Future Scratches

Are you a collector? If so, of what? I'm not, but I know the culture. I grew up reading comic books and buying music and haunting bookstores. in all cases, there's always a sub-tribe of collectors, the kind who scour bins, sometimes seeking the rare and expensive, but other times, seeking the rare and cast off. These are the bin-pickers, the type who must stop at yard sales.

I had all these thoughts, random thoughts, and they could all be blog posts, or they could be nothing. Some of them take time to absorb. Not all of these apply to you. Pick through these as a kind of bin full of tapes and bits you could use to mix into your own stories and songs.

Future Scratches: The Discount Bin

You, the talent, must find the business that supports your storytelling. The studio no longer knows. Replace "studio" with "publisher," if you're an author.

No platform? No problem. It's just harder that way. Start somewhere. Get known for something. Nurture that community and grow it slowly.

If you're not serious about content creation as a tool of your business-making, you're not serious about using the web as a business tool.

It doesn't matter if you're not serious. The web can just be fun. Relax, if that's what you want.

You can be the creator, the distributor, the servicer, or maybe the commentator. You can even be all. But knowing which brings you business is the whole value game.

Start. Start. Start somewhere. Worrying or thinking or doubting are all soap without a bubble wand.

On my phone, I can create music, read a magazine, have conversations, write stories, sell things, accept payment, and more. If you're not configuring your business to face the mobile everything-maker, then you're skipping the most obvious big sector of potential digital growth for your company.

Picking any one thing and working on that is better than thinking about working on something.

If you're not making it easy to buy, people will oblige you and not buy.

Stop waiting for your big chance. Those come when you make them happen. They come when you dare to say what you really think.

You can read about sex all day. It's still not as fun as having it. Same thing with most business experience.

The world is tapas. If you're waiting for the perfect amount of time, you're going to miss the big meal.

If you fancy yourself a business owner, start thinking like a business. And by that, I mean, "how do I grow relationships with my best potential partners?"

The most successful people I know lead with, "Tell me more about you! I'm dying to know." They rarely talk about themselves. That's why they're successful.

You are very wonderful and worth it. Here's a cookie. Now, do the hard work that it takes to eat off the bigger plate.

If you think your product or service or YOU are boring, it is (you are). That's your vote first, and you'll help influence us.

None of this matters. What matters is you taking action.

Lastly

If you've had even one or two little twinges of "a-ha," then I've done my job. Thanks for picking through the bin.

Lastly, I want to ask you to sign up to my free newsletter that comes out weekly. I promise to challenge you even more in there. We get up to some really interesting things there weekly, and it's a very personal back and forth experience. If you're seeing the word "newsletter" and thinking "information about social media" or "news about chris," then you're missing the greatest trick the devil ever pulled.

And thank you.