I'm ending the Marketing Powerups podcast show
I'm ending the Marketing Powerups podcast show
Marketing Powerups #82: I share what's coming up next for the Marketing Powerups show and newsletter.
After 69 episodes, 24.7K views on YouTube, and 15K podcast downloads, it's time to bid farewell to the Marketing Powerups show.
But don't worry; the weekly newsletter will continue, but I’ll rebrand it in a few months. Of course, the beloved video game and pixel-style branding will remain intact! ⭐️
So, why am I closing the curtains on a successful show?
🚀 Saying no to good to pursue great things.
Last year, my dad's emergency open-heart surgery was a wake-up call (I talked more about it in my 2023 year review). He's been the biggest influence in my life, career, and relationships. Facing the possibility of losing him brought a new clarity to my priorities.
A problem I have is that I often get so excited and say “yes” to too many things. (Maybe you can relate?) The result is that I have too many priorities.
One of my mentors reminded me recently that saying yes to a good thing could mean closing the door on a great thing. Everything I say YES to in this life means saying NO to something else. That means jumping on a call to record an episode for the show, which means missing out on time spent with my 21-month-old son or spending quality time with my wife.
Sometimes, we must let go of good things to make room for great ones.
Ending the show is a tough but necessary decision to focus on upcoming opportunities (more on this later).
💡 Embracing my zone of genius.
In his book The Big Leap, Gay Hendricks identified four different “zones of function” that people operate in:
The Zone of Incompetence: You are engaging in something you are not good at because you lack the right skills and understanding.
The Zone of Competence: You can get the job done, but no better than the next person.
The Zone of Excellence (or Zone of Expertise): You are doing something you are very good at compared to most people. Many people operate in this zone, believing it's their zone of genius.
The Zone of Genius: In this zone, you capitalize on your natural abilities and get into “flow” to produce distinguished and unique work that excels far beyond what anyone else is doing.
As I look to the future, I want to make sure I spend my time, resources, and talent in my zone of genius. Though I enjoy creating, building, and producing content, it is not in marketing. I’d say that marketing is in my “zone of excellence.” I’ll share where I think my zone of genius is in the coming months.
🤨 The “next next” job framework
Andrew Chen, partner at Andreessen Horowitz, shared a framework for making big career moves. He calls it the "next next" job. When deciding on your next career move, ask yourself:
“What do you want to be your next next job? What's the next move to get there?"
At the heart of this framework is looking beyond the immediate horizon and thinking about the long-term trajectory of your career or projects. For me, this means taking a step back and evaluating how my current actions and decisions align with my ultimate aspirations.
It's a challenging process that requires patience and foresight, but it's essential for ensuring that I'm moving in the right direction. By focusing on my "next next," I'm laying the groundwork for a future that aligns with my passions and goals.
I have a vision for my "next next," and I need to end the Marketing Powerups show to get there.
🎉 Thank you for your support!
I know I'm being mysterious.
The truth is, I'm still figuring things out. I'm excited to share more with you soon. Of course, you’ll be the first to know because I’ll share it in this newsletter first.
I'm grateful for friends who have been generous with their time to give me clarity and fresh perspective: Andrew Capland, Georgiana Laudi, Marc Thomas, and Hiba Amin.
And don't worry—we still have four more episodes of the show featuring:
Vassilena Valchanov’s Brand Messaging Framework
Alli Blum’s tips to get org-wide buy-in for JTBD
Ian Faison’s serialized content framework.
Hiba Amin’s path to a healthy marketing career.
The journey ahead is filled with possibilities, and I look forward to exploring them with your support. Thank you for being a part of this journey with me.
That’s all for now, my friend!
Have a powered-up day,
Ramli John
Congratulations on the achievements, and even more, congratulations on realizing when it's time to stop. It can be incredibly difficult to stop doing something as successful as Marketing Powerups. I'm excited to hear what you're doing next!