Paul Isakson passed a great book my way recently – “It’s not how good you are, it’s how good you want to be” by creative genius Paul Arden. I think it’s important to be reminded about what success means, what failure means, and what advertising and marketing mean in the greater scope of the world that surrounds us. With so much stimulus and places for advice and inspiration online, it’s refreshing to see a little book – an actual paperback book – that holds simple truths and words to work by. Sometimes it’s nice to embrace analog and remember that it doesn’t have to be technologically complex to be poignant or meaningful.

A lot of the ideas suggested by Arden can be easily woven into the fabric of our everyday lives if we are willing to make the effort: “You will become whoever you want to be.” Awesome, I was hoping someone would tell me that.

A few of my favorites:

Your vision of where or who you want to be is the greatest asset you have.

Do not seek praise, seek criticism

Do no covet your ideas

Don’t look for the next opportunity. The one you have in hand is the opportunity.

Don’t promise what you can’t deliver.

Fail, fail again. Fail better.

I’m aware that this book is already well known in the advertising world, but I just wanted to share how significant I think Arden’s writing is for young people in any kind of creative industry. Everyone can use simple words to live by – what are your favorite books, simple truths or inspirational texts?

Writing consistently in an online space is hard for me. I lose steam, get interested in other things, don’t feel particularly creative/inspired, and want to stop. I think that undirected writing where I can talk about whatever I want is tough – I’m a lover of structure, so having open sky is a challenge for me. Today is one of those days, last week was one of those weeks. I don’t especially want to write about anything, but I know I should. So this is an attempt. Just me writing for the sake of writing, for the sake of publishing something, anything (even if it doesn’t have pictures or links), and for the hope that tomorrow will be a bit more successful. Cheers to that.

Marta Kagan’s presentation, “What The F**k Is Social Media?”, made its second pass through our inboxes last week. We had some internal dialog about it the first time, but this time we thought we’d share some of those thoughts here.

It’s true that a lot of people are online and reading / writing blogs, etc. But how many of them are regular creators / authors / readers / collaborators? According to Technorati’s 2008 State of the Blogosphere report, of the 133 million blogs tracked by Technorati since 2002, only 7.4 million of them have posted something in the last 120 days; 1.5 million in the last seven days; 900,000 in the last 24 hours. That makes for a lot of dead blogs.

Now that social media has lost some of it’s shininess (not in a bad way, it’s just not as new as it used to be), people are really thinking about how social media is practical and not just focusing on all of the potential it has, which is what I think this presentation does.

Social media does have the potential to be revolutionary, but only to a point. Look at all of the other things that were set to “revolutionize” – radio, TV, etc. While these mediums have no doubt reshaped the ways we use technology and to some degree, communicate, they haven’t created the marketing / branding utopia many thought they would. So, I’m guessing social media will follow a pretty similar route.

We’ve already seen plenty of examples where social media has been approached in a less than ideal way – I’m thinking about blogs that are ‘secretly’ sponsored by corporations, poorly done “viral” videos meant to look like consumer created work, co-branded social networking sites that fall apart after their sponsor comes on and redesigns them, and the list goes on …

It seems like advertisers are so excited about a new place to make their mark that they’re not really thinking about why social media is popular to begin with. It’s popular because it belongs to the people. Not the brands. Social media is fundamentally about people having conversations, and when those conversations stop being about people and start being about brands by brands, we begin to have the same problem that we’ve had with every other kind of media.

So, is this to say that marketing and social media don’t belong together? No. Absolutely not. I think that marketing belongs in the blogosphere / on YouTube, etc. but I also think that we always need to be cognizant of the fact that these kinds of new media should predominantly be about the people who use the technology.

The whole transparency / honesty / listening piece is key to successful new media campaigns – the question is, are brands ready to be all of these things? Are they ready to listen and make themselves vulnerable? I’m not sure, but I hope so. I love new media branding / marketing, but I can also see the dangers in using it to death, or using it incorrectly.

* This post originally appeared on the space150.com thinkfree.ly site

Last Sunday my step grandmother Eileen passed away. She was an amazing woman who, in her late 80’s, was full of life and pizazz (seems like a word 80 year olds would use). She was diagnosed with massive, late stage lung cancer about two months ago and had been in hospice care since. Last week on the way to her funeral my mom called to tell me that my grandfather had acute renal failure and wasn’t expected to live very long. Needless to say, we missed the funeral so we could go say goodbye to my grandpa (he experienced a massive stroke 7 years ago which left him both brain damaged and paralyzed). Last night my mom called to tell me my grandpa passed away – a moment full of sadness and joy for myself and my family. He was an amazing man, a brilliant artist, a kind and gentle soul who always looked for ways to create beauty and help those around him. He was funny, thoughtful, and sincere. It gives all of us comfort knowing that he’s no longer confined to a wheelchair, and that he is truly resting in peace.

These events have reminded me of how precious family is, how completely we should live each day, and how frequently we should express our love to those most important in our lives.

4Real Homepage

Since I was 14 or so I’ve been really into Hip Hop and learning about how Hip Hop can positively influence communities / people / etc. This was in a large part thanks to Billy ‘Upski’ Wimsatt who wrote Bomb the Suburbs and No More Prisons – two eye opening texts for a teenager to read. I started getting into being conscious of the people, places, and movements around me, and started thinking about how my actions impacted others instead of just myself (much to my parents’ surprise). 

Last weekend I was channel surfing on TV and saw 4Real on the CW Network. I understand that this show has been around in Canada for awhile (other places too?) but only recently made its debut in the U.S. From the site:

“4REAL is a series of half-hour television shows that take celebrity guests on adventures around the world to connect with young leaders who, under extreme circumstances, are affecting real change. These are the real heroes of our time.

4REAL is an entertaining, fast paced, adventure series that allows viewers to learn about some of the most pressing issues of our time, but most importantly they tune into some of the most inspiring attitudes and initiatives addressing them.” 

Seriously. I was impressed. In the episode I saw, Mos Def (one of my favorite Hip Hop artists ever) went to The City of God in Brazil – it was an amazing journey. One about what it takes to build a community from nothing, against all odds. It was a story about hope, a story that really hit home on a number of levels. So I’d just like to take a moment to congratulate the CW on airing a show that actually aims to raise public consciousness about other people, all around the globe who are just like us / need our help / can help us / are inspiring. Way to go CW.

Kauai Backcountry

It’s time to get back to work. Marriage is in full effect, we’ve finally done something right as a country, school is nearly out of my system, summer is over. It’s time to start creating again. 

It feels good to find a new direction, it feels better to execute on it.

Completing grad school has thrown me off balance more than I thought it would. Making it through the 19th grade means that I’ve been in school for nearly two decades. When school didn’t start again in fall I really wasn’t quite sure what I was supposed to do. Work? Yes, but I couldn’t figure out how to re-channel all of the energy and method that usually goes into a new semester. It was an identity crisis. It still is.

Lots of good things on the horizon…if I can just make it through this transition. I think it’s a good opportunity to explore new interests and get to things that I always figured I would do when I was done with school.

1). Practice thinking strategically

2). Get back into the arts

3). Get back into the community

4). Reinvest in my family…for real.

J and I had been talking about getting a dog for years, we’d always said that it wasn’t the right time, or that we didn’t have enough money. There was always a logical reason why we shouldn’t get a puppy, and selfishly, I didn’t know if I really wanted all of the responsibility that comes along with owning a dog. Finally in March we found our little baby on petfinder. Coupon (whose name was Buffy at the time) was a 6 month old Boston Terrier mix who was going to be put down if she wasn’t rescued.

Fast forward four months. Everyday with her is amazing. It’s impossible to be angry or upset when she’s around. She comes to work with me. She forces me to get outside and explore my neighborhood. She’s shown me that having a dog is about so much more than just owning an animal. Dammit if I’m not head over heels in love with my little girl. 

I was never an animal rights activist, never even knew I wanted to rescue a dog. But honestly, after going through this experience with Coupon I can’t imagine doing it any other way. If you or anyone you know is thinking about getting a puppy, get one from a rescue. It will change your life.

A blog after my own heart. Tacohunt is possibly the best thing to ever happen to the lucky internet users of California. Sadly, I am not included in this geographic segment, but it doesn’t break my spirit! My love for tacos cannot be vanquished by mountains, deserts, lakes, or canyons. (Also, J’s family lives in CA, so we’re actually out there fairly often which means that this amazing resource is not totally wasted on the likes of me). Sadly, it seems like Tacohunt hasn’t been updated in a few months, and they don’t actually ever talk about fish tacos, which are my personal favorite (and also a CA specialty). Am I compelled to start my own fish taco blog? YES! How many places are there to get fish tacos in MN? Less than 4. BOO! So, my blog would be short and shitty, but I guess that’s never stopped me before. We’ll see what happens. But if you’re in CA or ever plan to go there and a lover of beef and/or pork – this is the site for you.

J and I have been planning for our upcoming wedding vacation these last few weeks. We’ve been geeking out together on all of the new adventures, happily unexpected things that might happen, and what we hope to do before the vacay is over. All of our excitement/bonding over this one trip has really made me rethink what I want our next 5-7 years to look like. For a while I thought happiness was us working hard, buying a house, paying off school loans (FUN), and watching E grow up. Now I think it’s more important to work hard, travel a shit ton all over the place, pay off school loans, and watch E grow up. The idea of ‘owning’ our domicile has somehow lost its magic in my mind. I would rather go on adventures with J, get into trouble (though hopefully not too much), and create memories that will sustain us even when we’re old. It’s funny how your perspective on what your future should be can change so much from a few conversations.

Sidenote – J is totally down with this new plan. As a breakdancer he has connections all over the world and when I suggested this new plan his eyes lit up. I love that he was so supportive of what I wanted (ie – a house) even though he really kind of wanted something else (ie – amazing world travel).

I went to Milwaukee this weekend with Jason and Coupon for a bridal shower my sister was having for me. Honestly, I’d prefer that people didn’t make a big fuss about our upcoming wedding, that they didn’t give gifts, and that they knew their love and support was enough. Apparently, people want to make a big fuss, give gifts, and yes, still love and support us as a couple. The shower itself was a nice mix of friends and relatives, great food and conversation, and no lame games of any kind. A few hours in one of my very very best friends whom I haven’t seen in 5+ years arrived. I’m not an emotional person, but seeing her nearly knocked me over. There aren’t words to describe how grateful I am that she came, nor are there words to explain how much it meant to me that she and Jason were able to meet.

I guess the point of this story is that even though people change, migrate, and evolve, certain bonds can withstand long term separation. One of the neat parts of growing up is learning how to really appreciate deep friendships, people who knew you long before you were the person you are today. These friends are gifts, people that remind you of where you came from and how lucky you are to be exactly who and where you are right now. It was a wonderful feeling seeing my friend again – the cherry on top of a perfect evening. Love ya D.