[🐝🇺] Do you have crabs 🦀?

Before we talk about the crabs question …

A shout out to everyone who opened, read, &replied to the last email.
& for completing the survey!

Someone asked that the survey stay open to share more content requests/ideas later on.

Absolutely!

You’ll find the survey link at the bottom of every message from now on.

With that out of the way …

Got crabs?

Chances are … yes, you do.
No, not the NSFW kind. (NSFW = Not Suitable For Work … or anywhere public 😉)

& not the animal.
But that IS where the analogy comes from.

Here’s the crabby analogy…

Did you know you don’t need lids on buckets with crabs in them?
Crabs don’t won’t escape!

& on the rare occasion a rogue crab tries to make a run for it …
The other crabs stop it.

Seriously!

The rogue crab’s thinking, “I’m going to get out. I want something different in my life.”
All the other crabs literally grab it & drag it back into the bucket to suffer the same fate.

We have people in our inner circle like those crabs in buckets.

The Crab Mentality is a “thing.”

And mostly, it’s a jealousy/envious reaction of “If I can’t have it, you shouldn’t either.”

But sometimes (& it’s not talked about enough) crabbiness can be the only way people know to protect.

Think about it …

You’re trying to build a business.

But because you’re doing something different than most (or all of) everyone you know, they don’t understand it.

It scares them.
& they react by pulling you back in … to keep you “safe.”

That “safety net” can be passive aggressive comments like:

“Oh, we never see you anymore ever since you started ___”
“Do your kids even remember what you look like?”
“Why? What’s wrong with your job? It pays well. It’s a steady paycheck.”

Or it can be things stealing your time (& mindset) away from working towards your goals.

They’re not doing it because they don’t want you to succeed.

They think they’re protecting you from failure … from heartache.

It’s in our DNA to feel safe & comfortable.

& we want that for those we care about too.

Yes, many may be jealous, envious, even resentful that you’re doing something they would have done … “if only ___” … they didn’t have their crabs drag them down.

We ALL have “crabby” people in our lives.

In my case, my dad tried to protect me with comments like:

“Why are you wasting your time & my money going to school when you should be getting married & having kids?”

That was my old-school WWII Italian father’s way of ensuring my safety.

So much so he tried to arrange a marriage for me when I was 13 to someone in Italy…
who was 30!

That’s also when I broke free from the “Stepford Child” life I was - mostly - living (that’s a story for another time, if you’re interested in hearing it.)

The point is, we can’t escape ALL the crabbiness in our life.
But we can control (& limit) our exposure to it.

& we can offset (& combat) the damage by shifting our attention to another animal.

Introducing … the ANT
(bet you weren’t expecting to feel like you’re in an episode of Mutual Of Omaha’s Wild Kingdome when you opened this email. 😉)

Ants are the opposite of crabs.
& no matter how much you hate them for invading your picnic lunches …

Ants work together to support each other.

They don’t want you to suffer the same fate (like the crabs do).
Ants want that same fate to be goal-achieving success for all.

They keep trying.
They support each other.

They’ll link their bodies to build a bridge or a raft, so they all get across/over/under/out.

Their motto is, “whatever we have to do, so the community succeeds.”
(I’m sure if ants spoke English, that would be their motto. 😉)

Ants support.
Ants believe.
Ants don’t quit.

In a perfect world, we’re like ants.
But the world’s not perfect.
& crabbiness can - sometimes - take over.

But here’s the thing …
Now that you know you have crabs …
& that sometimes you are one too …

You can start to change things.

You learn to identify the crabs.
Call them out or steer clear (as much as possible)

You notice more ants.
Let them help you … & help them back!

& you become more aware of how others see you, too.

You aim for:
- Less crab.
- More ant.

That includes me. (no one’s perfect, despite what some people may think of themselves. 😉)

So go ahead, invite me to your picnic,

I’ll help you.
I’ll support you.

& I won’t run off with your food. 😉

Now go cut out the crab crap!

EG

PS - A few of the shorter YouTube videos I recommend watching (& bookmarking).
(Hopefully I don’t get dinged by the email police for so many links! 🤞🤞🤞)
- The Crab Mentality and Why Humans Do This 
- Remove the Crabs from Your Life (by Bedros Keuilian)
- 4 Ways to STOP Letting People Hold You Back

… and Lessons We Can Learn from Ants to Change Ourselves, and Our World (TEDx Talk with 42.9 million views so he must be onto something!)

PPS - a recurring theme in the survey you filled out involved “bro marketing” so - next week - I’m going to introduce you to someone that’s an expert in tossing that to the curb in marketing.

PPPS
📣Tell me what you want to read about … here
🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn … here
👋 Invite others to be authentic, transparent, & sometimes disruptive … with this link

📈 Want better marketing results for your business by being yourself? Find a time that fits your schedule.