I Misinterpreted Comedian Steve Martin's Famous Quote

_{[Read time: 1.5 minutes]}

Two weeks ago I wrote this post on LinkedIn.

I got more DMs (and comments) than I normally do. Something told me to share it with you too. Here’s an even deeper insight than what that post has to offer….

Steve Martin’s famous line is intoxicating.

“Be so good they can’t ignore you…”

I inhaled that.

Made it my north star.

Wrote it down on a sticky note and taped it to my wall.

Unfortunately, I misunderstood what it really meant.

I thought it was about perfecting my craft — getting incredibly good at serving customers (doing the work to solve their problem).

But that’s the “craft trap.”

The craft trap felt productive. But it kept me tethered to the wrong work.

As a business owner, I don’t have the luxury of just doing the work. I’m on the hook for everything: systems, strategy, marketing, all of it.

Because that’s actually my craft — running the business — not just delivering the service.

• If you’re a coach → coaching is just part of it→ you also run a business.

• If you’re a writer → writing is just part of it → but you also run a business.

• If you’re a marketer → marketing is just part of it → but you also run a business.

Steve’s quote is correct.

But only when applied correctly.

For me that means be so good at running the business.

The whole business.

All the ins and outs.

“And if you do that, everything else has a way of working itself out.”

By the way...this quote comes from an interview with Charlie Rose. It also appears in Steve’s book, Born Standing Up.

That’s it for this week. Thank you for reading.

See you next week.

— Peter