A blog about self improvement, creativity, entrepreneurship, and advertising.
Author: Adam Albrecht
Adam Albrecht is the Founder and CEO of the advertising and idea agency, The Weaponry. He believes the most powerful weapon on Earth is the human mind. He is the author of the book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? He also authors two blogs: the Adam Albrecht Blog and Dad Says. Daughter Says., a Daddy-Daughter blog he co-writes with his 16-year old daughter Ava. Adam can be reached at adam@theweaponry.com.
When I was in college I had a summer job setting up large party tents in Vermont. I loved pitching a tent. It was hard. But looking back, that’s what I loved about it.
The hardest part of the erection process was driving the 4-foot-long steel stakes into the ground. The stakes create the foundation for the tent. You tie the tent ropes to the stakes to help hold the tent upright and sturdy.
To drive the stakes into the ground we used sledgehammers that were 8, 12 or 16-pounds. Size mattered. Because if you swung a bigger hammer you could get the job done in fewer swings.
Sometimes, when the ground was soft, the stakes would go in smoothly. But in Vermont and New Hampshire where I drove most of my stakes, the ground was very hard. They don’t call New Hampshire The Granite State for nothing. (And they don’t call Vermont the Granite State at all, but that’s just because New Hampshire already took it, for granite.)
But during those college years, I learned a valuable lesson about how to do hard things. Because the only way to get those 4-foot stakes in the ground was to keep pounding away until the job was done. More often than not the stakes went in an inch or less at a time. And sinking a 4-foot shaft neck-deep at that rate can be exhausting. But it was the only way to finish the job.
I applied that just-keep-swinging-till-it’s-done lesson in my athletic career as a track and field athlete at the University of Wisconsin. Today, I apply the same lesson to building the advertising and ideas agency, The Weaponry, writing my blog posts, newsletters and books. And simply not stopping until the work is done has never failed to produce results. Even when things get really, really hard.
Key Takeaway
The only way to get a job done is to just keep pounding until you are finished. Hit the task again and again and again. This is true when you are driving stakes in the ground in Vermont, building a company, advancing your career, trying to meet your fitness goals, or getting your education. Focus your efforts. Pound away. And just don’t stop until the job is done.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
Yesterday afternoon was chilly in Wisconsin. The mid-October temperature dropped throughout the day. Dark clouds rolled in. The wind picked up. And I was outside mowing my 1.7 acre lawn in Mequon on my John Deere lawn tractor.
Suddenly the clouds burst open with rain. Big fat, cold drops quickly soaked my clothing. The wind whipped at my face. The obvious discomfort brought a big broad smile to my face, and I just kept on mowing.
You see, as I was mowing I was also listening to the tail end of the audiobook Astoriaby Peter Stark. This amazing book tells the epic tale of the men and one woman who set off to establish the first American settlement in the northwestern United States in 1811 at what is now Astoria, Oregon. You may know Astoria better as the location where The Goonies was filmed. #pinchersofperil
This adventure had huge influences on the development of the Pacific Northwest, including the discovery of what would become the Oregon Trail and fertile ground to grow grunge music.
Astoria was the vision of famed fur mogul and real estate hoarder John Jacob Astor. Astor wanted to establish Astoria at the northwestern hub of his transcontinental fur trade where the great Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean with a roiling fist bump. This is just down the block from where the Lewis and Clark expedition spent a miserable winter once they reached the Pacific Ocean at Cape Disappointment. (Note to self: Don’t move anywhere that has the name Disappointment.)
The expedition dealt with unfathomable challenges as the overland party trudged across the continent with resistance at every turn. While others experienced the worst the sea has to offer as they sailed from New York City, south around Cape Horn, to Hawaii, and on to Vancouver Island. Things went bad. Really bad. Which is part of the reason this story hasn’t endured as a great American tale. But it is also the reason the story is so fascinating to read now.
Astoria is one of the top 3 adventure books I have ever read. It ranks up there with Stephen Ambrose’s Undaunted Courage about the Lewis and Clark’s adventure, and Endurance, about the fateful voyage of Ernest Shackleton’s crew to Antarctica.
Key Takeaway
If you like stories of survival, adventure, drama, business, or history you will love Astoria. This instant classic will also remind you that things could always be worse and that you can endure far more than you think you can. All of which makes a little cold rain on your lawn tractor feel like no problem at all.
*If you know someone who might enjoy this book, please share this review with them.
A good day is full of actions. Some physical. Some mental. Some social. But the progress you make each day is a result of the actions you take. But one good day is not enough. To live a good, good life you need to create good day after good day, mate.
However, a day full of action depletes your resources. That’s why it is important to reload your spring. (#snickering) Whether you are focused on your career, caring for your family, or training for competition, it’s important to come back day after day with great energy and effort.
To create a long chain of great days of action and progress you have to reload your spring.
8 Ways To Reload Your Spring
1. Sleep: A great night of sleep is the best thing you can do to reload. After a long day of activity, your spring is fully uncoiled. Your energy is expended. Like The Giving Tree, you have nothing left to give. No leaves. No branches. No apples. But overnight something magical happens. A full night of sleep reloads and resets your spring. It makes you ready to uncoil on another day of important actions, Jackson.
2. Eating: All that work you are doing burns calories. When you feel like a hangry, hangry hippo, it’s a sign that your spring is fully uncoiled. When you eat you are putting calories back in your system. You are refueling. As you reload energy into your system with great nutrition you are resetting your spring. Also, make sure to hydrate.
3. Hydrate: Make sure you are drinking plenty of water. Humans are basically walking bags of water. So rehydrate early and often to keep your spring at full hydraulic power. Start your day with a tall drink of water to make sure you hit the day fully recoiled.
4.Exercise When you exercise you are creating a better spring. You are putting more power into it. You are enabling it to uncoil over a longer period without losing strength. Plus, it makes you look more springy.
5. Socializing: If you have extroverted tendencies, you reload by spending time with others. For extroverts, socializing is like Gatorade. (But instead of replacing your electrolytes, it replaces your socialytes.) Make sure to add social activities to your calendar to regain what you have lost.
6. Solitude: If you have introverted tendencies, you reload in your quiet time alone. Don’t neglect this time. It will help you reset and prepare for another day among the Yappers.
7. Reading: Reading reloads your spring through education, inspiration and motivation. (Basically all the ations.) Learning new things helps you find new and better approaches to add to your weaponry. Reading exposes you to people who have done great things and inspires you to do more. Plus, reading provides motivation and reminds you of the reasons you are taking all those actions.
8.Faith: Faith isn’t just for George Michael and Tim McGraw. Tapping into and practicing your faith has the power to reload like nothing else can. Don’t miss out on its power to re-energize your system and bolster your resilience day after day.
Key Takeaway
Success is a result of putting your all into each day and then reloading. The better you are at reloading your spring daily the easier it is to sustain progress and deliver results. Whether you are the CEO of the world’s biggest company or the head of your household, make sure to reload your spring. It’s the key to bringing your best to each day.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
There is almost nothing more enviable than affluence.
The two inventors of the dictionary, Meaning Miriam and Definition Webster, decided that affluence means an abundant flow or supply.
And when you have an abundant supply of good things your life tends to be good. Unless the things you have in abundance are news coverage and bottles of lube.
Affluence most certainly leads to happiness. But not in the way that most people think.
Here’s how it works:
The Affluence Formula
1. First develop your relationship affluence. The more and better friends the better. This is the greatest investment you will ever make. (Unless you bought Apple at its IPO.)
2. Relationship affluence leads to financial affluence. Your relationships increase your opportunities, knowledge, support, encouragement and positive peer pressure. It’s not just about a small group of great friends like Monica and Chandler. Your outer ring of relationships is sneaky valuable as you can read here in the study The Strength of Weak Ties.
3. Financial affluence leads to time affluence. The more financial resources you have the more control you have over your time. This is the greatest freedom in the world.
4. Time affluence leads to happiness affluence. When you have control over your time you have control over your life. That Janet Jackson-level control enables you to spend your time doing the things you enjoy most with the people you enjoy most.
Plot Twist!
The great happiness in life will come from your abundance of relationships and time. Not from the money itself. Never forget that.
Key Takeaway
More and better relationships lead to more and better opportunities. Opportunities create financial resources. And financial resources give you control over your time. Which is the greatest affluence of all.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
I recently came across this classic photo from July of 20000. It was the first photograph ever taken of me and Dawn Zabel. This was long before she was my wife, and shortly before we started dating. And the photo itself was taken by a camera that wasn’t attached to a phone, social media or Wordle.
When I saw this photograph an interesting and profound thought popped into my hat holder. It wasn’t about how young Dawn and I looked, how short my hair was, or how Clorox-white our shirts were.
My immediate thought when I see this image is that we all need someone to take a chance on us. Because here’s what I see that goes beyond the obvious.
My First Job
This picture is from the Cramer Krasselt company picnic in 2000. CK was my first employer in advertising. They took a chance on me right out of college. I was an unproven commodity that had no track record of advertising success and no experience to draw on. I was just a recent graduate from the University of Wisconsin who came for an informational interview with an endorsement from one of my college professors. It was hard for them to know if I was just a talker or a Hershel Walker. But CK took a chance. And like dough, that was all I needed.
My Credit History
When I started my job at CK I made very little money. (It was actually the same size money that everyone else made, but I didn’t make much of it.) And I had to Stretch Armstrong that money to pay for rent, groceries and a $300 per month student loan payment. So when I applied for a credit card everyone Heismaned me, citing my high debt to income ratio that made me credit unworthy. For 2 years I experienced rejection after rejection by the credit cards who I asked out. Then 2 years into my career I flew to Los Angeles to shoot a commercial for Reddi-Wip whipped cream with my creative partner, Dan Koel and my creative director Mike Bednar.
After the filming was finished I stuck around LA and attended a college football game between USC and San Diego State, with my college friends Alex Mautz and Jaime Smith Mautz. On our way into the game I passed a tent that was giving away free USC t-shirts if you signed up for a USC credit card. I was excited to have a t-shirt to wear to the game, but I knew I wouldn’t actually get the credit card because of my preexisting credit condition. So I filled out the paperwork, took the shirt, and enjoyed the game.
Then, two weeks later, to my total surprise, I received a USC Visa credit card in the mail. Someone finally took a chance on me. I used that Trojan card for the next 6 years like I was the proudest USC grad on the planet. I paid off my entire balance every month. And I built my credit. My credit score passed Pat Robertson’s 700 Club and went to the 800s. All because USC Visa took a chance on me.
Look at this photograph. Every time I do it makes me laugh. I am wearing the T-shirt they gave me outside the LA Coliseum.
My Wife Dawn.
I first saw Dawn Zabel in the elevator on my way to work in early June of 2000. And my life has never been the same. I got off the elevator and immediately began a long and elaborate Dawn-stalking mission, which turned into the greatest adventure of my life.
But back then, I was just a 27-year-old copywriter with a high debt-to-income ratio and a shiny new USC Trojan visa. My career hadn’t had any major moments indicating future success. I didn’t have an impressive resume of enviable past relationships. I hadn’t been a good parent to a dog, cat or hedgehog. Heck, I didn’t have a fern that could vouch for my skills as a long-term provider.
Yet, Dawn still took a chance on me. A couple weeks after the company picnic we went on our first date to see the movie The Patriot, which to my surprise, didn’t feature Tom Brady or take place in Foxborough. And it didn’t really land with Dawn. But when I dropped Dawn off that night I did land a goodnight kiss. Two years later we got married. Then came 3 kids and 5 houses. We enjoyed moves and promotions. Adventures and opportunities. And we had credit cards that got paid off every month.
This week, Dawn and I celebrated our 22-year wedding anniversary. All because she took a chance on me.
Key Takeaway
All you ever need is a chance. When you find people willing to give you a try, prove them right. Have pride in your reputation and respect the trust others have offered you. Then knock it out of the park. Turn the promise of your potential into proof and performance. When you look back at your life you’ll be thankful to all those who gave you a shot. And it will make you want to do the same for others. Taking a chance on an unproven person is one of the greatest gifts you will ever give. And often times it is all that person will ever need.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
If you met a genie who could grant you 3 wishes do you know what you would ask for? I do. I would wish for happiness, fulfillment and a lifetime supply of cheese curd flavored Pringles. Unfortunately, when I was in 3rd grade, my friend Todd Brudos told me that genies are not real. They are just something lamp polish manufacturers made up to get you to polish your lamps.
So today, I no longer dream of genies. Instead, I now realize we must work for the things we want. And if you want happiness and fulfillment, the key is to figure out what brings you those things well before you are in hospice care or the electric chair.
Through my own research, trial and error, and a couple of lucky guesses I have discovered that there are 5 things to work on for a happy, fulfilled, and rewarding life.
Here they are, in a particular order.
5 Things You Should Always Be Working On.
1. Your Health: When you stop working on your health, your health stops working on you. Eat right. Sleep right. Exercise. Drop habits that are hard on your health. Keep your weight in the healthy-and-feels-good zone. See your doctor and dentist regularly. Get naked and do the uncomfortable exams when you are supposed to. (Although if your dentist asks you to get naked for an exam consider getting a second opinion first.) If you could use a little help with your mental health see someone there too.
2. Your Relationships: At the end of our days the only thing that will really matter is our relationships and the impact we have on each other. Develop more relationships. Develop better relationships. And see your people in real life. Live life like you want to have a packed house at your funeral. And not just because people want to make sure you are really dead.
3.Your Time Utilization: Time is your most valuable resource. And it’s constantly slip-sliding away. Make sure to use your time wisely, old owl. Do things now. Plan your days, weeks, and adventures in advance. Recognize the things that waste your time and eliminate them now. You’ll thank me later, when you have time.
4. Your Growth: Growth means getting better. Aim to get better every day in every way. Read and learn. Reflect on your experiences to gain wisdom. Surround yourself with great people who you can learn from and model. Develop great habits. Improve your listening skills. And your compassion. Become a better model of yourself every day. Even if you are already a supermodel.
5. Your Wealth: When you grow your wealth, your other opportunities grow too. So does your peace of mind, freedom, and the size of the duffel bag you need to carry all of your money when you leave the country. And like the old saying goes, ‘Mo Money, Mo Pringles’.
Key Takeaway
To make the most of your short time on Earth focus on what matters most. Take care of your health to maximize the quantity and quality of your life. Develop and maintain your relationships. Make great use of your time while you have time. Focus on growing your wealth to grow your opportunities, freedom and peace of mind. And get a little better every day.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
Hey Readers! I have started a newsletter called Adam’s Good Newsletter. You can cheat code to the newsletter right here, right now, like that arena hype song says. But if you want the backstory first, and who doesn’t like a good backstory, you can find it below.
The Backstory
The spring of 2020 was a dark time in America. COVID-19 was creeping across the country like a lung-infecting fog. Race-related issues were boiling over. And our presidential election was unfolding as one of the ugliest in American history.
The events of that spring scared the crap out of Americans. Which helped turn toilet paper into gold. During that dark and stormy time I recognized that we could all use more good news. So I committed to sharing only good, positive, uplifting stories, ideas and perspectives here in my blog.
As a result, I saw a surge in readership. People called, emailed and texted me telling me how much they appreciated the positive outlook I was sharing here. They told me they looked forward to my posts as a bright spot in their day. And they asked if I knew where they could find toilet paper.
Then, without telling anyone what I was doing, I started writing my book What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? I was committed to writing a book that would help readers learn a little, laugh a little, and lift a little.
18 months later the book was published and my life changed for the better. Suddenly I had speaking opportunities, TV and podcast interviews, and more interesting things to talk about at career day at my kids’ school. Readers sent me pictures of my book all over the world. Well not in North Korea. Or Antarctica. Or the Gulag. #BookGoals
Now, I had a blog and a book. But I became obsessed with a third vehicle for sharing positivity. Because somewhere between the simplicity of a blog post and the intensity of a book lies the newsletter. For years I wanted to create a fun newsletter to spread good news, ideas, recommendations, motivational quotes, photos, and a little more humor.
But I couldn’t find the time in my schedule to start the newsletter until June of this year, when I finally started publishing Adam’s Good Newsletter.
Please message me at adam@theweaponry if you would like to be added to the mailing list. (Also message me if you have found The Fountain of Youth or a Wonka Bar with the golden ticket.)
On Saturday morning I was sitting at home when Lola, my Border Collie, started barking like there was an intruder. A moment later my doorbell rang, and I understood why Lola was going off. I got up and walked to the front door. I could see through the glass there there were two pleasant-looking middle-aged women standing on my front porch, with what looked like ‘materials’.
I unlocked my front door, while Lola lost her canine mind. Then i opened the door just enough to slip out onto the front porch without Lola following me. I pulled the door shut, then turned to face the two strangers on my steps.
What the ladies at my door didn’t know was that I just returned home from coaching a football game that morning and was still in full Coach Albrecht mode.
I boomed in my energetic youth football coach voice,‘GOOD MORNING LADIES!!!HOW ARE YOU DOING TODAY?’
The women were clearly surprised, and delighted by the enthusiastic, greeting they received.
They both smiled and inquired, ‘Are you a coach?’ Clearly, the women picked up on the fact that I was still wearing my team cap and polo, both of which featured our team’s Cardinal mascot.
I boomed, ‘YES I AM! AND I JUST GOT HOME FROM COACHING OUR GAME THIS MORNING! WHICH WE WON!!! BETTER YET, I AM THE DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR, AND WE WON OUR FOOTBALL GAME 2-0! AND MY SON MAGNUS SCORED THE SAFETY!’
The women, Ruth and Chris, both smiled broadly and offered warm congratulations. (I may have just thought those were their names because I was hungry for steak.)
Then I clapped my hands loudly, dropped into a linebacker-stance and said, ‘HOW CAN I HELP YOU, LADIES?’
The women revealed that they were Jehovah’s Witnesses. And they were there to invite me to study the bible with them.
I responded like Matt Foley giving his van down by the river speech, ‘LADIES, I ALREADY HAVE A BIBLE! AND I AM GOING TO CHURCH EVERY SUNDAY (this month)! YOU DON’T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT ME! NOW I WANT YOU TO GET OUT THERE, LADIES! AND GET EVERYONE ELSE ON THE TEAM! CAN YOU DO THAT FOR ME?!?’
The women lit up and laughed at my over the top response to their sales pitch. They thanked me for sharing my energy with them that morning. Which I am sure is a welcomed departure from the typical response the JWs get on their Ding-Dong-Divinitiy Tours.
As they waved and wished me a good day, I shouted out one last bit of coaching, ‘NOW MAKE SURE YOU GO TO CHURCH TOMORROW! YOU’VE TO GOT TO PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH, LADIES!‘
And with that, they left with big bright smiles on their faces.
Key Takeaway
When you feel happy, energetic, or optimistic, share it with others. Brighten the day of those around you. We can all use a little more of the good stuff. So when you having a great day, break off a little piece and pass it around. You never know who might need what you have.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
Once upon a time, college athletics was where amateur athletes competed for bragging rights, trophies, t-shirts and gaudy championship rings. But today, college athletics has been deamateurified in a major way thanks to the rules changes related to NIL.
As the Founder & CEO of the advertising and idea agency The Weaponry, and as a former college athlete at the University of Wisconsin athlete, I love working with both athletes and marketers on endorsement deals. Throughout my advertising career, I have spent a great deal of time working with athletes including:
NFL All-Pros
MLB All-Stars
Olympic Gold Medalists
PGA Championship Golfers
Top NASCAR Drivers
College Athletes and Teams
Today, in the NIL era, I see one specific mistake made repeatedly by college athletes. And, no, it’s not getting arrested. (Which might land you a sweet deal endorsing handcuffs or mugshot makeup.)
What the NIL is NIL?
NIL is shorthand for the NCAA rule change related to Name, Image and Likeness. The rule change is not about athletes actually having a name, image or likeness. University athletes have always had those things. (Except maybe athletes who play for the Nevada College No-Names, the Florida Tech Phantoms, or the Delaware Institute Dislikes.)
The real change to college athletics in the NIL era is about NCAA athletes’ rights. And the right that is right at the heart of the issue is the Athletes’ Right of Publicity. This is a particularly interesting topic because universities have always loved using athletes to get publicity for the school itself.
Before 2021 the NCAA ruled that athletes did not have a right of publicity to promote a product or a service and get paid in the process. Which is a pretty crazy thing to declare in a free-market society. That is probably why Brian Bosworth wore that National Communists Against Athletes t-shirt at the 1987 Orange Bowl. But as of 2021, the world has decided that college athletes do have the right of publicity, which allows them to promote products and services.
Name, image and likeness (NIL) are simply the three elements that make up “Right of Publicity” and allow NCAA athletes to be compensated. They are like the Earth, Wind and Fire of ROP. They just aren’t as much fun to dance to at weddings. #DoYouRemember
Boz, before he got his endorsement deal with Dr. Pepper as the Sheriff of Fansville.
The NIL Problem
The rule is intended to allow college athletes to cash in on their well-knownness.
The problem is that many college athletes refer to their engagements publicly as NIL deals.
NIL is simply the name of the rule that allows you to work with brands that, in theory, you love, use and endorse.
When you say you have an NIL deal, it is kind of like saying you have a ‘Freedom of speech’ deal. Or a ‘I have legal rights’ deal. Or a ‘I get paid to talk about this stuff’ deal. Or a ‘You can’t stop me’ deal.
Advice to College Athletes
Don’t reference NIL when you talk about your opportunities. No one other than NCAA athletes talk about opportunities this way. It’s an amateur way to think about being a paid Spokesathlete. Talking about a relationship as a NIL deal cheapens the work you are doing.
When a brand pays you to endorse a product, place or service, you have a job. That job is as a promoter, endorser, representative or spokesperson.
The audience you are paid to help influence doesn’t want to hear you have an NIL deal. They want authentic partnerships and collaborations.
They like ambassadors. They like relationships.
They like a good old-fashioned endorsement. In fact, the widely accepted ratings and review system that is so popular on the interwebs is an endorsement system. We all gravitate toward products, places and services that are endorsed by the people who have tried them.
So college athletes, tell us that you use, endorse and recommend products, services and brands. Tell us that you are collaborating with your favorite fill-in-the-blank because it is your favorite fill-in-the-blank in the whole fill-in-the-blank-ing world, and you want everyone to know.
But remember, endorsement relationships are most impactful when the compensation element is not discussed. The more you highlight the compensation the less credible and convincing the endorsement is.
LSU celebrity spokes-gymnast Livvy Dunne, loving her some Vuori.
What To Do Instead
Partner with brands, products and services that you really use, like and recommend. Focus on your positive feelings about the brand. Focus on promoting the brand, not on the fact that you are a paid promoter.
As athletes you want to feel like you are winning. And it is easy to think that you are winning by telling the world you won an NIL deal. Or that you are getting paid because you are such a good athlete. Or because you are cute and have a nice body.
But don’t.
You win by having the brands you work with want to do more work together. You win by having other brands recognize the great job you do as a promoter, which makes them want to work with you too. Just keep the compensation behind the scenes.
Key Takeaway
If you have the opportunity to promote brands, products or services as a college athlete the best thing you can do is think like a professional athlete. Enthusiastically promote, support and endorse the things you like, but keep the compensation part low-key. Professionals recognize the importance of the marketing work they do as a key part of their livelihood, so they approach the work as professionals. College athletes need to do the same thing. It’s the best way to keep your opportunities going long after your college days are over.
**Yes, you can add ‘Paid Partnership’ to your social posts when you feel it is necessary to be transparent. Just don’t add NIL-deal. Deal?
*If you know a college athlete who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
This has been a 7 Sentence Sunday Post. Just 7 sentences. (At least just 7 sentences before the little 3-dot divider thingie.) These are quick thoughts before church. Or after church. Or before football if you don’t mark your Sundays with church. Or, if you don’t do church or football, it’s simply 7 sentences before Monday. (Plus this rambling descriptor of how simple the post was supposed to be before I overcomplicated it.)
Adam Albrecht Blog 