Tag Archives: inspiration

Little Choices, Big Year(s)

Our lives seemed to be marked by year increments. Birthdays, anniversaries, new years. We look back over time, year after year, to gauge success, failures, trials, tribulations, and joys. And then, we make plans in those same increments. This year is and will be like all of the rest in this way.

But the funny thing about it is – it’s the choices that we make on a daily basis that shape the outcome of those years. No matter how big or small, how inconsequential or mundane, how high pressure or not, those daily choices matter. And they matter in a profound way. They just happen so frequently and at such a pace and are sometimes bad choices, it’s easier to look at a macro level. But the reality is, these daily choices build up one by one, micro by micro, and when it’s this time of the year, together they form good or bad, disappointing or triumphant, hope or hopeless.

There are many things outside of our control, but what is in our control are those choices. What we choose and how we choose it. And every single day, every single choice matters.

Navigating the Grey Space

When dealing with clients and relationships, there is hardly black and white. Either or. This or that.

There is all mostly grey space. And those who are able to navigate the grey space best are able to operate within the (loose) confines of day-to-day goings ons.

This is the way to make things happen.

Recognize it’s almost all grey. Then, navigate.

Slow the Tornado Down

It’s easy to get caught up in the frenzy of business. The pace is fast, the stakes are high, tension and stress are always present. If there’s not a major deadline to meet, there’s a staff problem to address, or a forecast to deliver. Everyone is always getting pressed for something.

It’s easy to get caught up in the tornado. Many people get sucked right in and try to suck everyone else in with them.

Getting sucked up in the tornado for any length of time is a) not healthy and b) not needed. You can always step outside of the tornado, outside of the madness. You have the power to do that.

When things start moving fast, much faster than it needs to be or you can operate, stop it. Call timeout. Take a moment. Breathe. Collect yourself and your thoughts. Literally, stop. People can wait 5 minutes. And sometimes, that’s all it takes for you to slow the tornado down for you.

This does not trump delivery. Delivery must happen always. But you can control your part of the tornado. Always.

Friday’s 4-1-1, What I Learned From Getting Hacked Style

This is what I feel like has happened to my blog over the past month or so.

Getting hacked is not something that they warn you about before blogging. Despite coming from a web dev background, it was nowhere on my radar. Certainly not to the extent of the headache that it caused. One little piece of code can have such deep and damaging ramifications.

This was one was good. I’ve got to hand it to the creator. But, now, everything is all cleaned up and we’re rid of it.

I thought it was most appropriate to dedicate today’s Friday 4-1-1 to some of the things getting hacked taught me.

  1. Blogging is much more than just writing blog posts – everywhere you look about tips for blogging, one of the first things you see is how much dedication it takes. Most of the time, “dedication” is tied to posting regularly and getting engaged with your audience. But getting hacked takes “dedication” to the next level. Posting and getting engaged is central to the success of your blog. But you’ve got to be prepared to trouble shoot technical issues and ultimately fix them. You’ve got to think about SEO and creating the proper tags on your pages. Titles. Site map. You’ve got to make sure everything is good with your analytics. For me, right now, posting is the least of my concerns. Making sure that the integrity of the site – security and optimization – is in order is the thing that keeps me up at night.
  2. If you’re not familiar with code, learn it or hire someone you trust who does – I am not a coder. I don’t want to look at code and decipher what needs to be done. I get so impatient with it. And this hack job was no little thing. So, there’s finding rogue code and trouble shooting that goes along with working your way out of something like this. If you’re not prepared to do this, make friends with someone who can and will. Or it could just be the end of your blog.
  3. Even though you can’t blog, continue communicating with your community – admittedly, I have not done a great job of this over the past few weeks. But that’s the beautiful thing about all of the social channels that we have now. You don’t have to be tied to one to engage with your community. In fact, it could open up other opportunities that you might not have had on your blog. I have to keep trying this daily. It’s hard.
  4. Inspiration is all around, don’t close yourself off – I might have not been able to post anything to my blog for the past few weeks, but that didn’t stop me from searching, being open to inspiration, and jotting down ideas for posts. Often times, I think us bloggers get so attached to our blog that when something like this happens and it’s closed off, it stifles permission to be inspired and documenting it. Yes, we do have other channels to engage with, but the act of curiosity shouldn’t be tied to the state of your blog.

“Duh” – I’m using this as an opportunity to re-launch the look and feel of this blog. This notebook theme is perfect for the spirit of this blog, which is really based on exploration and journey. I am informal with varying levels of thought. I’m exploratory and open for not having the answer. I’m still making some design changes (coming in the next few days), but for now, I’m going with this simplistic approach. What do you think?

“Uh-huh” – there have been quite a few people who have helped me out in this time, who quite honestly, absorbed a lot of the headache for me. Ian and his team, Ryan, Christian, and Dave – thank you all. I really, really appreciate the work, the advice, and just the moral support that you gave me.

Here’s to a non-malwared, scary-message, hack-free site for the (hopefully) long-term.

Great Motherly Perspective


11th Screen | The Interactive Out-of-Home Blog

I talked to one of my friends in the industry the other day who recently switched agencies. This transition period and adjusting to the new agency has been a little bit difficult for him. He’s used to working with some of the major brands out there. With his new agency, he’s sacrificing the big brands for a big opportunity.

He told me about an exchange he had with his mom. It went something like this:

FRIEND:

I don’t know mom, it’s just different. We do different things and work on different brands. And these brands…they’re just not….cool.

MOM:

Well, you know, you’re job is to make them cool.

Leave it to a mom to put the much-needed perspective on the situation. Your job is to make them cool.

Now, if that doesn’t get you out of bed in the morning and motivate you every day, you might be in the wrong business. Regardless of the brands you’re servicing, you have the privilege to shape the work day in and day out. You can push to make the work – and ultimately, the brand – cool or you can continue on and be victim to the perceived “un-cool” state they’re in.

What gets you out of bed in the morning? And more importantly, are you listening to your mom?

Making Toys (and Other Stuff), Featuring Breakfast

11th Screen | The Interactive Out-of-Home Blog

Ah, making stuff. I love it.

I want to introduce you to Breakfast, NYC. A wonderful little agency in New York who fancies themselves as “toy makers.” And these toys are the kinds of toys that are right down the 11th Screen alley. (These are the same folks who made Nike’s talking/thinking bike, Precious.)

From their website:

It’s 2011.

We’re officially living in the future. Yes, the one you picture in your head when you combine all those images of eye-scanners and Rosie the Robot. But the reason you didn’t sit at the kitchen table this morning and get the weather from your cereal box is simply because the cereal company didn’t even know to ask. Or did they?

We’re BREAKFAST, and we spend our days wondering why a Gap store still works the same way it did 40 years ago. We’re here to help people realize it’s ok to ask for things that sound like science fiction.

Some people call what we do “the internet of things” or “web 3.0.” In our opinion those sound a bit silly. We simply think of ourselves as inventors who are trying to take all the amazingness of what can be done online and bring it into some sort of device or experience in the real world. Stores can be smarter, an ad can come in the form of a hologram you can touch and museums can be as fun as playing with Kinect.

It’s time to stop going on as though flying cars and telekinesis headsetsdon’t exist, and time to make the real world as advanced as the virtual one that’s changed our lives in a single decade. Perhaps you’ll come for a ride with us.

Cool, right?

Anyway, the toy that caught my eye last week was Instaprint – a little box that you mount on a wall to print out Instagram pictures. (If you’re not familiar with Instagram, it’s an iPhone application that applies fun filters to your photos in an instant (hence, the name.) The cool thing about this box – aside from the simple fact that it can print out loads of pictures – is that it only prints out pictures that are tagged a certain way, based on the actual location and/or event where it’s placed. And the only way it can print is through communication with your mobile phone. So, essentially, what you have is a hyper-targeted, highly personalized and social take on a photo booth. Operated entirely through mobile. Check it out:

Instaprint from BREAKFAST ny on Vimeo.

The digital signage industry is wrestling with mobile’s place in the “Out-of-Home” ecosystem. Meanwhile, you have other agencies who have absolutely no affiliation to the industry, made up of really smart and creative people, who understand mobile’s place in our real & virtual world. And how integral and powerful it can be. Regardless of any physical screen.

I don’t know about you, but one of the things that gets me up in the morning is the ability that I have each day to make “stuff.” Now, I don’t make toys like Breakfast. That’s not really the point. The point is that each day we all have the opportunity to shape and mold something in our own way. Our contribution to this wild world.

What are you making today?

1 (or 3) Small Tip on Inspiration

11th Screen | The Interactive Out-of-Home Blog

What inspires you?

Is it music or a movie or a person? Is it architecture? Or a good sentence in a book? Perhaps all of them?

I believe that inspiration is a gift. It can’t be self-generated. It is given. By and through all things that inspire you.

You can’t hope it to be and you can’t force it. And if you wait on it, you might actually wait around a long time.

So, wherever you find inspiration, recognize it (or the many things) and stay in tune with it. Surround yourself with those things. Be open and aware.

Then, when inspiration comes around, catch it and do something with it.

 

 

What’s Your Inner Bonfire?

Inner bonfire

Yesterday, I found myself in one of the many philosophical conversations I’ve had with my colleague, Herb Sawyer (smart, insightful dude) and we were talking about books.  Specifically, he was saying how “A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future” was one of the books that had a profound impact on him and his career.  It’s the type of book that when you read it, it’s like a match that sparks something – an interest, a thought, a belief – that was previously unlit.  And once it’s lit, it turns into a bonfire.  It changes you, your thinking, and your perspective unlike any other book (or story) that you’ve read.  It is inspiring.

I’m not that big on business books.  Non-fiction, in general, doesn’t do that much for me.  (That said, I have read some good ones – “Mavericks at Work”, “Miracle on the Hudson”, “Outliers”, and the aforementioned “A Whole New Mind”, to name a few.)

My inspiration lies in fiction.  I love fiction.  If I could do anything, without financial worry, I would write fiction all day, every day.  I didn’t grow up wanting to write fiction.  I don’t even remember enjoying writing as a kid other than perfecting penmanship (who else got graded on that on your report cards?)  It wasn’t until college, when I started writing plays and screenplays that I fell in love with creating through writing.  Then, I read a book that changed the way I look at writing and how I aspire to create.  It lit that flame for me that turned into a bonfire.

There hasn’t been a more powerful book, source of creative inspiration, transformative spark to me than “A Moveable Feast” by Earnest Hemingway.  When I read it, it was clear to me that I could and should write forever.  I was moved in a profound way, one that reaffirmed a deeper sense of purpose, one that told me as long as I keep doing this, all will be good.

Now, I enjoy books.  I enjoy reading.  You may feel otherwise.  Regardless of the medium, I think it’s important to have one (or a few) of those anchors of inspiration in your career, something that has a profound and lasting impact.  At some point, be it hours, days, weeks, or god-forbid, years, we get to a point to where what we’re doing feels like a job.  This particular spark keeps me going in those moments and re-invigorates me to the point of being truly purposeful.  What’s your spark?  Write it down, remember it, share it with others, and when in doubt, no matter how often, refer back to it.  Be one with your inner bonfire.