How Not to Be a Chicken

Zack Greenfield • December 21, 2021

Today I want to go over something that really hits home for me and for a lot of others, and that's how not to be chicken. So stick with me and we're gonna go over bravery courage and how to avoid being and losing out on great opportunities. 

So this came about a couple of different ways for me this week. I was teaching a class at the local college and one of the topics that came up is being bold and differentiating yourself. And it occurred to me, after I was told that I was being a chicken this week, that it was easy for me to get up in front of the class and say - be bold and be ready to differentiate yourself. But that also can be really unnerving and take a lot of courage. And sometimes when those situations present themselves, we all can get a little chicken.

There are some times that I'm a chicken just like everybody else. And here's the way I think about it. I think going in the right direction, you really need to think how big the opportunity is like what's in front of you, what's at stake if you're able to find some bravery, right? So if you're able to dig down and set aside your fears and your worries about whatever the outcome might be in balance of the fact that there might be this amazing opportunity for you, then it sort of feels like more of an equation that makes logical sense. And maybe that's not really like the emotional pathway to getting it resolved, but a lot of these things in life are just that we need to apply some logic to calm our emotions down. 

And so, you know, from a marketing perspective or even in your personal life, there are moments when we need to stand up and be bold and we need to be brave and we need to seize the opportunities that are in front of us. In order to do that, we need to set aside some of those like reservations and self doubt, fear and all that sort of little voices in our head. And I think one of the best ways to do do that is to apply some logic to it. Some, you know, practical information, which is - how big is this chance that I might be forgoing if I let these emotions take over and run me in this moment. Right? And if the opportunity really is meaningful for you, then it's time to set those emotions aside and be bold and hold of the courageous person inside of you and run with that. 

So in the past, when I've had my moment to being chicken, those are the thoughts, what am I missing out on here? Or, how can I seize this and put that to bed? So it might be a public speaking event, it might be making a video for your business, it might be standing up and teaching, it might be putting your name on something, or a project at work or taking credit for something. And a lot of times those are great opportunities for us, and we need to just be bold and have courage. So I wish you the best of luck of getting up and meeting your own greatness, and being brave in all of your endeavors.
GET HELP TODAY
By Zack Greenfield April 7, 2026
Most Arizona businesses don't need a full-service agency with 47 people and a receptionist named Brenda. They need a small team that actually knows their market, responds to texts, and doesn't bill them for "strategy sessions" that could've been an email.
By Zack Greenfield March 31, 2026
Phoenix and Scottsdale sit 12 miles apart, but their marketing playbooks might as well be in different states. What works for a taco shop in Central Phoenix will fall flat for a boutique in Old Town Scottsdale, and pretending otherwise is how small businesses light their marketing budget on fire.
By Zack Greenfield March 24, 2026
You're spending money on Instagram posts that get 47 likes from other restaurants. Your Google listing shows up somewhere on page two. And every weekend you're wondering why the place across the street has a line while you're running a skeleton crew because traffic is unpredictable.
ISAS - Intelligent Systems As Service
By Zack Greenfield March 18, 2026
SaaS gave you a dashboard. ISAS gives you outcomes. The era of Intelligent Systems as a Service is here — and it changes everything about how businesses buy technology.
By Zack Greenfield March 17, 2026
Most businesses treat AI agents like toddlers with flamethrowers—either locked in a padded room or running wild through the warehouse. We built something different at our Scottsdale office: AI agents that work unsupervised within hard limits, then escalate when they hit the fence.
By Zack Greenfield March 12, 2026
You've got maybe five Scottsdale agencies bookmarked right now, and they all sound exactly the same. "Data-driven." "Results-focused." "Your growth partner." Cool—so is every other agency with a website built after 2019.
By Zack Greenfield March 10, 2026
Your restaurant's packed at 7 PM on a Saturday, and your marketing agency just texted asking if you can "jump on a quick call" to review next month's Facebook ad creative. They don't get it. They've never worked a dinner rush, managed food costs, or explained to a line cook why the POS system crashed during a reservation wave.
By Zack Greenfield March 5, 2026
Your Facebook ads are running during dinner rush and nobody's clicking because they're too busy trying to get a table at your competitor down the street. That's not a creative problem—that's a timing problem, and most marketing agencies wouldn't know the difference because they've never worked a Friday night shift.
By Zack Greenfield March 3, 2026
Discover how AI agents are reshaping marketing in 2025, automating the grunt work, and unlocking strategic growth. Real data, examples, and action steps.
By Zack Greenfield February 26, 2026
Learn 5 leadership strategies inspired by Apple's AI approach that any business owner can use to accelerate growth and avoid common tech pitfalls.
Show More