My Personal Quest for The Stand Out Effect

In other words, time to do the work

Have you heard of a quest? A personal mission. An adventure. A commitment. Well here I am, making a bold quest.

I have been living out the classic case of the “Irony of Your expertise.”

I’ve worked for over a decade in all aspects of communication and marketing. I’ve run the social media management for businesses both large and small. Today I still work with a few high profile individuals and brands. Their social is great.

I teach on the elements on how to set up social media, how to create compelling content, how to save time, how to use it for events and the power of social in this age of online influence. Tips and insights for their businesses are great.

AND YET… my own social efforts have received my sloppy seconds.

Let’s be real. When it has come to balancing what I want to do for clients, my most favoured speaking jobs, and my very sweet little family – I have not been a priority. Positioning myself and my expertise through a dedicated narrative and engagement on my digital channels could be improved significantly.

My own Quest

So I’m going to document the process of applying these strategies to my business to stand out without selling out.

The real reality check came from reading Crushin It by Gary Vaynerchuk (I’ve become a major fan and I’ll be speaking a lot about him).

If I was to summarise his view, without the swearing it would be this – If you put in a lukewarm effort, you’ll get a lukewarm result.

Or to quote him: “Talent has little value without patience and persistence. Success takes a **lot** of work (note: I removed the swear word), and the people who ultimately break through and crush it are those who get all that and go for their dreams anyway.”

It makes sense, right? Olympic athletes don’t step onto the podium for their medal wins with a lukewarm, when-they-feel-like-it kind of effort. It’s not the scraps that generate success. It’s the All-in effort sustained over time.

How to Start

Ok so what’s the first thing I’m doing to start? Hopefully to help you if you’re in the same position?

Here’s my top 3 starter tips.

1.What’s the goal?

My goal is to do more speaking and to write a book. So my goal with creating this content and documenting the outcomes, is to create the content as I go and put some energy around the research side. The other goal is to increase brand awareness and then engagement about who I am and how I help.

2.What’s the plan?

I’ve been caught out before by spending a whole day planning, and then I didn’t do any of the work! So I’m mindful not to overplan.

At the same time, if I have no plan then I know I’ll be stuck on those days when I’m busy.

So my approach was to go visual and use post it notes on a wall, so I can change it easily, it’s not a long process and I can always see where I’m up to.

Here’s short video I made on my planning attempts 🙂

3. How will I stick at it?

Ah here’s the hard part. Consistency. Curiousity may have killed the cat, but consistency killed the small business owner.

I’m just going to bloody do it. I’m so determined to do what I say I will do and write this book. I’ve got a chart on my wall, friends to cheer me on, a timeline (do it before Christmas)… and sheer determination.

The quest to stand out. How to do it and importantly how to commit to doing it. Want to join?

What works for you? Do you need an accountability partner, a system? Let’s cheer each other on. Connect on social on Facebook, Youtube and Instagram and I’ll cheer you on too.

What could you start today

ABOUT KIRRYN ZERNA

Kirryn Zerna is a speaker, facilitator and advisor. Her passion is to help businesses and leaders to stand out, without selling out, in this age of online influence. Known for her work in brand communication, strategy and future trends, what’s unique about Kirryn is her broad experience across sectors. She draws on over 15 years experience working with businesses of all sizes – from corporate, government, consulting agencies, small business and high profile individuals.