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Stay top of mind

Last Updated:

December 2, 2025

Table of Contents

TODAY’S TAKEAWAY

Stay top of mind.

Don’t expect other people to remember you and what you’re doing. Keep in touch with friends and mentors. Remind your manager of what you’re doing. It's only by remembering that you exist that people can keep you in mind for opportunities.

THE STORY

The holiday hit 30 years in the making

You hear it in department stores, on the radio, and on social media.

(You may even be one of the 896 people who are so scarred by the song that they’ve signed a petition to make it stop playing.)

I’m talking about the song “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey.

Whether you love the song or hate it, Mariah Carey makes $3 million in royalties each and every year because people just can’t stop playing it.

How did a single song become “the most successful Christmas song of all time”?

It’s the spring of 1994. Carey, whose album was nominated for what would be her third Grammy, had left the 36th Grammy Awards show—empty-handed.

So when her record label suggested releasing a Christmas album, Carey paused.

The unspoken rule was that singers only did Christmas songs “later in their lives”—and Carey wasn’t ready to accept that the peak of her career was already behind her.

But Carey was willing to give a Christmas album a shot anyways.

So, she did 3 things:

In the middle of August, Carey filled the studio with Christmas decor to get her into the holiday mood.
She made sure her song kept her signature “love and romance” vibe (which led to her famous “money note”) so listeners would remember that the song came from her.
She also included the “most Christmassy chord” that appears in songs like “White Christmas” so listeners would see it as a familiar holiday tune.

(If Carey’s strategy sounds familiar, that’s because I’ve talked about it before in this edition on author Celeste Ng. It’s called MAYA.)

Carey released the song two months later in October 1994—only to get limited attention.

It reached #12 on the Billboard charts for Adult Contemporary music and was called “impressive for a Christmas song,” but “a bit low for Carey in this period.”

Let’s pause here for a second.

Imagine you just finished a big project and it did… just okay. What would you do next?

Would you…

…feel bad about how you didn’t reach your goals,
…move on to another project and hope it does better, or
…continue sharing your work until it finds its audience?

Many people—and indeed musical artists—take path (A) or (B).

But Carey went with (C)—and she continued sharing her song in 3 key ways over the next 30 years.

Carey sang the song repeatedly on tour: 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002-2003, 2006, 2015, 2019 (and counting).
Each time Casey had a TV special, she—you guessed it—sang the song again, whether it was on ABC, ESPN, NBC, or elsewhere.
Carey has released a video at midnight on November 1st for the past 6 years since 2019—literally a minute after Halloween—announcing that “it’s tiiiiime” to get festive (and listen to her song, of course).

*Carey’s “It’s Time!!!!” video for 2025 via YouTube*

Fast forward to today, and Carey is the only artist who can boast about having a song jump consistently (and predictably) to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 6 years in a row (2019-2024)—26 years after its release—making her $3M USD every year from listens alone.

THE UNSPOKEN RULE

You should stay top of mind

Mariah Carey did it—and you can too, even if you’re not a musical artist. Here are 3 ways to stay top of mind:

1. Stay in touch with people through email, text, or calls (if not in person)

E.g., “Hi [name]! You crossed my mind the other day when I was [looking / thinking] back to ______ and so I hope you don’t mind me reaching out. How are things going with [work / personal life detail]? PS: Inspired by our [work / time / ______] together at ______, I just [released / published / dropped] this and thought you might find it neat!”

2. Keep your mentors up-to-date on what you’re up to (and what’s next)

E.g., “Hi [name], I noticed you recently ______—congratulations! I wanted to share with you that, since we last spoke about ______, I have ______ and ______! Thank you for all of your help and support over the past while— ______ especially made a difference for me. I wouldn’t be here without you!”

3. Remind your manager what you are up to (and what you’ve done)

E.g., “Hi [name]—I just wanted to share a brief update on ______. Since we last chatted about ______, I’ve been able to ______ and ______. This means that ______, ______, and ______. I’m [excited / looking forward to / enjoying] ______ and being part of this process! Please let me know if you have any questions—I’m happy to share more if you’re interested.”

And, if you did something great, continue to share it with the world!

Maybe you’re sick of talking about it (and maybe the people closest to you are sick of it, too, but you don’t know that unless they tell you).

More likely than not, the vast majority of the world doesn’t yet know that your amazing work exists. So, if you don’t keep talking about it, you’re leaving out most of the world!

In the case of Mariah Carey, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” has been streamed an estimated 2 billion times to date. But with 8 billion and counting people in the world, this number is still just a fraction of who’s out there—so she still has a long road ahead!

See you next Tuesday for our next story and unspoken rule,

—Gorick

WHAT I’M READING

Here are 3 articles that I found interesting recently (no paywalls, although it may depend on your cookies):

“It’s One of the Most Influential Social Psychology Studies Ever. Was It All a Lie?” (Mother Jones)
“This ‘boring’ job that millennials and boomers abandoned is the hottest seasonal job on the market—and it’s Gen Z’s path to a six-figure career” (Fortune)
“What makes PhD students happy? Good supervision” (Nature)

MORE OF MY WORK

Every newsletter is free and a fraction of my work. Here are 3 of my paid offerings that may interest you:

1. Keynote speaking: If your organization is looking for speakers for your internship program, new hire orientation, new student orientation, manager training, all-hands meetings, recruiting season, year-end performance evaluation season, or something else, let's chat!

2. How to Say It: Flashcards that teach you to know what to say in every high-stakes professional setting via hundreds of fill-in-the-blank scripts (just like the examples above). Free shipping on all orders over $40.

3. The Unspoken Rules: My Wall Street Journal Bestseller that Arianna Huffington calls “a blueprint for anyone starting their career, entering a new role, or wanting to get unstuck.” Used by top companies and MBA programs.

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