Declaring independence (and keeping it) is a difficult endeavor. It takes wisdom, fearlessness, consistency, persistence, and dedication.
In a much humbler realm – content marketing – the same virtues apply to success. In honor of the 4th of July, here are what some of the commanders in chief have said about content marketing. Sort of.
On Strategy
“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six hours sharpening my ax” – Abraham Lincoln
Don’t get started without a plan and the right tools.
“They criticize me for harping on the obvious; if all the folks in the United States would do the few simple things they know they ought to do, most of our big problems would take care of themselves.” – Calvin Coolidge
Most of the things that will make your content marketing successful are fairly obvious and straightforward. It’s actually doing them that is difficult:
“Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from the corn field.” – Dwight D Eisenhower
Get your hands dirty.
“Yes we can.” – Barack Obama
The power of positive thinking is well, powerful.
On Getting Things Done and Learning from Doing
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race” – Calvin Coolidge
Don’t hold your breath waiting for a parade in your honor. March on, yourself.
“Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.” – John Quincy Adams
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt
Set feasible goals that take into consideration your resources.
“And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” – John F. Kennedy
Replace “country” with “audience” or “customers.”
“Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.” – John F. Kennedy
If it was easy, everyone would be doing it and it wouldn’t have any real payoff.
“You aren’t learning anything when you’re talking.” – Lyndon B. Johnson
Get to work.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt
Learn from doing.
“Any jackass can kick down a barn but it takes a good carpenter to build one.” – Lyndon B. Johnson
Create, don’t criticize.
On Measurement
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” – John Adams
The numbers don’t lie. Base your decisions on analytics and research instead of guesses and feelings. Most of the time, anyway.
“Don’t be afraid to see what you see.” – Ronald Reagan
“The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable.” – James A. Garfield
Dealing with the truth will help you be more effective than hiding from it.
“Any man worth his salt will stick up for what he believes right, but it takes a slightly better man to acknowledge instantly and without reservation that he is in error.” – Andrew Jackson
Sometimes you’ll be wrong. Deal with it.
“If you live long enough, you’ll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you’ll be a better person. It’s how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit.” – Bill Clinton
Most importantly, don’t give up. No matter how high the odds are stacked against you.
Happy Independence Day.
[image: jamiedfw]
