Big-Time

Have you guys ever met the Internet’s BFF, Elyse Myers? She’s got quite the following on TikTok and is truly the girl next door. She’s someone you’d want your sons to date, and you’d want her to be at every Girl’s Night Out because she’s just pure, unadulterated fun. I fangirl over Elyse Myers for sure!

One of the sweatshirts she sells, that I will get my hands on one of these days, is based on a 20-second video that she created that’s legitimately been viewed millions of times—it’s called, Go Find Less.

I love this concept because I’ve always been that ‘go-big-or-go-home’ kinda gal, and well, I’m already home. I know I’m over-the-top. I know I always go above-and-beyond. Trust me, I know. That’s just how I was made. I’ve been like this since I was a kid. I can't not.

My mom didn’t make the poster board chore chart when we were growing up, I did. My friends didn’t organize the neighborhood Summer Olympics, that was me. My sister didn’t create a Dewey Decimal System to check out the clothes in my closet, that was me who was forced to share my sweaters. I’m a lot.

Luckily, I found a husband who gets me. You can see him playing the role of Vanna White in this pic as he demonstrates exactly how huge this clock is that I made out of 5 X 7 and 8 X 10 picture frames with pictures of our two boys many moons ago. Since that time, I’ve just updated the pictures and this big-time clock still greets everyone who visits the Brown Bungalow today.

Perhaps this is a good reminder that Daylight Saving Time springs forward this coming Sunday for those state who participate. While I do find the whole time-change concept an act of torture, I do appreciate the extra daylight because my body sure does need the Vitamin D after this dark, dreary winter. But I also appreciate that extra hour of time we get each Spring. It’s a gift of time and time is big.

Whether you get that extra hour or not, it’s a good reminder to make every moment count. Invest it in yourself—self-care is highly under-rated. Invest it in someone else—Unreasonable Hospitable was my first read this year and I’ve been delightfully practicing it already. It’s been so much fun!

If necessary, write your own Marketing Manifesto or a personal mission statement like Jerry McGuire did. Just be true to yourself. And if anyone thinks it’s too much, just smile and tell them to ‘Go Find Less’ compliments of me and Elyse Myers.

There are many lessons to be applied to left and right brain marketing when it comes to thinking big. After all, our missions are super-sized and it’s our job to do all we can because those we serve need our help big-time.

 
Left Brain Marketing Methods: In sports, these would be considered fundamentals. You have to have a solid foundation to build on. Start here.

Right Brain Marketing Moxie: Once the fundamentals are mastered, you can add a splash of personality, nuance, character, and moxie. Build here.

The clock’s ticking, let’s go!

Left Brain Marketing Methods:  As we near a favorite season by many, not spring but March Madness, it seems like a good time to quote legendary basketball coach, John Wooden, who said, “Success is peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you’re capable”. Sounds a bit like going big or going home, doesn’t it? This non-sporty gal is brain crushing on John Wooden!

As you may know, Wooden spent decades identifying the characteristics and traits that he believed helped identify a successful person, on or off the court.  His version was called the “Pyramid of Success” and it consists of 25 common behaviors that are nice independently, but together are game changers. It's sort of mind-blowing to think that this triangular diagram of amazingness has been around since 1948 and hasn’t lost its luster.  

The base begins here with Industriousness, Friendship, Loyalty, Cooperation, and Enthusiasm.  In other words, work hard, build relationships, show respect, work together, and enjoy what you do. If that’s too much to ask, go find less.

Coach Wooden created this as a roadmap to find your way in life and the next level looks like this:  Ambition, Self-Control, Alertness, Initiative, Intentness, and Sincerity. You might say, ardent desire, discipline, open-mindedness, active thinking, determination, and authenticity. Seem like a lot, go find less.

If you think about it, those how know where they want to go always have a roadmap, it’s an amazing way to leave a legacy. That’s why the level of the pyramid stacks well on top of the first two:  Adaptability, Condition, Skill, Team Spirit, and Honesty. Who doesn’t want to work with someone else who can practice pivots, trains wisely, execute their skill, thinks of others, and can be trusted? I do! Those who don't can go find less.


It's awesome to me that Wooden wrote this for his basketball players but that it’s applicable to life itself.  He was go-big-or-go-home big time!

Right Brain Marketing Moxie:  It’s true that left brain marketing methods can be used alone. And the same can be said for right brain marketing moxie. But combined, <<mwaaahhh>> chef’s kiss! The bottom of the Pyramid of Success and the top work much the same way—they are truly better together.

At the top of the Pyramid you’ll find Resourcefulness, Poise, Confidence, and Reliability. Also, Fight, Competitive Greatness, Integrity, Faith, and Patience. In many ways, this list isn’t as tangible, is harder to define and tougher to grasp—more right brained.

Clever conclusions, grace under fire, firm trust, and consistence performance are a bit more slippery to grab but important just the same. Grit, enjoying the grind, moral uprightness, compete trust, and endurance are certainly admirable but more difficult to master.

Clearly, Wooden’s diagram was simply a roadmap to being a better person—a worthy lifelong goal for nonprofit ninja like you.

As I write this blog this week, I'm rewatching Ted Lasso Seasons 1 and 2. Season 3 comes out on March 15^th and I cannot wait. Lasso certainly adopted the Pyramid of Success developed by Coach Wooden. In many ways, Lasso was a quirky, living pyramid of success. But people would often say that Ted’s constant optimism was too much. And maybe they’ll tell you that, too, as you seek to become a better all-around person. Don't sweat it. The world needs more people like you—big time! So, keep building your pyramid, that's your legacy. And if anyone accuses you of being too much, just tell them to kick sand and go find less.

 All My Best,

Dawn
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dawn brown creative, llc.