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Struggle or Success?

I read a quote by former NBA player Chris Herren recently. He said that more people were impressed with his sobriety following addiction than his amazing career as a Denver Nugget and Boston Celtic.

Herren said people identify more closely with struggle than with success.

It got me thinking…I’ve always tried to put Cookie Text’s best foot forward. In Facebook posts and in blog posts. Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative. This creates a positive aura around the company and keeps the customer worry-free.

Struggle or Success?

But do you need to know our struggles in order to really get behind us? And what kinds of struggles does a cookie cake company have? It’s cookie cakes, not rocket science (spoken by someone who lives in a NASA hotbed!).

I’ve had all-nighters, and customers who want the sun, moon, and stars–and they want it yesterday, for free. I’ve done bad math regarding flour after purchasing a new mixer and sent out a big batch of CookieText® that may have helped soak up flood waters. DRY as the Sahara. I’ve had equipment break downs. Most notably the mixer break down during Teacher Appreciation week…I was moments away from a stroke. Thank God for my husband.
And I’ve mentioned in the past the time the gal on the west coast copied my website to sell her own style of cookies.

So struggles, Cookie Text has had them. Quite a few. But we keep on keeping on, keep on moving forward.

And Triumphs…

We’ve also experienced some triumphs. You already know about those. Those are the kinds of things I usually post and share.

I can attest that people have enjoyed the successes. When I post or blog about something cool that has happened with the company, people ‘like’ it like crazy. There have been many moments I feel like the whole world is pulling for my little company that could. It truly makes me feel like a rock star.

There are times I truly need this assurance. Those times at 2 am when I’m cranking out cookies all by myself and I think of that support and realize that I’m not in it alone. There are hundreds of people who want the best for Cookie Text. It doesn’t matter if I’m sometimes the only one manning the ovens through the night. The knowledge people are pulling for CookieText gives me the ‘umph’ to keep going.

Perhaps it’s the old ‘root for the underdog’ mentality when it comes to Cookie Text.

I think people know we’re the underdog:

  • Most companies don’t happen upon someone who creates the perfect logo to launch their brand.
  • Most companies don’t start without a large investment of borrowed funds.
  • Most companies fail the first few years.

And there is something about that that makes people pull for us.

Let’s face it. I’m not the gal that got an MBA and knows the ins and outs of business.

I’m the girl from Phoebus, Virginia who is still paying off her college loans. Who started a little cookie cake company that people like and does a good job.

Maybe it’s both struggle and success that people identify with. Maybe people simply appreciate hard work that pans out.

So what do you more easily identify with, struggle or success? Perhaps too much of either can lead us astray.