Put up your own billboard

THE RUB

I have an annoying habit of reading billboards aloud. Why? I doubt it’s to impress others by my ability to read. My best self-analysis is combating boredom and silence on a road trip.

I grew up in St. Louis. I’ve lived in Kansas City for 22 years and in Topeka, Kansas a few years before that. I’ve driven Interstate 70 between KC and STL more times in my life than any other stretch of highway.

That stretch of road is known as a dense corridor of billboards. Scenic America puts it at about 3.6 billboards per mile, which is roughly two and a half times the average of Missouri's neighboring states. We ended up with that many signs because advertising works.

THE FRAMEWORK

“Put up your own billboard,” suggested Angela Duckworth as a guest on the podcast The Curiosity Shop with Brené Brown and Adam Grant. She was talking through ways to install personal reminders of values and goals.

I’ve never been one to put a post-it note on the mirror or a message in my sock drawer. While I never bought any of the posters, I was a sucker for the motivational quotes offered by Successories in the early ‘90s.

One of my most treasured possessions is the book Good Advice by Safire and Safir that my grandfather gave me. It’s filled with quotes organized alphabetically with headings like Betterment, Determination, and Kindness. The spine is cracked from usage.

THE PRACTICE

I haven’t been deliberate in my personal billboard campaign. The book shelves in my office are prime I-70 billboard real estate, but I’ve filled them with books arranged by color and size as a nice backdrop for video calls. What a waste!

I’m inspired when I walk the aisles of a library or bookstore. All those spines inviting me to explore. I cleared that eye-level shelf because that’s MY billboard zone, and my grandfather’s gift now sits center stage.

“You gotta get a gimmick if you wanna get ahead.” ~ Veteran stripper in Gypsy, page 9 under Ambition.

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