Marketing imagination: Letter to Business Santa
Image by:@lydia_matzal
I’m not sure of the origins of writing a letter to Santa Claus, but children all over the world take to task during the holiday season to do just that.
When kids do this, they have an unwavering belief and faith in something completely intangible and invisible to them. They’ve been told by those they love and trust that Santa lives in the North Pole and operates a workshop where elves work tirelessly to make their toys. Once a year, he flies through the skies and delivers the toys to each home. And they believe without a second thought: bless their openness and complete acceptance. And guess what happens - despite the fact that Santa doesn’t exist, there are gifts under the tree Christmas morning. Is that magic?
Kids will usually get at least one thing they wrote on their Christmas list to Santa. Why? Because the “helper,” (in this case, the parent who acts on behalf of this fairy tale) strives to ensure a child who took the time and effort to write to Santa, won’t be disappointed with not a single thing on their list.
Can you see where I’m going with this?
Why writing a letter is powerful
Have you ever had a million things knocking around in your brain? I know I have. Often my mind jumps from one thing to another in an incessant loop. I imagine it’s like those old school lottery barrels that they used to have on the televised lottery (does this still happen on cable tv???) The host or hostess cranks the handle and the lottery balls just go round and round, or it’s a box with air being circulated and the balls whip around every which way. No one number is important. They all bounce around and go nowhere essentially.
When the host or hostess is ready, they push a button or pull a lever, and the winning numbers somehow get sucked into a tube. Those numbers are THE numbers. Numbers that represent the concrete result of the lottery. The results that now shape some lucky winner’s destiny. There is no denying the numbers that have been pulled. The ball machine or barrel stops; all the balls are now out of commission. The few that were chosen go on to make someone a winner.
Our thoughts similarly bounce around in our head randomly. Essentially, they don’t go anywhere. But press the metaphorical button by writing some of those thoughts or ideas down, and you’ve just done the equivalent of sucking the lottery numbers into the tube. They have been activated; they have a purpose. The act of writing transforms a thought into a potential action. And in doing that, other mechanisms are put into motion, to move that thought from potential action into actuality.
When I was a kid, we used to get catalogues in the mail. I would sit and flip through all the toy sections. My parents, Santa, no one knew what I wanted when I was just flipping pages. In my imagination, I wanted everything. I’d then watch cartoons and see a commercial and wanted what was in the commercial. The lottery balls and their eternal churn.
But then I would sit down and write my list. The winning lottery balls. Now my parents knew exactly what I wanted. The writing of my letter set them into motion. They wouldn’t be able to act with precision without the letter; risking getting some toy I didn’t want. The letter established direction and specificity which makes things much easier to fulfill. It sets a pin in the great map of our universe.
Write your letter to Business Santa
If kids can do this and somehow their desired gift makes it under the tree, why can’t we believe that if we write a letter to someone invisible and intangible, a helper of some sort won’t work to make it happen? And sure, it could be complete bullsh!t too and you can sit in that opinion and do nothing, but on the flipside, what on earth do you have to lose but a few minutes to write something down - something that you wish for?
Take some time now to write your letter to Business Santa. Tell him of all the wonderful things you aim to accomplish this coming year and tell him what you need in order to progress that dream business. Make a list of things you would like - gear, ideal clients, office accessories, whatever! Add it all.
Place that letter into an envelope and seal it, and address it to Business Santa. That’s an indicator to go to his Business Department as opposed to the toy workshop (although some of us consider gear toys!!). Take that letter and “mail it” by placing it into a special place - a box, into a book. Next year, when you write your letter, open the previous one and reflect on what you had written - see if Business Santa delivered to you the things on your list!
Linking the other pillars
Let child-like joy infuse through your body as you sit down and write your letter. No one is watching. You’ll feel like a kid again!
Writing a letter with things you need isn’t just a fun vision game we’re playing; you would actually use what’s on this list. Make sure these things are accounted for in your FIDA (a.k.a. your cost of doing business) - another way the list is set into motion.
Let this pillar energize what you’re asking for!
Don’t let your mindset interfere with this fun, intuitive exercise with messages that it’s dumb or a waste of time. If your mind is triggered by this, it’s a cue to look at where along the way, imagination and wonder were discouraged. Tell your mind to be quiet and write your letter!
Join the Facebook Group with over 6,000 like-minded members to chat with others on this topic, and more!