Once Again, Marathons Prove to be My Best Metaphor for Life, and Work. | by Matthew Walfish

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“How close to your true potential can you get?”

I’ve penned that quote to myself now on a number of occasions and it sounds corny, but I mean… how close can I get to pushing myself further than I have before? OK, weird start to a recap of my work week. I know, read on.

Maybe it was serendipity, but visiting Boston on the same week as they were building the Marathon Course was like a sign from the heavens. The goal of re-qualifying for the Marathon still lives in me. One day, one day.

Marathons are one of those complex and frustrating things where, you’ll never be perfect, but there is something about trying to be that keeps me obsessed. Certainly, running a 3:00:00 marathon (again) is a whole process… but, the challenge for running a fast race, is the same challenge as why I chose to study music, art, and ballet.

I’ll never be perfect, but I’m going to aim as close to it as I can.

Marketing is no different, and a perfect career for my creative/technical mind.

Strategizing, took my main attention this week. There are a few levels of content planning that always cycle through my mind: the micro level is like, “What am I posting and when?”. On a macro-level, “What creative direction and vibe do I give our social media campaigns?”. From the small, short TikTok’s, to the complex, and bigger content shoots, all of it fits into a cute little puzzle across multiple social channels.

Our team speaks a lot about the “voices” which each social media platform has. The fun of strategy is being able to plan how to communicate through content differently on each platform. Each platform shapes your brand in a different way, but ultimately leads back to what you want: brand awareness.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what kind of content will help shape our company. I’m not even sure what potential our company has yet! There are so many possibilities and opportunities in front of us. My Director asked me this week, “What would you be most proud of in a few months?”.

Girl.

I honestly, still have no idea. It’s such an easy, textbook answer to say something like, “Oh, seeing this campaign come to life”, or, “Ummm… if we hit a follower milestone”… All of those answers kind of make me feel like an insincere loser so of course… I ran… and thought…

Honestly, what will make me proud, is if I can look back, and see that I am valiantly working towards my personal level of success, by holding steady to my instincts and ideas. It’s not that I doubt or question my decisions, but that mindset of trying to be perfect at something you can’t be perfect at kicks in, and starts to manifest into competitiveness.

Our company had some record-breaking moments this week, and the main theme that I kept hearing about it was that it was amazing to watch our product work and do it’s thing, but also to have had so many moments to learn from.

Similarly, it’s just like running those marathons. Sometimes you run happy and sometimes you’re suffering. Every step forward is just that; a step forward in the right direction. Our company ran a tremendous race this week and I got to witness some pretty cool growth happening across all 40+ of us.

Keep inspiring me, work!