Jimmy Marlin’s Manifesto on the Status Quo

If you’re like me, then you constantly see the status quo… and you don’t like it.

The status quo is the now. It’s how things are done today because they have always been done that way.

Unfortunately there are groups of people who want to protect this status quo. The reason? Because they’re comfortable. They want to keep things how they are and don’t want to change anything.

But guess what? They are wrong. Dead wrong. In this world everything that stays the same will die. It becomes obsolete. It’s not needed anymore.

I don’t know about you, but I despise the status quo. And I will renounce it in the offices of the highest skyscrapers in Dallas if needed.

As a result, some people don’t agree with me. Some ask me to leave their office. And that is okay.

Why? Because there are a few of us who thrive on pushing the limits. Pushing what’s possible. Pushing what is acceptable in business and in life. There are a few of us who BELIEVE so passionately about what we do… we will face death, persecution and humiliation. And that’s whom this manifesto stands for… the person who wants to push towards the horizon and make things better.

In Texas we hear: “If it aint broke don’t fix it.”

Everything to a point is broken if it’s not continuously made better. Anything that stays the same slowly defragments with the inevitable forces of time and tide. That includes products. It includes campaigns. And it includes you and me.

We can see this in the two types of status quo we face daily.

First, we face the status quo that others protect. And if you are like me—you’re disgusted with it. It gets under your skin and crawls and aches the core of your being.

In corporate America, the lovers of the status quo sometimes are officers, vice presidents and their followers. Sometimes it’s a young high-potential manager who thinks she will be CEO one day. In marketing firms and political armies, it’s how things are done to keep the hierarchical structure intact… despite the passion, skill and wisdom of smart people who are in the organization.

The second status quo we face is with our individual selves.

This is that being inside you that thrives on creativity. The person who wants to help others. The person who wants to be a piece of something and lead something fantastic.

This inside being continuously pushes you forward… so hard you have nothing left. It’s that part of you that wants to be successful… and no matter what… you will continue to fight.

However, sometimes our abilities and motivation are stifled. The upper echelons of corporate America, the system, your boss—with their processes and lack of ability to trust—will deflate your appetite to become better. We might give up. We might become just another cog that is easily replaced.

Or… worse… if you’re starting something great… if you have a dream you have not yet pursued, you could be stifling yourself. The fear and the jumbled thoughts of what to do could cause you to pause. To ignore that passionate being inside.

How do we fight this? How do we know what to pursue? Where do we go? Who do we target? Who will benefit from our great idea? How do we get an idea that we are so passionate about and deliver it into existence and change the world? Or change the executive team? Or change our boss?

The only thing that I found to work—to fight the status quo of others and myself—is to have an insane level of clarity.

An insane level of clarity begets a laser focus that no one can sway or stifle.

And if you don’t believe me… Fine. You simply may not be ready to fight the status quo. You might be comfortable with how things are… you might like it. And I am happy for you. You are not wrong.

However, if you’re not comfortable with how things are, you have two options. The first option is that you can give up completely. You can throw your dreams away and become a cog. Or… the better option in my humble opinion is to shatter how things are done—personally and professionally—with a clear, concise goal and a path to get there.

You need to be able to tell others and yourself about your idea so crisply that people understand it immediately. What you say needs to exude influence. It needs to be so persuasive that a leader of your organization or a customer says, “WOW! WE NEED THAT NOW!” or, “WOW! TELL ME MORE!”

This is the true essence of clarity. It’s not just saying something that is well-defined. But saying something in such a way that the right people see the need for it immediately.

I’m not perfect at this. And it is a constant battle to fight the fear-ridden mind that wants to stifle my progress.

“What will others think? What if people think I’m an idiot? What if people dislike my idea and me? And… what if… I fail?”

These rhetorical questions and their slanted answers could be true. They might happen. But they might not.

With an actual plan to communicate your idea, your passion, your dream, your new product or service—you might actually be able to break the barriers of the status quo.

By transforming your jumbled thoughts into something that is insanely clear and influential… you might stand a chance. And this chance… this glimmer of hope… this insane level of clarity is what Clear Points Messaging offers and believes in and stands for.

I hope you’ll join me in making things better with clear, influential communication. It’s the one thing that cannot be stopped… that shatters the status quo. Let’s do something unstoppable together… and make our jobs, our products and our lives better.