Meet Chris Brogan close up at SOBCon09

40 Comments to “Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Chris Brogan!”

1. January 2nd, 2009 at 9:16 am
   Sonia Simone | Remarkable Communication said

   LOL, I love it.

   I admit, I’d love to be Brogan when I grow up. But a) I’m unlikely to actually grow up, and b) guess you’re right, I’ll just have to be Sonia.

2. January 2nd, 2009 at 9:29 am
   Zeeshan Ahmad said

   go chris

3. January 2nd, 2009 at 9:32 am
   Sheila Scarborough said

   I thought this would be a writeup about his new clean-shaven, baby-faced visage.

   He’s still the only Brogan, wearing a Van Dyke beard or not, and you’re absolutely right!

4. January 2nd, 2009 at 9:33 am
   Michael J. Carrasquillo said

   Yep everything here is spot on. Being a Dad-O-Matic writer, all I saw in the email was Dad, blog, Brogan & I said “AHH, I WANT IN!” LOL.

   It’s ok to isolate & implement qualities that inspire you about a person such as Chris Brogan but you have to sit back and ask yourself, “How do I make myself unique?” Let’s not forget those that try to out shout Gary Vaynerchuk or the endless Zefrank’s on youtube. Good people in their own right but they haven’s sat and searched out who they are.

5. January 2nd, 2009 at 9:38 am
   DaveMurr said

   Ha! This is great!

   Very cool story – nails the message.

   Whats the saying…imitation is the biggest form of flattery?

   That may be true – but as you pointed out, that may not work when it comes to social media and the like.

   I’m having enough trouble trying to figure out who I am – let alone trying to be Chris Brogan.

   Don’t worry about doing it right – be original first!

   Thank you for this reminder!

6. January 2nd, 2009 at 9:38 am
   ME Liz Strauss said

   Sonia,
   Brogan can’t do you either. I love reading what you write. Stay true.

7. January 2nd, 2009 at 9:45 am
   ME Liz Strauss said

   Sheila,
   You would make one funny Chris Brogan. I like you so much better as you are.

8. January 2nd, 2009 at 9:51 am
   ME Liz Strauss said

   Hey Dave,
   I think your voice is getting clearer by the minute. You’re the real deal.

9. January 2nd, 2009 at 9:57 am
   ME Liz Strauss said

   #Hi Michael,
   Yeah, exactly. Find what they do that we like and make it our own. Bring it inside, internalize. My brother and Chris both smile from their hearts, they don’t paste one on.

   We can’t paste things on either.

   Love that you took the time to comment. You’re not a stranger anymore.

10. January 2nd, 2009 at 10:00 am
    anna said

    Hey, did we have the same older brother? Mine is the older, older brother and he is 7 years older, the legend. My husband has the same brother, only he is younger. Sometimes I want to be Chris Brogan or Liz Strauss, but mostly I’ll try to be content figuring out how to be anna, something Chris Brogan could never do no matter how hard he tried.

11. January 2nd, 2009 at 10:07 am
    VickyH said

    Liz,

    I really love this post because it emphasizes to me the fact that each of us our individuals with our own strengths and weaknesses. Chris Brogan has all the strengths that make him a social media rockstar and though some may want to be like him, no one will be able to “be” him.

    I’ve learned over the years, that we do need to truly know ourselves, which is something that you write about a lot, Meyers-Briggs, Enneagram, are both tools that will allow us to discover more about our personalities and our individual strengths and weaknesses.

    I wouldn’t want to be Chris Brogan or Liz Strauss, but I do want to learn from them. I think it’s important that we listen and apply the practices that best fit our business/social/nonprofit goals, emphasize our strengths, stay true to our morals and beliefs, and appreciate the wonderful qualities in others as an ‘addition’ to our own knowledge base.

    Go Chris! Go Liz! I hope I will always take away from your posts, my best version of what I can be and implement them in my own special way.

    VickyH

12. January 2nd, 2009 at 10:19 am
    Travis Campbell said

    Excellent advice Liz. I think it’s easy to see that some of your younger older brother has rubbed off on you as well.

    Here’s to being comfortable in our own skin, and encouraging others who may not be there…yet.

    -Travis
    http://www.TravisOnTwitter.com

13. January 2nd, 2009 at 10:42 am
    Connie Reece said

    I don’t want to be Chris Brogan but I sure would like to have 1/10 of his energy. How does he (or you, for that matter) manage so much quality output?

14. January 2nd, 2009 at 11:12 am
    Amie Gillingham said

    This has to be the best title for a post. Ever. Not to mention, a great lesson behind it. Of course, it’s hard to not want to be Chris Brogan some days. Or at least, covet his energy!

15. January 2nd, 2009 at 12:42 pm
    Richard Reeve said

    This reminds me of the Vice Presidential debate where Benson told Quayle “your no Jack Kennedy.” The challenge within this space is to accept the demand for authenticity which in and of itself precludes the scam, sham, or copy-cat postures many think they need to adopt in order to get noticed.

    Learn to use the tools, learn the strategies that work, but above all be willing to scrape your knees a few times risking what it takes to be authentic.

16. January 2nd, 2009 at 12:44 pm
    Michael Bailey said

    Who’s Chris Brogan?
    Was he in a movie?

17. January 2nd, 2009 at 12:44 pm
    Barry Moltz said

    Unfortunately my son already looks a little like Chris Brogan. What do I do now?

18. January 2nd, 2009 at 12:46 pm
    Lacy Kemp said

    I wouldn’t say I want to be Chris Brogan, but I sure do want to learn from him.

19. January 2nd, 2009 at 12:49 pm
    Hendry Lee said

    Does wearing a cap like his make me a “Chris Brogan”? Ok, it is impossible for me to have beard.

20. January 2nd, 2009 at 12:50 pm
    Jennifer said

    Great point, and I was just thinking about this exact thing earlier today. People need to just be themselves-the Chris Brogan’s of the world are human just like the rest of us.

21. January 2nd, 2009 at 12:54 pm
    Brent Leary said

    Some people will lie right to your face and say you can do something just because someone else did it. Then they’ll say that they can help you do it…by joining their coaching program….

    I am SO GLAD you are not one of those people!

    Keep telling it like it is Liz!

22. January 2nd, 2009 at 12:56 pm
    Jim "Genuine" Turner said

    Telling them to be Genuine are we? This is a great post not because we don’t want to be like Chris Brogan but I see the admiration for your sibling and it makes me warm inside.

23. January 2nd, 2009 at 2:15 pm
    Stacey / Create a Balance said

    I just want to be me…who has been inspired by many wonderful people in this world. I don’t want to be these people, but in a way, they are already a part of me.

24. January 2nd, 2009 at 2:26 pm
    Kelly said

    LOL, Liz!

    (Does this mean it’s okay to grow up to be a cowboy?)

    I wouldn’t want to be Chris. I like watching him from where I sit. Who’d I watch if I were him?

    

    Regards,

    Kelly

25. January 2nd, 2009 at 2:30 pm
    Deb Ng said

    As a mama, I have to say I want my baby to first be himself. And thankfully he is.

    However, if he were to look for a role model, he could do a lot worse than Chris Brogan.

26. January 2nd, 2009 at 2:40 pm
    Juile Roads said

    So good, so smart, so apropos, so kind while still driving the hard message.

27. January 2nd, 2009 at 3:19 pm
    Sprite said

    Love it! What a great way to get a message across. And of course, who can’t help but not love Chris Brogan! *hugs*

28. January 2nd, 2009 at 3:23 pm
    Tiffany Monhollon said

    Who doesn’t struggle with wanting to be Chris Brogan?

    Seriously though, I think you’ve tapped into something powerful here, because one thing I am constantly learning online is how successful Other People are.

    It can be daunting if you spend all your time thinking how you wish you’d thought of that instead of investing time into confidently sharing your own ideas.

29. January 2nd, 2009 at 3:36 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    My answer to everyone.

    The Internet is overwhelming with messages about how we’re less, slower, not good enough, outside, forgotten, missing something, and so much that we can’t keep up with.

    It’s why I wrote this post.

    We’ve got to hold up the people we esteem and love. And we have hold ourselves up among them.

    Yeah.

30. January 2nd, 2009 at 4:14 pm
    Debra Snider said

    Nicely done! This is such an important message, and it can so easily get lost. Suiting yourself – knowing yourself & making decisions that square with who you truly are – is the only way to go. And it leads to fabulous results, too. Thanks for the inspiring post!

31. January 2nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm
    Steve Woodruff said

    You mean all those infomercials promising BroganTonic are a sham? I was just about to order, ’cause they were going to throw in a David Meerman Scott makeover ABSOLUTELY FREE if I ordered in the next 10 minutes…

32. January 2nd, 2009 at 5:05 pm
    Tiffany Monhollon said

    @ Liz – It’s amazing how something that has the power to connect and build also has the power to deflate and destroy.

    But we are the ones who choose which we accept and which we deny of those options.

    So thanks for writing this reminder. We all need to hear it, every once in a while.

33. January 2nd, 2009 at 7:57 pm
    Chris Brogan... said

    For the record, there are plenty of people I want to be:

    * Christian Bale
    * Gary Vaynerchuk
    * Chuck Palahniuk
    * Annie Proulx
    * Brian Michael Bendis
    * Mike Mignola
    * Rob Zombie

    But, I can only be me. So far.

34. January 2nd, 2009 at 11:01 pm
    Heather Rast said

    Oh, Liz, what a practical observation with an encouraging undertone! Clearly, Chris has worked long and hard for his stronghold in the communications arena and so many of us covet just a pinch of his magic for ourselves, whether for the leg up in business or an enhanced “cool kid” factor. Maybe it’s hard to outgrow some insecurities of our childhood and be comfortable in our own skin and the knowledge of what our unique selves have to offer others.

    It’s easy to envy Chris; he has the eye of so many. But the beautiful thing is what he does when those eyes are watching…he points them to others, newbies and experienced folks alike. In effect he says, “Yes, I’m good. But let’s go see what these guys are doing, I think they’re good.”

    I’ll thank you for the encouragement to both be my best and be confident in what I personally can deliver as a marketer, and well, a mother too.

    Heather

35. January 3rd, 2009 at 7:41 am
    LisaNewton said

    I love Chris’s advice, and follow it to the best of my ability. He’s taught me a lot and continues to each day. I learn from so many people, like you Liz.

    To me, being original means taking what you learn and putting your own spin on it. So, instead of being Chris Brogan or you, Liz, I can take parts of each of you with me.

36. January 4th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
    mixtmedia said

    Another wonderful and inspiring message, Liz. Coming from our broadcast, blockbuster, big star culture, we Digital Immigrants have a greater tendency to emulate and aspire to be like our icons than our Digital Native counterparts do and will. The cultural instict to copy is changing as more have avenues for their voices to be heard.

37. January 6th, 2009 at 1:25 am
    Maria Lavis said

    The mythological Brogan…

    My son, you thought it was the amulet, you thought it was the wizard Brogan (or Strauss),

    but really,

    it was you all along.

    This post is contemporary, folkloric and archetypic all at the same time Liz.

    Great reminder. Thanks!

    For myself I’d have to say that I have learned much from Chris. I think it is natural to gravitate to someone like Chris, especially when one is new to a medium like social media.

    When one steps into an arena, with a master, it is natural to watch that master like a hawk, pick up some of their moves, learn how they do that thing they do…

    And in that way Chris is like a Black Belt karate social media master. So, I think it is natural for many to watch and copy, but then, as you point out, after you’ve observed, and tried out his method, then you have to go out on your own. You have to stand in that cave or mountain top, carve out your own ground and practice practice practice. It’s in this doing it yourself, application, attention, and dedication, that you yourself earn your own black belt, that you too can make it look like it’s easy, that you too can expand the field, and be an original contributor. Even if someone is not a “natural” like Chris (or Tom Sawyer) one can move mountains in this way, so thanks again for the great reminder.

38. January 6th, 2009 at 6:23 am
    Solomon said

    Hi Liz,
    Wish you a very Happy New Year!
    I liked the encouragement to be ‘ourselves’.
    Here in the comments I liked what Maria Lavis said. It is so generous advice to newbies to practice, practice and practice.
    Thanks for the post!
    Solomon

39. January 6th, 2009 at 10:08 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Every person brings a different song. Every person add something that would missing if that person wasn’t here.

40. October 2nd, 2009 at 8:32 am
    SOB Business Cafe: 10 Posts that Inspired My IZEAFest Talk - Liz Strauss at Successful Blog - Thinking, writing, business ideas … You’re only a stranger once. said

    [...] Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Chris Brogan! [...]