensations. Or taking a deep breath and changing the subject. 

Frankl referred to this flexibility as the last of human freedoms. And he was right. Each step we take out of our unhealthy reactions, out of our old behaviors, is an achievement. 

In fact, we might even reach a point where not only is there is no reaction, but we forget that there used to be. That’s serious growth. 

If it’s true that opposite of reaction is not revolution, but creation, then our response flexibility is the greatest work of art we could ever make. 


LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Are you giving yourself time to take notice of your own reactions?


* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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


Tune in and subscribe for a little execution in public.

Join our community of innovators, artists and entrepreneurs



Apprehending ourselves like cop catches a perp

There’s a saying in the recovery movement that addicts are like pickles, they can never become cucumbers again. 

It’s a humble reminder that any of us, addicts or not, can easily relapse into a former unhealthy definition of ourselves that no longer holds true. 

No matter how far we have come in our growth, there are certain mindsets we can never fully remove or heal or fix or cure. Some things just never go away. 

The scary part is, there’s no warning flare when they return. These compulsive behaviors and harmful mindsets, they will reassert their power on their own with an invisible momentum. Almost like a rip tide. 

One moment we’re celebrating mindfully, the next moment we’re triggered by a family member and doing something annoying and drinking a fifth of vodka for breakfast.

One moment we’re working peacefully, the next moment we’re spooked by a low account balance and working sixteen hours without a pee break. 

One moment we’re having a feeling of enduring contentment with our lives, the next moment we’re out of a job and binging on eight new workout shirts that don’t need and are probably going to return the next day. 

It’s the undertow of the human brain. And by the time we realize the current has us and is pulling us out deeper into the sea of obsession, it’s already too late. 

Morphine wrote a song that perfectly capture this moments:

Sharks patrol these waters, sharks patrol these waters. Don’t let your fingers dangle in the water. And don’t you worry about the dayglow orange life preserver. It won’t save you, it won’t save you. Swim for the shores just as fast as your able, swim like a motherfucker, swim! Stay in your life boats people, stay in your life boats people. It’s murder out there, murder out there

Our work, in this moment, is learning to catch ourselves when we are falling. And not in the sense of apprehending ourselves like cop catches a perp, but in the sense of holding ourselves like a parent holds a child. 

With all the love, support, forgiveness and grace in the world. 

That’s something that doesn’t go away either. 


LET ME ASK YA THIS…

When your addiction floods you with the noise of its demands, how will you respond? 

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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


Tune in and subscribe for a little execution in public.

Join our community of innovators, artists and entrepreneurs



Our ability to choose is the ultimate creative expression

Few things are more important than owning our choices and defining happiness for ourselves. 

And yet, we live in a world where people go to great lengths to fulfill urges and desires they don’t even question. Where obligations are needlessly accepted out of vanity. And where people get dragged along in dangerous currents, swept inexorably towards decisions that could potentially destroy them. 

To me, this means our ability to choose is the ultimate creative expression. 

And our willingness to applaud our own capacity for the wise choices we make, imperfect as they may be, this is the ultimate an act of self love. 

Not to mention, stress relief. 

Because tension always continues to build when we avoid making choices. 

Hendrix, a brilliant psychologist in the field of personal growth, explains that that our anxiety is not caused by the events of life itself, but by avoiding the required responses to those events. 

Every time a friend whines to me about their problems with procrastination and indecisiveness, this insight comes to mind. Because so many of our stress related issues could be avoided by making a choice. 

Not a perfectly optimized, rigorously contemplated, seamlessly aligned choice. Just a choice. Something in which the heart learns that it will be listened to. That’s enough for now. 

Whatever flaws come to the surface, we accept them as part of the process. 

For now, the right path is the one we choose. 

Ultimately, in this art project we call life, the more we choose, the more we express, and the more we express, the less we suffer. 


LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What is the decision you have been avoiding?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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


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Living in a world where privacy is a quaint relic of the past

My mentor once told me that reputation always catches up with us, either to pat us on the back or kick us in the ass. 

This is a helpful and hopeful mantra to invoke as we watch various sociopaths, assholes and idiots taking advantage of others, treating people cruelly and thinking they will somehow get away with it. 

They won’t. Not like they used to. 

That’s the advantage of living in a world where privacy is a quant relic of the past and anonymity is no longer an option. Karma is on its way around, all by its own self, and it doesn’t need our help to root out the source of evil. 

Whatever inward wickedness exists inside of people, it will come out, in some way, and at some time. And life will pay them back. With interest. 

We may not be around long enough to see that karma run its proper course, and we accept there is no universal cosmic system to balance the scales of justice. But we trust the process and play the emotional long game anyway. Because it’s the right way to live. It’s the brave thing to do. 

Wearing a nametag all day, every day, is my small, but loving expression of this philosophy. It is my personal commitment that keeps me accountable to myself and to the world. 

Sure, the nametag willingly eliminates much of my anonymity and privacy, for better or for worse. But mostly for better. Because it’s not the nametag, it’s the heart behind it. 

And my heart is good. It’s not perfect, it’s not polished, and it’s certainly not politically correct, but it’s good. And people who meet me are going to feel that, whether they like it or not. 

In a world where sociopaths are romanticized and idolized and in many cases, elected into office, that is a meaningful act. 

Jeffries made a point in his recent comedy special that summaries this perfectly:

Love doesn’t always beat hate. But it does do something. When you show the person who hates you nothing but love, that person will still hate you, but eventually, everyone will see them as the asshole

Our love will wear them down eventually. 


LET ME ASK YA THIS…

How much is it costing you to be an anonymous pixel in the gigantic corporate demonic pentagram?



* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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


Tune in and subscribe for a little execution in public.

Join our community of innovators, artists and entrepreneurs



A world that runs on reason feels safer to live in

Few words have more emotional and intellectual and range than why. 

On the simpler end of the spectrum, children ask the question why a dozen times every day. 

Their curiosity about the world around them helps build concepts, skills and vocabulary. Asking why is their vehicle on the quest to understand the world they live in. Even if it drives their poor sleep deprived parents crazy. 

On the more complicated end of the spectrum, businesses people ask the question why strategically. It’s an iterative interrogative technique used to explore the cause and effect relationships underlying a particular problem. 

Yay for why. 

But lest we forget, extremes in anything accomplish nothing. 

When we start asking why too often, to the point of obsession, to the point of tormenting ourselves and others, our quest for certainty colonizes our mind and bastardizes curiosity into nagging lament. 

We become stuck in this compulsive need to find an answer that might never come.

My old project manager was why machine. Smart guy, good dude, super left brained and logical. And yet, he was always trying to understand and intellectualize every situation that unfolded. Couldn’t stop asking why if a damn meteor hit him. 

Which was useful initially, but beyond a certain point, it always felt like a form of control. A scramble to interpret life as black and white, yes or no, good or bad, right or wrong. 

If the guy had a bumper sticker on his car, it would have read, a world that runs on reason feels safer to live in. 

But life is rarely that simple, clean and coherent. Sometimes we don’t know why. 

In fact, most of the times we don’t know why. And staring hard isn’t going to squeeze any more blood from that stone. 

Our challenge is learning to be with that uncertainty. 

Why? 

Because our peace is more important than tormenting ourselves trying to understand why life unfolded the way it did. 


LET ME ASK YA THIS…

When does asking why become quicksand of torment that keeps you stuck in the past? 

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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


Tune in and subscribe for a little execution in public.

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Who needs to be seen here?

In a group setting, certain personality types can be annoying, exhausting and disruptive to the collective energy of the room. 

Consider how many times you were stuck in a meeting with a person who did one of the following. 

Speaks way longer than they should, lacks sensitivity to nonverbal cues, provides unnecessary or redundant elaboration, makes excessive contributions that draw attention away from the task, believes that other group members care as much about the subject as they do, or simply loves the sound of their own voice. 

Anyone want to break for lunch? 

And yet, before we blackball these people from the group, we might use a little empathy to bring our heart out of the cold. Because maybe this is a new thing for them. After all, some people are so used to not being seen, that the moment our eyes gaze upon them with real love and care to actually listen to what they say, they can’t help but relish in that attention. 

To the point that they might even hog the spotlight and monopolize the group’s time. 

It’s like the first time we learn to masturbate. One day we start fondling ourselves and it feels really good, and then we’re like, holy cow, I can do this anytime I want? Clear my calendar. It’s gonna be a long week. 

And so, can we really blame these people for monopolizing the conversation if they are used to being invisible? 

For all we know, this might be the first time they’ve ever feel seen in their lives. 

As annoying as it might seem in the moment, in the broader context of a human life, what a privilege that is to witness. 


LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Whose life are you making judgments about because you don’t know them that well?


* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com


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


Tune in and subscribe for a little execution in public.


Join our community of innovators, artists and entrepreneurs


Ch Ch Ch Ch Changes, Day 18 — Wise Self

Change is hard for all of us, myself included. In this new series, I’ll be sharing daily mediations on transition, change, reinvention. Look out all you rock and rollers, turn and face the strange.    

# # # 

Seigel wrote that response flexibility is the habit that enables us put a temporal and mental space between stimulus and response, and between impulse and action. 

His psychology research showed that widening our window of tolerance is what broadens the span of arousal within which we can function adaptively. 

Think of it as the clinical version of the best mindfulness advice our parents and teachers ever gave us. Sweetheart, take a breath. 

Now, the concept of response flexibility is a much more sophisticated than that, but it’s essentially the same practice. It’s all about the pause. Here’s a question that just popped into my brain. 

What will work best for me right now, regardless of what has worked before? 

Sure, this sounds like something people are not goin stop and ask during their day, but the spirit behind it is powerful. Questions like these are direct lines to what mindfulness researchers call the wise self, which is the part of us that’s always calm, centered and compassionate. 

It’s inside all of us, and it’s freely available, as long as we’re willing to pause when our thoughts begin their march on us. As long as we learn to intercept them at the gate. 

Swift, many say the greatest songwriter of her generation, did a documentary including intimate details of her life while also showcasing backstage and onstage concert footage. One moment in particular was deeply inspiring to me. Taylor shared her struggles with an addiction citing the paparazzi as a dangerous emotional trigger. 

Historically, if someone published a picture of her body in an unflattering pose, she would spend the rest of the week in a shame and hate spiral. Taylor learned, however, that when such a triggering event happens, she can catch herself. She can pause, widen the window of tolerance an act from her wise self. Here’s the internal conversation she played out. 



Nope, we don’t do that anymore. We’re changing the channel in our brain, and we’re not doing that anymore, because that didn’t end us up in a good place last time. 

She essentially asked herself that question. 

What will work best for me right now, regardless of what has worked before? 

It’s response flexibility in action. Creating space, in both time and mind, to enable a wider range of possibility. 

How well do you do that? Do you practice being with your emotional experiences before engaging the circuitry of action? 

It’s a really hard skill to learn. Building a neural platform from which to choose to cope differently and more resiliently, that doesn’t come natural to anybody. 

But it is possible. 

Like most good habits, it all starts with the breath. 

So many of us live our lives in either rewind or fast forward mode, and sometimes we need to press the pause button for a moment, that way we can actually enjoy the movie that’s playing. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

How wide is your window of tolerance?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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


Tune in and subscribe for a little execution in public.

Join our community of innovators, artists and entrepreneurs

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