"A penguin cannot become a giraffe so just be the best penguin you can be."
-Gary Vaynerchuk
This quote jumped out at me this week because I've always struggled with fitting into the frame work the world has crafted for me and doing what I'm "supposed" to. I'm finding more and more people who feel the same way for greatly varying reasons.
One of the biggest things for me has been people telling me I should "step out of my comfort zone". Perfectly fine advice, right? What harm could there be in pushing yourself to do things that expand you beyond your normal range? What skills you'll learn, what confidence you'll gain! It's true. To a point. A really short point if you're someone like me. When I put my writing down and back away from my artwork, when I step into public, that's it. I'm out of my comfort zone. Chances are you can't suggest I step out of my comfort zone without me already being outside of it.
I'm not saying you should only do what suits you ALL the time, but maybe most of the time. Stepping out to experience new things is a really good idea, but if you do it just for the sake of saying you did it or because someone else is saying it's what you should do and not because some part of you really wants to, you will probably get burnt out from all the stress and embarrassment you will experience versus any sense of success or self-esteem.
Metaphorically speaking, people will have you put a giraffe hat on and suggest you do like them because that's what giraffes in a giraffe world do. We are not all giraffes. Some of us may be penguins, or something else. You won't thrive in one envoirnment if your naturally equipped for different one, and a hat won't make much difference.
***
Gary Vaynerchuk is the 35-year-old New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Associated Press Best-Selling author of Crush It! Why Now Is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion and The Thank You Economy. A self-trained social media trailblazer and expert, Gary has close to one million Twitter followers and was included in BusinessWeek’s list of the top 20 people every entrepreneur should follow. Gary and his brother AJ founded VaynerMedia, a new breed of agency that helps Fortune 500 companies like Campbell Soup Company, PepsiCo, Green Mountain Coffee, the NY Jets, the NHL, and the NJ Nets find their social media voices and build their digital brands.
Although his various businesses obviously play an enormous role in his life, he always puts his family first.
I read about this author and watched a video of him here.
He has a website here: garyvaynerchuk.com
-Gary Vaynerchuk
This quote jumped out at me this week because I've always struggled with fitting into the frame work the world has crafted for me and doing what I'm "supposed" to. I'm finding more and more people who feel the same way for greatly varying reasons.
One of the biggest things for me has been people telling me I should "step out of my comfort zone". Perfectly fine advice, right? What harm could there be in pushing yourself to do things that expand you beyond your normal range? What skills you'll learn, what confidence you'll gain! It's true. To a point. A really short point if you're someone like me. When I put my writing down and back away from my artwork, when I step into public, that's it. I'm out of my comfort zone. Chances are you can't suggest I step out of my comfort zone without me already being outside of it.
I'm not saying you should only do what suits you ALL the time, but maybe most of the time. Stepping out to experience new things is a really good idea, but if you do it just for the sake of saying you did it or because someone else is saying it's what you should do and not because some part of you really wants to, you will probably get burnt out from all the stress and embarrassment you will experience versus any sense of success or self-esteem.
Metaphorically speaking, people will have you put a giraffe hat on and suggest you do like them because that's what giraffes in a giraffe world do. We are not all giraffes. Some of us may be penguins, or something else. You won't thrive in one envoirnment if your naturally equipped for different one, and a hat won't make much difference.
***
Gary Vaynerchuk is the 35-year-old New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Associated Press Best-Selling author of Crush It! Why Now Is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion and The Thank You Economy. A self-trained social media trailblazer and expert, Gary has close to one million Twitter followers and was included in BusinessWeek’s list of the top 20 people every entrepreneur should follow. Gary and his brother AJ founded VaynerMedia, a new breed of agency that helps Fortune 500 companies like Campbell Soup Company, PepsiCo, Green Mountain Coffee, the NY Jets, the NHL, and the NJ Nets find their social media voices and build their digital brands.
Although his various businesses obviously play an enormous role in his life, he always puts his family first.
I read about this author and watched a video of him here.
He has a website here: garyvaynerchuk.com
This illustration has not yet been digitized and the displayed image does not accurately reflect the quality and coloration of my giclée prints.
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