We’ve all got stories to tell. Now I’m telling my own, and I hope you are as well.
Starting over is never easy but what if rather than a failure, we looked at it as starting something new or taking what we have to the next level?
I have always loved stories. When I was a little kid I was fascinated by Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver’s travels. I would spend hours in front of the TV staring at shows when I could barely understand English. As I grew up, my dad purchased one of the first Atari computers in my neighborhood and later we got a PC, a true wonder in the early 80’s.
I fell in love with quests – those long games where you had to solve a variety of problems, whether in a king’s court, as a cop, or maybe as some dubious character (Leisure suit Larry for those who recall). I loved playing, and using my imagination to come up with creative ideas.
For me, it has always been about telling stories. For over a decade, I have been telling other people’s stories. Now, I think I want to keep that going, but also start sharing more of my own stories, which is why I’m here, now, writing to you. It is 6:30am and it feels like I just need to start.
During the quarantine in March and April, I had a lot of time to think and be reminded of all the things I love about my work: meeting new people, writing, selling, crafting marketing ideas, and bringing them all to life. But quarantine also reminded me of how much I love doing these things by myself, or for myself if you will, and I always promised myself that one day I would. You know how it is, to make something happen, you just need to start somewhere.
For me, the start was building this new website, but that’s just the first step. You see, in 2007, while I was working on launching an extreme sports website I built with a friend, it occurred to me I had a lot to say and teach about marketing. So, I decided I should write a book about it. I called it: In-Depth Marketing in a Nutshell.
And I wrote my heart out. I wrote for days only to discover that I had not said anything new. Although I was an excellent salesman and had great success as a marketing and brand manager, I was lacking new concepts. I did not say anything you have not heard a million times and even the way I told those ideas was mundane, just like any other marketing book. I decided I needed to perfect my craft before I could write this book. It is 2020 and now I know I have something totally unique.
My methodology, now called the Business Catcher, has helped countless companies over the past 10 years and my newly-launched workshop is following in its footsteps; I couldn’t be happier.
This pandemic might go away or it might last, but I decided I want to make the best of it. I want to keep telling my story and the stories of others, taking a leap and doing what I love. Consulting and teaching have always been part of my work, but my company, Streetwise, and the great team there, has been there as my shield. Now, I am taking a step forward and putting myself center stage, exposed, ready to do whatever it takes to share my stories and make them matter.
I thought this would be a good first major post for my new website. Putting my thoughts and feelings out there is a major step for me as we are used to being “happy happy joy joy” on social media, but that is not how all stories go.
I’m not changing my profession, I’m just changing the way I talk about it. The business model is changing to include more consulting, new workshops and lectures and my soon-to-be-launched Patreon page (I will probably write more about this soon – a whole different story).
We never really start over. We pack our shit, put it in a plastic bag, a suitcase, or maybe a car, (if you lived enough you might need a van) and we go.
For me, this simply means taking my story to another website.
If you read this, I hope you are also telling your story in your way. I hope you find something interesting here and decide to stay. I hope.
For me, this is the next step, not a do over. For me, launching this site has been a long time coming and I can’t wait to meet everyone on the planet and try to do as much good as I can.
I know, it’s not possible to meet everyone, and no one can ever do only good. Hey, some people might hate you but you have to try. You have to set some goals higher than what you are used to. Well, that is my welcome post and a piece of my story.
Now, go write yours.
Nir
