The Strangest Secret

It’s the middle of the day, and this is my “lunch break.” We have an exciting breaking story for client #1 with Red Herring magazine, a great publication if there ever was one. We’ve scored in the neighborhood of 16-18 interview opportunities for these folks, but we are not done yet.

If there is a client #1, then there is a client #2. And there is, kicking off next week. And so ends the first week of Livingston Communications, LLC.

I keep thinking of the audio file that I listened to yesterday in the car, Earl Nightingale’s “The Strangest Secret.” This guy’s 1950s era record launched the sales motivation industry. Anyway, the record really says that the Strangest Secret is that you can train your mind to achieve goals. He focusses on total commitment to achieving a goal, and creating a positive mindset towards this objective. Nightingale talks about visualizing success, which is defined as working towards an ideal.

Next week is a big week. Have our first major pitch, and we’re going against some very large players in the area. We are suffering from credibility issues as a start-up, so the messaging really needs to be targeted towards to overcoming this client objection.

Regardless of outcome, I think we have the best solution compared to the others. It’s about going out there and competing, learning to win, to succeed. Like Earl says, I can visualize it. I see my office, my team of 10 plus practitioners, my happy clients, my relaxed, confident demeanor as I realize that the agency is established.

After this afternoon, I will be in NYC for a writer’s conference, and then a weekend with the wife in Manhattan. I am taking her to the Metropolitan Opera to see Puccini’s Tosca as a gift for our first wedding anniversary. She’s never been to the Met, and I am sure she will be stunned by the Chagall paintings, the gold trim, the red carpet and the Austrian crystal.

It will be good to get a brief bit of R&R, it’s been non-stop for 6 weeks. Need to recharge so that Monday I am fresh.