Totally gotcha with the title, didn’t I? I know…and it was completely intentional 😉 In case you haven’t noticed, over the past few years the 50 Shades of Gray books and movies have taken the world by storm – and for good reason! In terms of subject matter, they are pretty controversial, but clearly people have eaten it up.
Recently I had a conversation with a friend chatting about some interesting correlations I see between business and themes from the book/movie series and decided to dive into them from a business perspective to hopefully entertain you a little bit while imparting some serious golden nuggets.
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A few lessons we can learn from 50 Shades of Gray that apply to business….
1. Everybody has a match
The truth is, no matter how crazy you think your freak flag is, someone else is secretly flying that same freak flag and is a great match for you. But if you never fly yours, how will they find you?
Don’t ever stop being yourself or hide the true you away because you’re afraid of what other people think or that they won’t “get” you. I promise that their are people out there who will totally get you, and those are the people you want in your life and as part of your business.
The point isn’t that you can be more helpful when you’re being yourself (although that’s true!) The point is that everyone has a match out there and when we are authentically ourselves, in life AND business, we will attract the right kinds of people for us…..even if it’s kinky or strange 😉
2. Our past doesn’t have to dictate our future
Just because something you did before totally tanked doesn’t mean the next thing you’re doing is going to totally tank! Case in point: I thought the first 50 Shades of Gray movie was completely awful. But things changed and evolved, and the second movie I absolutely loved.
It’s the same in our businesses. Just because we produce something that fails or doesn’t work as well as we were hoping, doesn’t mean everything we’re ever going to do will have the same result.
If we do it right, we learn from our mistakes, learn what didn’t work, and move forward. We have to keep trying, keep going keep moving forward because we never know when the thing we make is going to totally explode and be amazing. Don’t let hiccups from the past keep you from building the next thing.
3. Know your audience
It’s super obvious that the 50 Shades franchise has been so wildly successful because they knew what their audience wanted – to feel like they could relinquish control and have some of the weight of constant decision-making taken of their plates. Women everywhere dream of living a free, exciting, exhilarating life which is the kind of picture that was painted in these books and movies.
In business it’s important to know who you’re trying to reach, what they need and what they want. We need to know the trigger points that will draw people in, keep them excited and coming back for more time and time again. It’s our job to paint a picture of the world they want to live in….and make it a possibility for them.
4. Make people’s lives easier
From a business perspective what probably ALL people want at some point or another is freedom of the weight of constant decision-making. That’s the whole premise behind the 50 Shades of Gray story. As business owners we want to be Christian Gray…..we want our people to trust us and know that we have their best interests in mind and will take care of them.
What we need to offer is an easier way, an easier path, an easier solution. Then we need to back it up with accountability and support and love. Following that formula, I guarantee anything you do will have the right people coming back time and time again.
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