It’s a crazy notion that we can create a product or service that is truly remarkable. But why is it so crazy? Why is being remarkable so rare? So unique? So valuable? So likely that, if someone sees it from a distance or holds it close to their chest, they’ll want to tell other people about it? But the fact remains, that as others have already blazed the trail to be remarkable, we too can achieve such a mark. Our brand can be remarkable. Who we are, what we do, and what we create can be worthy of making remark about.

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I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately. In 2018, I logged reading 21 separate books (mostly on self-development) and a few I re-read many times. I think I may have read The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business and Success by Brian Tracy five or six times. It’s just that good. Another fantastic book was The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell, though I’m sorry to say it’s hard to believe I can ever become such a leader as him!

So far in 2019, I’m only at 9 books and the year already feels like it’s drawing to a close. Though, thankfully, we have only reached hurricane season and I’ve finally figured out that audiobook apps like Overdrive, Libby, and Hoopla all contain different available stock. I think I can still beat my 2018 read list.

I have been very impressed by prolific author and savvy market-man (did I just coin a new phrase?) Seth Godin. I know little about his personal life but what I know from his public speaking and book writing life has been powerful and nearly bursts me at the seams with inspiration.

I’ve mentioned Seth Godin in other posts but today I must report I’ve had my mind stuck on a simple, remarkable idea. My mind believes it will be a remarkable product. A remarkable product for remarkable people. A product that has marketing built into it. Something inherently valuable and desirable. A product that solves a problem for a specific group of people.

Don’t run for the hills just yet because this isn’t going to be some sales pitch of the idea. As I write this, it’s nearly 4:30am – the magic hour. I don’t know why 4:30am such a wonderful time besides having the ability to be alone with our thoughts and exercise a level of self-control and ambition that isn’t affordable later in the day.

Seth Godin has many incredible books. Dare I say, they are remarkable. Three books of have made a big mark on me. Purple Cow, The Icarus Deception, and Linchpin.

If you’re not familiar with Seth or these three popular books, I implore you to take a look and trust you’ll find them to be a great source of motivation and inspiration on the path to becoming remarkable.

This concept of remarkable is gaining traction in the marketplace. As Seth explores in his books and other works, products and services didn’t always need to be remarkable. The marketplace wasn’t very crowded and people were more apt to accepting whatever was presented to them.

The current, modern marketplace however is crowded. We are bombarded with the next best thing. We are over-sold the infinite iteration of improvements on the original…and yes, I’m staring at my Apple iPhone XR at the moment while the iPhone 11 is on the cusp of being released.

Go to any store and you’ll rarely find something truly remarkable. You may find great or excellent or very good or top-notch, but will you find remarkable?

Target. Walmart. Best Buy. Insert any big-box name store here or any little store that’s trying to copy the big-box business model and you’ll find an array of similar things.

Want a pain reliever? Good luck finding one that stands out.

Want a pair of shoes? Better set some time aside to go through the options.

Looking for a new read? Start browsing at the A’s…

The marketplace is crowded. Not just for products, but for services as well.

Need someone to pressure wash your house? Will you sort by reviews or prices?

Need a new car? Do you prefer haggling or getting it over with?

Very little is remarkable. We see the options, quietly make our unemotional decision, and go on our way without telling a single soul about it. We don’t tell anyone because we don’t believe what we got was remarkable. It wasn’t worthy of making a remark.

But what about when we do come across something remarkable? What then?

In a previous post, I told you about hair stylist Sam letting her brand build itself. Her work with our two boys was remarkable. Our only problem with Sam was trying to figure out how we could pay her more for doing such a remarkable job, rare even in the business of hair cutting for kids.

Recently at work, someone made a remark about me. A good remark, phew! This person told another person how nice I was in a recent project experience. They didn’t have to tell a soul about our interaction. It wasn’t necessary and not even the typical type of office conversation fodder that would be expected. They simply made a remark because that which they experienced was remarkable. It was rare and it was valuable – to them.

To them is the key phrase here. A product or service that is remarkable is, by nature, rare and valuable to someone. It has to make a connection. If the product or service doesn’t connect with a person, it simply isn’t remarkable. Or, if the product or service is common and nothing that stands out, it isn’t remarkable.

Many of my readers know I’ve been in the website design and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) space for a long, long time. I’m reminded just how long I’ve been here when I come across or happen to remember an old website I used to manage. That is when you know you’ve made it. Forgetting more than you remember now about a subject.

In the influence sphere or websites or blogging, you meet two kinds of people. Those who give you some sauce and those who give you their secret sauce. Usually, the most successful bloggers on the planet give out their secrets. They explain the process that got them where they are. They share exactly how you could directly compete with them. They help people develop themselves and their brand. They share all the secrets while other, usually unknown bloggers, hold their best information close to the chest.

It’s certainly rational not to want to divulge the secrets or steps one takes to reach a level of notoriety. But it’s not beneficial. The most successful bloggers (think Lindsay Ostrum or Pat Flynn) or creatives or writers or illustrators or car mechanics knows it’s not knowledge or understanding that holds people back. It’s action.

By and large, we all know more than enough to get better at any skill. Knowing a thing doesn’t make us compete with those who also know the thing. It’s what we do with that knowledge. Those who apply their knowledge tend to be the remarkable ones. They stand out because the rest of us simply know a thing, we don’t do the thing.

I know you want to be remarkable. We all do. Every one of us knows that the notion of “the tallest nail gets hammered” is just something we say to accept our own mediocrity. But some of us will be remarkable. Some of us will act on ideas that are rare and unique in a crowded marketplace. Some of us will build a remarkable brand because of it.

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

-Michael Jordan

Many times, the person willing to fail by taking the shot becomes the most remarkable. Let’s choose to be remarkable with our product or service. Let’s identify someone’s need and create something of such unique value they can’t help but to make remark about it.

Now go, be remarkable. Do the work. Let your product or service speak for itself. Be the nail that stands out taller than the rest.

If any or all of this resonated with you, please consider doing 3 things:

1. Share your thoughts in the comment section below. Building connections is what the most remarkable things are all about. What impacted you and what are you doing about it?
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3. If being remarkable resonates with you, it’ll resonate with someone else. Share this post on your social media platforms using the buttons provided. My influence is growing every day but many people in your networks won’t come across this information if you don’t let them. Let them know they can build a brand on being remarkable.

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