What are your inner marketing voices saying to you?

What are your inner marketing voices saying to you?

What are your inner marketing voices saying to you?

I’m on a train right now, as I write this, going into Edinburgh for our in-person PF team get together. It’s always good fun to get together with the team (who are usually remote and communicating via Slack and video), and the sun is shining, and the skies are blue. A nice change from Storm Gareth yesterday!

A few seats ahead of me are three people who since the moment they boarded the train, have been loudly complaining, arguing, blaming, swearing, accusing, and generally being miserable themselves as well as polluting the environment the rest of us are in.

It’s easy to get annoyed at those who are complaining loudly. Or blaming others for everything that’s not their fault. Or simply being negative.

It’s one of the things I hate most in the world….and I hate it because it’s something i have to fight in my own head.

I have a lot of people tell me I’m such a positive person. I’m always so grateful to hear it, because i want to be: and also because i know how hard I have to work at it in order for this to be true. Constantly, daily, minutely.

From time to time I’ll have a few days where things aren’t going terribly wrong, but the challenges feel greater than the wins for a little while. Miscommunications. A slight thing that wasn’t done as well as it could be. Me double booking and having to rearrange a call. Dropping a glass and watching it shatter on the wood floor. Confusion and long discussions with a friend to sort it out. Pouring rain, howling wind, beating hail. That sort of thing. Nothing disastrous, simply the stuff of life….but the temptation is to complain – at least inwardly.

What struck me about the continual (loud) voices on the train today was….this is what the complaining voices in my head sound like. Even if they never see the light of day, they still pollute my mind and my actions as a result.

And of course (always turning these things to marketing!) it got me thinking about how my clients can have a similar thing happen in their minds when it comes to marketing.

“I can’t do this.”

“It’s too hard.”

“I’m not creative/a designer/artistic.”

“I don’t have time.”

“They’re doing it better than me / why bother?”

“It will take too long to get results.”

It’s so very tempting to think these things, even if you don’t necessarily say them aloud. But the pollution of those messages can prevent you doing good marketing. Can make your marketing head miserable. And can result in frustration for you and the team around you in your firm.

The truth is…

You can do this.

It’s hard, but enjoyable.

You are creative. (Every human is.)

You absolutely have the time.

They’re not you.

Results will come.

Tell yourself those things, because I can assure you – with all the weight of my working with accountants and seeing what works and what doesn’t – that they’re 100% true.

The others are just noise pollution for your marketing.

Oh – and if you’re struggling with confidence, uncertainty, confusion, or scepticism in any area of marketing, drop me a line. I’m happy to listen and direct you to something that will help you get some quick wins, or encouragements.

 

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ON THE GRAM

Popped into a fave local coffee shop in York this week and this was the mug they gave me. ❤️✨

Wasn’t feeling so superwomanny when I got it - this week was very full, plus period cramps and multiple migraines and my ankle being wonky and more travel than I’ve done in a while. I had intended to get coffee but the cramps were so bad I had to go for mint tea and just sit until they faded enough for me to walk again. 

At the same time, I also had an amazing time during this week with the @weare_pf Board meeting in person for the first time. Getting to know each other better as humans and sharing ideas and making plans and most of all appreciating that the weight of all the business decisions doesn’t rest solely on my shoulders. 

This is just one of your reminders that being a superwoman looks different at different times, and whether you’re striding along strongly or sitting weakly with mint tea, your superwoman status still applies. 

#justkeepgoing #superwoman #muglife #wegotthis #onedayatatime
Every single time I go sailing past this lighthouse on the mull-to-Oban ferry I think “this time I’ll just watch it and not take any pictures” 

And then something wild happens like A SAILBOAT GOES BY and of course I have to capture that, surely I haven’t taken that photo before (spoiler: I have), and then I have about seventeen lighthouse photos to add to my collection of seven thousand lighthouse photos from the last twenty years. 

But, I figure, what’s the harm anyway. It’s my photos and my memories and it brings me joy. I love the lighthouse as a visual of my journey from the mainland to the island (or a reminder I’ll be back soon). 

So, see you soon lighthouse. Thanks for standing there. 

#lismorelighthouse #eileanmusdile #lighthouse #lighthousesofinstagram #oban #ferry #calmac #isleofmull #sailaway #sailboat #scotland #travelscotland
I read. A lot. My list of “books to read” has over 100 titles listed, and every time I mention a book I’ve appreciated, I get another recommendation of a new one and the list gets longer. 

One of the books recommended to me years ago was “The Buddha in Me the Buddha in You”. She mentioned it had some helpful principles about how we navigate life - and whether you’re a buddhist or not, there are principles you can learn from and apply in life.

I wrote it down, forgot about it, and moved on with life. Read lots of other books.

And then when I broke my ankle, and was sitting and resting a LOT, with loads of time for reading, I went back to my list and started reconsidering some of the titles on it.

When I looked up “The Buddha in Me the Buddha in You”, the subtitle was “A Handbook for Happiness”, and that struck me.

Dealing with an injury is difficult. Sad. Wearying. It can be hard to find happiness and every day feels about the same. (Very Groundhog Day.)

So I bought the book, and put it by my bed. I started getting into a pattern of reading a chapter every morning with my coffee.

I thought I’d share some of the principles I appreciated and which are already helping me as I continue to navigate my life right now: 

[the full post on these is too long for an Insta post so click the link in bio or story if u want to read more!]

Thank the spoon - a spoon stirs up the mud in what had appeared to be clear water. Same with life: hard things stir up what you haven’t dealt with yet. So you thank them. “Thank you, spoon”

The Fundamental darkness (FD) - the “Survival Obsessed Self” who responds in a way based on survival but not growth

There’s a gift in the struggle - He describes it visually as “the lotus flower in the muddy pond”. You can focus on the mud, or on the flower, but they’re both there.

Nam - myo - ho - renge - kyo : The happiness soundtrack - I pulled out the core concepts of each of these words as they applied to me, and they are: 

Purpose
Mystery
Potential 
Bloom in the struggle
Flow of life

#karensnotes #buddhainmebuddhainyou #books #reading #happysaturday 

[full note link in bio!]
The snow is swirling the wind is howling IT’S FROZEN OUT THERE 
#snowing #happyspringeveryone #inlikealion