I can’t believe what I’m watching.
I rewind the video and play it again:
It’s security camera footage from my Dad’s backyard.
It’s from a few days ago — when a once-in-a-decade storm is battering Perth.
On the screen, I can see the fierce winds shredding the leaves off the trees.
Dad’s renovating, so construction materials and loose debris cover the yard. With winds this strong, that’s not a good thing.
But those winds have already claimed their first casualty:
Over in the corner of the yard, I can see the shed that used to be standing in the middle.
It’s been ripped off its base and slammed against the fence.
A couple of my brothers — Timothy and Samuel — notice this, and run out into the howling winds, toward the shed.
That’s when it happens:
A huge, rectangular metal roof-sheet lifts off the ground BEHIND my brothers.
And then, propelled by gale-force winds, it tumbles through the air towards them.
It catches Timothy on the way past, carving his hand open with a sharp corner.
And then it turns, and hits Samuel — sweeping his legs out from underneath him.
Samuel tumbles over and begins sliding.
Later, the medics will find that his foot was immediately fractured from the impact.
But worse is to come.
Because what the boys don’t see is the second sheet that’s just reared its head behind them.
It lifts up, catches the wind … and immediately accelerates to a terrifying velocity.
Unlike the first sheet, though, it’s smaller, and square-shaped.
So it doesn’t tumble like the first one did.
Instead, it starts spinning — like a razor blade.
And it’s aimed … right at Samuel.
Unaware of the giant steel shuriken flying towards him, Samuel’s already rolled into a sitting position.
And he’s trying to stand up … right in the path of this second sheet of metal.
Which means the sheet is on a collision course for his head.
But he’s looking the other way. And he can’t see it coming.
It only takes half a second, but as I watch in horror, it feels like forever.
The spinning sheet of death — carried along by by 100 kph winds — makes a beeline for his neck.
It gets to within inches of his throat, and then —
Inexplicably —
He ducks.
A few hundredths of a second before it catches his jugular.
Whoosh!
In the frame, his head disappears right underneath the sheet.
It whirrs over his scalp and crashes into the fence, its murderous rage spent.
In real time, all this has taken less than half a second.
And Samuel doesn’t even know what he’s just dodged. He won’t know until later, when he looks at the footage with my mum, who breaks down crying.
A hospital visit and a moon boot later, he’s doing okay.
Thank God, all was well.
Though I have to tell you, I’ve watched this video more than a few times.
And as crazy as it sounds, it got me thinking about how most business owners manage problems in their marketing:
When a storm hits their business, things break.
The shed flies into the fence.
And predictably, they go running to fix it.
But they get so caught up in trying to solve the first problem they see … they don’t see the dangers hurtling at them from behind.
If you’re not careful in times like these, you could find your business killed, or seriously wounded.
The solution?
Get the guy who can see it all on the camera, and knows what’s coming up behind you.
That would be me.
I can write copy, sure, but it’s not all I do.
I can pull you out of the marketing ‘danger zone’, and point out the areas you should be focusing your efforts on to get through your storm.
But there are only so many screens I can watch at once.
That’s why I have a waitlist for businesses who are interested.
Those patient souls already on it know that I’ll be there to help guide them through the storm.
So if there’s a razor-edged sheet of death spinning at your business right now …
Duck for cover on my waitlist here
Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.
Daniel Throssell
P.S. Both Timothy and Samuel are doing well, thank the Lord. Could have been a lot worse.