Knowing Without Fear.

Today's Marketing Cookie is about knowing something without a shred of proof.

There are many things I've done in my career that I had no business doing. For instance, I was hired at a database company but had never used a computer before. On my first day, I needed help finding the power button. Despite lacking experience or training in computer programming, I contributed to building their first Internet site before the web browser's invention. Sure, I was terrified, but a little voice of determination assured me I would figure it out.

In my twenties, I founded my first web design company. Four years later, I became the President of a much larger web development company. A few years after that, I founded a digital marketing firm, and became a CMO. What did I know about founding a business or having formal training in such endeavors? I was certainly afraid, but a little voice of courage reassured me I could figure it out.

Have you ever been out of your element? Ever been pushed or willingly jumped into something new without a compass or instruction manual? If so, you might just have the right stuff for marketing.

Let me explain...

In most industries, knowledge comes from experience and successful repetition. However, in marketing, knowing something doesn't always stem from what you know or have done, but from what you believe. While marketing fundamentals are rooted in experience, our greatest successes often arise from the belief in trying the untried, the courage to test the untested, and the determination to attempt the unprecedented. This belief manifests as a little voice, somehow assuring us it will work. Do we really know? No, not in a concrete sense, but somehow, we just know.

I've learned that the best marketers are fearless pioneers. Despite their fears, they're willing to try something entirely new. The greatest marketers innovate while others hesitate. They attempt to fly before having wings, taking bold leaps while others are still testing the waters.

My daring ventures in business have prepared me for the even more daunting challenges I face today as a marketer. When we take risks on behalf of our clients, a little voice instills the confidence to believe we're on the right path. Yes, taking risks is terrifying, but that's precisely why we love it and perhaps why it works. We strive to heed today's fortune: "Listen to what you know instead of what you fear."