Last night I was in Oxford, Ohio and I had the honor of speaking at an awards ceremony. After the event, we had an audience meet-and-greet and a time for book-signing. It was a fantastic evening, and while I was driving home I came to two conclusions:
1: The person who loves your work is correct and the person who doesn’t like your work is correct.
2: The person who says that everyone will love your work is wrong and the person who says that no one will like your work is wrong.
Reviews:
How can we possibly make sense of the one-star and five-star reviews that every bestselling book on Amazon receives? How could one book possibly get both? Either it’s great or it’s not. How could one speaker be so loved and simultaneously disliked? They are either great or they suck. Which is it?
The best-sold book in the world last year was Atomic Habits. I’ve purchased over fifty copies and have gifted it to a lot of people. I’ve read it 5+ times cover-to-cover. After reading over 500 development books, I can say without a doubt this is one of the best books ever written. Nobody could possibly convince me otherwise. But, look up the Amazon reviews for Atomic Habits… How could over twelve-hundred people give it just one or two stars. How is this possible?
Quantifying Your Assets:
Not every reviewer is an asset. Not every person in your life is an asset. Not every person in your company is an asset. Not every customer is an asset. Not every audience-member is an asset.
But…
Some people in your life generate an insane ROI. Some customers are the lifeblood of your business. Some of your team-members are world-class talents. And some audience members will dramatically enhance your life.
Sharing:
Some of my presentations are better than others. Some of my ideas are better than others. Some of my emails are better than others.
And…
Some of my readers are better than others. Some of my customers are better than others. Some of my audience members are better than others.
I never know which ones… Until after I share.
Final Thought: If you don’t share you won’t inspire anyone else. When you do, you never know who you might inspire…And all it takes is one.
-MV
