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Rod Aparicio

Finding The Gap

Get one tip, question, or belief-challenge that just might change the way you market yourself, so that your customers buy. A *daily* email for indie consultants and creators —without the bullshit.

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You hear what you want to hear

If you're focused on what you're going to say next. On how to make your argument more solid. On how your point is the valid (and true) one. No matter what your counterparty says, you'll hear what you want to hear. You'll listen to either reply or present. And that's no conversation. The same is with your prospects and customers. If you don't meet them where they are, if you try to convince them —or influence them— and they're not at that stage, they won't hear you. Here's a work around: Focus...

about 15 hours ago • 1 min read

Internet connection problems. So here's a great article by Tim Williams on the same subject of expertise. :) Getting Paid for Years - Ignition Group.

1 day ago • 1 min read

"If I do a job in 30 minutes it's because I spent 10 years learning how to do that in 30 minutes. You owe me for the years, not the minutes." Nonsense. This whole argument assumes that to know something, it's about the effort you put on. About the time you "spent" in learning the thing. How much it meant, in terms of effort, for you to do something. It takes that if something feels as simple as breathing to you, but not for others, it shouldn't be valuable. Or that for it to be valuable, you...

3 days ago • 1 min read

In music, sampling is the act of taking one bit of a song/audio media and putting it to a different use from its first intended context. It can go from different songs, like... Fatboy Slim's Praise you. Grabbing tracks from different, already known songs. To Nirvana's Smells like teen spirit. Grabbing drum beats from disco's Gap Band. To Billie Eilish's Australian crosswalk signal in Bad Guy All of them are original in their very own ways It's more than just a copy. Even doing a cover, it's...

4 days ago • 1 min read

What makes you stand out. Sure. Saying you have to be "original", "authentic", "focus on the experience" will do the job... of saying nothing, or put you in a place of analysis paralysis not knowing how to move forward and take action. Originality is an spectrum. If you're thinking "But I got nothing new to say" or "It's been already said before", aka "It will (and by default, I) won't be original", you might be right. And to be original you don't need to say something that is *always* new to...

5 days ago • 1 min read

It's not about taking a stand against something —an enemy/monster— to change it. Does it help? Absolutely. It's about defining what you see in a future without that enemy/monster. Reason 1. We humans can't process the negatives.Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT think of a pink elephant. See? 😜Focusing on a negative won't last. Reason 2 What's next after the enemy's been destroyed? Your mission accomplished? Reason 3 What if the monster/enemy is only a symptom of something even bigger, larger? What...

6 days ago • 1 min read

Here's another example of the downside of "choosing an enemy": introducing animosity. Fabian Geyrhalter Do you want to rally people up? Or to get them ready to war? One is about moving forward, the other, about winning/losing.

7 days ago • 1 min read

Some say "You need to choose an enemy. This way you and yours will rally together and will make your brand meaningful. 'Look at Patagonia. They fight climate change.'" Well intended. But bullshit. Patagonia is not focused on defeating climate change. Ryan Gellert, Patagonia CEO, sustains "We must use all the tools at our disposal to secure a safer, more just future." A future. Opportunities... The difference between those 2 is simple. Fighting is built on a narrative of threats. This is a...

8 days ago • 1 min read

Even if you don't see yourself as THE expert, or the authority to be listened to in the work you do with your clients, THEY DO. Doing what they need might not be the best way to approach things. Doing what you want might not be either. Doing what they tell you is for sure a recipe for dissatisfaction. Here's why While they're experts in their business and at what they do, they're not (in 99,9999% of cases) experts at what you do. If you don't get to ask the right questions. If you only follow...

9 days ago • 1 min read

It's all about deciding —yes, making a choice where you have the power— where the focus of your business is. Short-term v long-term Serving v service What is v What could be It's all about the potential (what your customers can realize. How they can thrive) you see. Then you'll focus on what really matters to you.

10 days ago • 1 min read
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