Marketing Shenanigans (#013)

Why Experience Beats Education Every Time

Anyone selling you something they’ve never done themselves is lying to your face. Theory is great, but applicable knowledge? That’s what creates real value.

You can’t truly understand something until you’ve tried to do it. No book, class, or degree can replace the lessons you learn by getting your hands dirty.

Here’s the reality: When you start something new, you’ll probably suck at it. And while that might sound discouraging, it’s actually a gift.

Why?

• Sucking at something gives you perspective. You’ll appreciate the people who excel at it even more.

• The desire to not suck becomes a powerful motivator. It pushes you to train, improve, and grow in ways you didn’t think were possible.

When I’m hiring, I’ve never once cared about someone’s GPA or even their college degree. What matters to me isn’t how you performed in a classroom—it’s what you’ve done outside of it.

Here’s What I Care About:

1️⃣ What projects have you started?

2️⃣ Have you ever wanted something so badly that you set a goal and pursued it relentlessly—whether you succeeded or failed?

3️⃣ What have you proven to yourself through action?

Knowledge is only useful when applied. That’s why I look for people with grit—the kind who don’t just dream but act, who aren’t afraid to fail, and who are driven to prove something to themselves.

Here’s an analogy: You can memorize every stat or play in a playbook, but until you’ve run the play on the field, you have no idea if it works.

I want the person who says, "I want to run a marathon," and actually signs up for one. Or, "I want to finish this film by this date," and sets a premiere. Once you commit to running the play, you put yourself in motion.

And motion is where the magic happens.

Through training, repetition, and action, you gain tools and insights that no classroom or theory could ever provide. This is where real understanding comes from—not just knowing what to do, but knowing when to do it and why.

The Takeaway

The intangibles that set you up for success—drive, commitment, and resilience—are already within you. They’re not measured by a degree, a certificate, or a title. They’re measured by your willingness to bet on yourself.

Conclusion: Your degree doesn’t define your baseline for success—you do. It’s not about the credentials; it’s about what you’re willing to prove to yourself through action. That’s where real value is built.

Teddy Giard

In case you don’t already know, my name is Teddy, and I operate a firm that specializes in marketing strategies for outdoor brands. Our approach is simple: align your product development timeline with your marketing production timeline; by doing so, we can own the distribution of our message and our products.

If you’d like to explore working together, feel free to fill out this form, and if we’re a good fit, we can schedule a discovery call. We ask this because we keep a fairly narrow target for whom we work, and we like to be as open about that on the front end as possible. After all, time is life’s most valuable resource.