By Flying Solo contributor Lucinda Lions
As soon as my son turned 18 he started receiving letters and brochures from our local politicians. Being quite cynical about politics, he said, “She used my name, and addressed the letter just to me. I feel so special!”
The letter explained bits and pieces about the improvement of playgrounds and roads, and of course featured various photographs of her holding a baby, wearing a hard hat, and standing morosely near a pot hole.
We had our fun, chuckled wildly, then moved on with our lives.
Later, I popped into my son’s room to ask a question, and something caught my eye. A strip of the letter had been ripped off and stuck in a prominent position on his wall.
“If someone is inspired by something you’ve said or done, they’ll likely remember you, recommend your business and/or do business with you themselves.”
“Is that the letter we were joking about this morning?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“Why is it on your wall?”
“Because there was a cool quote in the letter.”
I walked up and read the quote: “Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realise your true potential.” The quote was attested to Barack Obama.
Wow, that was a cool quote, and quite relevant to solopreneurs and micro business owners too.
The copywriter who’d penned the politician’s sales letter knew the letter would make more of an impact if it inspired, rather than just reported on politics.
To this day my son remembers the politician who sent the letter, and the party she’s from. Will it make a difference at voting time? Quite possibly.
The benefits of inspiring others
Inspiring people makes them feel good.
It encourages a connection, and helps people relate positively toward you.
Inspiring others can also promote and reinforce your brand, because if someone is inspired by something you’ve said or done, they’ll likely remember you, recommend your business and/or do business with you themselves.
How and where you can inspire others
You can share your inspiration literally everywhere, in: advertisements, sales letters, e-newsletters, web copy, social media, keynote presentations, articles and more.
Examples of how you can inspire others:
Share an inspirational act
Recently in a graphic design newsletter, the owner wrote about how she volunteers her time to rehabilitate injured wildlife, even including a photo of a bat in a type of humidicrib. I was inspired by her volunteer work, and I now look at her business in an exciting, new way.Have you done, or are you currently doing something inspirational? The inspirational act doesn’t have to involve charity, philanthropy or volunteering time. It can be anything that encourages people to strive for more, dream bigger or just be grateful and more passionate about life. Have you started a new sport? Learnt a new language? Given up sugar? Mastered the art of successfully inserting a USB stick on the first go? Walked over Lego without calling 000? These are all highly inspirational acts!
If you feel a bit shy talking about yourself, then share the story or video of an acquaintance, colleague, family member or public figure. And importantly, tell everyone why their inspirational act made an impact on you.
Share inspiring words
As above, you could share something inspirational that you or someone else said. It doesn’t have to be earth shattering or continent moving, it just needs to create a positive emotion.Inspiring others is not only good for humanity, it’s great for building a positive image of you and your business.
So, go forth and inspire!
And remember, you are inspirational. The following quote from an unknown source explains why: “There are people in your life whom you unknowingly inspire simply by being you.” So, fellow soloists and micro business owners, enjoy inspiring others by just being YOU!
This article by Lucinda Lions is reproduced with the permission of Flying Solo – Australia’s micro business community. Find out more and join over 100k others.
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