Stay Hungry.

Today's Marketing Cookie reflects a commitment I've made, but a task I wished to defer. It's true. I awoke just before 5 AM, as I always do, but today I did not want to crack a cookie. I'm tired. I've had a long week, faced challenges, put out fires, and solved problems. I'm short-staffed, low on energy, and lacking imagination.

So, rather than writing today's cookie, I played solitaire on my iPhone... twice. Then I checked Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn... but still no cookie. A couple of hours later, I made coffee for my wife and patted our little dog on her head... for a half hour. All the while, the cookies were calling to me, "HEY! What about today's cookie?" Guilt. Shame. Rationalization.

Then I thought of what George Horace Lorimer, one of the greatest American journalists and authors, once said, "You've got to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction." He was right. As the editor of the Saturday Evening Post, he had to publish the paper on time, maintain the high quality his readers expected, and I'm certain he never let playing solitaire or patting his dog on the head get in the way of his commitments. If he could remain committed to the Post on Saturday evenings, I could remain committed to Marketing Cookies on Saturday mornings.

So there.

If we are serious about our commitments, and if we are still hungry, then we must push forward. It's true for you as a person. It's true for you as a marketer. And it's also true for your company. Every day we must wake up with the will to keep our promises, and for me, today is no exception. So yes. Although I am tired, I am still hungry. I am satisfied to say that Today's Marketing Cookie has been brought to you by sheer will and determination... and now I will rest.