I was reading from Lao-tzu’s Tao Te Ching last night when I ran across an interesting quote:
He who knows others is wise;
He who knows himself is enlightened.
The passage made me stop and contemplate my own life. How well do I know myself? I went down that path for a bit of time; looking at my aspects and considering what I might be blind about.
Naturally, I soon turned to business. I thought about how much of marketing is focused on the consumer or the client. I wondered what I might learn about my business if I applied Lao-tzu’s words to marketing. So I rewrote the passage to say:
He who knows his customer is wise;
But he who knows his business is enlightened.
Then I started thinking about my clients, my colleagues, my friends, etc. How many of them really know what they do? I don’t mean can they explain their business in some marketing lingo that drives sales. I’m talking about do they understand what they REALLY do for their clients? What impact do they make?
For instance, I’m a web developer, a marketing coach, a business advisor and a strategist. I help my clients understand how to use the internet to reach their business goals. Pretty simple.
But if I think about the client’s I’ve worked with over the past year, it’s evident that I have a much broader and deeper impact on my client’s life than I first think about. While I certainly help them build their website, clarify their marketing message or build a campaign, I also help them create space in their lives for their business. As well, I help them overcome their fears and uncertainties about using the web, and I educate them in how to measure their success. What’s more, I teach them anything they really need or want to know about using the web to grow their business.
But it doesn’t stop there. Most of my clients and I also develop a strong bond; a working relationship that seems to increase their trust in themselves. They know, for instance, they’re not doing this alone in their process. I also freely share my idea, concepts, vision and excitement about their business - something that often motivates them to get the next bit of work done.
When I think about it, I do far more than just develop web-based businesses. I have an impact on my client’s lives. And I need to remember that in my business. Perhaps even explore that more and understand how I can express more of what I offer my clients. And maybe, just maybe, I can find more of the light in my business.
So what about you? How well do you know what you do? How much do you understand the impact you have on your clients or customers? How enlightened are you in your business?
My name is Dawud Miracle and I'm a
27 responses so far ↓
Speaking from experience, I know that when people want to buy, having the idea that the person they want to buy from knows his stuff will definitely make a difference. In many instances, especially big ticket purchases, people don’t buy the product/service, they buy the most likable, knowledgeable seller.
Who wants to do business with someone who only knows the lingo and the pitch?
After all these years I know myself fairly well, but I’m always trying new things so I’m continually changing. I don’t have a business, so my purpose in blogging is to connect with other people. I’ve already made an impact on other people’s lives through my teaching and leading support groups, so blogging is another way of reaching out. One thing I’ve been doing is reading a lot of blogs and deciding what my two blogs have to offer. I’ve decided to write about what I deeply care about in the spirit of sharing. I’ve been finding that bloggers who set themselves up as experts turn me off. We each have to become the expert of our own lives, so I write about what works for me, then my readers can decide if it resonates with them or not. Either way they learn something. Anyway, it’s just an experiment, and I’m getting more interaction than I expected. It’s a fun trip. Thanks for asking.
Terry,
I couldn’t agree more. So often it comes down to likability rather than knowledge. And I think that’s a good thing. You should like the people you do business with. And specifically, you should like (and trust) anyone you entrust your business with.
I know I don’t want just lingo and a sales pitch. Sounds like you feel the same…
Jean,
Certainly. Are you saying blogging is a fun trip? Or life? Or both?
Thanks to a strange and wonderful experiment I conducted earlier this month, I have a very good idea of what I do for my “customers” (where “customers” is defined as “consumers of my content”).
That Lao Tzu was a bit of alright, wasn’t he? Understanding the nexus between ourselves and others–which pretty much demands we know ourselves–is the key to the game.
Anyway, I know that from me, people want illumination with levity. Or a sparkle. Or however you want to define enlightment + entertainment. (enlightainment? inspirevity?) Oy! What in tarnation have I gotten myself into in this incarnation?
I am now retired from active business life after a very eventful one. Enlightenment for me has meant that I dropped all the load that I was carrying on my shoulders and became lighter for it. It is afterwards that I realized that I was carrying the load on my shoulders but was traveling in a high speed vehicle. It never occurred to me to keep the load down on the vehicle. I now know better.
I mentor some young entrepreneurs as part of a local chamber of commerce initiative. Being detached has helped me give these young people better advise than I would have been able to when I was actually involved on a hands on basis.
These young people have a different and in my opinion, better platform to launch their enterprises from, as they have the benefit of having a rich exposure to successful and failed businesses as part of their growing up process. Their instinctive concern for their customers is a direct response to such a background. They automatically look at problems from the point of view of how a solution would affect customer relations/service. As a long time employee at that age, I did not ever react like that. I always looked at problems to solve to benefit the organization.
As I had mentioned earlier in another context, wisdom is always by hindsight. I am now in a position to enjoy such wisdom, including such as expressed by you in posts like these. Actually, it gladdens my heart to read such posts and some very enlightened comments from other like minded people who visit your site. To that extent, perhaps for me blogging is a fun trip as the Cheerful Monk and you so eloquently put it!
communicatrix,
Don’t we all ask the same thing from time to time? And if we don’t, we should (rarely do I say should). What else do we really have in our lives, our relationships or our businesses if we don’t understand ourselves; if we’re not continually looking for that understanding?
Home Recording,
Lovely insights. Isn’t it incredible the seeming natural shift in people’s consciousness to caring about other more? This is where real-life and business cross-over each other, I believe. Great customer service and client relationships come from within. It’s an intrinsic manifestation of our natural caring about others. It just flows into what we do - business, personal, otherwise.
Living ‘it’ is and will always be the biggest key to success. If we live what we believe, know and feel to be right - by live I mean exemplify in our daily movements - it’s not, then, a sales technique or business approach. It’s just who we are. And as I say again and again - people want to do business with people, not with businesses. Be what we know is good and we’re more than half-way there.
I love the passage, I also enjoyed how you implemented into our businesses.
Love the quote!
I do think however that your business and clients are constantly evolving, so one can never be “enlightened” completely.
It’s a learning process.
North Dallas,
Thanks. For me, running a business and living my life are the same thing. I don’t mean that my business is my life. What I mean is that my business is a part of my life - just as my family, recreation and spirituality. I can’t separate one out from the other. But I can bring all that I am to each part of my life. That’s one of the reasons I feel it’s so important to know yourself in your business.
Thoughts?
Shama,
We/they are always evolving - hopefully. But I may think of the word ‘enlighten’ differently that you might think. I don’t see ‘enlightenment’ as a destination. Rather I see it as merely becoming aware or awake. That by not means constitutes arrival. Instead, I feel it’s important to understanding that you’ll continually unfold in life. And being aware of where you are and what’s unfolding inside is what I see enlightenment to be.
So being enlightened is the journey itself, not the destination. What do you think?
When i had first stepped into advertising, i was really excited on what I was going to learn. And I must say I have been very enlightened with what I do. It has open up many horizons for me. I never knew there were so many different mannerisms to convey a message, which is also very exciting to see the possibilities. Sad part is that maybe advertising is not where i would want to stay forever.
Good post man.
So being enlightened is the journey itself, not the destination. What do you think?
That is just one of the beautiful statements in this exchange of views. Of course, I entirely agree and I hope that Shama does too.
Your responses to the comments above have been more elaborate and I could not have put it in any better way.
I’d say I’m still away from true enlightenment. Everyday brings new ideas, thoughts, work processes and newer people to deal and interact with. The process of learning goes on throughout life, and taking stock of all your achievements, relationships, progress in work etc is something I really look forward to doing some years hence.
And btw, Wish you a rocking New Year! Hope the coming year takes you to greater heights of success.
Continuing to seek enlightenment and knowledge seems to be the most reliable way to stay relevant and youthful!
Very nice post and I loved reading everybody’s comments on the same. I think in todays world we have forgotten self enlightenment. We have become so commercial and life has become so fast and stressful that people have no time to sit back and think about their own personal lives.
I think we should make a new year resolution to look into ourself and try and change what is not correct in ourselves. If we can start with doing this once a week also I feel it would be a great achievement.
Where are you Dawood? You started off a nice topic and have dropped off! I hope that you are coming up with another great blog!
Aronil,
Sounds like you’ve got a lot of juice for advertising. Why not stay in it?
Home Recording,
I’ve seen over and over again that westerners look at ‘enlightenment’ differently than do Asians or Middle Easterners. We see it as a point of arrival where everything is just good. Yet, that’s not the way it’s held by many others around the world. Enlightenment, if I could be so bold, is a way of being…a way of living…an everyday process of unfolding understandings about out experiences - all with a deep level of acceptance.
And…sorry for taking a few days away. I’m still trying to balance having three kids with my wife’s needs, work and the crazy holiday season we had.
Dining Room,
I hear you. I think much of ‘enlightenment’ has to deal with acceptance, maybe even surrender, to what is. How we manage ourselves in the face of what life brings us. So it will always be a process.
And thanks for your kindness. Have a blessed year.
Jason,
Absolutely. I think one of the things that defines youth is flexibility and the willingness to accept change. Most people, as they age, seem to stop accepting change. And I’ve wondered if that’s why some age differently than others. What do you think?
Laser Hair,
That’s what I see as well. For instance, I’m very different than my sister. She doesn’t do too much introspection. She’s a great person - loving, caring, kind. Yet it’s easy to see that something’s missing for her. It’s just behind her eyes. But rather than search it out, she just buys another widget or takes another vacation. And that’s just who she is right now.
But we’re very different. I’m always looking at things inside myself. I see the purpose of my life is to know, as fully as I can, who I am - internally and externally - and neither have an end point. So for me, I can’t live another way than to question things, to stay open to new ideas and to continually learn about myself. It’s just who I am.
Heya again..
Well as much as I find it a really interesting industry, it’s not exactly where my passion lies. Basically I have other things which i hope to go forward with. Hehehe but who knows maybe i will come back to advertising
Aronil,
Got it. Is there a way you could incorporate your enjoyment of advertising with some of your other interests? In other words….niche?
most porbably it can, but in a round about way. See i’m heading more toward performing arts.. hehe.. so while it can be related to some aspect, but it will be tad bit different in terms of the industry. Although i have no doubt that they can be intertwined together ^_^
aronil,
But what about using your advertising knowledge to help theaters and artists promote themselves? Sounds like a niche to me.
The problem is that maybe advertising is not where i would prefer to stay on the long term.
He who knows his customer is wise;
But he who knows his business is enlightened.
John,
I can understand. Yet is there a way you can leverage your advertising knowledge to create a niche business for yourself that isn’t directly in advertising?
search engine,
I think somewhat true. I’d rephrase as he who positions his business correctly is wise, but he who comprehends the needs of his audience, and how his business fills those needs, is enlighten - and successful.
By Advertising you lose nothing if you can aleast put ads in ur pages,, before conversion.
I’m not really in that zone…
I think all I know is that I get money for something that I do in which I’m good at.
That is what I think… Great post! It was different.
Advertising today costs very cheap if done perfectly, and will benefit so much if converted by studies.