Listen and Learn
I’ve wondered from time to time how our small business has been able to find success when so many other’s fail. A recent session in my headphones taught me about what I’ve decided to call the CookieText advantage.
I just discovered Podcasts. For those that don’t know, they are essentially radio shows that you can listen to whenever you want. I suspect most of you know what they are and I’m the one that is late to the game. A good indicator of this is the vast amount of Podcasts that are available. Whatever your interest, there’s one for you, I’m sure.
Though I thoroughly enjoyed the delve into true crime that was the first season of Serial, I’m trying to utilize Podcasts more for business and personal growth. I’ll plug in my headphones while I’m working alone or on a solo run and listen to the wisdom of those who have far more experience than I do. I’ve learned some fascinating things in a very short time. They often serve to make me re-examine my approach to a problem or to dream a little bigger. My favorite Podcast offered me an explanation.
Freakonomics Radio
As you may know, most new businesses don’t succeed. Freakonomics Radio, a hugely popular podcast, explained why mine has so far. It was an episode called Think Like a Child. In it Steven Levitt (one of the founders of Freakonomics and an esteemed economist) spelled out exactly why Cookie Text has an exponential advantage over other small businesses and why I am in exactly the right business for me.
Freakonomics Radio Steve Levitt Says
“Enjoying what you do, loving what you do is such a completely unfair advantage to anyone you are competing with who does it for a job. People who love it they go to bed at night thinking about the solutions. They wake up in the middle of the night, and they jot down ideas, they work weekends. It turns out that effort is a huge component of success in almost everything. We know that from practice and whatnot. And people who love things work and work and work at it. Because it’s not work — its fun. And so my strongest advice to young people trying to figure out what they want to do, is I always tell them: try to figure out what you love…”
I love what I do. I think about it constantly. It doesn’t get old. I’ve built my own sandbox that I get to play in everyday.
When I have “me time” I usually spend it working on building Cookie Text: reading a book about business, playing with new recipes, experimenting with new products… There are so many moments I am in the cookie kitchen and think to myself, “this is just so fun.” When we introduce a new product, get new shipment of logo pens, someone new discovers our business and becomes a fan, all that stuff excites me.
Still.
Every time.
Cookie Text’s Advantage
I love my job! Cookie Text has an advantage over any business that isn’t founded and run by someone who absolutely LOVES THEIR WORK. Because I do. I get to watch a tiny bit of a dream come true every day. And that’s so cool. Here’s hoping your work is fun, too.
You can check out Freakonomics Radio at www.freakonomics.com/radio/ or you can listen to the whole Think Like a Child podcast here.