Niching down is critical. You have to focus on being great at what you do for the right people.
“Being great at what you do isn’t enough anymore.
There isn’t a fundamental level of respect for those with time in the game and proof in the pudding, when sparkly flavors of the month are littered on social media.
The key is being great at what you do for the RIGHT people.”
-Ray Zingler on Twitter
When I was coming up there were people you just flat out respected in the S&C industry.
The Joe DeFrancos and Zach Even-Esh’s of the world. You didn’t necessarily have to like them (though they are widely liked) you gave them a fundamental level of respect for not only putting the time in, but for being great at what they did, even if you didn’t agree with their methods.
But times have changed.
And now, even the early pioneers who have forgotten more than what these new school social media gurus know, get washed into the same bucket as all of these flavor-of-the-month bros who have no skin in the game or time in the trenches.
It’s not social media’s fault per se because all social media has done is provided a platform and made it easier for the smoke and mirrors gurus to access people’s attention.
It’s sad because you would hope that consumers’ would see through the façade, but the problem is they don’t. Many folks as you know are attracted to the shiny red ball and gravitate towards it despite not having a clue that ball was painted with a rattle can.
It’s different in the music industry. In the music industry you can find the diamonds in the rough through these small streaming platforms and get the best to the top. We get to access the best underground musicians as “they” try to feed us the mainstream, undifferentiated “music” you hear on the radio.
It’s the exact opposite in our field. In our field, the best of the best typically get washed to the bottom because when you do things the right way, it lacks mass appeal. The fundamentals aren’t pretty, but they are what’s needed.
This leaves you with a choice.
You can sell out in order to gain mainstream affirmation.
Or you can stick to your guns knowing that using a fundamentally sound approach to training is indeed the best order of business.
The ladder will always be the best choice.
The reason is because despite being great at what you do not being enough anymore (from a mass appeal perspective), when you’re great at what you do the RIGHT people will find you.
I’d rather be great for the right ones than bad for the masses.
