I know you may be getting tired of me continually posting “non marketing” stuff, but let me just tell you, there's a marketing lesson in everything I publish.

YOU just have to dig for it sometimes. I have faith in you–you can do it.

Just remember, nearly everything you do is marketing. I won't go into that diatribe today, but just know that you are in the business of selling you every single day.

People generally don't buy from people they don't know, don't like, or don't trust.

So you need to keep those three things in mind every single minute of every single day:

1. Know
2. Like
3. Trust

As Warren Buffett has famously said,

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.”

Warren Buffett

How you behave in your “off hours,” what you post on your “personal timeline,” and even how you dress (what you wear) can will have an effect on how people perceive you.

Perception is reality.

You may think it doesn't matter. Well, it may not matter to you. And you may not care how someone behaves, what they write and share on social media, or how they dress.

But others may. And they could be somebody who would buy from you but they either don't know you well enough, don't like you, or they don't trust you.

I've drawn a line in the sand that says if I don't like your political beliefs to the extent that those beliefs run counter to mine in a significant way, then I won't do business with you, whether I'm selling to you or you're selling to me.

I get to make that determination. You don't.

Same goes when we flip the scene. If one of us won't do business with the other no matter what, then business doesn't get done. Let me tell you: Sometimes, this stuff really does get in the way and it sours the business relationship, so my feeling is let's just get that out of the way from the get-go.

Now, I said I wasn't going to go on a diatribe. I guess I just did. Sorry about that.

But what prompted this was “National Hat Day.” I didn't know today was a hat holiday, but a smart marketer sent me an email about it and told me so.

There's always opportunity to sell. There are always opportunities to build relationships. There's always a chance to redeem yourself in the eyes of others.

And there's always a chance that you'll mess it all up if you're not careful and always remember Buffett's quote above.

There are an awful lot (funny play on words there) of people right now regretting a spur of the moment decision they made.

Don't be one of those guys. Their reputation may be permanently sullied. They may go to prison and/or face hefty fines. Stand up for what you believe in, sure. I'm all for it.

But know that the world is always watching and judging. Be ready for that.