Just Do It: A Life Philosophy

I spend most of my workday thinking of ways to sell ?stuff.? Whether it?s a pair of boots or a new app, I?ve got to position products in ways that motivate consumers to spend their hard-earned cash on a product/service. As an advertising professional (god, that sounds boring), I?m constantly trying to think of slogans and taglines that stand out. There are many slogans I wish I?d created, especially Nike?s famous ?Just Do It.?

Do it up

I bring up ?Just Do It? not to highlight its advertising genius (it?s simple yet incredibly compelling), but to discuss the philosophy.

When you want to do something, do you throw caution to the wind and just do it? Or do you mull over the consequences and your potential failure so much you end up sitting back and wondering what could be?

A truly confident man doesn?t sit around and wait for success to happen. Neither does he doubt himself and hold back from pursuing goals. A confident man just gets up and makes it happen. He just does it.

My friend and I were talking about a mutual friend of ours the other day. We were amazed that our friend had taken up soccer and was trying out for a professional team. We weren?t surprised however. We knew that he was the type of guy who just did things as opposed to waiting around and wondering if he could make it or not.

Are you holding back from pursuing a dream because you?re not sure if you?ll succeed or not? Are you living a life you?d rather not live because you?re too afraid to take a leap and see what happens? Hey, it?s perfectly normal to doubt oneself. To do it to the point where you?re actually denying yourself the possibility of success is awful.
You?d be surprised at how successful you can be if you just believe in yourself and go for something. Talent and experience go a long way but they?re nothing without drive and confidence. Some of the most shy people have gone on to be mega rock stars. People who got picked on in grade school have grown up to become some of the most rich and successful businesspeople ever. You?ve got the power to achieve any goal you want, but you?ve got to believe in yourself enough to just go for it if you expect to achieve anything.

I can state from personal experience the benefits of just going for it, and it ties in directly with advertising. I wanted a job at an ad agency but wasn?t sure my work was good enough. Despite my doubts, I sent a cold email to the owner of the agency in question and hear back from him a few days later. The result: I?m currently employed by said agency.

Wear Nike, Reebok, FUBU, whatever you want. It?s all the same to me (until one of them pays to me say otherwise.) I must praise the ?Just Do It? slogan however. It?s simple, compelling, and actually works.