Jajo Blog

Several months ago I discovered the following list, courtesy of The Story of Telling, and jotted it down in my sketchbook. It’s a great collection of 25 tips meant to help you spread your ideas and make an impact. No matter what you do for a living or as a passion, there is something here for everyone.

• 1. Create something that people want to talk about.
• 2. Give people a way to share it.
• 3. Know who you are talking to or targeting.
• 4. Understand your audience.
• 5. Work out what people want before they do.
• 6. Think about what one person will say to another to recommend it.
• 7. Question why someone will buy, use, or talk about your thing over another.
• 8. Believe in the idea yourself.
• 9. Be the best choice.
• 10. Create for a few.
• 11. Make it work for the many.
• 12. Ask people to try it.
• 13. Engage people and build trust.
• 14. Connect your true fans.
• 15. Help people to care about what you do or sell.
• 16. Ask your followers to share it.
• 17. Make people laugh.
• 18. Make people cry.
• 19. Do something unexpected.
• 20. Be generous.
• 21. Promise something and deliver on it.
• 22. Create something people want, not just something they need.
• 23. Be passionate.
• 24. Start!
• 25. Evaluate and make it better.

I found this very inspiring and decided I would put some of the author’s wisdom into action. Instead, what I did was close my sketchbook and move on with my life.

When I recently rediscovered the list it dawned on me just how important #24 is especially. Ideas are nothing without action. How many opportunities have slipped by or faded away because you simply didn’t start the ball rolling?

One company serving as an exemplar of this list is TOMS shoes. By now many people know that every pair of TOMS purchased is matched with a pair given to a child in need. They call it “One for One” and it works. Pick a number in the list above and they have embraced it. But that was only the beginning. The company recently moved into the business of sight, in which sales of their eyewear translates into medical treatment or a pair of prescription glasses for one person. This is a case where one shoe company turned into a movement by making a true impact on people.