“It’s taken me all my life to learn what not to play.”
— John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie
Let’s say you’re good at the job. Really good, in fact. And let’s say that other people who do what you do could probably benefit from your advice. Let’s even stipulate that they would pay for it. Thousands of dollars, and it’d be totally worth it.
No so far-fetched a scenario in my world. In fact, it’s pretty common.
But how do you get from point “A” to point “B?”
Well, that’s the tricky part. If you wanted to find out, you’d probably ask, “what do I need to do?”
That isn’t a bad question, but first I think you may need to stop doing some things…
Stop pretending your audience is more advanced than they are.
Stop thinking you have to be entirely original.
Stop making the mistake that you don’t need to be entertaining and interesting.
Stop believing that you’re not smart enough.
Stop thinking that your audience innately sees the value in what you have to say.
Sometimes, it’s not what you need to start doing to get to the next level, but what you need to stop doing.