Repeat Offender

I struggled to write this blog. I wrote three in as many weeks and liked them all …until I realized I had written them before.

That’s right (or write?). I discovered this bout of plagiarism when I decided to reference earlier blogs that mentioned a specific claim in my current story. When I went back to get the applicable link so I could connect the dots for the very curious reader, I noticed the similarities, nay, very near exact hits, to what I was saying in the present. 

Have I lost my relevance? Is that all there is to talk about when talking with the Hippo?

My answer is…maybe?

It made me wonder if writing and filming and speaking about the same topic over and over is the beginning of the end of one’s relevant time (or a crazy cry for help that you’re ready to move on to something else?). 

Let me share the three blogs that I pilfered for new content, and you can make your own judgement as to their relevance. For the record, I really liked what I was writing, it was just a bit of Groundhog Day for me. Here they are:

(Not in any particular order of importance!)

1. Like.  A rant about my dislike for the lazy world of slang in a professional setting. It’s also about tics and trends making language way more casual than it should be when at work.
2. Filler Up! More about language. This one’s about using sound via needless words and sentences to lessen the impact of being a good, effective conversationalist.
3. Death of the Sales(wo)man’s Reputation The one about…(for Friends fans) references to films with a sales component and life. This is the one that got the copyright lawyers going since I was writing about a new list of films that interject the sales professional.  

I thought about launching legal proceedings against myself as I feel infringed and well, just plain ripped off. I was then reminded that we get ideas from other’s ideas, including our own. Being original, being thoughtful, being different, and well, being you (or me in this instance) requires a lot of brain power. Fortunately I’ve been exposed to the idea and process of triangulation. First by reading Stephen King’s memoir; Danse Macabre, and later while immersed in the deeper trenches of coaching in an amazing program called ACE, which stands for Accelerating Coaching Excellence. 

Triangulation opened the door for me to watch a lot of different things out there in society, life and career, some nearby and others appearing farther away than they really were (unless you’re looking in a car’s passenger side mirror in which case, they are farther away?). Learning how to connect things that initially seemed disparate and irrelevant to each other can actually be the framework for great ideas and content. When working with clients, I use triangulation as an effective means for uncovering what’s holding someone back and challenging them beyond what they can see for themselves.

Blogs, podcasts, videos and the longer version books, seminars and courses all bring content to the forefront for us to consider spending our time, money, and energy as we search for relevance to what we are doing and where we are going. Your triangle of ideas could be an easy fit, say an equilateral or isosceles, maybe even something of a bit of a stretch like a scalene. For me, currently, I’m only coming up with two sides, which when I look at it, seems to be the beginning of a game of Hangman. Hmmm, does that vowel go there…?

Thomas a Kempis wrote: “If it seems to you that you know many things and understand them well enough, know at the same time that there are many more things of which you are ignorant.”

Maybe I do already have the answers to the third side of my triangle. Maybe going back and looking at my own ideas is where the answers lie for me. Is it Groundhog Day? Well, maybe partly. It could also be New Year’s Eve.

“Greetings Explorer.  If you’ve made it this far, then curiosity and awareness are two of your superpowers. Do you have the COURAGE to go to the next level?  Consider the wild idea of investing in you! New programs are available! Why wait any longer?!?  Here’s a link to start creating that discussion right now!”