Convince Me

I am not a salesperson. I have never held, nor desired a career in any type of sales. However, I am a marketer and a bright one at that.

This morning I pondered on why I'm not so good at verbally convincing others of why something might be a good idea. Granted, people who know me and trust me usually always take me seriously when I start a sentence with "seriously, you need to check this out." Otherwise, to a complete stranger it takes a lot of careful studying and analysis to come up with coherent examples of why something is a good idea and then speak those examples eloquently and confidently enough to elicit a positive reaction.

I've felt damned having an overactive brain and a stammering, stu-stuh, stuttering verbal delivery that gets sidetracked by a well-constructed retort.

But, maybe that's not a bad thing? A Futurist friend of mine explained to me how things that are always on the cusp and not yet mainstream are what excite him the most. That is where all of the meaningful action is. Once an idea is commoditized and pimped, it loses it's real value for thinkers and innovators unless they are deconstructing it to create something better and different.

Standing on the sidelines, I may miss out on some things, but I am also able to observe the status quo and think and build un-obstructedly. Without having to worry too much about how my ideas are percieved by others (at first, at least), I can use free-flowing thought, objective criticism and continually build and innovate, rather than mold my creative process to what is currently popular.

All it takes is that spark. The person obsessed with an idea who focuses and develops it regardless of criticism and disbelief. He or she wanders through the myriad of disheartening comments, but one day an open ear leads to widen eyes and a faster pulse and great interest.

That's the spark, baby.