Several years ago when my kids were younger, we took a vacation down to Orlando. I didn’t have enough Southwest Rapid Reward® points so we booked a van with my National points and drove it instead. As we entered North Carolina, the we started to see signs for South of the Border.
Now if you’re not familiar with South of the Border, it’s a little tourist trap just south of the border of North Carolina. The tongue-in-cheek signs with messages such as Pedro’s Weather Forecast: Chili today, hot tamale!, Keep yelling, kids! (They’ll stop.), and You Never Sausage a Place! (You’re Always a Wiener at Pedro’s!) begin just as you leave Virginia on I-95 and continue all the way though North Carolina.
I’ve been on that road a few times before, but my kids haven’t. I played it up the whole time, telling them just how spectacular South of the Border is. They were ready to be totally impressed. We all got a good laugh when they saw what it really was. A lot of hype for something pretty unremarkable.
I’ve thought about this quite a bit recently. When I do a workshop or give a keynote, I really work hard to live up to the hype. One of my biggest fears is for someone to leave disappointed. As someone that works hard to market, I know that hype is what sells my workshops, appearances, and books. I have to live up to the hype.
When your boss approves your timesheet and it goes through payroll, do you ever wonder if somebody looks at it critically, wondering if you really earned it? Do you live up to the hype of the expectations your boss sets for you? If you’re a manager, do you live up to the hype of that very important title you wield?
All of us have a responsibility to give 100% to whatever we’re tasked to do. If you’re not doing that now, it’s not that different from the big disappointment travelers get when they finally see South of Border in person. Maybe we should all make the commitment to live up to the hype.
I’m up for it. Are you?