"Oh boy, what’s he doing now?"

Excellent question and I’m glad you asked. Let me answer with another question: how do you want to be remembered?

"You mean….?"

Yes, when you get to "the end".

Kidding aside it’s a serious question. Personally, I want people to look back and think "there was a good person, who delighted in helping others".

So, the second question is: are you practicing your legacy in marketing now?

"Uh-oh, sermon…"

Actually, it’s not.

If you think about it for a moment, if you want to be remembered, or look back one day and say "wow, look what I was able to do," consider what you’re doing today in order to be able to have that vision to look back upon.

Are you building pyramids using the strengths of others, or are you building pyramids with others?

If you truly want to be remembered as a good person who helped people realized their dreams, or someone who dedicated their lives to a cause, or a committed individual who just wanted to see people grow, then consider putting that philosophy into practice now.

You only get one pass at this life, and you’re the driver. You may not care what you think in 20, 30, 40 or more years from now. You may care even less about what others may think. But you know something? I’ll bet it shows…

To quote a line from the Oliver Stone film Nixon, "nothing sells like sincerity".

Some can fake sincerity. In fact, I know people who take pride in their ability to fake it. This, in my opinion, is as dangerous (if not more so) than not caring at all.

We’ve all been in situations, most likely in retail stores, where we’ve encountered the stereotypical "bored" employee who is just there because "it’s a job", and really doesn’t give a hoot about anything, least of all you.

Now, that’s not necessarily insincerity, but it’s a lack of concern or even "light caring" about a job or responsibly, and it shows.

As a marketing person, I work with many clients. More often than not, we work on projects to "jump start" their marketing efforts. Perhaps this is a "makeover" of some kind, a new approach or a different take on an existing one. What I see across the board is that once we’ve stoked the fires of imagination, excitement heats up, passion brews and the rest follows is so much easier after that.

If you care; if you’re passionate; if you believe in what you are marketing, whether that’s a product or a service, it will show.

Marketing begins with you. You have to believe in the product. You have to market it to yourself and then, as the customer, you have to believe it’s a good thing. If you don’t believe it, then why should your potential clients?

Imagine if you don’t believe you’re doing the right thing…it’s just "a job"…"I hate it, but it pays the bills"…do your (potential) clients deserve that? If you answer "yes" ask yourself why they deserve it.

I write about different marketing strategies and techniques, both traditional and non in my online newsletter Webby’s Updates which you can read at www.JDELtd.com and subscribe to if you so choose. You can download this and other articles from by Small Business GENetics site, www.sbgenetics.com

As an true "professional" in most fields, people feel as though all the answers should be right there at their fingertips; they should be a walking encyclopedia in their field, quicker than a Google search with even more relevance.

The simple fact of the matter is that the secret to being a "professional" is (in my opinion):

1. the wisdom to acknowledge that one can never know all the answers
2. the humility to admit this to oneself (and a client)
3. the intelligence to know where to look for the answers
4. the confidence to reassure oneself (and a client)
5. the desire to improve oneself

As a famous quote says (something like), "he who knows everything knows nothing". Beware self-proclaimed "experts".

You’re good at what you do. You can be even better. Professionals never stop learning and growing. That’s what careers are all about.

As a marketing "professional", I can never have all the answers. Every one of my clients is different…but between my client and myself we’ll come as close as we can and find as many of the answers as we are able. That’s what makes my work fun. People are amazing and wonderful! Admitting you don’t have an answer there and then is a small act of heroism, a big act of humility and will gain you respect in the long-run.

If we had all the answers already, what would be the point?

I say this all with true humilty…and I’m still looking for the answers. Who knows where today will go? Have an awesome week!