If you follow me on social media, you would know why I use those two words a lot in the pictures I post. For those who do not follow me, I have a reputation of posting pictures of terrible parking jobs I see, under the heading of “Try.  Harder”.  People who cannot get their vehicle between the lines are lazy and just satisfied with their first attempt.  They don’t care about the others they inconvenience in the process and don’t feel the need to do anything more than get the car somewhere near the barriers.  They don’t try harder, they are just satisfied that the car was close.

In life and in business, sometimes you have to try harder. 

Take a look at professional business profiles of people you know or are “friends” with.  Not a question you’ve probably ever been asked, right?

It’s the same thing.  Everyone in the same field uses the same words to explain to others who they are.  Whatever field of work it is, everyone uses the same descriptive verbiage because they want to sound as smart as the next person.  By fitting in and joining the crowd, nobody questions their validity, right? 

I pulled this one randomly from Linkdin. This person works in sales:

“Helping companies create and execute marketing strategies and advertising campaigns”.  “Creating marketing and social media solutions for businesses”.

Smart words placed together to impress people who might be in need of their services?  Maybe?  What the hell does this person do?  They do exactly what everyone else is doing. They use the same words to describe themselves to others and they fail to stand out in the crowd of people who do the same job they do.  Don’t you want to stand out?  If you work in marketing or sales, your job is to be creative and different, not to join the herd.

If your professional profile could be duplicated or is like someone else's, you are not trying to impress nor are you being real with your audience, clients or yourself. 

Great, this person is just like the others….NEXT!

Try.  Harder.

If your professional profile is riddled with buzzwords and “industry speak”, then you are doing it wrong and not standing out. Be creative.  Get noticed. Stop using the descriptive words you THINK you should use and start using the words you WANT and NEED to use.  How many marketing companies or advertisers use the phrase “out of the box” to describe themselves?  Damned near everybody...  Hey, we’re all out of the box now!  Let’s find a new shape or a place to be inside of.  I’ve read all those marketing books-they all say the same thing.  Think about it-A whole row of books that are all telling you, in the same way, to be different.  We get it.  Write about something else because this one has been done to death.

Let’s take this beyond the boring business world (have I lost any of you, please come back). 

If you’re on a first date or you’re creating a profile on a dating site, would you use the same descriptors that everyone else uses?  No.  You would want to stand out, right?  You’d want to say something or post something that would catch the eye or ear of a potential date.  If they are reading your profile and looking for interesting things about you, using generic phrases and general statements about your personality would get you overlooked.  A picture of yourself from 8 years ago and 15lbs ago can only take you so far.  How are you unique?  What makes you different and interesting?

Your profile needs to be more interesting than you think you are.  We are all unique in some way and we are passionate about different things.  Have the courage to share what makes you different than the other people.  Share things people might be shocked to find out.  It’s memorable!  (Unless you killed a guy with a trident, then you should probably lay low).  Don’t lie and sell yourself as something you are not, giving the customer or potential date the wrong impression.  Share with the world the person you want to be and not always what you want to be perceived as.  

You only have 160 characters in life.  Are you going to use those characters to be just like everyone else or are you going to put your best and most interesting foot forward? 

Try.  Harder.