jonsmellsnice’s blog

Help someone today, in a way that really, seriously helps them, something that they can't do by themselves.

Instead of asking them to pay back the favour, ask them to 'pay it forward' to three other people.

Just dug up this movie from one of those boxes that I leave in a corner for months or years. Really got to me: imagine the world with this 'pay it forward' concept put into plan.

A mime stands upon a gallows
For a crime he did not do.
When given a last chance to speak,
He remains true to his art.

A crowd of hundreds has gathered
To see his last performance,
Knowing he will not talk.

The mime takes from the sky
The circles of bright spheres,
Lays them on a table,
Expressing deep love
For the companionship and guidance
They have given him for so many years.

He brings the seas before our eyes,
Somehow a golden fin appears, splashes.
Look, dear ones, there is turquoise rain.

He removes his heart from his body and seems to
Arouse all life on this splendid earth
With such a sacred tenderness,
There for an extraordinary moment
It looked like someone was giving birth
To the Christ again.

He mounts his soul upon the body of Freedom.
The great Breeze comes by.
The sun and moon join hands,
They bow so gracefully
That for a moment, for a moment
Everyone knows that God is real,

So the tongue fell out
Of the mouth of this world
For days.

"Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get."

What really defines happiness? I would dare say that i'm speaking on behalf of a significant proportion of the young adult population when I proclaim: I have no freaking idea. Whims and fancies come and go, we break and mend relationships, we achieve and drop grades, we climb, we run, we soar, and at times we lie on our beds, staring at the ceiling with the Whitest Boy Alive on repeat. Happiness, as opposed to gratification, is not fleeting: its knowing that you are on the right path in life. It is satisfying your self-expectations and achieving self-respect, and not living the life others perceive to be the best for you. It is waking up each morning anticipating the events awaiting you. It is going home to a warm bed and having conversations with the people you love. It is having friends that share your circumstances and really, truly understand.

To me, happiness is where I am right now, and what I anticipate in the future. Universities, the health of my family, grades, relationships, God: these I await with much excitement.

"If you want to know about a lion, don't go to the zoo; go to the jungle."

Here Roberts criticises firms' reliance on research and quantitative data, and the fact that the insight that many firms claim they possess are merely rational conclusions, that of which other competitors would have as well. Applying this to the corporate brand-building area that he is in, he calls for greater, or even complete, emphasis on understanding the consumer, again in line with his Lovemarks concept.

Amazing, cognitive stuff.

Adapted from Kevin Roberts' blog, http://krconnect.blogspot.com/:

'The kind of sensual shock we might experience today in Bangkok or Sao Paulo is nothing compared to, say, seeing a sailing ship appear in your harbor for the first time or tasting a tomato after its long journey from Peru to your table in London or Amsterdam.'

 Just got word of this concept and was completely blown away. Indeed, the sensual shock one derives from novelty in this current age is unlike what one would have derived half a millenium ago. I would partly attibute this to the fact that in the past 4 decades, the world has seen massive leaps in terms of the development of civilisation: the Renaissance, the Scientific Age, and the technological advances that we have experienced surpasses that of perhaps ever. People hence are used to the expectation of novelties. Also, globalisation and the information age have made acquiring these expectations all the more efficient; with a simple click of the mouse, one can access travel reviews of Bangkok or Sao Paulo, for example.

All this, when applied to the business concept, speaks leaps and bounds of the current environment today: it is harder to build a brand/lovemarks that shocks. Consumers are more or less accustomed to the latest nike or adidas product: in essence, its still a bleeding shoe afterall. What would shock them is the advent of, say, a new colour that no one has conceptualised before.

'Blessed is he, whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him, and in whose spirit is no deceit.' Psalm 32:1-2

'I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lords unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him.' Psalm 32:8-10

Kevin Roberts from Saatchi and Saatchi was the entreprenuer that invented this idea. He proposes the idea that brands and companies owning these brands are dead; the future of business lies in the hands of the consumer. Lovemarks supersede brands, in that they encompass the three key elements of mystery, sensuality, and intimacy. Seems altogether abstract to me. Shall research more on this concept when time frees up.

Just watched and very intently paid heed to a lecture conducted by Saatchi and Saatchi's Kevin Roberts at the Wharton School, UPenn (coincidentally the school that I am currently striving, albeit sometimes seemingly in vain, towards). An interesting and poignantly expressed idea I derived was that of work-life integration instead of work-life balance. Roberts basically scoffs at the idea of balance, as it entails compromise, sacrificing one aspect for the benefit of the other. He challenges the audience to appreciate integration instead: live the best life everyday. Be the best you can at work, be the best you can at home, be the best you can in the community, the best you can be all the time. No compromise. Its about how you combine passion and harmony so that you can get into your life and your work in one constant flow of joy. In his own words, "forget this balance nonsense." Start leading your/my life being the best that you and I can be.