Beware the ascot head-butt
It’s a favourite of mine: scrambled eggs and smoked salmon (on brown toast).
In some parts of the world it’s called Eggs Ascot.
I walked into the Moran Hotel, looking for my host.
She wasn’t difficult to spot. One of the most memorable smiles on the Financial Services circuit.
We settled down, with eggs on order.
“Well, you called the meeting.” she started. “What’s on your mind?”
My cue.
I waxed lyrical about the possibilities and opportunities of working more closely together.
I stopped for breath as my Eggs Ascot arrived.
She smiled at me. That smile. And responded…
“Dave, that all sounds great. Really it does.”
I held my breath. I could distinctly hear a “But…”
I was right.
“But… I don’t think I want to work any closer with you.”
“What!” I blurted out.
“Then what on earth am I doing up here in Chiswick at this ridiculous hour?!”
“It’s a good question.” she calmly continued.
“So, let me explain why I’m saying what I’m saying.”
With a mouthful of toast and smoked salmon, what else could I do but listen?
“The problem with you, Mr Scarlett, is that you’ve lost track of who you are.
You’ve become really boring, just like the rest of the consultants dropping into this market.”
And then the neat head-butt followed.
“You’ve gone all Marketing-Schmarketing in the last few years.
And you sound no different to anyone else.
I’ll say it again: Reeeaaally boring.”
With a delicate coup de grace to follow…
“Whatever happened to The Soul Millionaire, eh?
You know. The spiritual, quirky, interesting guy that people were talking about.”
Finally, the ultimatum.
“When I see you going back to being that guy… THEN I’ll be happy to talk to you.
In the meantime, I need to get to another meeting quickly.
So, I’ll just sip this coffee, pay the bill, and leave you to finish your scrambled eggs.”
And she was gone.
There are so many voices.
They flood us with their information,
They smother us with their opinion.
On top of which every Best Practice Meeting tells us “This is how you do it. Just copy me.”
We think that by copying their Best Practices, we’ll become successful and happier too.
It seldom works that way.
The passion and innovation flows when I decide:
-
Who I really am;
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Who I want to become;
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and Why I believe I’m here.
When I uncover the answers to those three questions…
Then commit to doing something about them…
It is then that I can create s business which is uniquely meaningful, even life-changing.
