Don't compare your insides to someone else's outside. Instead, compare your present skill level to someone else's so you know how close you are to achieving your goal.
In today's edition of Burke's Bits:
- Comparing Yourself to Others
- Copy Tip
- Social Selling Tip
- Random Thought of the Day
- From the Research Files
- Pun of the Day
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It's Okay To Compare Yourself To Others
Trigger Warning for Self-Esteem Coaches – the following goes against your mantra that you should compare yourself only to your higher self for maximum personal fulfillment.
Comparison to others has it's place – as a way to gauge your progress toward achieving what they achieved.
This comparison must be done with care, though.
You know you are at the beginning or middle of the journey – and understand that they, too, were at the beginning or middle of their journey.
When you're vulnerable it's very easy to forget this and begin comparing your now to someone else's final. This is when it leads to jealousy, envy, greed, competition, and even hatred.
For instance – I want to be a better pool player.
More specifically, I want to be a national champion level 10-ball player. There are champions I can watch in action on YouTube and in my town. When I watch them play I compare my stance with theirs, my stroke with theirs, my shot selection with theirs. I know I am a lower skilled player. This is why I am looking at what they do – so I can change what I do.
Let's take this one step further. Now that I have compared my now to their final and see I need to work on changing some things, I can take action:
- seek out a player in my town to learn from
- change one thing in my practice and learn from each shot
- purchase training videos and apply what I learn
My progress is slow – not overnight. And that's okay because I am making progress. My skills are improving. As I watch a champion player in action I appreciate how they got to the champion level and commit to continue my own training.
Am I able to compare my now to when they were in my position? Not really. It doesn't matter. I have internal motivation to take action … fueled by my desire to be a champion. And I am willing to do the work to improve my skills.
When comparing yourself to others can be harmful is when you are comparing your internal feelings with their external behavior.
Want to be a success in business? Do the work. If you don't do the work, you'll be resentful of those who are successful.
Want to be a champion? Do the work.
Want to be confident when you speak in public? Do the work.
Want to have a deep faith in God? Do the work.
Feeling resentful because others have more in their house, in their driveway, on their backs than you do? Do the work.
Feeling low because you've been doing the work and you see others achieving faster than you? Ask what they're doing different. Then do it yourself.
Feeling jealous because someone else is getting all the attention from a group? Examine the work you've done to this point and then…do the work.
Feeling like the world is against you no matter what you do? Stop fighting, learn the rules, see what works, then do the work.
What do you think? Am I off track here? Do you see comparison at this level differently than I do? Feel free to share your thoughts.
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Copy Tip
The list is your friend. It's also what your audience enjoys reading.
Why?
It can be skimmed. It's fast to read. You can pack a lot of information into a single line. Each sentence doesn't have to be grammatically correct.
There are different formats for lists and each has a purpose.
Bullet List
Effective when
- You want to emphasize three or more thoughts or items
- You can put the items in any order
- You want to add white space to enhance readability
- You want to excite your reader about what's inside the package
Numbered List
Effective when
- You want to show a priority or order of importance
- You want to share a specific number of ideas or concepts
- You want to enumerate a series of steps in instructions
- You want to introduce ideas that will be discussed in a certain order in the following text
Check List
Effective when
- You want to provide detail for every step in a process
- You want to ensure that the essential tasks are seen
- You want to help your reader to avoid mistakes
If you know of other lists or use them in your copy…leave a comment.
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Social Selling Tip
Your mindset will make sure you are successful with social selling.
First and foremost, when you're on social media you are there to be helpful.
See a question you can answer? Answer it.
It doesn't matter if the question posed is in a group or a post in your feed. When you comment with a solution you are providing value to someone. And, often, your answer is seen by many others.
So you've accomplished two thing here:
- you were helpful
- you are seen as helpful
This matters because your engagement on social media is public. When you realize that you are in a discussion that countless unknown people can – and do – see…
that's when you understand the value of being seen as helpful.
Second, make sure you show up the right way on social media.
Are people seeing you as someone who is…
- a professional and an expert?
- there to provide value to people that need your expertise?
- not needy, and not focused on getting their money?
- there to lead people through their problem and into a solution?
And finally, when your mindset is to bring value you become very attractive to people.
So while it's great to give and show up and be helpful to many, be strategic about where you share the value.
- You decide the groups you will engage in.
- You decide who you want to show up in front of.
- You decide how much information you provide – hint…it's just enough to answer their question and say you're happy to share more if need be.
Have questions about what to do next? Feel free to comment/reply. I'm here to help.
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Random Thought of the Day
Are you interested or committed.
If you're interested, you'll only do things that are convenient, fit your schedule, don't require you to move beyond your comfort zone.
If you're committed, you will do whatever it takes.
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From the Research Files
How many different ways can content be transformed?
If you're involved with social media marketing or content marketing then you know the #1 rule for content is to make it once and then transform it so it can be used on multiple platforms.
Just how many times can one piece be transformed?
A few years ago I searched online and found 45 sites that showed how to make that piece of content into something else.
I wasn't surprised that I had used many of these formats.
I was surprised to learn that most people don't know about these formats.
If you want to see what I found you can do that here
>>> 45 Ways to Transform Content
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Pun of the Day
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
With Gratitude —
Charlene Burke
“We absolutely must leave room for doubt or there is no progress and no learning.”
— Richard P. Feynman.
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