When I think of being picked my mind goes back to adolescent days of being chosen last to play schoolyard football. I hadn’t started lifting weights yet, so I was among the most scrawny kids in the neighborhood. That didn’t last long though. By age 14 I was lifting weights, running track, and playing league football. Soon everybody wanted me on their team. But the damage had already been done; I’d developed the mindset of wanting to be picked.
For a long time now societal success has been based on the idea of waiting for someone else to notice you. Submit your resume and wait for HR to pick you for an interview. Send your manuscript to 200 publishers and hope one picks you. Pray, pray, pray that Oprah picks you to appear on her show (even her new less popular show).
But those days are gone. Today you can pick yourself.
Pick Yourself Examples
Yesterday, I saw on the news that Justin Bieber earned $55 million dollars last year. If you don’t know Justin picked himself (actually his mother picked him) by skipping record industry gatekeepers and producing videos of him singing on YouTube. Turns out some guy named Usher liked the kids voice.
Twenty something Amanda Hocking is a top selling author. She’s making a million dollars, without a publisher, selling her books directly via Amazon. She lets her friends and fans know about her projects via her blog and social media outlets.
Why You Must Pick Yourself Now
Because picking yourself has become easier to do than ever, therefore more people are. That means spaces where you can get your message out are filling up fast. As more blogs pop up, more videos go on YouTube, etc, you’ll have a more difficult time getting your message to spread. The time to pick yourself is now – literally right now.
What You Need To Pick Yourself
All you need to skip gatekeepers is access to a computer, an Internet connection, and the courage to pick yourself. YouTube wants to help you do a video, Amazon wants to help you publish a book, WordPress wants to give you a platform to spread your ideas, and Google wants to tell the world about you – all for free.
Bam! You’re now empowered to pick yourself. So what’s holding you back?
Big thanks to Seth Godin for providing the language to all us to frame and articulate this idea.