Whew! What a trip!
It’s great to be home. This year has been full on travel wise.
Last week’s trip to St. Petersburg, Florida is my last trip overseas for the year. And I’m glad!
This may surprise people to know this… but I don’t enjoy the travel very much.
The idea and reality of hanging out with a bunch of self-absorbed strangers, in confined areas, for endless hours… and then the resulting jet lag, does not excite me.
But the destination and the people I travel to hang out with excites me.
They make all the discomfort well worth it.
Now, don’t get me wrong… I’m not a grumpy traveller. I love chatting with my fellow travellers and hearing their stories (if they are up for a chat) … and I often help other people if they are struggling with luggage or directions.
But the truth is… some people really should stay at home.
They may show up to the airport… but they don’t really “show up” at all.
They simply go through the motions.
They bumble along… bumping and bashing into other people… hitting people with their bags. They spread out their belongings on chairs, and other people can’t sit down (one guy took up 5 chairs in a busy gate lounge) … and then get upset if someone has the audacity to ask to sit down.
In general, so many of these travellers have little to no consideration for other people and their travel needs.
It would be great if these people would have a little more spatial and situational awareness. Because if they did… it would make things so much better for everyone… including them.
But in reality, they don’t and there is only one part of that whole situation I can influence or change… and that’s my part in it.
Of course, it would be so easy to be like the other travellers who don’t show up… but easy isn’t always the best way.
And I have often found that easy isn’t “easy” at all.
Usually if someone else makes something look easy… it’s taken a lot of hard work to make it look that way.
This reminds me of something that happened last week…
At the Copy Chief Live event, I entered a writing competition. One of my friends, Marcella Allison, works for Money Map Press and she urged me to enter their competition. She gave me the flyer for the competition and assured me that there would be “blind judging” for the competition. I would be anonymous.
The competition was to write a quick sales page (no more than 500 words) to sell a bottle of whiskey called “Writer’s Tears.”
I had briefly “thought” about entering the competition… but jet lag and lack of time made me doubt whether I could enter.
But when Marcella urged me to enter… I reluctantly opened the ideas floodgate and started to formulate ideas and angles.
The ideas started to flow, but I didn’t have the time to sit down and write the whole letter… so I wrote down the snippets so I wouldn’t lose them.
Because the event and the social scene was so busy, the first spare time I had to actually write was at 1am… and it was after I had a few “Copywriter’s Courage” rums (not a real rum… but if I have anything to do with it, it will be).
So, I fired up my iPad and started typing… and typing… and editing… and typing… and editing. And when I stopped, I was sitting at 537 words which was way too many (we were warned that if we were one word over… our entry wouldn’t count).
I scanned through my document to find any words I could remove to make the word count… and I removed them. But it wasn’t enough. I was sitting at 512 words and I was stuck.
Then Rae suggested that I remove the name I’d called the whiskey and only use it once. What a genius!
That reduced my word count and got it down to around 487 words… so I added in another P.S.
I did one more quick read through, got Rae to have a quick read (she couldn’t sleep because I had the light on) … then I emailed it to Money Map Press. And then I fell into an exhausted sleep for a few hours, before I got up and did it all again.
After lunch, Marcella got up to announce the winner of the writing competition. Apparently, the judges had a hard time picking a winner, so they increased the prize pool to reward more people.
She then started to read out the winners. The third prize went to a friend of mine who had done a ton of research. The second prize went to a woman who had great bullets… and as she paused before she read out the winner… my heart sank.
My heart sank because I didn’t do any research and I didn’t do any proper bullets.
But when Marcella started to read out some of the winning letter… I was shocked. She was reading out my letter! She said the big idea is what they liked most about my letter.
I looked at Rae and she had a huge smile on her face. I looked around the room and people were reacting well to the copy. And then Marcella read out my name.
The room erupted into applause and I went up to claim my prize. It was such a great moment. There were so many of my mentors in the room… and to win in front of them was fantastic!
But apparently, somehow… I made it look too easy and a few people were unhappy I entered at all.
So, I did a bit of soul searching… and I realized it is more about them than it is about me.
You see, at the event, I did what I always do… I showed up.
After my win, I had a lot of people telling me that they had wanted to enter… but they didn’t have enough time. But we all had the same time… we just had different priorities.
Now back to the “easy” part… it may surprise people to know, it wasn’t easy for me.
Although it sounds like I simply sat down and wrote out my entry in under an hour using my Parris cub copy skills… I had been thinking of ideas and angles from the moment Marcella put the flyer in my hand. (Actually, if I had written at the level Parris requires and used his checklist… I would have missed the ultra-tight deadline!)
By the time I sat down to write… my mind had been working on and off for hours.
I was showing up even though people couldn’t see it.
Knowledge Nugget #220:
“Showing Up” Doesn’t Need To Be
Obvious or Showy
When people hear the phrase “show up” … they mostly think they need to be showy and bring their “A-game.”
But what if your “A-game” is done in your mind? What if the way you show up is mostly invisible to others?
Does it mean that you don’t show up?
Well, that depends on who you are showing up for.
If you are showing up for others… they may not be able to see that you are showing up.
But if you do it for yourself… then what others think isn’t a priority.
When I travel halfway around the world to go to an event… you’d better bet I am going to “show up!” But all of the ways I “show up” are not always obvious.
And all the ways you “show up” will not be obvious either. But just because other people can’t or don’t see it (or in some cases “won’t” see it) … it’s no reason for you to doubt yourself or your efforts.
I entered the writing competition for myself and to show up for me. It was anonymous and unless I told anyone… they would never have known I’d entered (unless I won).
And I entered because I want to set a good example for my mentees. I always encourage them to show up full tilt… so I need to do the same.
Besides, when you show up like this… it always pays off.
Until next week, stay awesome and keep showing up! : )
Pauline xxx
Pauline Longdon
a.k.a. “The Copy Alchemist”
P.S. This is not the first time I’ve won a bottle of alcohol as a prize. Years ago, when I first started copywriting, I entered a competition for a bottle of rum. Bundaberg Rum (a big deal in Australia) had a 25 words or less competition to win a bottle of their new rum. I used all my copywriting skills to condense the message down to 24 words (I like to stay under the limit) … and I won.
P.P.S. How I turned a $60 – $70 bottle of Irish Whiskey into a 
priceless memento… I got all of my mentors to sign the label. It was awesome!
As us Aussies say… it’s going straight to the pool room. (This means it’s so awesome and special that I will have it on display for everyone to see.)
P.P.P.S. Here’s my Whiskey Letter submission if you’d like to read it…
Headline:
Secret Success Making Copywriting Elixir Available. For The First Time Ever…
Body:
A special release copywriting elixir is taking the copywriting world by storm.
And this magical money-making elixir is changing the fortunes of all who are brave enough to try it.
So, what makes this elixir so special?
It’s meticulously made from thousands of tears from copywriters.
Each tear is measured, weighed, and distilled for the perfect combination of guts, determination… and a touch of bitter disappointment.
We are careful to limit the percentage of bitter disappointment to give the drinker a healthy dose of reality.
Our Copywriter’s Tears contains the steely watery secretions of top copywriter’s such as:
- The Mighty Marcella Allison
- The Humble Henry Bingaman
- And even the stoic and unshakable Million Dollar Mike Morgan
- And many more…
This special small batch Copywriter’s Tears is guaranteed to give you the comfort you need when you are self medicating to get you through your next promotion.
The beauty of this magical bottle is… it is bottomless.
That’s right… whenever you write a promo and open the bottle… your tears will join the tears of those who came before you.
If you want the winning advantage of having other copywriter’s help you with your copy… then Copywriter’s Tears is for you.
At Copy Chief, they say “No One Writes Alone”… with Copywriter’s Tears Whiskey our war cry is “No one drinks… or cries alone.”
You’ll find inspiration, grit and determination in each and every drop of this potent elixir.
So, you may be wondering what it tastes like.
Well, as you’d expect the taste is a little salty… but there is a definite aftertaste of happiness and validation that you are not alone. The aroma has a whiff of expectation… and the delightful experience is finished off with a healthy helping of hope.
A stiff shot of Copywriter’s Tears will have you back in the saddle after any set back and writing control beating copy in a Marcella style all-nighter.
Be warned though… drinking this Irish Whiskey can make you sound like the love child of Caleb O’Dowd and… Caleb O’Dowd. (We take no responsibility for copy written under the influence of this powerful whiskey. A “double dose of O’Dowd” is more than any human can take!)
If you are serious about your copywriting career… get your bottle of this Special Reserve Copywriter’s Tears today. Because Marcella is getting a thicker skin and it’s harder to make her cry…we can’t guarantee there will be another batch.