I have a love/hate relationship with marketing.

The good

I love the strategies that allow us to get our message out to the masses, and create huge cultural shifts when people share theories, thoughts & ideas.

The bad

Marketers get a bad rap, and in some cases it’s been well earned. There are people out there using marketing tactics & strategies to do some downright shady stuff.

Selling products that don’t work or that harm their users (aka diet pills like Ephedra), exploiting vulnerable people like lonely seniors, and creating a culture of want & need for products people don’t actually need.  How rude.

These people are not setting the best example of a conscientious marketer–at all.

What’s the antidote to shady marketers?

The antidote to this dark side of marketing, is for more people like you to share their ideas, and bring their beautiful, authentic selves to the world.

You may have a knack for making the tastiest fast dinners for a hungry family, or have self care tactics that help busy women tame their stress. Maybe you have a great theory on how to teach boys to respect females as equals, or have a foolproof way to build a thriving vintage shop on Etsy.

There are people who would benefit from your knowledge, and they might even pay you for it. 

Seth Godin has this to say about authenticity:

“We call a brand or person authentic when they’re consistent, when they act the same way whether or not someone is looking. Someone is authentic when their actions are in alignment with what they promise.”

Are you showing up as your true self?

Are you putting out an image that doesn’t match with how you really feel, and what you actually care about. 

Are you hiding behind the fear that what you have to share isn’t valid? (if this one sounds like you, may i present my old friend imposter syndrome) 

Your ideas are valid & awesome, and you have the potential to do some really kickass things.

Sure, entrepreneurs fail. You know what else good entrepreneurs do? They get back up and start again, not letting one failure stop them from pursuing their next success.

What’s it going to take to get you to start today working towards your next success?