"Who's permission do I need?"

The answer is no one's...but yours.

While I've started a podcast, newsletter, and other weird, risky behaviors, I still battle with this. I don't lead, share an idea, or take the initiative because I'm waiting for permission. 

It ain't coming. I'm learning that and leaning into it.

Enjoy this week's letter:

A Micro Idea On Marketing 💡
S2E11: Podcasts + Storytelling Ft. Timber Smith & Andy Anaam

Time to Listen: 44:30
——

The best marketing creates positive change.

When marketing collides with community advancement, that's the sweet spot. And it's where my two guests today reside.

Timber (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Coordinator) and Andy (Communications & Public Engagement Manager) are the hosts of the Appleton Engaged Podcast and work for the City of Appleton.

While this was my first time having TWO guests on, it went waaay better than planned.

In our conversation, we discuss:

1. How understanding your audience and context is crucial for effective marketing and communication.

2. Storytelling as a powerful marketing tool for creating impactful content and building relationships.

3. Collaboration leads to more successful marketing strategies by bringing in diverse perspectives.

4. How podcasting is an effective platform for sharing stories and resources and building community engagement.

5. The importance of pursuing hobbies and interests outside of work

Listen to the podcast episode

Three Books / Three Quotes

"Who is this person? This is the question all stories ask." – Will Stor (The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better)

While true with fiction (stories), I believe this is true in marketing.

The "person" can be the brand: Who is this brand? What do they stand for? Or the customer: Who are they becoming? What do they want to achieve?

The best content involves providing context to answer this question. Mainly for the audience (customer). This could include providing a better way or playbooks to thrive in this new "landscape."

What's essential is change. Like you and me, the answer to that question will continually change.

Continue providing insights to answer this question in your marketing.

//

"Doing well by doing good is no longer just a competitive advantage. It's becoming a business imperative." – (NEW) Marc Benioff & Monica Langley (Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change)

I'm a harsh book critic. And this book, sadly, was meh.

BUT...it had some insights others in business need to hear. One of those is that we must strive to do good for the people and planet as businesses.

It's not a "nice-to-have" but a necessity moving forward.

As the youth ages and begins working, this will only increase in importance. Is your business ready for this world?

//

"I now consider exercise to be the most potent longevity "drug" in our arsenal for lifespan and healthspan." – Peter Attia, MD (Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity)

I'll be honest: I'm not perfect with exercise. No one is.

But I see and appreciate its impact on my life. I strive to include daily movement and frequent workouts/runs.

It's accessible to all. But it requires effort and commitment, which costs a lot. It's not easy, but it will do much for your life.

I consider exercise part of "work" as I routinely come up with ideas or provide me the energy to attack tasks later. 

From the book: Exercise's most essential components:

• Strength

• Stability

• Aerobic efficiency

• Peak aerobic capacity

Again, I love this book. If you want to nerd out on health and living longer, READ THIS.

Heard / Saw / Experienced

Heard:

"It's more for followers of Christ than it is for the world."

My grandma was talking about the Parable of the Sower. For a while, I thought the parable was about salvation and more of a one-time thing for the world. I was wrong.

It's for every single moment. It's about being open and in a state of wonder, about being able to receive the seed (opportunity) God drops.

Ask yourself this question frequently: What soil am I being right now?

"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear." – Matthew 13:3-9.

Saw:

My brother and his son love WWE. This has brought me more into that world.

I was scrolling through YouTube Shorts and watched this video on how wrestler Rhea Ripley made a small decision that resulted in standing out.

She was blond, and as the video says, she looked like everyone else on the roster. Unlike everyone else, she was into goth and metal, which was different.

Like with good marketing, she leaned into her difference and now stands out.

"She chose to drastically change her look, embrace who she truly was, and stop hiding it."

Watch the minute clip here:

Experienced:

I know Easter is over. But it's a holiday I've come to adore more and more.

Slightly cause I love sugar and eating Easter treats, but mainly because of the meaning behind Christ's sacrifice.

On Good Friday, I went to Central Church in Green Bay, where they hold a yearly walk-through experience. It's always a chance to contemplate what the sacrifice means to me. My friend Daniel Reed and his team put it on and did a fabulous job.

One of the many ideas the experience reminded me of was the power of humbleness. The story of Christ was a victory through humble means (defeat). It's a story I can get behind.

It's not a story of "winning" in the usual Trump-chanting manner. Through defeat, becoming the scapegoat, we can have freedom.

The freedom to look inward, to stop scapegoating. The power to do the inner work so we don't play those tiny (and deadly) games.

It's 2024, and we are still killing each other. We still have much to learn from Christ's story.

Thank you for making it this far 🙏 

Stay well until next time.

– Jo (every second counts)