Are you too close to the glass?
Your view always gets clearer when you step away for a minute. A reminder to change perspective on occasion.
Someone recently put up a post in the Freelance Jungle group asking for opinions on the proposed front lawn sign for their business.
Most people talked about:
Font choices
Colours
Indentations
The similarity to the real estate or construction industry (a far more common sign found outside a house than a business one) also dominated the discussion.
Zooming out, this was my response:
I'd probably be more inclined to interact with something that said....
You're passing <COMPANY> HQ
Your local one-stop shop for all things graphic & web design, video, animation, and sound.
Discover my work now!
<add QR Code to scan that goes straight to website show reel or portfolio page that has a sample project in each category>
Head to <URL> for more.
Also, customise the web landing page from the QR code to say, "Hello neighbour, thanks for dropping by!" and then show the show reel with an invite to have coffee and a chat at the local cafe.
Image: thumping against the same problem gets you nowhere.
Today is another day
I was pleased with myself for Zooming out on the other person’s marketing. When it came to my own today however, I didn’t have the same wherewithal. I’d been trying to setup some sassy new coaching products all day. And I’d fallen into the trap of telling myself, “just this last thing, then you can stop.”
You know the deal - you build, you hustle, you get over the excitement, and then you just want the bloody thing to be born!
Anyway, you can guess what happened. The minute I faced a problem, I didn’t Zoom out. And I spent two hours mentally reversing and running straight into the exact same block. It wasn’t until I gave up, fed the pets, and did something else entirely that I figured out the solution wasn’t in trying to get out of the locked gate. It lay in realising there wasn’t a fence to begin with.
The next time it isn’t working
Forget about what you’ve already encountered or created. It’s clear that isn’t shifting.
Instead, zoom out and look around the blockage you’ve encountered. Take the pressure off. And let your brain stop focussing on the problem or a solution to notice other things.
You’ll be surprised what you see when you shift perspective.