Tomorrow we celebrate the birthday of our nation here in the states. And it’s a great time to reflect on what the United States of America was founded on. One of which was dissonant voices rising up and taking a stand for something bigger than themselves. Dissonant voices. That means that they refused to go along with everything they were being told. They questioned the status quo and were ready to fight for what they believed in.

This is the challenge we issue to you.

And since this is a “marketing” blog, I ask you to apply it to questioning the marketing status quo. Yes, traditional advertising, but also Web 2.0. Social media. Word of mouth. Question it. Even better, question the advice that you find. Stir some things up. Don’t always accept what you’re being told. Be independent. Question. Challenge. Know that nobody has all the answers. Think for yourself instead of accepting what an “expert” says.

Declare your independence. No country was founded (or even discovered) by followers. They were founded on people striking out on their own in search of a better way of doing things.

Happy birthday, America.

This is just a reminder to you, me and everyone else that, as our friend and former Marketer-In-Residence, John Moore likes to say, “I don’t take myself seriously. But I take what I do very seriously.”

It’s a great motto to live and work by: Don’t take yourself seriously. Stepping away from Twitter and SM for two weeks was refreshing. And to come back to it again has really opened my eyes that I need to revamp who I decide to follow. Because there are SO many marketers on there that take themselves far too seriously. The inflated egos are incredible in that make-believe world.

But I digress.

We met with some great folks yesterday who were curious about what makes Brains on Fire tick - especially our culture. And not taking ourselves seriously plays a pretty big role. Like one of the 12 Beliefs in our Tequila Shots Book says: If we aren’t havin’ fun, we must be doing something wrong. That doesn’t mean we won’t roll-up our sleeves and get our hands dirty. That doesn’t mean we won’t bend over backwards for clients, friends and kindred spirits. That doesn’t that we don’t think our work not only benefits our clients, but helps enhance and - dare I say - change their employees and customers lives for the better. That is serious stuff.

But the second we take ourselves too seriously, we’re done. We’re lumped into the prima donnas. The “better than yous.” The marketing circles in SM that only kiss each others butts. And we don’t wanna go there.

So don’t take yourself too seriously. After all, it’s marketing, people.

Want to learn more about the culture at Brains on Fire? Check out the recent “CODcast” with our friends at Catch Your Limit Consulting.

I had such an amazing time in Australia (sharing at AMPLIFY for AMP) and New Zealand that it’s been difficult to wrap my head around the entire experience. So instead of trying to put it all down at once, I’ll write about it in bits and pieces as it comes to me.

This ah-ha moment comes from Roger Dennis, a consultant in New Zealand and super-smart guy I met at the event and had lunch with one day. Among the great conversation, Roger revealed a tool that he uses to help encourage and activate advocates is a business card-sized tool that has one simple message on it: “You have permission to change the system.”

Wow.

By simply giving someone permission, you open up a world of possibilities. They don’t have to tread lightly or be afraid of repercussions. They don’t have to fear the hierarchy. They have been given permission. Because when you give permission to employees, customers and advocates you are giving them a hall pass. A permit. Official authorization. And it’s amazing the empowerment that comes along with that.  As the Fan Cycle states, Empowerment leads to Evangelism. Evangelism leads to Ownership. And Ownership means that your fans success is your success and your success is your fans success. That’s what we call a win-win.

Such a simple concept from Roger. And yet, so powerful. My favorite part? It’s not digital. It’s not a Twitter strategy. It’s not online social media. It’s tangible. It fits in the palm of your hand. And it taps into one of the most basic components of human DNA: appealing to a person’s sense of self-worth.

So grant permission. And watch what happens.

It’s time for our annual checkup. That time when we take Fred Reichheld’s advice to engage the people we touch to help us grow and continually improve. We are asking you (yes, YOU!) “The Ultimate Question.”

So please take a moment to click on this link and take our very brief, anonymous survey. If you received this link in the email, then you won’t need to take the survey via the blog… it’s all the same survey.

Thanks again to all of you who help keep the fire going. We love you all!

On a plane home from Sydney (more on that to come) this weekend, I pulled out my trusty Moleskine and flipped through to land on a page of notes that I took when I spent time with Rob Morris. If you’re a regular reader of the blog, you’ll know that Rob is one of the founders of an organization near and near to our hearts here at Brains on Fire: Love146.

Rob is inspirational when he speaks to large crowds or when you have dinner one-on-one, but the note that caught my eye was this: “Will influencers give you sweat equity? No. But the PASSIONATE ones will.”

That’s gold, baby. And so freakin’ true.

It might seem like we’re hammering that issue home here at Brains on Fire. And you’re darn tootin’ we are.

Look, influencers are great. And often times we include them in the Participation and Insight portions of our movement-building projects. But how likely are they to bend over backwards to help, well, anyone except their immediate circle who keeps them influential? Not very. But the passionate folks, the ones that aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and be a part of something bigger than themselves - they are happy to contribute sweat equity. Because sweat equity goes far, far beyond you tweeting or blogging about something. Sweat equity is a personal sacrifice. When you give you sweat equity, you give your loyalty. Your time. Your effort.

And I’ll take 100 passionates who contribute that sweat equity just because they care as opposed to 1000 influentials who post a tweet and never think about it again.