An empty cup—or an opportunity?

As we all try to navigate the seismic shifts in content marketing and marketing in general, one phrase keeps popping up in my mind: "To fill your cup, it must be empty first."

It is often attribtuted to a conversation between a Chinese scholar and a zen master:

Scholar Tokusan--who was full of knowledge and opinions about the dharma--came to Ryutan and asked about Zen. At one point Ryutan re-filled his guest's teacup but did not stop pouring when the cup was full. Tea spilled out and ran over the table. "Stop! The cup is full!" said Tokusan.

"Exactly," said Master Ryutan. "You are like this cup; you are full of ideas. You come and ask for teaching, but your cup is full; I can't put anything in. Before I can teach you, you'll have to empty your cup."

If your cup is already full, there's no room for anything else. Maybe you empty your cup on purpose to make room. Or someone empties it for you, even if you liked what you were drinking.

An empty cup can be scary. But it's also an opportunity to rethink what you want in it. Or to try something new.

Maybe it's time to change your content strategy. Or do some audience and brand research. Or explore new technologies that can help you reach your audience more effectively.

The marketing landscape is being rewritten. What worked last year might be noise today. What felt impossible yesterday might be table stakes tomorrow.

The way forward isn't to cling to old methods, but to pour them out and start fresh.

Here's the question you should be asking: What's in your cup right now? And more importantly, what are you willing to empty out to make room for what's coming next?