Everyone's so afraid of trying too hard that nobody's trying at all.
- Lucy
- Jun 16
- 7 min read
What do I and the Take That band have in common?
We’re all complete try-hards.
And what a wonderful similarity that is.
Last week, I went to watch Take That (the band, surely you’ve heard of them) at the Coventry Arena with my parents and boyfriend. It was definitely more my parents' scene, but I convinced Will that it would be fun and bought us tickets to go with them. They truly proved me right.
For a quick backstory, Take That is a once-5-person boy band formed over 35 years ago, meaning the band is older than me.
Gary Barlow (55), Howard Donald (58), and Mark Owen (54) are the three remaining members who got up on stage last Friday to recreate their ‘Circus’ tour, which they first performed in 2009.
And I forgot just how wonderful concerts used to be.
There were life-size (metal) elephants, every possible circus act you can imagine (my highlight was the tightrope walker), endless fireworks and backing dancers, and these 50-something-year-old men were completing full choreographed routines for their entire 2-hour set.
The first thing I expressed in our post-concert debrief walk (/run) back to our car was, " Wow, did they try hard”. They pulled out every possible dance move and stage design to make it the best concert ever. I was exhausted just watching them.
So if “one of the most successful pop bands in British history” still makes a huge effort to deliver a damn-good show and satisfy fans after over 35 years, why do those of us who aren’t a worldwide success deem being a “try-hard” a negative?
Why is it embarrassing to try hard?
The aversion to trying hard may well be a distinctly British thing (like Take That).
On a personal level, perhaps it’s the fear of failure. Or more specifically, the fear of people knowing we have failed. Because if we never speak out about our really big goals, no one will ever know if we don’t reach them.
But equally, that secret ambition will likely never become a reality unless we first allow ourselves to believe in it enough to give it a voice.
Quite literally in Gary Barlow’s case. Gary spoke about how “there was a couple of years of going round banging on doors and hustling… we were trying every angle we could, and it was hard.” Imagine if he hadn’t made it clear to all those people that he wanted to be a star?
From a brand level, many businesses “play it safe” out of fear of being cancelled. A fear of trying too hard at the “wrong” thing, and your audience or customer base not liking it.
Perhaps some of the Take That audience didn’t like their fully choreographed dance moves and the over-production of the concert. I didn’t personally see anyone leave halfway through, but it was a risk to invest significantly more money and time when some fans might’ve preferred them to just stand and sing. Yet had they done the latter, I wouldn’t be here talking about it. Conversely, fans could have found it dull, and playing it safe could have been the riskier move.
Playing it safe is a poor excuse for business laziness and the #1 reason so many brands are just plain boring. We’ve all seen the commentary on brand fatigue and how every business is beginning to look the same. And that’s because so few are willing to try hard to stand out.
Why try-hard?
Behind every success story is someone trying really hard.
The entire concept of the rise of founder-led businesses is people showing off how hard they’re trying. Of course, some of them throw in a healthy number of comments about balance and burnout to make them slightly more relatable, but the foundation of it all is that they’re trying really hard.
The success that Ben Francis of GymShark and Aimee Smale of Odd Muse now celebrate was built from the founders working their ass off.
Whether you like them or not, the through-line of business people’s advice, such as Emma Grede and Steven Bartlett, is that if you want to succeed, you need to put in the effort.
The same rings true for businesses.
In just 10 years, the soda brand Poppi went from launching on a farmers’ market stall in 2015 to being acquired by PepsiCo for $1.95 billion in 2025.
That was achieved by trying hard:
Allison and Stephen (the founders) invested their entire $90,000 in personal savings into the business, maxed out their credit cards, and sold one of their cars to afford to continue their venture in the early years.
They spent four years fighting grocery-store placement battles, with retailers wanting to put it alongside health supplements and Poppi wanting to position it alongside traditional sodas.
They “completely rejected the concept of work-life balance” to make the brand succeed, stating that "you have to live in the chaos and like it”.
Besides the founders’ effort, the entire brand is built around breaking away from the classic soda brand playbook.
While legacy soda brands were running polished TV-style campaigns, Poppi went all-in on face-to-camera TikTok content: Allison literally putting herself on camera, talking to her phone, in a category where brands spent decades hiding behind slick production.
Their branding is the opposite of playing it safe. With bright colours and graphics designed to make them stand out and be different.
They heavily marketed the premise that agave inulin and apple cider vinegar (ingredients in the drink) provided meaningful digestive benefits. Which was one risk that didn’t pay off, ultimately leading to an $8.9 million class-action settlement over accusations of false advertising. But they still went for it.
I’m not necessarily advocating that anyone completely reject work-life balance, falsely market health benefits, or create a humongous half-bodied model to sing along with for one song (see below), but brands do need to try harder.
Had Poppi been positioned in the health supplement aisle and not kept fighting to be classified as a soda, I can guarantee its valuation would be nowhere near the $2 billion mark, if it were acquired at all. And had they not positioned themselves as the “better” alternative to other soda options, they wouldn’t have gathered so much interest at the start, in particular. Their hard work paid off.
So how do you be a try-hard?
The beauty of trying hard is that it needs to be completely unique to you. Every person and every business can’t try hard at the same things, because A) it won’t be authentic to them, and B) we’ll all still end up sounding the same.
But here’s some ideas to get you started.
1. Say the big thing out loud.
If Gary Barlow can go around banging on doors trying to get people to listen to his demo and help him be a star, you can at least tell one person in your life what you truly want to do. Try to make it specific and actually big. “I want to make £9.5k in September” rather than “I want to make more money in my business”.
The risk is that people know if you fail. The payoff is that people also know what to root for and are there to celebrate with you.
2. Make the thing you’re best at impossible to ignore.
Most brands sand down what makes them distinctive because they worry it’s too much. You should take that thing and shout about it excessively. Make it so abundantly clear that that’s why you’re all about, that anytime someone thinks about it, they think about you.
3. Compete in the category you actually belong in, not the one that feels safe.
Poppi fought to be shelved with sodas, not supplements, and that’s a big part of what made them a success. Most founders do the opposite and position themselves in the less competitive corner because it’s easier to stand out there. But the easier route is very unlikely to be the most successful route.
Decide on the right context for you and the best positioning for your success. Then fight to be seen there.
4. Shoot your shot
If you haven’t already seen it, check out Anna Mack’s ‘shoot your shot Wednesday’ concept, which is essentially around asking for something you think is out of reach every week. Be it a partnership, a pitch of your services, or to sell your product, anything you desire. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. If you ask for something every week, you might have a shot of landing one.
5. Allow yourself to alienate some people.
Having a strong position on something in your space is what makes you stand out. Not everyone will get on board, but those who do will become advocates for you.
The safest brands are the ones that are constantly sitting on the fence. And in business, safe is just a synonym for forgettable. Or mediocre, or boring, or a whole host of other words you don’t want to be associated with your brand. Find a way to be interesting to a specific group of people. Preferably, your target customers.
6. Go all-in on what makes you interesting
I don’t believe any industry is boring; I just believe the people who work in them are. I’ve worked with a mortgage company where I’ve set up an engaged community. A restaurant chain where I’ve partnered with a nutritionist and PT for customer education, as well as local businesses for in-store events. An executive leadership coach who now uses LEGO in all his one-to-one sessions and workshops as his signature. There’s always a way for you to be interesting. Really reflect on what that is, then go all in on it to stand out.
Need some motivation?
I’ll play along with you.
I want to get to 50 subscribers on Substack! I am posting more notes, writing weekly articles like this, and working really hard to improve my writing each week. I’d love for you to follow along! (Look at me saying the thing AND even asking for it!).
I’ve entered a marathon for November! My Mum (a very good, qualified running coach) has written me a plan, and I’m going all in to aim for a PB (3hrs 30): speed work, more long runs than past marathon plans, and ~4 runs a week.
And I’d love to hear all about what you’re trying hard at too.
