I found Brand Boss, Bill Harper on TikTok of all places where he has built an impressive library of short form content around branding and marketing. Harper runs an agency out of North Carolina called WMH and it's worth checking out. Bill and I riff on a variety of topics and talk about our experiences and opinions on how to build a brand and how to be successful. 

There's another side story and lesson learned from my trip to Raleigh North Carolina...

There’s this saying, Be kind, because everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about. You never know what someone is going through, right? I was reminded how important this is on a recent trip to Raleigh North Carolina. 

I was in the airport waiting for my flight back to LA as you do and I saw a man, sitting a little ways away in another terminal and waiting like me, look my way and give me the hello nod. You know what mean, right? 

He got up and walked over to me — and I’m thinking “okay, do I know this guy?” But he didn’t look familiar. Then he asked, are you Bryan Elliott? With all the enthusiasm my introverted self could muster, I muttered yes, and he proceeded to tell me that he’s a big fan of the podcast and how much it means to him. I was really flattered but also stunned —  like a dear in the headlights — because I don’t get approached very much like this. But it was nice.

To be honest, the week prior leading up to this trip I was really struggling with feeling like I’m not doing enough and falling short of some of my goals. But that all disappeared with this man’s simple act of kindness. And since then it’s reminded me about being a bit more grateful  about staying focused on things I can control and not on things I cannot. If he’s listening right now I’d like to apologize for being so awkward and thank him for making my day a lot brighter. You were headed from Raleigh Durham to Arizona and the Grand Canyon with your family so I hope you had a great trip.

I’d like to keep meeting more of you. Can we keep this up? If you see me out and about please say hello. One thing you may not know about being a creator — and I’m sure this applies to everything — Whether you’re a creator of music, film, podcast or make a product or service that people use everyday. It’s hard to know exactly who’s paying attention -- or the impact. But when we do meet, it’s an incredible feeling to know that what you’re doing matters a little to someone else.

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