“If You Stand For Nothing, You Will Fall For Anything.”
- Jared Yellin
Do you know why most people are unclear of what they stand for?
Reason 1 - Most people make what they stand for this esoteric and elusive concept which almost no one can understand (including themselves)!
Reason 2 - Most people are unwilling to do the work it takes to dig deep into their drive, their motivation, their legacy, and why they do what they do in a REAL way.
Articulating what you stand for is one thing, but living it is an entirely different story, but it all starts with knowing.
KNOWING what you stand for allows you to become unwavering around your beliefs.
For example…
If you stand FOR toxic-free living, then there is no critic, opinion, naysayer, etc. that can change this deep rooted belief.
Their invalidation of your validation won’t matter and if anything, when they attempt to invalidate you it makes your validation only stronger.
This holds true in every important domain…
Health
Finances
Entrepreneurship
Intimacy
Parenting
Spirituality
And you will most likely stand for many things depending on the area of focus, but the one thing I stand for universally is simplifying the complexity that exists in our lives.
Complexity in my opinion is captivity and captivity is what prevents FREEDOM.
So, if I am able to simplify the complexity then I am able to experience and help others experience FREEDOM.
I am able to convey this and live this in every domain of my life and I am fanatical about finding frictionless ways to get from A to B, which is just another example of simplifying the complexity that exists.
But, there’s an extremely important realization that I had a few years ago about NOT knowing what you stand for...
If you are a LEADER, which is EVERY person on the planet (Parent, Teacher, Preacher, Entrepreneur, Executive, etc.) the lack of awareness around your stance creates pain, confusion, frustration, and INSANE levels of friction.
Because when you stand for NOTHING, you will fall for EVERYTHING...
From businesses/people who are constantly on defense (you can’t score points on defense!)...
To businesses/people who ebb and flow like a roller coaster…
To businesses/people that cannot retain any team members…
To businesses/people that are on the brink of death…
Lack of clarity of WHAT you STAND for is not only painful for you, but it is painful to watch since you are missing your North Star.
YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHY YOU EXIST
And I am the PERFECT example of this…
In 2013, SYNDUIT was a marketing agency that was NOT clear on our stance. We had 400 active clients, but then one REALLY REALLY REALLY high profile entrepreneur approached us to partner on his launch. This person was NOT our ideal client at all and his request was NOT ideal either, but remember….
When you stand for NOTHING, you will fall for EVERYTHING...
I agreed to work with this person and it literally almost killed SYNDUIT and even me.
The amount of pressure was intolerable…
The expectation of the role we would play was unimaginable…
The desired result was impossible…
And guess what…
We failed…
He failed…
And it led to pain, confusion, frustration, and INSANE levels of friction.
So much so that people on my team wanted to quit, we lost $100,000’s, and I literally burnt myself out and was sick.
The LACK of awareness around what we stood for in 2013 is the reason why we said YES to work with this person, when in reality, we stood to help John and Jane Doe small business owner save 20 hours of time a month on their marketing and 25x their investment by attracting more of the RIGHT new patient, client, or customer…
NOT…
Partner with an insane thought leader for a 7-8 figure launch…
This is just the perfect example of NOT knowing what you stand for...
Your BRAND Is Your STAND!
My dear friend. Dr. Patrick Gentempo wrote a wonderful book called Your Stand Is You Brand, and it further validates by knowing what you stand for is the difference between a business that thrives and one that suffers mightily.
But it’s even more than just your business…
It’s LIFE too…
Your family needs a stance...
Your health needs a stance…
Your career needs a stance…
Your money needs a stance…
Your spirituality needs a stance…
Etc.
Businesses who are hyper-clear on their stance in a way that is easy for them to understand and easy for others to digest are on a fast-track to success, impact, and FREEDOM!
My goal for you with this message is to help move you down the path of CRYSTAL (yes CRYSTAL) Clarity because your BRAND is your STAND - and your STAND is not the perfect shade of orange for your logo, but rather it is the reason you exist as an entrepreneur/parent/human.
Okay, so now what?
You must take action and NOT get too romantic with this exercise.
Trust me, Hallmark is not going to hire you based on what you stand for, but your IDEAL customer, client, and/or patient will so we need to get to work and I REALLY don’t want you to belabor this...just go through it without any distraction or excuses.
5 Phases Of Declaring What You Stand For
Phase 1 - What Do You Stand Against?
Phase 2 - What Has Been Consistent When Looking Back On Your Journey To Where You Stand Today?
Phase 3 - What Topics Allow You To Lose Track Of Time And Place Because You Are So Immersed?
Phase 4 - When You Lost Track Of Time And Place, How Does It Make You Feel?
Phase 5 - Define Your Stance In 10 Words Or Less And Declare… I STAND FOR ______________
What you stand for cannot be self-serving and it cannot be about your product, service, certification, parent-company, etc.
What you stand for should help people see that you are an EXPERT in what you do and that you happen to sell your product, service, etc.
Like I said earlier, I STAND TO SIMPLIFY THE COMPLEX and in everything I have ever done from entrepreneurship to personal relationships to parenting to everything I have found a way to take complex situations and break them down so that they become straightforward.
I also focus on eliminating friction and if you look at my entrepreneurial track record - that’s what I have done!
I did this as a personal trainer…
I did this with the reverse mortgage company I co-founded…
I did this with my personal development brand…
I did this with SYNDUIT…
I did this with the Annual Marketing Plan Formula...
And I am doing this with CILA LABS…
I STAND TO SIMPLIFY THE COMPLEX.
And if you even remotely know me you would agree with this statement because this is what I STAND FOR…
Phase 1 - I stand against unnecessary complexity which leads to confusion and dependency.
Phase 2 - I have consistently found ways to “hack” whatever I felt was overly complex to make it easier for people to benefit from even if it meant that I got in trouble (as seen by some of my childhood escapades).
Phase 3 - I lose track of time and place when presented with an inefficiency and ask what I would change to make the process more efficient. AND when I am a dad I totally lose track of time and place because I am so immersed with my kids!
Phase 4 - I feel like I am in my FLAME and unstoppable!
Phase 5 - I STAND TO SIMPLIFY THE COMPLEX!
Please remember…
Don’t be romantic about this process…
JUST DO IT!
GET CLEAR ON WHAT YOU STAND FOR.
And then..
SHARE IT WITH EVERYONE IN YOUR LIFE…
Who accepts the challenge?
Live with Intention,
