“I don’t…. remember” he muttered, eyes darting around nervously.
“It’s pretty straightforward,” I replied. “Did you brush your teeth or not?”
My son, [anonymous – you’ll have to guess which one] shifted his weight and looked up again.
“Welllll……. I was GOING to but I noticed my room needed to be cleaned…. so ……”
If you’re a parent you know what I’m talking about.
Answers to straightforward questions get clouded by adrenaline as our sweet children think “THEY’RE ON TO ME!”, followed by a rush of blood to the extremities in preparation for fight or flight.
Here’s the point.
Tell the truth.
And I’m not just talking about when you make a mistake.
Actually get results. Actually get testimonials. Actually get stories of transformation. Actually do what you say you’re going to do. If you do mess up (nobody’s perfect after all), actually own it and apologize.
I call this the “no spin zone.”
When I left my 9-5 job after 11 years, one of the first questions I was asked by my former employer was “what are we gonna say?!?!” to our referral partners, coaching students, and the like.
I paused for a minute and replied, “the truth!”.
Easier said than done.
When asked about writing compelling copy on a recent podcast, Ryan Deiss (Digital Marketer) said, “It’s easier to write non-fiction than fiction.”
Meaning, you don’t have to make anything up.
Get super good at what you do, then get an amazing result, then talk about it.
No spin.
-Cody
P.S. Want a behind the scenes look at how I’m growing my business? This ☝️ is from yesterday’s episode of the Cody Builds a Business Podcast. I publish 3 new episodes a week, about 7-10 minutes long. Check it out, and if you leave an honest review I’ll read it on the show!