By John Gollnick
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July 20, 2021
Quote: “What is marketing? Placing ideas in peoples’ minds.” Simon G. from LinkedIn Pulse 8/3/14 The Promise Juggling places the ideas of youth, wonder, awe, and amazement in people’s minds. I remember thinking once after a particularly good performance at a street fair that the folks I entertained that day would go home with a nice memory, some photos, a smile on their face, something to talk about. It was my way of making the world a better place, even if by just a little bit. And now, in this book, you, the audience, will learn a bit about marketing. What will you take home (or to work) with you? Note: There is this point in juggling at which the balls coming down and going back up seem to balance each other almost as if there is a centrifugal force controlling the movement. It seems as if it is the transference of the downward path/force to the upward path/force. It is all about spheres like the planets revolving around the sun. It is as if you are expending little or no energy while juggling. It feeds upon its own energy. It takes on its own life. I am being juggled. Today this feeling is sometimes called “flow.” A perfect term for it. It is the same in marketing. Once you get it down, it will seem like it manages itself. It is then that you need to learn a new trick. Often, when you drop a ball while juggling, it pays to notice what just happened: “Wow, wouldn’t it be great if I could control that mistake and turn it into a trick…” A good marketer knows that testing is the best way to improve. Don’t be afraid to do something you’ve never done before. If it doesn’t work the first time, you might learn how to do it successfully the next. Just pick up the dropped ball and start again. Here is your most important lesson: You can’t learn to juggle without dropping balls. A thought about style/different ways of achieving marketing results. While juggling on rue Sainte-Catherine in Montreal, hoping for coins to drop in my hat, a short, older man walked up and, in French, asked if he could juggle. I agreed and handed him the balls. He had a tight, low, and very quick juggling style, something I was not used to at the time. I tended to juggle high (and still do). I really enjoyed his short routine with familiar tricks but done in this (to me) unique style. I now incorporate the same style into my routine, moving from his low style to my high style. There isn’t only one way to juggle. There isn’t only one way to market. Find your own style. Incorporate the styles of others when appropriate.