Do you prefer vitamins or drugs? Do you prefer diets or exercise? Do you prefer watching sports on TV or playing sports? Do you prefer the travel picture book or the actual experience of being there? Do you prefer the workgroup or life experience? Are you a slave to the theoretical or grounded in the real experience?
Too may people in this world base the majority of their opinions and worldviews on nothing more than what they have heard or read about instead of actually experienced. These vicarious opinions defended as real create a very real challenge that each of us should evaluate on a daily basis. At some point you may have heard the quote “perception is reality” and nothing could be further from the truth for the human condition. Our perceptions and views shape the lens through which we view the world. We color every interaction, every conversation, and to some degree every thought with our personal perception based on preconceived notions set by the basis of how you form those opinions. So, if you tend to rely on anything other than direct life experience, you may be at further risk of “false perception-itis”.
In the political and business world the phrase “trust but verify” is a dogma of those who are truly successful. It represents a philosophy that is open to the experience and opinions of others but is grounded in the practical reality of avoiding blind acceptance.
How much time or money have you spent on webcasts, workshops, workgroups or conferences in the last 12 months in order to get better at marketing? Did you get your money’s worth? How do you quantify the value? How much did you trust but verify?
Too many marketing professionals I come across live only for the workshop experience. To some degree I applaud the ongoing education, but my personal opinion is that it is all about the experience. I would invite you to use your discernment in selecting webcasts or workshops that rely solely on you sitting in a room (or at a computer) listening to a facilitator tell you about their experiences.
Instead I would offer that those workshops, which take you personally through the experience so that you may form your own impressions and experiences, are the ones to invest your hard-earned time and money. Why experience death (metaphorically of course) by a thousand workshops when you can live even just one (but preferably more) real experience and cherish the experience forever?
I invite you to live life fully and not rely on the vicarious experiences of others in order to market effectively.
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