St. Patty’s Day is one of my favorite holidays. Not just because I am Irish, although that is reason enough. And definitely not because I am counting on the “luck of the Irish.” On March 17th, I am reminded to take back control and work hard where it matters. Surprised?
This day began as a celebration of St. Patrick’s hard work driving all the snakes out of Ireland. Eventually in America, it transformed into a celebration of all things Irish. A day to recognize one’s heritage and roots. Of course, many of us think of tricky leprechauns with pots of gold, which if you follow the rainbow are based on luck. Great. But if we spend all of our precious time hunting for four leaf clovers, we are doing it all wrong; especially when it comes to marketing.
Personally, I don’t like leaving my life to pure luck. I recognize when luck happens upon me for what it is “darn lucky,” then thank the gods for its fortune. The more comfortable place for me to live comes from doing all I can to actively change the tides for those around me and myself. So, let’s get back to the roots. They don’t call us the fighting Irish for nothing. We fight for what we want.
What does that translate to when it comes to marketing? RESULTS.
No one likes doing activities just for the sake of doing. What a waste. Pure foolishness. Yet when it comes to marketing that is exactly what many entrepreneurs do. Funny, because this group more than any others knows that to succeed it takes barrels and barrels of elbow grease. For example, doing a blog is not a check the box activity. Although having a best practices marketing checklist to guide you is smart. What you say in your marketing and how people take it affects your business in more ways than one. If it didn’t, then you wouldn’t think you should be doing it at all.
The point is to work hard on what you have in front of you. Cutting corners does not serve a purpose. If there is too much in front of you take the time to make it easier by using productive tools (such as a marketing tactical plan) or by lessening what is on your plate (shift or share it). It is better to under promise and over deliver than over promise and under deliver.
To take this further let’s look at another interesting fact about this grand holiday born from Ireland which is based on a saying that emerged from the mining days in American history. “Luck of the Irish” meant extremely good fortune. Irish immigrants diligently digging away in mines became known for striking it rich. Oddly, this was viewed as merely being luck versus hard work. Sounds like an excuse to me for others lack of focus.
Anyway, when you have your green beer in hand this St. Patrick’s Day I leave you with this cheers,
“As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters be facing the right way.”
Then get up the next day and sand the darn thing to make it happen! Luck of the Irish, for goodness sakes, what a fairy tale.
*Photo Credit Thank you to Lisa @ Sierra Tierra
