What's in a name?

Almost every time I connect with someone new, they ask me, “How did you come up with a name like ‘Sparky Firepants?’” Sometimes I even hear, “Wow. I wish I had thought of that.”

You know what? Sometimes I wish I hadn’t used it. It’s actually very personal, but I’ll get to that.

I enjoy the fact that the name of my business makes people smile or laugh (even if they’re laughing at me). It’s fun. It’s a conversation starter. It’s a way for people to approach me, already feeling like I might just be a friendly guy (I am). It’s also fun at the the bank when the manager shouts out, “Heyyyy! Sparky Firepants!”

It’s a bit of celebrity and that’s fun. I’ll take it, thanks. I won’t pretend I’m on a higher plane where that doesn’t feel good.

Sometimes I wish I hadn’t thought of it because it sounds so easy. Here’s the imagined formula:

1. Come up with a goofy name.

2. Get on Twitter

3. Open mailbox, take out check for $1 million.

Sparky Firepants was never just a name

Here’s how it happened. One day I was sitting in my office at my j-o-b, thinking about what I wanted to do that I wasn’t what I was already doing. I was trying to remember what that thing was when I was 6 years old that I felt so strongly I should be doing for the world.

By 37 I had accomplished some pretty cool things, but few of them had really changed the world in the way I imagined. Cool stuff to point to, but just that. Cool. Some of the things were just about survival.

On that day in my office, I decided that it was about time I go do the thing I was meant to do. I didn’t have a clearly written spreadsheet of all the little tasks I would need to complete to get there. I knew that to even start I needed to go back to thinking like the kid who wanted to make huge world changes.

I knew who this kid was. In his head he was Sparky Firepants. So there.

It could be anything

It’s not about the name and I think deep down people know that. Naming my business something goofy doesn’t make amazing things happen. It could be Broccoli Cornflower. Fred Smith, Inc. Doesn’t matter. It’s different, but just being different is not enough.

If it was just about a funky name, it sure would be a lot easier.

It’s not easy. This is hard. It’s work. Hard work. Rewarding work, but hard.

Being Sparky Firepants only gets me so far. I still have to get up in the morning ready to do more tiny, almost invisible things that eventually add up to changing the way things work on this planet. I have to be ready to not be rewarded at the end of every day with applause and flowers. I have to understand that the people I really want to work with are looking for real help, not just a silly name to associate with. That means sometimes I have to say no, even if saying yes means I can buy my plane ticket early.

Excuse me while I barf: authentic

So tired of hearing that word. Authentic.

But dammit, it’s true. You can create a business around a persona, but it’s going to run out of gas (hot air?) before long. It’s not about being an internet personality or squeezing a brand into every nook and cranny you inhabit.

You didn’t come up with “Sparky Firepants” because Sparky Firepants isn’t just some dorky name I thunk up when I was drunk. It’s me. Do you get that?

So there’s nothing in a name. When it’s just a name.

And I’m still figuring out how to accomplish what that 6-year old had in mind. It was pretty lofty. I have to get back to work.

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