Who Was Ricky Nelson And What Does He Have To Do With Every Single One Of Us?
Let’s get the who part of the equation out of the way right off the bat.
Via Wikipedia:
“Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985), known professionally as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer, musician, and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. In 1957, he began a long and successful career as a popular recording artist. The expression ‘teen idol’ was first coined to describe Nelson He placed 53 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, and its predecessors, between 1957 and 1973, including ‘Poor Little Fool’ in 1958, which was the first number one song on Billboard magazine’s then-newly created Hot 100 chart. He recorded 19 additional top ten hits and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 21, 1987. In 1996 Nelson was ranked No. 49 on TV Guide’s 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.”
Ok, for those who are under the age of say 60, maybe 65, you probably had no idea who Ricky Nelson was, but now you do. And maybe, just maybe, if you are in a younger demo, you heard one of his songs when you were younger riding in your parent’s Buick or Ford – back when A) radio came through an antenna and not a satellite and B) you had no control over the music in your parent’s vehicle.
NOTE: That last part was highly-personal for I have not had said control in my own car for many a year now. But I digress.
What Does He Have To Do With Me, Steve?
One of Nelson’s most famous songs was Garden Party. It would turn out to be his last Top 40 hit before he tragically died in a plane crash. And it is a lyric from this song that inspired me to write this here very post.
“You see, ya can’t please everyone, so ya got to please yourself.”
By now you may be thinking “Steve, I read your articles because of your marketing and advertising acumen. Why are you passing on life lessons to me, at least here, in this forum?”
Well, call it an aberration if you want; an anomaly of sorts. I just felt compelled and inspired to remind all of you of this very simple, yet often hard to achieve realization. There is no way on Earth to please everyone, so you have to please yourself.
As a former people-pleaser, I know full well the trap or disadvantages of being one of these:
“People-pleasers are known for doing whatever it takes to make other people happy. While being kind and helpful is generally a good thing, going too far to please others can leave you feeling emotionally depleted, stressed, and anxious.”
So, maybe that’s why I wanted to write this particular post, my former self was rising to my consciousness.
On the Other Hand
Perhaps there is a message here for you marketers and advertisers of the world and that is quite simply this: In your personal lives, yes it is true you can’t please everyone but when it comes to your customers you need to take the exact opposite approach.
This is no longer about pleasing yourself, this is all about pleasing them.
Insanely simplistic?
Damn right it is.
And that’s the whole idea.
