Unfortunately I can’t get into specifics, but recently SHIFT has been very lucky on the newbiz front.  We’ve been invited to respond to RFPs that we’d only dreamt about a year ago. And we’ve won a few, against giant & savvy competitors.  All of which still feels unimaginable.

Don’t get me wrong — we’ve been whacked by the recession.  And, more importantly, I am not sharing this cryptic bit of good news in order to brag.  Just the opposite.  I am trying to inspire you.

These victories have made us more bold.  We no longer feel the sense of inferiority that dogged us as a start-up agency.  We now know we’re as good as anyone.  Not necessarily better — but definitely just as good.  We deserve to be in the scrum.

But, so do you.  You see, we are no smarter than thee.  On any given day, we are not more creative, thoughtful, hard-working or more savvy than any other agency.  At meetups, tweetups and on Twitter; in the Comments section of my blog; and of course on other great blogs written by others, I meet folks every day who are brilliant, rigorous thinkers and doers.

They (you!) scare me.  They (you!) can beat me.  If I can win what I’m winning, they (you!) can win what I’m winning.

This applies even if you don’t work in the marcomm industry.  If there’s a competitor out there in your niche who’s having a good run of luck, don’t ascribe it to their size, their people, their practices, etc.  You can win what they win.  Try to scrap in the biggest sandbox you can find.

This is what I’ve learned as an entrepreneur.  Nobody’s better than you.  And you’re no better than anyone.  Just try harder, be nicer, and work your tail off trying to exceed the expectations of prospects and customers.

Go to bed exhausted.  Wake up exhilirated.

See you on the field.

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