When I think about selling out I think about artists or musicians that choose to allow their art to be manipulated in order to be commercially viable.  Except that’s not really it.  I’m a sellout when I choose to pursue profit over doing what is right.  I’m a sellout when I choose to save some money at the expense of treating people well.  I’m a sellout when I allow dollars and cents to become more important than operating a business that matters to it’s customers and the people it employs.

If it was easy everyone else would do it.

If it was easy you couldn’t be remarkable for doing it.

If it was easy it really wouldn’t be that interesting.

If it was easy you probably wouldn’t want to do it anymore.

The problem with conventional wisdom is that it’s just so damn conventional.  When I think about how to get from “here” to “remarkable” I never see “conventional” as the path.  Conventional wisdom is safe and probably won’t get me laughed at, but I’m not sure it leads to places that I really want to go.

What if, when it comes to my small business, online tools like blogs, FaceBook, Twitter, and Flickr aren’t about getting more fans or viewers?  What if they are new and interesting avenues to tell my story?

I’m currently reading “Delivering Happiness” by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh and can’t help but fully recommend it. I’ve only read about a third of the book but have really been captured by the stories he relates about how Zappos came to be. He talks about some pretty uncertain times in which Zappos almost folded due to cash flow issues. The stories highlight the entrepreneurial spirit that drove Tony to keep investing in Zappos even though it was hemorrhaging and his ability to change course and adapt his plans to succeed. I’ve already taken a lot from the book and he’s barely even touched on the Zappos culture that is perhaps his most evident success. It’s a great reminder to me of the fact that I have the greatest job in the world…