Category: Mindset

If you think about it, all of us dream about comfort.

Happiness is comfort. Luxury is comfort. The perfect partner is comfort. Having wonderful kids is comfort. Everything we want from life is to give us some pleasure and/or peace (which are again a form of comfort).

And what does life serve us?

Problems. Adversity. Illness. Accidents. Hard work. Pressure. Stress. Naughty kids. Dominant parents. Heavy traffic. World hunger. Wars. Evening news. Belly fat. Hangovers. Sleepless nights.

Discomfort at its finest.

Apparently, we strive for comfort but most often than not we get some version of discomfort.

So, what to do?

Actually, you can do whatever you want. What I would do, though, is:

Leverage Pain

You will face a lot of pain in your life.

Instead of trying to avoid it or heal it, or soften it, embrace it. Focus on it and dive in it, make it your friend, explore it. When you grab it, it shrinks but if you ignore it, it grows. All those problems are not going to solve by themselves. You need to face and handle them personally.

Enjoy Uncertainty

Nothing is certain in life, so don’t live in an illusion.

Nobody knows what will happen next, though most of us are trying to plan and predict the far or near future. Keep your intentions about the future, but don’t expect that the Universe has the obligation to do as you have planned. Understand that the only certain thing you have is the uncertainty and approach the life as an adventure rather than a well-planned and smooth journey.

Put the Effort

You cannot achieve anything significant or meaningful without putting massive amount of effort.

If you don’t believe me, just check the background story of any sports victory, any invention, any successful company or a bestselling author. Be ready to put extensive effort if you want to get the things you want in life (most of which, by the way, are probably related to comfort). If something appears “easy”, “quick”, “simple”, “only…”, it is most probably fake, scam or lacks real value.

Accept the Limitations

We are unlimited and immortal souls but we live in a limited world, we manage bodies packed with limitations and we definitely cannot achieve everything we want.

The existence of limitations is not necessary a bad thing. If we want to focus on something, we need to cut everything else. If we believe in the unlimited opportunities, we will end up believing in impossible things which will lead us to indecision, daydreaming and dark disappointment.

“But all that sounds so dark and depressing”, you might say.

Not at all. (Or it does, but this is your problem as I think otherwise.)

If you stop reacting for a while, and take a deep breath, you will start thinking. Here’s what might come to your mind…

“All my life I am so afraid of pain in its different forms. What if I start liking it? What if we become friends? I will stop considering it as danger. It will look more like a signal or teacher. I can stop being afraid of it and this would let me do and achieve all the things I was afraid of doing. I would expand and grow. I will become more open and confident. I will become a braver and stronger version of myself.”

or…

“As uncertainty is all around me, if I learn how to feel comfortable in its presence, this means that I will be able to stay calm and confident while facing it. What does that mean? I will be able to operate smoothly and efficiently in situations when others freak out.”

or…

“Most of the people are lazy, distracted or both. If I am able to sustain significant amount of effort towards a meaningful goal, I will be able to outperform most of the people (if not all) and will make achieving the goal far more probable than while sitting on the sofa.”

or…

“It is comfortable to think that I can achieve everything I want. However, if I limit my options and select one thing, then enjoy the uncertainty, put the effort and embrace the pain of the mistakes, failures, criticism and adversity… My words and actions will have power and I will move forward, literally crafting my own destiny.”

Of course, all of the above could be plain wrong. Maybe you think so.

Don’t believe everything you think! (The book with the same title is just gorgeous. Read it.)

Have a wonderful day, full of adventure!

As marketers we have only two choices on the workplace:

1/ Burn out; 2/ Burn in.

Which one do you prefer?

There is no use of a burned out, depressed and demotivated marketer.

Such a person cannot create anything meaningful and turns into an office clerk, pulling reports and launching ads without giving them a second thought.

Marketing is about creativity.

Inspiration.

Effective communication.

Emotion.

Beauty.

Movement.

Community.

Even disruption (not always necessary).

But it is hard to work and live this way, because there are…

“Tight Deadlines”.

“Challenging Targets”.

“Performance Evaluation Sessions”.

“Quarterly Reviews”.

“Corporate Policies”.

“Necessary Multitasking”.

“Competitive Environment”.

“Being a team player”.

To be creative you need freedom and space.

But you have pressure and exhaustion instead.

How to manage staying sane and not burn out?

You need to keep the fire within. To burn in and explode, instead of implode and burn out.

Here are the steps:

1. Recall, remember why are you a marketer.
2. If you cannot recall a reason, find one.
3. If you cannot find a reason, quit and start doing something else.
4. But if you do remember why are you a marketer, collect all f*ckz you are ready to give for what other think about you and your work and offer those to your muse.
5. Feel the wave of inspiration coming from within, and not from Teams calls.
6. Create. Produce. Write. Share.
7. Enjoy the process.

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Remember: You are a creator, not a clerk. Better burn in, than burning out.

Have a great day!

We all know how important is the integrity in life and business.

Sometimes, though, it is not very clear how to achieve it.

Simple solution: You need a reference framework.

If you act with integrity (as a person and/or as a brand) you feel good. Stress levels are lower. You can make decisions faster and follow a meaningful direction.

How to get there?

You need a reference framework. The process works like this:

1. This is my reference framework which declares how I act in different situations.
2. Here is a situation?
3. If I act as I said in the reference framework, I demonstrate integrity and feel satisfied and even proud.
4. If my actions don’t overlap with my framework, I feel bad, stressed and miserable.

The Components

This reference framework is personal, work or brand philosophy which usually includes three important elements:

1. Values
2. Beliefs
3. Rules

Even if you think you don’t have a philosophy, actually you have. It is just not documented yet. If you put it in writing, you will gain crystal clarity and a firm foundation for integrity and professionalism.

My Work Philosophy

Here is my work philosophy below. It evolved over the years (and will continue to evolve):

1. Holistic approach. Everything is marketing and marketing is everything.
2. Start with the foundations. Set the pillars right from the very beginning.
3. Unshakeable infrastructure. Build to perform, last and scale.
4. Leverage people. People are the elephant in the room. Select, train, maintain, develop, lead, inspire.
5. Grow by upgrading, not by following. Plan, perform, progress, by building on your own achievements, not by comparing to others.
6. Clients are human. Your clients are your community. They are not just rows and numbers in a spreadsheet.
7. Problems, problems. Problems are everywhere and they are not obstacles but stepping stones to perfection. Solve them not in order of appearance but by the magnitude of their impact.
8. Quick-easy-simple is a trap. There is no significant and meaningful success which is quick, easy and simple. The scam is.
9. Be professional. Think well. Keep your promises. Stay calm. Do the work with grace and excellence.

If you feel lost, spend some time alone or with your team and try to document your philosophy. Don’t just follow cliches or try to sound cool. Better dig deeper and find your unique reference framework.

It helps to sleep better.

We all know what a leader should look like. Now, let’s spice the things up with some negativity. See what leaders should not do or be.

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Being a leader is tough. Leaders aren’t appointed, they aren’t elected. Leaders inspire. They have power, but it’s not guaranteed. Becoming one of them is a challenging task, but they are the ones who change the world.

Here are some insights on what the leaders should not do or be, which I hope will inspire you, even a little, to take the thorny path of leading yourself and others and making the world a better place.

01: Don’t apologize

No one cares what you’ve messed up. Accept the consequences and act with what you have, in the circumstances you find yourself in.

02: Don’t explain yourself

People don’t want to hear your excuses for why you can’t do something. Find a way and do it.

03: Don’t show emotions

You’re the leader. You control your emotions, they don’t control you.

04: Don’t smile unnecessarily

People don’t like to follow jokers and weaklings.

05: Don’t show weakness

The weak don’t lead, they only follow.

06: Don’t show hesitation

People need to be sure that you know what you’re doing.

07: Don’t show insecurity

You’re at the front. Stand firm, look brave, and don’t let your eyes or hands tremble.

08: Don’t show indecisiveness

Make decisions quickly and change them rarely. Not the other way around.

09: Don’t be verbose

Produce diamonds with your words, not junk.

10: Don’t speak fast

How will they follow you if they can’t keep up?

11: Don’t speak unclearly

How will they follow you if they can’t understand you?

12: Don’t slouch

Straighten your back. A bent back is for cowards and weaklings.

13: Don’t lower your head

To no one and nothing.

14: Don’t wander with your eyes

Look straight at the target.

15: Don’t avoid others’ gaze

Your gaze reveals your soul and intentions. If you hide it, you show them that you’re lying, hiding something, or scared. These aren’t things a leader does.

16: Don’t rush

People rush when they’re chasing something or being chased. You move towards your goal, while people and circumstances chase you or run from you. Let them rush.

17: Don’t show nervousness

It’s a sign of lack of self-control. How will you lead others if you can’t even control yourself?

18: Don’t show fear

Be afraid. Secretly.

19: Don’t dither

Lead, follow, or get out of the way.

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It is a not easy to be a leader.

I’ve been reading books about so-called “positive thinking,” success, psychology, and the like for quite some time. Some of them are truly valuable and literally turned my life around. The rest just copy from the valuable ones. But one thing is clear from all of them—if you want to succeed and feel happy, you need to think positively. But why don’t we always manage to do that?

Most people have heard of positive thinking, but Bulgaria seems to have the highest number of pessimists and grumblers per capita. I tried to explore the reasons for this and found a few, personally:

• “The Pink Glasses Myth”
• “The Curse of the Happy”
• “The Hammer and Anvil Syndrome”
• “The Misunderstanding of Optimism”

Let’s look at them one by one.

The Pink Glasses Myth

For some reason, being grounded, balanced, practical, and stable is considered very valuable and good. But if you’re a dreamer, believe in yourself and your success, and aim to achieve a lot in life, that’s seen as bad and unproductive personally and family-wise. The prevailing opinion also says not to aim too high because you’ll fall hard, not to set big goals because they’re unrealistic and laughable, and not to strive for success because

“You’re just an ordinary person in a messed-up country and can’t achieve much.”

For the “normal” Bulgarian, “normal” goals “should” be not too ambitious, but meet certain standards:

• a small but cozy home
• a stable job with a decent salary
• a not-too-ugly wife
• healthy children
• and a vacation at the sea for about 10 days almost every year.

If you think about becoming famous or rich, or both, if you think about starting a successful business, marrying a foreigner, traveling the world, or achieving some record… That automatically makes you a flighty dreamer who

“Was such a good and smart boy, but what nonsense got into his head.”

Society tries to suppress development because mediocrity, like any “organism,” strives to reproduce and maintain its status quo. It has no interest in supporting rapid development and innovation of its individual members, as long as the rest maintain their mediocre, miserable existence. But of course, the individual social unit hardly realizes this. When they see a successful person, they more likely think:

“What is he, that he should have more than me?!”

People are annoyed by dreamers because those dreamers might actually achieve their dreams, and then

“What will I do, who gave up on my dreams back in my childhood years, when I could have achieved them.”

People are annoyed by the ambitious because they might achieve their goals, and then

“I’m screwed again because I aimed so low when it could have been higher.”

Mediocre people want to be surrounded by other mediocre people to feel comfortable and not get agitated.

On the other hand, winners, positive and ambitious individuals like to be surrounded by similar individuals because the others suppress them and prevent them from feeling good. Unfortunately, however, the positive and progressive ones are too few. That’s why we need to support each other. The vast mass of gray units in society can crush us like nothing. We will always remain “the idiots with pink glasses”, and they will always be “grounded, sensible, critical, and responsible individuals”.

The Curse of the Happy

Most people, not to say all, want to have a wonderful future, a good life, happy love, lots of money, and other similar blessings. But they want them secretly. They dare not ask for them loudly, high up, powerfully, irresistibly. They dare not share them with others!

Because they are superstitious. Because they are afraid that things might not turn out as they dream. They are afraid to be positive, considering it bad luck. But actually, they are subconsciously afraid that their dreams might come true, because then – on one hand – they lose the cozy refuge of the once unattainable dream, where they can comfortably relax in the evening after a dull workday or drift into dreams before falling asleep.

Secondly, people get nervous when there’s a chance their dream might actually come true. They start to worry and fear. What will I do now with all this? How do I keep from losing it? What if someone steals it? What about all that responsibility? What will others think? As if the masses of people are afraid to really dream because they lack the strength and courage to face their dreams realized! So when you ask someone,

“How are you doing?” they reply:

“Well, I’m getting by. I’m okay, more or less.”

Most people dare not say:

“I feel great! I’m happy and enjoying every second of life!”

It’s almost indecent to demonstrate your positive attitude – as if you’re entering some sacred territory where superstition reigns, everything hangs by a thread, and you shouldn’t make waves on the perfectly smooth surface of mediocrity. It has become almost shameful to be happy and to look cheerfully at life with hope and faith in the future – people look at you sideways, they envy you, reproach you, laugh at you, declare you a fool and a naive person.

Everywhere is full of people who have an opinion about everything, especially about how something can’t be done. Everyone knows dozens of ways about that. But if you try to find a way to make something happen and achieve success, you become an incredibly cheeky bastard who needs someone to show him his place.

The Hammer and Anvil Syndrome

It’s hard to look brightly and optimistically at life when you have nothing to eat or are wondering how to feed your few children. If you’re overwhelmed with work, problems, worries, enemies, an uncertain future, and no money, it’s nearly impossible to be optimistic and have faith in the future and a happy ending. Yes, it’s hard, but not impossible!

Many people are quite free to discuss the topic of optimism and positive thinking and speak quite authoritatively and eruditely about it. But when they themselves are struck by problems or difficulties, they fall into a gloomy, hostile, negative mood, where even the hint of optimism makes them look at you with malice:

“Don’t you see I have problems? And you’re talking to me about optimism and other nonsense!”

When a person is in such a situation, they are indeed swallowed up by their problems and it takes exceptional faith and spiritual strength to look hopefully into the future, to mobilize, and to continue moving forward and upward, despite everything.

Optimism is for the strong! It’s much easier to be weak, grumbling, and to give up in the face of difficulties and problems!

But if you manage to overcome your negative attitude, if despite everything you break your negative worldview and see light in the long, greasy tunnel of joyless existence, then you are truly strong and deserve to see your dreams realized!

When you find yourself between the hammer and the anvil – it’s a matter of situation, fate, or circumstances. But it’s up to you how you handle that hammer and anvil. You can passively let yourself be shaped and struck, acquiring a strange form, or you can spin around as you wish so that the hammer and anvil shape you according to your desires. Problems are problems – everyone has them.

Each of us gets hit by life in one way or another, and most people have very little control over the overall situation. But what we do have full control over is our attitude towards life and ourselves.

If we think of ourselves as victims and act like victims – we are already victims. If we think like winners and act like winners – then the hammer and anvil will only temper us and give us a more functional and combat-ready shape.

When you find yourself between the hammer and anvil, strive to become a sword, not a horseshoe.

The Misunderstanding About Optimism

Not everyone knows what it means to be an optimist. Most people are negatively inclined towards this concept because they think being an optimist means believing in impossible things, thinking that everything is nice and beautiful, and living in your own unreal world of happiness and goodness. The innate pragmatism of people here howls and does not allow a word to be said in favor of optimism.

But I think there’s a huge misunderstanding here. Being an optimist doesn’t mean seeing in pink and ignoring the problem. Optimism is more of an attitude towards things, a way of thinking, where a person sees not only the problem but also its solution.

While negatively inclined personalities see mainly the problems and the culprits for them, positive ones acknowledge these factors but look for the solution. For them, it’s more important to develop and move forward, solving problems, rather than moaning and lamenting the presence of these problems.

Being an optimist is an attitude – towards yourself and life!

Looking positively at things means striving to achieve the best for yourself, growing by overcoming your problems, and fighting with all means for victory, success, and the realization of your dreams. If you think your past was filled with problems and misery, it’s not so. Nothing like that is there. There are only lessons that need to be learned and steps that lead upward, to the position where you are now.

If your present is filled with problems – get glasses! It’s not so! Your present is filled with challenges, each of which for you is a chance to achieve more than in the previous moment and a chance to develop.

If your future seems gloomy, know that you’ve bought the wrong glasses – those are sunglasses. Throw them away. Don’t put on the pink ones – just look into the future with your own eyes and heart. What’s there? There’s sun and joy, life and happiness.

And the best part is that between these things and you there is a path, a road, a staircase, or even a red carpet. You just need to step on it and start the most interesting and fun adventure of your life, namely – its full and positive experience!

The right direction is “forward and upward!” Start and continue – only forward and only upward! The path has no end, and the mentioned bonuses – happiness, joy, life, love – you receive along the way.

Because happiness is not the endpoint of the journey, but the journey itself!