Tag: radar

Before people will pay you money they need to know you exist.

Radar was first invented in the early 1900s. Depending on how you look at it, radar was either invented by German Christian Hülsmeyer, British Robert Watson-Watt, or American Radar O’Reilly.

Radar is a very useful technology in war and navigation. It alerts you that someone or something is within a determined radius of you. It makes you aware of things you weren’t aware of before. Including things that you can’t see with your naked eye. Or any other naked parts for that matter.

This concept is very useful to humans in other arenas too.

If you have a business that needs to develop new customers, having potential customers on your radar is important. But it’s critical for your business to be on your potential customer’s radar. Because, in the words of NSYNC, if you are not on their radar they can’t buy, buy, buy from you.

That is why marketing exists. You first need to ping on your customer’s radar before you can make a sale. Because if they are looking for products, services or experiences that you offer, but they don’t notice you, you both lose out. (Insert Game Show losing sound effect here.)

To be found, you have to send regular signals. That signal that you are sending should be loud and detectable by your most important audience. You do this both through placement (being where others can find you) and promotion (through messages you share with the world).

Once your products or your messages are discoverable, you will begin to ping on your most important customers’ radars. That is the goal. That’s where it all starts.

Key Takeaway

Great things happen as a result of awareness. Make sure you are taking steps to be discovered. Show up. Send messages. That’s how you get noticed. And once you are noticed, the possibilities are endless.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.

Develop your MacGyver mindset.

When I was a kid MacGyver was one of my favorite TV shows. The hero of the show, Mac MacGyver, was always finding himself in precarious situations, typically involving nukes, Russians, and bombs with timers. MacGyver faced certain death in every episode. Which, of course, was the appeal for young Adam to watch.

But spoiler alert: MacGyver never died. He always found a way forward. He survived by detecting and collecting the scraps of stuff around him that he could use to save himself. A bit of gum. A paperclip. Some harmless chemicals that when combined created all kinds of harm to the handcuffs, ropes or unharmable doors that restrained him.

This sums up all you need to know about MacGyver. I love the tagline: He acts fast and thinks faster. I would add that his hair was always in place.

The thing that stands out to me today about MacGyver, other than his sweet era-appropriate mullet, is that he had a finally-tuned radar that could detect things that could help his cause. He noticed items that the rest of the world simply didn’t see. Because if the bad guys trying to ruin MacG realized the potential in those bits and scraps they would not have left them within his radius when locking him up and leaving him for dead, or worse…

Human Radar

One of my significant assets is that I have developed my own human radar. I can scan a situation and find the valuable scraps that were left to help me find my way forward. Except my scraps aren’t usually paperclips, dental floss or mullets.

My bits and bobs are things like contact information. I may notice a book reference, a motivation quote, or a class. It could be a person near me who has a contact or experience that is highly valuable to me. Or a relevant example that I can use to help teach or coach.

My lifesavers could be as simple as reminders to drink more water or get more sleep each night. They could be random QR codes that make me realize I can use such codes to allow for quick and easy book purchases by people who come to my book talks. Or my lifesavers could be round fruity candies with a hole in the middle. In other words, these items are varied and random. But they are all there to help me find my way forward. Or to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Key Takeaway

There are little bits of lifesavers all around us. The key is developing the radar to recognize them and their ability to help you. They could be people, quotes, contact information, books, technology, or reminders that you need at the moment. But when you can recognize the solution to a problem you are facing or the answer to the question you have asked, you are in a powerful position to receive all the great things waiting for you.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+ For more positive ideas to apply to your life, check out my new book What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.