Comparison, Cold Wars & Creative Leverage (aka Do the Work… and Label It Small 😏)
Comparing Yourself to Others
A Marketing Tip
What I’m Reading
From the Research File
Pun of the Day
==============================
Let’s Talk About Comparison (Yes, That Taboo Topic)
Okay… before the Mindset and Life coaches clutch their pearls, let me just say it:
Comparison isn’t always bad.
I know, I know. So many of you have all been told, “Only compare yourself to your former self.” And sure, that’s healthy. That’s grounded. That’s emotionally mature.
But let’s be real for a second.
If nobody ever looked at someone ahead of them and thought, “I want that level,” we’d all still be sitting on the couch “manifesting” instead of moving.
Comparison has a place. It’s a measuring stick… not a weapon.
The key? You have to know where you are on the journey… and remember they were there once too.
Where it goes sideways is when you compare your beginning (or messy middle) to someone else’s polished final chapter. That’s when comparison turns into jealousy, envy, competition, resentment… sometimes even full-blown “I don’t even like that person and I don’t know why” energy.
Let me give you a real-life example.
I want to be a better pool player. Not just better… I want to be a national champion level 10-ball player.
There are champions I can watch on YouTube. Some who show up here in town. When I watch them play, I compare.
My stance.
My stroke.
My shot selection.
And guess what?
I know I’m not at their level. That’s the point.
I’m studying them so I can improve me.
That comparison gives me direction.
So then I take action:
I find a stronger player in town and learn from them.
I change one thing in my practice and focus on learning from every shot.
I invest in training videos and actually apply what I learn.
Is progress overnight? Nope.
Is it happening? Absolutely.
When I watch a champion now, I don’t shrink. I respect the grind it took to get there and recommit to mine.
Here’s the part coaches and people in general don’t talk about:
You cannot compare your “now” to when they were in your position. You don’t have that footage. You don’t have their early bloopers. And honestly? It doesn’t matter.
If you want something, let comparison spark effort, not emotion.
Because here’s where comparison becomes toxic:
When you compare your internal feelings to someone else’s external behavior.
That’s a losing game every time.
Want to succeed in business?
Do the work.
If you don’t, you’ll resent the ones who do.
Want to be a champion?
Do the work.
Want confidence speaking in public?
Do the work.
Want deep, unshakeable faith?
Do the work.
Feeling resentful because someone has more in their house, their driveway, or on their back than you do?
Do the work.
Feeling discouraged because you’re working and they’re advancing faster?
Ask what they’re doing differently… then do the work.
Feeling jealous because someone else gets the attention?
Examine what you’ve done so far… then do the work.
Feeling like the world is against you?
Stop fighting the game. Learn the rules. Figure out what works. Then… you guessed it… do the work.
Comparison isn’t the villain.
Avoiding effort is.
==============================
A Marketing Tip
Let’s talk about the excuse I have heard more than any other:
“I’d market more… if I had the money.”
Friend. If you don’t have money, you don’t need less marketing. You need smarter marketing.
When cash is tight, you stop thinking ads and start thinking assets.
The fastest, lowest-cost way to grow?
Borrow someone else’s audience.
I’m serious.
If you can structure an endorsed promotion — where someone with a customer base recommends you — that’s gold. Their people already trust them. That trust transfers to you. And suddenly you’re not a stranger trying to sell… you’re the “friend of a friend.”
Even better? Let them finance the promotion.
If that’s not on the table, here’s option two:
Go to a business owner and say,
“Let me help you make more money from the customers you already have. In exchange, I’ll take a percentage of the profit I generate.”
No risk to them. No upfront cost to you. You’re leveraging skill instead of cash.
That’s a joint venture. And joint ventures are one of the most underused growth tools out there.
Here’s another angle most people overlook:
If you’ve got a great business idea but zero capital — go make the capital.
Find businesses who are under-marketing to their existing customers. Show them how to increase revenue. Take a percentage. Stack those deals for a few months.
You’re basically becoming a temporary marketing consultant to fund your own dream.
Is it glamorous? No.
Does it work? Yes.
Now let’s talk about “soft dollars.”
Barter is wildly underrated.
If you have healthy margins, trading your product or service at retail value for something you need means you’re effectively keeping your profit margin in value received. That’s smart math.
Also: work your existing customers better.
Your current buyers are your lowest-cost revenue source. Offer loyalty pricing. Create backend offers. Re-engage past buyers. When you maximize your internal list, you generate profit you can reinvest into external growth.
Most businesses run straight to ads before they’ve squeezed the juice out of their own list.
Don’t do that.
Another overlooked lever? Vendors.
If your growth means more purchases from them, they have incentive to see you win. Negotiate extended terms. Profit-share agreements. Purchase-based advances.
And here’s one most people never consider:
Partner with businesses whose products complement yours. Let them pay for access to your audience. Charge a monthly access fee or structure a revenue share. (pssstt….this is what I will be adding to my current business and I’m in talks with a few interested parties).
You’ve spent years building trust with your market. That access has value.
The big idea in all of this?
When you don’t have money, you use relationships.
When you don’t have capital, you use creativity.
When you don’t have budget, you use leverage.
There is almost always a way to structure a deal where someone else’s asset — their list, their credibility, their product, their distribution — becomes your growth engine.
The question isn’t “How can I afford marketing?”
The better question is:
“Whose assets can I ethically align with so we both win?”
That shift alone changes everything.
==============================
What I’m Reading
📚Flight of the Sparrow by Ann Belding Brown
Just finished this for Book Club and I must say … this one surprised me in the best way.
First of all, if you’re into early American history, Puritan life, or just big-picture stories about faith, culture, and identity, buckle up. This book takes you deep into a world where traditional Puritan beliefs were as rigid as the winter frost… until those beliefs got lovingly, messily, beautifully challenged.
The story follows Mary Rowlandson, a Puritan woman living in 1676 Massachusetts. One day her world literally explodes — village attacked, family torn apart — and she’s taken captive by Native Americans. What I liked was how the author didn’t paint her new life as all sunshine and rainbows, nor did she make her captors caricatures of kindness. Instead, we get the realness of both cultures — the hard edges of Puritan life and the surprisingly generous spirit of the Native people she lives among.
Mary was raised to fear the wilderness, submit to her husband, and see Indians as the enemy. Then she’s thrust into a world where those boundaries blur, where kindness doesn’t come with a sermon, and where freedom has a different flavor than the one she was taught. It was such an interesting shift to read her inner grappling. Not dramatic “villainization” of Puritans, just honest recognition that maybe her worldview wasn’t the only way.
Now… full disclosure: the writing is a touch formal. It took me a chapter or two to find the rhythm. Once I did? I was pulled in. The way the author captures the cadence of 17th-century life makes you feel like you’re trudging through snow alongside Mary, listening to birds overhead, and wondering how she’ll ever see her “old life” the same way again.
One of the best parts? Mary doesn’t reject her roots out of rebellion — she grows through experience. She sees kindness where she least expects it, learns lessons from people she was taught to dismiss, and manages to carve out a better life for herself and her children through a blend of hard-earned wisdom and newfound empathy. That subtle evolution was so satisfying to read.
If you enjoy historical fiction that makes you think, feel, and reflect, this one’s worth your time. Especially if you like seeing how people’s hearts expand when their worldview gets gently (or not-so-gently) nudged.
==============================
From the Research Files
aka random bits of info you may or may not be able to use in your life
Alright, today’s rabbit hole is one of those “this can’t be real… but I kind of hope it is” stories.
There are unconfirmed reports floating around that during the Cold War, the CIA brainstormed a plan to demoralize the Soviet Union by dropping thousands of American-made magnum-sized condoms… labeled “Small.”
Yes. You read that correctly.
The idea (again, unconfirmed but widely repeated in intelligence lore) was that if Soviet citizens believed the average American man required “magnum” condoms labeled small, it would chip away at morale.
Psychological warfare via insecurity.
Now before we all start picturing cargo planes flying overhead in slow motion, let’s ground this: there’s no solid documentation proving this operation was ever executed. It appears in Cold War anecdote collections and intelligence trivia circles, but no declassified paper trail confirms it moved beyond idea stage.
Here’s what makes it fascinating.
First: it perfectly captures the Cold War mindset. That era wasn’t just about bombs and borders. It was about perception. Image. Superiority. Winning the narrative.
Propaganda wasn’t always loud. Sometimes it was absurdly clever.
Second: whether this specific plan was real or just a story that grew legs … it highlights how seriously governments took morale. Confidence in your system. Pride in your people. Belief in your dominance. Those were weapons.
And let’s be honest… if it was real, it’s one of the most backhanded psychological plays ever imagined.
What I love about digging into these little historical side notes is this:
They remind us that strategy isn’t always direct. Influence doesn’t always look obvious. And sometimes the battle isn’t about territory, it’s about perception.
Makes you wonder what modern “magnum labeled small” tactics are floating around today… doesn’t it?
History may not repeat exactly. It may appear again in the form of deep fake videos online, AI written news stories, fake headlines, edited videos, quotes taken out of context.
==============================
Pun of the Day
I found a penny in my washing machine and I can’t figure out where it came from. But that’s ok, I love it when the world just makes cents.
🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂
==============================
If you like this newsletter and want to support it, there are 4 ways you can do it. PICK ONE right now before you forget:
Click here to buy me a cup of coffee
Hit reply and say hello.
Recommend me to your company to write their newsletter.
Comment your thoughts below
With Gratitude,
Charlene Burke
If you think someone else would enjoy reading my random thoughts and shared every Sunday