The seventh question someone asked me inside Copy Custard was, “What’s the Number One Reason People Fail to Achieve Copywriting Success?” The question is still valid and the video I made still holds true, but the more I’ve thought about this the more I see there is something else.
It’s a trait. A trait that’s so strong you can’t fake it at any useful level. It’s also a shapeshifter, because it’s the form every other virtue takes at the moment it matters most. It’s a gatekeeper. A portal. The naked truth.
That was a grandiose intro.
But don’t scroll down to the answer – stick right here with me.
Scrollers?
NGMI.
Let’s assume you’re not a scroller. Because that’s a flaming red flag. That’s a lead indicator of failure. Losers tell themselves speed matters but that’s not it. They’re just shortcut addicts. Self-grifters. Selling their psyches down the river for a quick hit of dopamine because they lack the basic ability to focus for 45 consecutive seconds. If you can’t focus you are stupid. That’s a known fact.
If you’re not in a hurry and you care about your future, let’s take this line by line.
I had a football coach once.
And he taught me that there are only three things you can control on the pitch:
- You can control how hard you work
- You can control your positive energy
- You can control how brave you are
The last one was the most important. I was not a big kid so I got knocked about. Sometimes it was rough. I didn’t like it but that’s just the way it is. Violence is in our biology and if you put yourself out there you risk getting stomped on.
But a funny thing happens when you’re brave on the pitch. You can be way down the list in terms of skill or technique but if you get stuck in your teammates will respect you and you can feel good about yourself. And feeling good about yourself makes you a better player. It’s a positive feedback loop. Bravery makes you braver. Courage compounds.
When you look at the map of consciousness below, notice that courage sits bang in the middle. There are eight levels below it and eight above. So it sits at the gateway between survival and enlightenment. In many mysterious ways, it’s the master key.
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When you show courage, you unlock the full spectrum of what life has to offer. If you don’t you get stuck in survival mode. You can live a whole life down there. But it’s a limited one. To get somewhere new you have to strip your spirit of its prior limits.
To get specific and actionable, what is courage?
First of all, it means taking risks. Freelancing itself is a rebellious act. You’re trading security for independence and conformity for authenticity. You’re already halfway there. But within that risk bracket you still need to go hunting for big fish. Take those risks and you’ll get the payoffs. You’ll make mistakes. You’ll get told no, guaranteed. But learn from those mistakes until you succeed. It’s that simple.
And once you sign a client, it means putting their needs above your own. It’s the courage to focus on service and sacrifice. Don’t throw your ego around. Don’t phone it in. Do the best work you possibly can. The secret to success is that service and sacrifice trump the twin egos of force and dominion.
There are all sorts of examples from books and movies but the one 99% of people know about is Lord of the Rings. The Balrog monster ambushes the Fellowship on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm in the Chamber of Mazarbul. He’s got a giant whip made of fire. Odds aren’t good. But Gandalf stomps his stick and shouts, “Thou shall not pass!” Gandalf and the Balrog fall into the depths of Moria.
They go at it for 10 days.
At one point he is literally fighting slime in the depths of hell before rising to victory under a sky torn by storm.
It will do you good to remember the wizard every now and again, when you’re sitting in comfort tapping on a MacBook sipping an oat milk matcha latte.
Your struggles are not real.
Yes – nor were Gandalf’s if you’re going to be clever about it – but the point stands . . .
Sack up and send that email.
