At the root of these temptations is our true kyrponite: Losing focus on what matters.
This was a common dilemma for Jesus and his disciples.
As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!" "Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down." (Mark 13:1-2, NIV)
Rather than understand the undercurrents of Jesus’ message, they grasped the lesser things. They appreciated external beauty while Jesus was trying to point them inward.
If those who walked so close with Jesus struggled to focus on what matters, how did others (further from Jesus) glean the truth? They didn’t have the religious/jewish bias the disciples had.
They were able to hear (”Those who have ears, let them hear”) and apply the lessons.
But many didn’t. Most took in the words and continued with their way of living.
Now let’s bring this back to you.
Jesus was a rabbi (meaning teacher).
The way that his disciples were supposed to learn was to follow their rabbi, take in everything they said, and aim to apply it. A common phrase was "be covered in the dust of your rabbi," an ode to follow your rabbi so close you get covered by their dust.
We have a marketing rabbi.
It’s likely more than one person. But there are a group of people you follow, listen to, and try to actualize their guidance. Sometimes it’s a random LinkedIn post, but most times, we curate our rabbi’s.
And this leads to the sad truth: Few of us can actually follow our rabbi.
We can listen to their podcasts, read their books, or consume their social content. But we can’t follow them around and see how they think about marketing.
Which makes the gap between receiving knowledge and applying it wide.
A goal of mine in the future is to help marketers by “bringing them along.” To create a rabbi-like relationship where they improve through walking alongside me.
I’m not fully there yet.
Which means I’m not your rabbi.
But with my podcast and community, I’m working on recreating this from the Mishnah (Pirkei Avot 1:4):