Tales of a traveling PR pro

During my travels, I’m privileged to get to speak with PR pros of all kinds, in many different places, in a wide variety of situations. And while each one is unique, over time, I begin to notice trends that are extremely common.

Today, I want to highlight one of the things I see over and over again.

It’s what you might call a PR pro “mind virus.” A mind virus is a thought or idea that does damage to its victim by affecting the way you see the world.

What’s the mind virus I’m talking about?

It’s the idea that the success you have getting more media placements is in any way connected to the budget you have to work with.

The mind virus leads you to believe that’s true. And it makes for a very convenient excuse NOT to achieve at the level of your potential

But this mind virus is spreading a lie.

Real story angles that win are independent of budget.

Novel, creative angles are paid for in other ways. Generally, they are paid for with innovative, creative, strategic thinking.

You look at the resources you have, you look at the connections you have, you look at all the raw materials at your disposal and you combine them in a VALUABLE way that leads to a placement.

General Motors obviously has a ton of money. But when they landed their refreshed SUV on the Today show last summer, they didn’t need it. The story’s appeal came in the way they connected the vehicle to Today viewers via an engineer who worked on developing a new safety feature.

“Oh but that’s General Motors!” you say. And there’s ANOTHER mind virus. The idea that you can’t achieve top-level results from the exact position you find yourself in right now.

Don’t do that to yourself.

Your media placements aren’t limited by your budget. Sever that connection in your mind forever.

You basically have a choice: Do you allow this mind virus to control your future or do you see it for the lie it is and succeed anyway?

Think about it.