Lean into discomfort and reach for something big in 2024!

Last fall, I hit a bit of a rough patch – I was laid off for the second time in two years right before the holidays. Talk about bad timing, right? It knocked the wind out of my sails for a bit. But then, I thought, why not take a chance on myself and turn this around?

So, I started learning all sorts of new stuff, getting my hands dirty with the latest tech like A/I and Search Engine Optimization. The best part? I began using all these newfound skills to help folks grow their businesses. I went from helping out friends and family for free to charging clients for my services. It was a bit of a leap, stepping into the unknown and all, but hey, it paid off! I went from doing a few favors here and there to running my own growing business.

Just goes to show that sometimes those curveballs life throws at us can lead to some pretty amazing places. Who knew, right? 🚀🌟

I know that a lot of you have had challenges this year. Bad things have happened. Terrible news has been received. But, I want you to take time the rest of this year to think of ways to bet on yourself. Lean into discomfort and reach for something big in 2024!

Something to Think About - Embracing the 'What If' Mindset

The most profound breakthroughs often start with a simple question: “What if?” This question is the cornerstone of experimentation, urging us to challenge our preconceptions and explore new possibilities. It’s a call to think creatively, to question the norm, and to envision what could be, rather than what is.

Contemplate this mindset and how it applies to your business and ask questions like these?

• What if I approached a longstanding problem from a new angle?

• What if I dared to try something entirely new, even if it seemed risky?

• What if I took a chance on myself?

Take a moment sometime soon and reflect on how the 'What if' mindset can revolutionize your approach to business challenges.

This Week’s Main Quest - The Impact of Strategic Experimentation: A/B Testing

Strategic experimentation is key to uncovering the most effective strategies. This week, your main quest is to engage in one of the most fundamental and powerful forms of experimentation: A/B testing.

Don’t worry. I’ll explain what that is. Just hang out with me for a minute. It’ll all make sense.

Simply put, A/B testing is a method where you compare two versions of a variable (like a web page, email, or ad) to see which one performs better. You change one aspect of the content while keeping everything else constant. This lets you allowing you figure out how much that single change affected things.

Here's what I want you to do: Choose an aspect of your business where you can apply A/B testing. It might be testing two different headlines for an email campaign, two versions of a landing page, or two promotional offers. Run these two versions simultaneously, ensuring that the audience for each is similar and that other conditions are controlled. By comparing the performance of each version, you’ll gain valuable insights into what resonates with your audience. Here are instructions for some popular platforms like Facebook and Mailchimp. There is even a plugin for your Wordpress site!

The beauty of A/B testing is in its simplicity and its power to provide clear, actionable data. It takes the guesswork out of decision-making and helps you to refine your strategies based on real-world feedback. Give it a shot!

This Week’s Side Quest - Exploring the Frontiers of Technology

Staying on top of technological advancements is crucial In today’s fast-paced world. This week, let’s revisit ChatGPT. Let’s focus, in particular, on its intriguing value in content creation. AI tools like ChatGPT are not just changing the way we generate content; they are reshaping our approach to creativity and problem-solving. Your quest this week is to explore how you can use ChatGPT to enhance your content creation process.

Let me start by saying that I don’t want you to just open up Chat GPT and type “Write me a blog post about X.” That’s a terrible plan that will need awful results. (Trust me. I tried it. It was a hot mess.)

Instead, I would like you to practice using Chat GPT to help you brainstorm content ideas. You can use short prompts like the ones below:

Industry-Specific Ideas: "Can you provide social media content ideas for a [industry type] business?

Product Promotion: "I need creative ways to promote our new [product/service] on social media."

Engagement Boosters: "What are some engaging post ideas to increase interaction on our social media pages?"

Seasonal Campaigns: "Suggest social media campaign ideas for [upcoming season/holiday]."

This is a great way to get a jump start on creative work and can help save you hours every week!

Story Content - Re-Introduce Yourself!

This one is fast and easy. I want you go find your biggest social media account and write a post introducing yourself. The post should say who you are, what you do, and why you do it (Think back to last week’s storytelling quests and use some of that work for this quest!)

Something to Remember - Reframing Failure in the Context of Experimentation)

It’s important to reframe our understanding of failure. Failures can be short-term negative outcomes that spark great results. You just have to see them for what they are: information and invaluable sources of insight. They can teach us what doesn’t work and guide us toward more effective strategies and solutions.

I know. It’s going to be hard to step into, but this alternative perspective will encourage a mindset of risk-taking and learning. We foster an environment where innovation can thrive when we view failure as a stepping stone rather than a stumbling block.

So let’s start viewing each failed experiment as a lesson; a necessary part of the journey toward success.