Follow the peanut
My daughter came into this world 5 weeks early and at least 5lbs too small. But, to be honest, that never slowed her down. She was out of the NICU in 11 days, out of the hospital 7 days after that – and she never looked back.
She’s still tiny – hasn’t quite cracked 28lbs at 4 years old, but she’s quite mighty. A magnificent brain, big brown eyes and a brewing wit are likely to take her far.
And then this morning, she wanted something. She asked nicely enough the first time and the second. (Jack, her little brother, had the desired object and wasn’t really listening). And then she got pissed.
She’s 4…so you’d assume that she’d whine or scream or cry or even haul off and hit him – but she didn’t. Instead, she came out with this voice – this strapping, deep, throaty bellow. She never lost her poise, nor her cool. Her little self didn’t even show exertion from the effort – it just surged out of her. “GIVE ME THE HORSE.”
Seriously, there wasn’t even an exclamation point at the end. But the effect was immense. And he handed her the horse without ceremony.
I’m guessing you’re hit with the same flood of articles/posts I see every day that are trying to prescribe the magic bullet for writing marketing copy. Long-form sales letters, the ‘it’ title, the 5 most persuasive words…it goes on and on. And I’m sitting here wondering if we can’t learn something from this 4 year old peanut.
Dig deep, way down. Don’t act bigger than you are. Don’t shake your structure. Don’t cry, whine or beg. Connect with your power source…and then, let it out – in all of its brilliance. Ask for what you want. And mean it. My girl does.
Image credit: That for which I’m most thankful…
Related posts:
- Going the way of the peanut butter
- Creating proposals that get you the job and are just generally awesome.
- When you are so 2009 & your web copy is so 1987
4 Responses to “Follow the peanut”
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hmmm, I think Monday will find me forwarding this to my boss, my fellow creatives, and, especially, my AEs…I get so SICK of trying to make our clients something they aren’t.
Your peanut’s going to be an amazing woman, I just know it.
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“Ask for what you want and mean it” is superb advice that’s often not instinctively understood by women. Kudos to you for raising a daughter who, at 4, already understands its power!
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That’s awesome. If all females could keep that skills as they get older there would probably be less drama in the world. Your daughter totally looks like you in the eyes and eyebrows!
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