good read

i've been told about a bazillion times as a business owner and manager that the "purple cow" by Seth Godin is a must read. I must say, they were right. The front cover reads "transform your business by being remarkable". I like that. I like being remarkable. I find that the more of myself I put into my business - as a unique, and quirky as I am the more successful I am and the better I feel about everything. From what I blog about, to the types of clients I attract it's a better fit from the get go when Im true to myself.

What the heck is a purple cow? Purple cow's are something remarkable. Something worth talking about. Worth noticing. Exceptional. New. Something you want to update your facebook status and tweet about, at the same time.

The concepts I learned from this book can be applied in so many different aspects of my life. weird. Maybe? but true!

I've learned that only I can be the best me. No one else can be the best Erika Walter. It's true isn't it? So I try to pour myself into my business being the best that I can be. 'Cause no one else can. And that's one small way I try to keep element photography - remarkable.

my take home ideas are:

-"the purple cow is so rare because people are afraid. if you are remarkable, it's likely that some people won't like you. That's part of the definition of remarkable. Nobody gets unanimous praise -- ever. The best the timid can hope for is to be unnoticed. Criticism comes to those who stand out." so don't take it personally!

-"Doing nothing is not as good as doing something (great). But marketing just to keep busy is worse than nothing at all."

-"if you weren't afraid of failing, what's the most audacious thing you would try?"

-"Remarkable isn't always about changing the biggest machine in your factory. It can be the way you answer the phone"

-"ideas that spread, win."

-"copy. not from your own industry, but from any other industry. find a industry more dull than yours, discover who's remarkable (it won't take long), and do what they did." only better!

-"what's missing isn't the remarkable ideas within your business, its the will to execute them"

-"Ask yourself, why not?"

There's so much to learn on this topic but I felt that the "purple cow" really got the gears turning for me.

Did you read it??? Did you apply any of the purple cow concepts to your business??