A tale of two men
#2 isn’t worth your time
This week’s “blog post” is an email I sent to my community. If you’ve been loving these posts and want to get your eyes on some juicy stories that engage, educate, AND serve as an example on email storytelling, come join us! If you decide it’s not your thing, you can leave at any time 😉
Don’t you just LOVE when you follow your own advice… and it works 😏
A few weeks back, I was invited to pop into a Facebook group to do a live interview about using storytelling in emails.
One of the questions that came in was:
What are some ways to tap into or unlock creativity during those moments when we’re feeling really blocked and we’re like, “I’ve got nothing.”?
I loved this Q because it happens to me ALL the time (believe it or not).
Some suggestions I gave are:
-Write with the intention of writing the shittiest thing you’ve ever written in your entire life
-Do a brain dump and just get down anything that comes to mind, no editing
-Shut the computer and go outside. Move your body and take as long of a walk as time allows
-Remove all pressure and expectations of getting it right on the first try
-Start writing as you’re talking to your friend
Out of those, ONE is my absolute favorite.
And it’s exactly what I did before writing this, because honestly…
I HAD NOTHING.
So instead of staring at the screen, feeling frustrated and stressed as time ticked away and I STILL had nothing…
I shut the computer and went for a nice long walk in the forest.
And the fact that you’re reading this right now means it must’ve worked, huh 😉
During this walk, I encountered two different men.
And I saw each of them two separate times.
Man #1
The first time I saw this guy, he gave me a friendly nod and a hello as he ran in the opposite direction.
My knees hurt just watching him run over the rocky terrain.
About 30 minutes later, I heard grunting, groaning, and heavy breathing slowly encroaching on my personal space.
A quick glance behind me confirmed it was the same guy as before.
Once he slowly made his way next to me, he stated, “man this calf cramp got me hard!”
Ah, that explains the grunting.
We shared some small talk while his calf loosened up, then he wished me a good evening and continued his run.
Man #2
Walking in opposite directions, I saw this guy coming near me as we approached a bend in the trail.
Our paths SHOULD have crossed as it made a 90 degree turn.
But instead of continuing on the trail and veering to the left…
He walked straight.
Like straight… into the forest.
I followed the trail toward the right and looked over my shoulder.
The guy was on the trail behind me, walking away slowly.
Did he just avoid me???
I decided to take some connecting trails to lengthen my walk, and some time later, I ended up approaching this same man.
Without a curve in the trail this time, I wondered what he would do.
Well, he literally stopped in his tracks.
He turned his body 90 degrees.
And he intensely stared at a tree that stood tall next to the path.
Ah, my suspicions were confirmed. He WAS avoiding me!
As I passed him, I said, “hello, how are you?”
Nothing. 😂
Though these two men were very different, they BOTH gave me clarity on what I should write about today:
You're not for everyone.
And that’s a good thing.
No matter how cheerful, happy, and helpful you may be…
There are some people in this world that are going to look at you and say, “um, no thanks.”
And sometimes, we can get stuck thinking we need to be approved and liked by everyone.
Yup, even the people that clearly don’t.
The energy you spend trying to be something you’re not just for the purpose of trying to please those people…
Could be better spent staying true to who you are and serving those who love and respect you for who you are.
You know, the people that are ready to shout off the rooftops about how amazing you are.
So in case this is something you struggle with…
Here’s your permission to keep doing your thing.
Keep doing what feels good to YOU.
Keep putting yourself and your offers into the world because the right people are always going to be there.
And the grumpy dudes that walk off the trail to avoid you?
Give them a little nudge to help push them away from you faster 😂
They don’t deserve you anyway.
PS - I know I’m not the only one who sometimes stares at the screen thinking, okay now what.
So if that blinking cursor likes to taunt you and make you feel more frustrated by the second…
Here’s a little roundup of past posts that might be helpful to get those juices flowing:
Write tired, edit awake
6 Reasons why your boring, everyday life is the perfect topic for emails
The butterfly effect, modern marketing, & your story’s impact
10 Lesser-known approaches to add value to your emails
