I’m an admirer of the Mr. Seth Godin principles. No one has ever defined with such perfection all that I stand for.
This is the first part of the 3-series article about stories that entrepreneurs tell themselves every day. Go to Part 2, Part 3.
I’m an honest and genuine follower of someone who, among many fascinating ideas, shares that our actual public education still resonates immensely with the industrial revolution paradigm, which is the same as saying that our whole society is studying to serve others, instead of thinking, innovating, and creating breakthroughs.
You see, that’s the type of education you needed in the beginning of the 20th Century when Mr. Frederik Winslow Taylor introduced the principles of Scientific Management and the Taylorism.
Now, one of the things I’ve learned with Seth Godin was how to define “Positioning”.
I’ve studied two management degrees – a bachelor and a master. And it is curious to remember how all my teachers used to struggle in explaining what “positioning” is, in a marketing context.
Positioning is one of the most important concepts in marketing strategy. As a matter of fact, it is likely the most important criterion in understanding a company’ success. It is inherently related to a firm’s core strategy, and its importance surpasses any product this entity might offer.
But teachers used to present the concept in ways that people wouldn’t easily understand.
Here are some examples:
1.“Positioning is the value your customers perceive from your product”
2.“Positioning is the image your brand represents to your customers
3.And even Wikipedia mentions “Positioning is the place a product occupies in consumers’ minds relative to competing products”
To be honest, I think we can grasp what positioning is with all these ideas, but it isn’t crystal-clear.
And, then, I find Seth Godin, who simply says:
“WHAT’S THE STORY THAT YOU WANT TO TELL WITH YOUR PRODUCT?“
And specifically, “What’s the story you want your customers to tell their friends about your product?”
You see, I’m not sure if he describes this sentence as the definition of positioning. I’m even inclined to think that he would never say such thing. But in many podcasts and books, you can find this question – “What’s the story?“. And, when you give it a thought, that’s precisely what Positioning is all about.
The way you position your product in the market should be defined according to the way you imagine your customers talking about it.
It also happens in a personal perspective. Your personal positioning – or brand – is precisely what someone says about you. Imagine that a friend of your friend asks him who you are.
What will your friend say? That is your positioning.
And here are the really interesting points:
1.The way people perceive you never aligns with the way you see yourself. No one will ever be absolutely fair with you. No one knows you as well as you do, no one is with you 100% of the time, but you.
2.Also, a study has shown (I actually don’t remember where I found it) that the people that are happier are the ones who can have a more correlated alignment between the story they tell themselves and what others perceive.
And if you ask me, the best and most genuine way to find happiness is to tell yourself great stories every single day, independently of others noticing it or not.
That’s what entrepreneurs do, by the way.
We tell ourselves stories that the large majority of the society don’t want to hear. Unique stories that lead us to see the world in a different angle. While the vast majority of people will tend to think that when you achieve greatness, happiness, or the so-called “success”, it derives from being at the right place and at the right time, having a “caring friend” who opened some doors, or simply luck,
While the vast majority of people will tend to think that when you achieve greatness, happiness, or the so-called “success”, it derives from being at the right place and at the right time, having a “caring friend” who opened some doors, or simply luck, we understand there’s a world of hard-work and great mindset beneath those achievements.
They will never see the stories that you’ve been telling yourself all your life and that shaped you into a solid, hopeful, dreamer, and believer. While they were thinking about what their boss likes and avoiding getting fired, you’ve been thinking of how to create something unique, how to add value to people’s lives, how to have an impact in the world.
So, what stories are these?
What are the stories that you ought to tell yourself every single day, so you’ll never quit in your journey for a better and more fulfilling life?
For years, I’ve been studying success, entrepreneurship, self-development, and strategy. And I thought it would be of great value to you if I could sum up the best four mental hacks I’ve ever studied, and that ultimately changed the entire course of my life.
They don’t matter because they changed my life. They matter because they can change yours.
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