“Fear is excitement without the breath. The very same mechanisms that produce excitement also produce fear, and any fear can be transformed into excitement by breathing fully with it.”
The preceding quote touches on something I try to tell my team every morning: Life gets scary when you break barriers! The road to success can be narrow and treacherous but when you embrace fear, it acts as a propeller that pushes us to that “next level” of success, love and happiness.
I’ll get back to that in a minute…
As the Director of Media, my immediate responsibilities pertain to managing the growth and execution of media advertising across three fronts: Traditional Media, Digital Media and Social Media. This can be a very challenging yet equally rewarding task, given the different dynamics that intertwine between these three “media heads” as I like to call them. Each form of advertising focuses on a different touch point with the consumer, which finds them in a different physical setting, state of mind and ultimately a different level of intent to engage with an ad. This also means that the people I manage on the front lines, executing the advertising campaigns head on, need to be in tune with the consumer’s receptiveness to the very message they are tailoring.
With that said, I deal with a group of very different personalities on a daily basis. The one common trait among all of them is clear: they are all winners. People who have a drive to win are easy for me to understand and manage, as my competitive drive is a key factor in to what has put me in this position early in my professional career. Managing that competitive drive can be challenging as well, given that the same traits which makes us good at what we do can also work against us at times. We are all our own harshest critics, and that can easily take a toll on the mind over time!
As a leader, I try to hone in on that competitive drive and use it to bring out the best of people. A winner remains a winner even in his or her losses, because part of their fabric is the ability to analyze, assess, learn and grow from their mistakes. Starting the day with a positive outlook on life is great, but not every day is full of sunshine (although living in FL I must say we are a bit spoiled). I always try to remind my team that in life there are no peaks without valley; and just when you think you’ve given up, things usually find a way to turn around for the best. At Bottom Line Marketing, we never give up and we fight the good fight by always doing what is best for the client; because that is what has always returned the favor back unto us.
By now you may have forgotten the quote I started this entry with, or maybe you are still wondering how this all ties in to what I am writing about. I’d like to share some insight on a book that has helped me tremendously along the way. Someone close to me, who I greatly respect and admire, recently recommended “The Big Leap” by Gay Hendricks. This book has expanded my perspective on life in key areas as it touches on many of the various hurdles people go through along the never-ending path to success in work, relationships and other facets of life. The author talks about the “Upper Limit Problem” … a concept best described as the human nature of sabotaging their own success. In essence, we all have an internal “success thermometer”, and usually once we get close to our pre-set “upper limit” of happiness, love and success, we subconsciously find a way to bring ourselves back down; only then aspiring to reach that upper limit once again. This is something I have felt time and time again in my career with such rapid growth as I’ve seen other people go through it as well. Within the span of 2 ½ years, I went from Junior Media Buyer to Senior Media Buyer and ultimately Director of Media Advertising. Best believe I have felt quite a bit of “upper limiting” along the way! Although I have taken several big “hops” towards that finish line which I foolishly perceived was approaching, the more I grow the more I realize that success is truly not a linear journey. This is a topic of discussion I’ve shared with certain people on the same journey and there is a great deal of comfort in knowing that we are not alone in this.
The goal is ultimately to breach that upper limit and enter your “zone of genius”, where you capitalize on the essence of your strengths and maximize your potential in all areas of your life, thus experiencing a level of success, love and happiness that you may have never thought was attainable. This is an ongoing process that takes a lifetime of practice, but just like anything else in life, the more you practice, the easier it comes back to you. The main benefit I’ve found as I continue to evolve is the ability to give 100% of my focus, love and attention to every area of my life, without allowing the stress and recoil of the issues I may face in those respective areas overlap unto others.
I am currently in the process of re-reading this book and would strongly recommend it to anyone looking to reach that next level of success, love and happiness in their life. I firmly believe this has helped me grow as a person and has directly impacted my ability to manage in the workplace.
The Bottom Line:
I’ll leave you the same way I welcomed you, with a quote that I hope resonates with you today and for many days to come:
“In my life I’ve discovered that if I cling to the notion that something’s not possible, I’m arguing in favor of limitation. And if I argue for my limitations, I get to keep them.”
Never limit yourself… there are enough people in this world already trying to do that for you. Just when you think you’ve given up… step back and realize that you are only getting started!
Respectfully yours,
Gus Garcia
Director of Media