Leadership: It’s in the Clouds and the Dirt

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Gary Vaynerchuck is a no nonsense kind of guy that speaks his mind in a sometimes derogatory way that effectively conveys his position and opinions on topics. His multi million wine franchise bloomed on the premise of his Youtube series Wine Library TV where he shared his love and knowledge of quality wine with his audience. In his most recent series, #AskGaryVee, Vaynerchuck responds to questions asked on social media with the hashtag #AskGaryVee. In order to compensate for the high volume of questions Vaynerchuck wrote his book #AskGaryVee: One Entrepreneur’s Take On Leadership, Social Media, and Self-Awareness.

In #AskGaryVee a leadership value that is brought up early on in the book is “the dirt and clouds.” The clouds symbolize a person’s dreams, wishes and aspirations. The dirt symbolizes the the skill set and connections that a person has. Under fair circumstances, these two combined create a balance that ensures success. However, when these are not orchestrated correctly, average results are almost always guaranteed. 

The vast majority of people tend to play in the middle, which is why they usually only succeed up to a certain level and then plateau. I want you to lose yourself in the clouds and the dirt and figure out what you can make that changes the game. Vagueness sucks. Lack of drive sucks. Half-assing things sucks. And so does the middle.

In order to stay away from the middle, or not to be amateur, Vaynerchuck suggests that the reader develops their skill set and build a team that is knowledgeable of things that you are not. In addition, to Vaynerchuck says to develop or maintain your clouds the reader must stay motivated, be courageous, take chances, and do something that you love.

In life you should only be doing two things ever: discovering your passion and then realizing them.