What means to what end?
Which is the means and which is the end goal for you? (The real versions, the ones you’d admit to yourself, in private, in the depths of your heart — even if you’d change it while at work.)
For years, I would never admit this to even my most trusted friends and mentors, which in turn meant I wouldn’t really admit it to myself. The result? I was miserable working in marketing. I wasn’t thriving, and I couldn’t find my tribe.
I looked around and so most marketers essentially claimed this:
The means is to create great content, because the end goal is achieved: selling stuff.
They didn’t see themselves reflected in their content. They didn’t feel a deeper sense of service, or some kind of primal calling, to make or to serve. For me, my identity and my fulfillment were tied up in how much time I could spend making — and to what degree I controlled the project. I got into this to self-express, to get better, and to use those burgeoning skills to help others.
My industry? Not all, but many I met just saw content as a way to trigger the outcome. If it wasn’t content, it was something else. It didn’t matter. Whatever helped hit the numbers.
I saw it the exact opposite way:
Selling stuff is my means to enable me to achieve my end goal: a career creating great content.
Yes, I have to ensure some of what I do is commercial. It moves books, speeches, consulting, and soon, educational workshops for marketers making shows. (Late 2020, maybe…)
And yes, I recognize that being a “professional” means figuring out the money side of the work. Nobody is going to continue to fund a vehicle that takes resources away, never returning anything.
But ALSO yes: The reason I want to sell things is so I can afford to make things. I don’t want so badly to sell things that I would give up making things to find another means to an end.
The reason this is so important for each of us to figure out is we generally shift our means, but stay firm on the ends we seek. My marketing colleagues would just as soon switch from writing articles to running ads, or from podcasting to event sponsorships — so long as they led to sales leads or closed deals. Me, I was always firm: If it wasn’t for this content stuff, I wouldn’t be in marketing at all.
It just took me awhile to be willing to admit that to myself and, more importantly, out loud to others.
I’d encourage you to think harder about whether you’re staying quiet about your real objectives too.
I believe: When we make the process the goal instead of end results, we get better end results. The process is the object, not the numbers. The numbers are byproducts of a great process, a craft well-honed, a willingness to stick your neck out consistently to try and create.
I don’t make stuff to sell stuff. I sell stuff so I can invest more of my time making stuff.
It may feel like a mental gymnastics move. How can we make the process the goal, while still wanting to see results, or work with others who want those results?
Well, for starters, we can look the truth in the face. What is your means, and to what end? We need to know both. They coexist. It’s just a matter of priorities, and of which we will compromise on … and which we won’t.
Ask yourself: What is your means, and to what end?
When you answer, just ensure it’s actually the truth.
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