#MondayInsight:

Are you a Zeitgeist Pioneer?

It’s a new term I’ve been playing with to define someone who is attuned to what’s in the zeitgeist (“the spirit of the times”) of their industry…

People can sense into “the field” of their industry and pick up what that collective is hungry for, that they can bring to form.

From a business perspective, Zeitgeist Pioneers take big risks creating and launching things largely based on their gut instinct…

And they can reap massive financial rewards as they tap into whole new markets that are hiding in plain sight – markets where they have no competition because there is one else serving that market in this new way.

The higher purpose of Zeitgeist Pioneers is to elevate the consciousness of their industry, giving rise to whole new ways of doing things. In other words, they are instrumental in changing the story for their industry, which is a part of changing humanity’s story. 

About 15 years ago, I started talking about wounds and marketing. The people in my field didn’t really get it at first and almost every one of my colleagues told me I couldn’t use the word ‘wounds’ in my marketing.

“Can’t you talk about people’s challenges or difficulties instead of wounds?” they’d say. “No one will respond to the word wounds.”

“No.” I’d say. “That’s the word.” 

I knew there was a group of people who were hungry to know, without a doubt, who they were here to serve and what they were designed to do for their people. 

And that those answers are found in their core wounds, because their wounds were the training program for their purpose.

There was no indication that I was right or that people would respond… other than a deep sense that the time had come to introduce this consciousness and methodology to the world of marketing – especially for people who were trying to market their purpose. 

Within a year we were serving tens of thousands of people with a consciousness about the higher purpose of wounds. People who had struggled for years with knowing where they fit in the market and who their people really were finally got it… and not just in their heads – they knew it in their bones. 

At a deeper level, this work created deep healing for who were fighting against their wounds, still trying to fix themselves. It gave meaning and purpose to their wounds and helped them see the ‘why’ of what happened to them. 

From a business perspective, we were generating nearly a million dollars a year after just one year in business. 

How?

By stumbling onto this consciousness about the relationship between wounds and marketing – seeing how the two intersect and how it addresses a massive pain in the market…

Then tapping into the zeitgeist of our market and speaking to the pain that was just under the surface and giving people a whole new way to solve a burning problem.

I share this because innovations always exist in “the field” first – and if you’re on earth to help your clients or your industry see a new path, then a big part of your role is the work of being a “Zeitgeist Pioneer.” 

If that rings true for you, start leaning into the zeitgeist of your industry. Attune to it, listening for the emergent hunger.

What are your people hungry to have named?
What are they hungry to have revealed?
What are they hungry to experience?

Whatever it is, start speaking to it, then bring form and substance to what is currently largely just in the zeitgeist. As you do you can birth a whole new market that others in your field didn’t even know existed…

And do your part in shifting the consciousness for your whole field.