What do you do when you’re paid to do something you don’t fully agree with?

Not anything illegal, of course.

But say you’re a freelancer, and a client insists on making changes you know will still work, just not as well as what you proposed.

Or maybe you’re running a solid business, but you still have to deal with demanding customers, ungrateful ones, and unexpected hiccups.

There are all kinds of ways to handle situations like these.

But here’s the one that’s been sticking with me lately, from my own experience setting up a home café.

Last weekend, I finally opened up a little home café called Ugly Latte. I serve ugly but tasty lattes, refreshing iced blacks, and strong hot blacks.

To spread the word, I put up flyers around the neighborhood.

Problem was…I didn’t exactly put them in approved places.

There weren’t signs saying “No Advertising,” but also no clear green light either.

I hesitated. I worried someone would complain. I didn’t want my café associated with cheap, dodgy marketing. I did it anyway.

Aaaand as expected, within 24 hours most of the flyers were taken down.

But I received no complaints, and more orders than I expected.

I even got some good reviews.

And more importantly, I walked away with a proof of concept and the confidence to keep going next weekend.

But let’s say all flyers were removed within minutes. And authorities warned me NOT to do it. Again, nothing illegal here, just a little guerrilla marketing.

Well, that’s the worst that could happen.

Which brings me back to the original point.

In life, and in business (even if you're the boss) you don’t always get to call every shot.

Sometimes, you’ve got to take on the “employee mindset,” put your head down, and be the best damn professional you can be.

That might mean facing down some irrational fears. Pushing past excuses. Just doing the thing you’re told to do.

Maybe this advice makes sense to you today. Maybe not.

But I’m pretty sure that at some point soon, you’ll face a moment where this will help.

And if that moment happens to be a problem involving email marketing, you know where to find me: