How To Be The Nicest A$%#@&! You Know

I can teach you how to be the nicest asshole you know.

The recipe goes a little bit like this:

• One part “Yes!” when you want to say no
• Two parts putting the “urgent” stuff before the important stuff
• A dash of dashing around all day, losing sleep at night
• Making yourself ever available for everyone everywhere foreverrrr

To the world, you are a sweetheart, a darling, a godsend. You’re sooooooooo nice!

To yourself? You are the biggest, nastiest, most toxic asshole walking the planet.

Do you know who taught me how to be the nicest asshole I’ve ever met? I did.

In fact, it seems I give myself this master class every few years.

Last night, I stumbled upon some old homework from one such class when searching my computer for what will now be known as the “lost episode” of Awkward Marketing.

So, while I don’t have a new episode this week, I’ve got something even more awkward. An old episode of my short lived web show “Walk ‘n’ Talk with a Web Designer” (I meannnnn, even that title is awkward, am I right?!) all about what happens when you’d rather be “nice” than set limits in your business.

Re-watching this episode several years later, I can see more clearly why I had to take this class so many times.

I didn’t get it. I hadn’t learned the lesson yet.

When I first made this episode, I remember thinking that refusing to set limits and boundaries ultimately made me an ass to other people because, after putting up with too much I always inevitably ended up snapping and going incredible Hulk on them.

But looking at this today, I can see that I was my own worst victim, not other people.

You’re going to want to check out this throwback episode for: 

  • Some super awkward RKA, version 1.0
  • A peek at my old digs in beautiful Chiapas, Mexico
  • Lessons learned the hard way on what happens when you don’t set limits in your biz (and beyond)

What would have been this week’s episode of Awkward Marketing is lost and gone forever (RIP coffee soaked computer) which means there are only TWO EPISODES LEFT this season before we break for the summer.

Buuuuut, while your fave characters slather their noses with zinc oxide and sip lemonade, never fear! I’ve still got plenty of awkward surprises in store. Stay tuned.

Rachael Kay Albers

Rachael Kay Albers is a creative director, business comedian, and brand strategist gone wild. She writes and performs about branding, pop culture, tech, and identity. When she’s not muckraking about marketing, Rachael runs RKA ink, a reinvention studio and branding agency for businesses that burn the rulebook. She's also on Instagram a lot.