Taylor Swift's Cringe Mountain

Hey Climbers. This week —

• ✨ The key to building a community that’s obsessed with you

• ⛰️ Taylor Swift’s Cringe Mountain

• 🤔 And the forgotten Hollywood star who came up with Bluetooth

How to build a ride or die community

Communities are built when people with aligned values rally around a person or entity that represents those values in action.

Which means to build a community online, you have to know your values.

But the thing I’ve found when working with my clients is this:

Knowing what you stand for can be really hard.

What’s a million times easier?

Knowing what you stand against.

Choose an enemy

Define your values by choosing an enemy.

What do you hate? What makes your blood boil?

What frustrates you about the world?

What do you passionately want changed?

Once you define this, defining what you do stand for becomes a lot clearer - because all you have to do is flip it.

And when I talk about an enemy (in most cases) I don’t mean an actual person.

I mean a system, thing, ideology or behaviour.

The more specific you get, the better.

Here are some examples in action:

⚔️ Nike’s enemy is mediocrity; the idea that “good enough is good enough,” and inaction.
🌟Thus, Nike’s brand values are: everyday excellence, inspiration and action (Just do It).

⚔️ My enemies are perfection paralysis, self doubt, giving up and stale creativity.
🌟Thus, my values are messy imperfect action, self belief, persistence and creative bravery (Cringe Mountain).

To know what you stand for,

first look at what you stand against.

And build your community around that.

⛰️ Cringe Mountain Academy

Cringe Mountain Academy students have started their 30 day posting plan and are already seeing incredible results.

We’re talking internal shifts.

External shifts.

Clarity.

Consistency.

If you want to make 2024 the year you get clear on what’s holding you back so you can find your voice and impact millions with your message on TikTok - this is the 90 day program for you.

Taylor Swift’s Cringe Mountain

Taylor has a curious, and pretty unique relationship with cringe.

Swifities will kill me for this one

but look - you have to admit,

Taylor Swift has always been a little bit cringe.

Between lyrics like ‘cat eye sharp enough to kill a man’, and dancing at award ceremonies,

there’s always been an element of

Wait, was that like, a little bit… uncool?

But here’s the thing:

Cringe is Taylor Swift’s superpower.

I truly believe that Taylor’s relationship with her own cringe is the reason that she is… well, Taylor Swift.

She is a little cringe, and she doesn’t care.

And from what I can tell, she never has.

That’s how she has been able to constantly evolve and improve.

How she has become the most famous person in the world.

How, even at superstar status, she keeps climbing.

And that,

my friends,

is what makes her cool.

I always say, “you have to climb Cringe Mountain to get to the Land of Cool”.

But maybe the Land of Cool is not devoid of cringe.

Maybe what we’re really striving for is:

The Land of Being a Little Bit Cringe And Not Caring And That’s Cool.

Maybe that’s where the true freedom - and fun - will find us.

Creative inspo of the week

Campaign “Highlight The Remarkable” from highlighter brand Stabilo looks at remarkable, but overlooked people throughout history.

Hedy Lamarr, a Hollywood star, designed an early predecessor to Bluetooth.

But the US Navy didn't take her seriously. It took them another 20 years to adopt the technology she originally pitched them.

Okay that’s all for now

Until next time!

Keepin Climbin’

Eri out xx

Pssst. Hey! Thanks for reading all the way through. Hit reply and introduce yourself so I know you got this far. Love ya!