Newsletter: Are We There Yet? No. But That’s Not The Point.

mlns='> [View Message in Browser]( / [Add Us to Safe Sender List]( Weekly News 12.18.20 Connect with CMI [9 Video Storytelling Tips to Help Engage Your Audience]( These nine tips from CMI’s Visual Storytelling Summit help you tell better stories now. Watch all the free sessions for advice on bringing ideas, personalities, and brand purpose to life in video and images. [Read more]( By Stephanie Stahl [Content Creation] Some more of this week's best stuff: - [7 Lessons From a 96-Year-Old Content Marketing Tradition]( [by]( [Ann Gynn]( Creation] - [Should Your Brand Take a Stand? Luvvie Ajayi Jones Offers Useful Advice]( by Kim Moutsos [Editorial Process and Teams] - [How to Create a Content Marketing Strategy for Your Personal Brand]( by Ann Gynn [General Success Tips] - [This Week in Content Marketing: Lessons from Home Depot, KFC, and Google]( by Content Marketing Institute Team [Trends and Research] Join Our Weekly Wrap News Crew Did you come across an exciting content idea, unique example, or puzzling trend this week? Help us share it with your fellow Content Marketing Institute readers by completing [this form](. If we include your submission in an upcoming Weekly Wrap, we’ll credit you as the source of the inspiration.  A Note From Robert Rose Are We There Yet? No. But That’s Not The Point. We’re at the end of a weird, frustrating, and very trying year. But I’ll fill you in on a secret. Getting here was the important part. Here’s a hypothetical to ponder. Put yourself back on January 18, 2020. Imagine that a genie came out of a bottle and offered to put you in the exact situation you’re in today while letting you skip everything that happened between then and now. Would you do it? I suspect, for many of you, the answer would be “no.” If today finds you in a good place, turning the offer down might be easier – you would have missed the positive or useful experiences from the year. But even if December 18, 2020, is demonstrably worse than January 18 was – the experiences that brought you to this destination meant something. Now, if that same genie offered to deliver you to a day, years from now, when you’d wake up as a “rock star” CMO in your company, would you accept the offer? That situation might tempt you. But, if you think about it, the answer is the same as in the first scenario. Sure, you’d wake up in a good place: well-paid, in charge, and leading a team. But, as any rock star CMO will tell you, the uncertainties, challenges, and insecurities don’t go away. They only change shape. If you took the offer to skip ahead, you’d wake up to problems you wouldn’t have learned to handle. And you’d have missed the pain and joy of getting there. You wouldn’t have the experience of taking a risky bet by joining that new company. You’d have missed that day you were almost physically sick with the butterflies in your stomach as you and your team put on that innovative virtual event. And you’d have missed the sadness when the best boss you’ve ever had left the company – and the outrageous party after you got the nod for promotion to CMO. You’d have made it to the destination – but without the good and bad experiences that made getting there worthwhile (and the work you do after better for it). Last week, I talked with a rock star CMO at a high-growth startup who told me this year felt like a waste. She was worried that a whole year would pass before her team could even begin to reach for the goals she’d set. I asked her if the events of this year might not be a sign that she needed some new goals. It’s easy to get lost in our sense of the destination as the accomplishment. You finish that product design, roll out that campaign, get the job you want, win the award. But years like 2020 remind us that the path between those destinations makes them more (or less) important to us. Whatever 2021 brings, it won’t be measured by where we will find ourselves in December next year. It will be measured by all the moments between now and then. Bring on the new year. There’s a new story to be written. And it’s up to us to tell it well. I wish you all the happiest holiday season possible and a most joyous New Year... Robert Rose Chief Strategy Advisor Content Marketing Institute This article from Robert is available only in this newsletter for you, the newsletter subscriber. 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