Whew.

If you are like me, right now you are looking up and looking around and asking yourself “What the heck happened last night?”

And maybe you’re not. Maybe you are looking around saying, “See? Told you.”

And that's the interesting part to me. What did you see? What do you think you know?

At Serendipitous Rebel we talk a lot about leaning into your strengths when things are tough. For me, my top Via Character Strength is Perspective.

"I give advice to others by considering different (and relevant) perspectives and using my own experiences and knowledge to clarify the big picture."

In leaning into perspective, this is what I came up with. 

When we teach people how to market their offers in their business, we are often told - and we tell clients - that it really comes down to one of three things: health, wealth, and love. If you aren’t speaking to one of those three things, forget about it. Your offer, your product, becomes “nice to have.” Not the necessity. Speak to one of those three things though, and people will open their wallets freely, looking to buy themselves out of the problem. 

When you work as a coach, we often talk about mindset. Overcoming overwhelm. Self care. 

Buzzwords. 

Frankly they are all things people want, but will they spend the money to fix the problem? 

Maybe. 

It comes down to Maslow's hierarchy of needs. In other words, if  you are making money, if your business is stable, your marketing plan is clear, then we are willing to spend money on these other things. 

But if you are struggling in the bottom rung of Maslow your focus is more tactical. You may even be more desperate. Any investment other than something tactical that solves the health, wealth or love argument is just frivolous spending. Make me money first. I will buy myself into that solution. 

The same could be said for this election. 

Republicans, for better or worse, did a better job at marketing their offer. They spoke to tactical problems and solutions - the economy, immigration, inflation, etc. 

Democrats spoke of Democracy. Hope. Lofty things that are  appealing to people like me - a white woman living in a comfortable suburb with a stable job and family situation. I’m high enough up on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs that the appeal of self-actualization speaks to me. 

But to a person struggling to buy groceries, hope and democracy seem like a lofty “nice to have.” Give me the tactical solution. Make my milk cost less. 

And that’s where Democrats lost.  

When we speak to clients about marketing we really stress the benefits vs features. It’s not enough to tell me what you are giving me. You have to tell me why I should care. 

And while we can argue that this was bro-marketing at its finest - fake urgency, fear mongering, and posturing with no real plan - frankly, it worked. 

I’ve been in the online space long enough to know that it almost always works. 

So what’s the fix? I don’t pretend to know. I do know that I have worked too long and hard to wallow in despair. I know that cutting out people in my life because of their politics is tantamount to cutting someone off for their religion. It goes against my values. And that kind of mentality never builds bridges. 

So today I sit and reflect. Tomorrow I lean into my strengths - perspective, curiosity, a little dark humor, and finally resilience. 

The work is not done. And I’m not done either.