We live in a lazy, self-entitled society where accountability is a bad word and permission is given to point the finger at anything and anybody else rather than taking accountability for our own actions. We must first look inward to change things before we expect the outside world to change.

 

As a result, we’ve built a culture of offense and tip-toeing on eggshells around saying how you truly feel about something to the detriment of being brutalized and defamed for possibly hurting somebody else’s feelings.

 

It’s ridiculous. It’s beyond the point of comprehension and it keeps everybody quiet and afraid to speak out. If this continues, we as Americans will end up exactly like other countries who are afraid to speak out for fear of violence or death. 

 

As a business owner, it’s time to get in the habit of staking your flag in the ground to say exactly what you mean and how you feel about things. It is time to stand out from everybody else because most people are playing it safe right now. They are staying within the guidelines of that little cowardice shell so that they don’t have to face the backlash or contrary opinions.  By doing that, they’re not getting their message heard because it’s the same message that everybody else is throwing out there. 

 

Nobody is standing up or standing out. In the absence of true leaders, people will listen to the first person who steps up to the mic. So if you’re trying to be a leader by creating vanilla content? You’re wasting your time. Nobody can find you. You blend in with everyone else playing it safe. You have to say things your audience can relate to deeply. Things that matters to them. 

 

The funny thing is– the quiet majority do agree with you, but they’re not saying anything. It’s only the haters that come out to keyboard warrior their distaste for your opinions.

 

But your true tribe? They’re waiting for you to stand up and speak the truth that they feel so they can follow you. 

 

The haters aren’t important. You’re supposed to show up to piss people off. That’s how you know your content is polarizing enough to part the sea between people who you can’t serve anyway, who you’ll never be able to help, who will never agree with you and who will never come to your side and those who are your tribe, your fanatical fans who love everything you do and who want to jump on your bandwagon.

 

But if you don’t put that calling out, 

If you don’t send out the bat signal, 

If you are not the one to stand up and out they have nobody to follow. 

 

So it’s a decision that you have to make. Are you going to stand up and speak out for the things you believe in? For the principles and values you hold? For the solutions you’re going to provide for your customers and clients?

 

Or are you going to blend in and make the same crappy content as everyone else saying nothing new and different and hope you get noticed? I have to tell you this is not a long-term winning strategy.  It is not something that will build fanatical fans that will follow you anywhere. Fans that will buy everything and anything you put out, even if they didn’t read the sales page because they know it’s good if it’s coming from you.

 

You have to decide what kind of business owner you’re going to be. Are you going to be that vanilla melancholy that follows everybody else and create a bunch of useless content that says nothing? Or are you going to stand for a purpose in this one life you have and lead others who believe in you and believe in the principles that you share to victory? 

 

It’s a decision and sometimes it’s a decision that needs to be made every single day. It’s hard to be a leader. To be the only one screaming into the wind, but you have to make a commitment you’re going to do that if you value the principles that you have grown up with that you believe. Those that you absolutely are convicted are the truth, and are just, and are the right solutions for your customers and clients. What are you going to do?