How far are you willing to go to be the best?
Of the Oscar nominated films I have watched so far – and I have watched a few – Whiplash has been my favourite. Putting aside the amazing performance by JK Simmons and the incredible score, it got me thinking about how far people are willing to go to get the best out of themselves and others.
How far do you push? Is your best good enough or do you strive for better, for more or even to be the best?
How far do you push? Is your best good enough or do you strive for better, for more or even to be the best?
As a teenager, I was the fastest in Victoria over 400m. I would train every night after school, then head to competition on Saturdays and Sundays. Life was a relentless mix of work, school, training and competing.
And I loved every second of this tireless pursuit to be the best. But it took its toll – mentally and physically. The year after I won the State championship, everyone wanted to beat me. They trained harder; they became faster. They revelled in their victories over me. So I trained harder and then my knee blew and it was clear to me that throughout my championship year that my best was better. The following year my best was good but not good enough.
The same fluctuations now occur in professional life. And I’m guessing they occur for everyone. In marketing, an industry which has changed so much in the last 10 years as content generation is more and more heavily influenced by technology, you have to ensure that you keep up with every single change the industry throws at you. By doing so you will be one of the best. To be better than the best you need to influence technology and create your own.
The question is how far do you want to push? If you are leading an organisation, do you push your employees to breaking point and hope they come out the other side stronger and better at their jobs.
There is a fine line presented in Whiplash. It blurs the line between abuse and motivation…inspiration. I’m sure some would see it either way. You probably know haw far you can push yourself, but you need to get to know your employees before you can push them beyond their limits. However great motivation, that doesn’t include verbal and physical violence, will reap great rewards. It will create drive in employees and become infectious.
I am motivated by the following people and what they have to say. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-SweXPl3a4, but what motivates you and how do you get your message across? There is no easy answer to that question, suffice to say that to succeed in business and marketing, requires clarity of thought and vision and an almost win-at-all costs attitude. They key word here is almost. Motivate, don’t alienate.
As Florida Gators coach Tim Tabow once told his team we've got 30 minutes for the rest of our lives. For most of us we have 30 minutes, then 30 minutes more etc to make good on the dreams we had as teenagers, on the goals we set when we started our careers, on the commitments we make to our clients, our family, friends and ourselves. We have blocks of 30 minute periods to be the best we can be and then push that little bit harder to exceed our expectations and fulfil the potential others see in us.
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