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Nothing Is Wrong, Nothing Is Right

You know the problem with people who give advice (this includes me of course)? They are all experts. They can tell you what is right and what is wrong. They know the path to success just as well as the path to failure. If you don’t listen to them you are doomed to make the same mistakes over and over and over again.

If you are going to run a company, dress professional and be respectful. Don’t wear sandals around all day or god forbid in public when you are speaking because that will show negatively against your company. Suit and tie works best.

If you are going to run a company, dress comfortable and act like you run the shit. Wear sandals if you feel that lets people know where you stand and who cares if if you go around in them all the time. Hell, after a while it might even become your trademark and something your company represents.

When doing a show you want it to be as professional as possible. People love amateur hour on YouTube, but when it comes to hour long programs be sure to replicate network television. This isn’t public access so don’t pretend it is. Telling jokes works well, but the content has to be great and on point.

When doing a show you want it to be just like you were right in the same room with your audience. Kick back on a coach and drink some beers if you want. Hell, that will probably help you relax a bit more and make things even more entertaining. In fact, people will relate to you better because they can picture themselves doing the same thing.

If you write publicly, be respectful like Scoble, not a dick like Calacanis because one is successful and the other is successful (not a typo). An even better example is to be courteous like Rubel and not arrogant like Arrington because one is successful and one is successful.

If you like sports let’s take it there. Between Marvin Harrison and Terrell Owens you have two of the greatest wide receivers to ever play the game of football. One is liked and the other is mostly liked, but both get respect and are set for life financially. How can you give advice as to which one you should be like if both are successful in their own right? I’m sure reading the examples I gave above you could picture the people I was talking about and although their methods contrasted greatly to the point of being complete opposites they are all still successful. So who’s advice would you follow?

That is the problem with advice. No matter how great it is, it doesn’t apply to everyone. Sure you should be respectful and kind towards others, but do you have to be to achieve success? Of course not, your road might be a bit tougher though. How many of you have followed a pro bloggers advice only to find out it didn’t really work for you? It just wasn’t your thing. How many men or women give advice to their friends about attracting the opposite sex only to see it backfire when the advice is applied?

I’m not saying that listening to advice is wrong. What is wrong is when we think the way someone goes about something is wrong simply because our way was different. I do it all the time when I see companies being written about and laugh when they fail and scratch my head when they succeed trying to figure out how they could do so against my better judgement and win.

If you feel you are going about things the right way and are being honest with yourself then by all means continue. There are no golden rules written in stone. If you are proven wrong down the road at least you tried and that is more than what some people can say. The road to success isn’t barren because it has been traveled many times over already, it is like that because a new one is built everyday.