NORTHERN PLANNER

 

When I was a little boy I used to love playing by myself on the beach on holiday. A lot of this was to do with being happy with my own company but not all.

I was painfully shy and found it hard to go up to other children. Of course, eventually someone would come up to me, but not always.

It's a genuine surprise to many people I meet, when I tell them I'm shy and introverted, yet that tongue tied little boy is still very much a part of who I am.

It's just that years of making myself talk to people and, well, being comfortable in my own skin means it's less apparent.

No one is fixed, we can go beyond who we are.

What is happening on the outside isn't always what's going on underneath. 

I'm not being in-authentic, it's just that I'm so much more than a planner, able to reveal different aspects of who I am in different situations.
In work my passion and commitment simply overrides the urge to hide by myself in a corner.

It's good having these insecurities and embracing them though. It means I'm a rarely too sure of myself not to listen.

In the past the fear of being judged made me close myself off or be over defensive. It’s a relief to understand that vulnerability is a strength, not a weakness. 

If more people in the world (especially the nauseating macho men) would try not to WIN all the time I suspect it would be a much better place.

Those that have to be right all the time rarely are.

Anyway.

Don't believe that senior people where you work know what they're doing. They're just better at hiding they're just as confused as you are.

Just as it's not helpful to compare yourself to Instagramers, showing a heavily edited version of their lives.

In fact, all the people you look up to may have earned the respect, but they're still human beings like you and me. 

They stress, cry, have their hearts broken, fail, feel lost unhappy and unsure of themselves.

Yet we compare our whole, un-edited stories to the people who have left most of who they really are, in public at least, on the cutting room floor. 

Of course that's going to leave us feel wanting. 

It's more encouraging and real to know they are just as useless as you and I.  They've found a way to overcome their own personal barriers and demons to get to where they are today. 

Usually, to great at something at the expense of being good at anything else. 

So I think it pays to be inspired less by perfect stories.

Instead, looking for truer stories of people who have found a sweet spot between what they love and the few things they're not hopeless at, to do something special.

This goes for marketing case studies too.

Great work emerges like a screaming baby from a chaotic mess.

I wish this wasn't true, but just you rarely see anyone going for a wee in most films, most case studies never show no the late nights, moments of doubt and crisis.

Fewer admit they just got lucky.

No one talks about the pitch failures, which far outweigh the wins.