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When we WAIT to do important business-building tasks like marketing, we find ourselves engaging in unnecessary battles. To illustrate this concept, I share a story about how freezing rain prevented me from going to the gym.
Here in Colorado, we’ve had an Arctic blast of cold air floating in and out of our winter days. Last week, it was particularly icy.
It was a week night, and I planned to go to the gym before it closed. I had procrastinated going earlier in the day, and so I thought I’d catch a late night session.
When I got outside to start my car, I discovered a thick layer of ice had frozen over everything, including the windows. It was impossible to scrape off. Meanwhile, the road was so slick, I could slide on it with my shoes.
Freezing rain had come down, coating everything with ice.
I’m one of those people for whom NOT going to the gym is more painful than going. So of course, I tried to scrape the ice off my car. Probably would have been safer to stay home, rather than drive on six miles worth of potentially frozen roads, but I stubbornly insisted on at least trying to scrape the ice off the windows.
Fifteen minutes later, the car was warmed up. My total cumulative efforts to scrape the ice off my car was substantial. I put my whole back into it. I put my arms into it. I fought nonstop. But still, the ice didn’t budge. The fruits of my efforts consisted of one tiny portion of ice scraped off the front windshield.
Meanwhile, the clock was ticking. Each minute I spent scraping ice was a minute I’d lose at the gym.
“This isn’t happening,” I told myself.
Achieve important tasks sooner, rather than later.
I felt robbed. I LOVE going to the gym, working my body, and rewarding myself with a sit in in the dry sauna, where I bask in 180-degree heat. Being robbed of this delightful ritual sucks!
Of course, I wasn’t ‘robbed.’ I could have gone earlier in the day. I could have prioritized the gym by going when the sun was out, the temperature was warmer, and before the freezing rain had a chance to pour down.
My mistake of WAITING yielded me a task that was impossible to achieve.
It yielded me a battle that was impossible to win: me vs the impenetrable layer of ice.
I could have avoided the whole fiasco simply by going earlier in the day.
What’s the best use of our time and energy in the organic industry? Is it to fight furiously against something hard and impenetrable that will vanish tomorrow anyway?
Or would our efforts be better spent prioritizing the daily marketing of OUR business?
Ironically, I knew the ice would be melted by tomorrow. And yet, in my stubbornness, I was expending tons of effort trying to scrape it off.
I find that many pro-organic companies are doing a similar thing when it comes to achieving their goals. They’re wasting time trying to ‘fight the enemies,’ rather than beefing up their own marketing.
The longer we put off important business-growing tasks (like marketing), the more likely we’ll face an impenetrable wall of resistance later on.
In my case, the important task I put off was going to the gym earlier in the day. I paid for my procrastination in the form of a missed workout.
Organic companies need to step up their marketing before it’s too late.
Currently, the majority of the world’s money is going towards food that slowly kills: fast food, processed food, GMO food, food that depletes the soil, food that’s created using chemicals that kills the bees.
Our economy is built around food that is literally killing us.
This scary fact represents a seemingly impenetrable ‘wall,’ much like the stubborn ice on my car. Seems like nothing could ever break it down or penetrate it.
And yet many people are expending effort trying to break down the wall. Everywhere you turn, someone’s launching a war against Monsanto, boycotting companies that refuse to support GMO labeling, or exposing a company’s bad behavior.
It’s like me trying to scrape through the ice, instead of waiting for it to melt tomorrow when the sun it out.
We can expend tons of effort trying to scrape through something hard, frozen, and impenetrable. Or we can wait until it warms up and melts.
We can spend our time fighting against those who’ve built up the wall – campaigning protesting, waging wars, etc. – or we can focus our energy on increasing the power of OUR businesses. We can focus our attention on increase OUR marketing. In fact, not only CAN we do this – we MUST do this.
Many good companies wait to do their marketing until it’s too late. They put off this important work, then find themselves stuck later.
Don’t wait until the last minute to do your marketing. Don’t wait until it’s too late to create irresistible campaigns that warm the hearts of people who will benefit from hearing your message.
Address this issue sooner, rather than later.
The “heat” of our consistent, daily actions towards some goal will eventually melt away any icy walls of impossibility that once seemed daunting and ominous.
After determining that my gym sesh would not be happening, I walked back into the house and resolved to exercise anyway. I did some pilates, push-ups, and squats. I still got a good sweat on. By the next day, the ice on my car had mostly melted. A powerful force known as the sun, is the one who won the battle against the ice.
About the Author
Michelle Lopez is a copywriter and marketing consultant for organic/natural product companies with a strong message and mission. She helps independent companies strengthen their marketing efforts, improve their sales copy, reach more people, sell more products online, and create lifelong fans. Michelle is also the host and creator of The Organic CEO podcast, available on iTunes and Stitcher Radio.
Michelle Lopez is a writer, editor, and copywriter with a BA in English/Creative Writing from the University of Colorado at Boulder.