So, safety nets are fun, huh?
Today, I want to talk about confidence and what it means to be a copywriter, because I just realized yesterday what both of them are, at least in my world.
Before I got into this whole 'copywriting thing,' I thought that being a copywriter was just about writing. Then I found out it's a lot more about meetings. Then I found out it wasn't writing, it was about vision. I realized this after a few people were filling in a sheet of descriptions for a campaign and a lot of them were filled in, "generic _______ this and generic _________ that." How will a generic picture of something sell something? Usually, it won't.
And don't get me wrong. In no way am I saying that anyone else is less important or that copywriters are better, I'm just saying we see things differently and it's something I've always known about myself. I guess that's what I'm saying, when you see a log, I see a boat.
I'm realizing more and more that safety nets are worthless and make you look weak, at least when you're speaking about something. Even the line in the last paragraph when I said, "I guess that's what I'm saying," isn't as strong as just stating, "when you see a log, I see a boat." Over the past two days, I've sat down with each of the co-founders of the advertising agency I work for, and they taught me something. They know what they want to say and they say it. They don't question themselves. They are comfortable with who they are and even if they're not, that's how they hold themselves.
Something I'm going to start working on is to stop giving warnings about the things that I want to tell people. When I did the reading from my book a few weeks ago, I warned everyone that I was going to be shocking, that I might offend them, etc, instead of just reading. When I'm in brainstorm sessions, I say, "This is kinda out there, but..." instead of just clearly stating my vision. Instead of wasting my time with warnings, I need to just say it, forget the safety net, and drop the bomb.
Perception is reality and I want to be perceived as knowing my shit, being able to back it up, and eventually, believing in myself enough to not have to try to show it and just be it.
You don't have to agree with me, and in some ways, I hope you don't. Shoot me an email, or comment here, I'd love to start a discussion.
Thanks for reading,
Jason
