Sally ZimneyFounder & CEO, Be Moved by Sally Z

Leadership lessons from the state fair

10 Sept 2025 · 1 min

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1:25

In this motivational talk, the speaker addresses a common concern among clients and aspiring entrepreneurs—that the market is already saturated with ideas similar to theirs. Using a vivid personal experience at the Minnesota State Fair, the speaker illustrates how the fair embraces the "weird" by putting literally every food imaginable on a stick, turning an odd concept into a celebrated tradition. This serves as a metaphor for business and leadership: rather than trying to blend in, individuals should own their unique quirks, turn them into a distinctive "zag" that differentiates them from the crowd, and rally others around that identity. The talk encourages listeners to embrace their passions, claim their niche, and view perceived oddities as contributions that can energize and unite a community.

Chapters

I was talking to some clients this week who said something to me that I hear, frankly, all the time. And they were saying, I feel like there's already too many people out there doing what I wanna do. There's already people out there with that idea. But then honestly, I thought about the State Fair. Just take a peek at my day at the fair. This place is basically a shrine to embracing the weird. One of the things that the Minnesota State Fair is known for is putting literally every food you can think of on a stick. Why? I don't know. That's just what we do. It was kind of the thing that made us different, and we really owned it. And so now everything comes on a stick. This is what we do. This is our zag to everybody else's zag. Instead of that idea being weird, our ownership of that idea has become something that everybody rallies around. And you know what? My time at the fair was such a powerful reminder as I looked around and saw crafts that frankly, who's doing these? Well, somebody who has embraced their weird, who have said, this is what I'm passionate about. I'm gonna own it. I don't care how weird you think it is. This is a contribution I can make to the world. Instead of trying to blend in, they said, here I am.