Categories
motivation

Where Seldom is Heard…

Cartoon of two children running. Someone is throwing acorns at them. One says, "You shouldn't insult squirrels when they're in trees and have ammo."

Home, home on the range,
Where the Deer and the Antelope play,
Where seldom is heard,
a discouraging word,
And the sky is not cloudy all day.

Home on the Range by Dr. Brewster Higley

As a child, I loved that song. The thought of some place where none of the words were discouraging made me want to go west as soon as I grew up. Perhaps that is why I still have a soft spot for Arizona.

Nobody likes discouraging words. Unfortunately, we can all get a little self-righteous and justified in spreading a little verbal venom now and then. We can even feel like we are spouting truth even while we do it in a less-than-gracious way. Even squirrels have a rough time with insults and verbal barbs. They can return insults with nuts, especially if they have a birdseye view.

Cartoon of two children running. Someone is throwing acorns at them. One says, "You shouldn't insult squirrels when they're in trees and have ammo."

Be encouraged today. When you hear a discouraging word. Don’t return it with your own tirade. Get away from words meant to take away our courage. Find encouragement, and be an encouragement to others. That is a much better way.

Categories
motivation

Cranky + Caffeine = Comforting Cheer

Illustration of a man with his coffee. His cat is sitting atop his head.

Yesterday, I read an article about my favorite hot beverage, or at least the prime drug that is in my favorite beverage; caffeine. It has been around for centuries, and according to the article, changed the course of history. Yet he maintains it also comes with a cost.

Washington Post article on Caffeine by Michael Pollan

Here’s the Audible link to the book

As I write this, I am enjoying some coffee and considering what caffeine has done for my creative juices.

Photo of Kevin Spear enjoying a mug of coffee
Enjoying some coffee with the “All Things Possible” mug.

Should I be concerned that I like my coffee? A stat in the article says up to ninety percent of adults ingest caffeine regularly. It’s a drug that businesses favor because it boosts productivity. Almost every office has coffee brewing. Creatives rely on coffee to get going in the morning. This is especially true considering how creatives like to be night owls. What would the world look like with a caffeine and coffee ban? I shudder to think.

The only thing I’m sure of is it would allow cats to take over the world. My illustration shows what I believe my cat would’ve done to me without that morning perk.

Illustration of a man with his coffee. His cat is sitting atop his head.

Could I quit coffee anytime I want? Sure I could. Just don’t give the cat a heads up if I ever decided to attempt this horror.

Categories
motivation

Problems Exist, and That’s Good

cartoon of doctor and patient

“The adventure of business is to know the problems exist, to hunt and eliminate them, and to grow a culture that does this continually.”

Thomas Anderson in Changed People Change Process

Problems will continually pop up. They are like a game of whack-a-mole. As soon as you address and solve one problem, another one pops up… and that’s a good thing!

If problems didn’t exist, if things went smoothly all the time, what’s the point of work? It would become quite boring. There would be less need for creativity. Problem-solving can be one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of the business.

As the quote suggests, problems become an adventure. If you read a story where the protagonist has a smooth ride and faced no problems, what fun would that be? Adventures involve facing and solving problems.

Embrace problems, analyze and solve them. You may become the hero of your own adventure. You will improve. And you will have fun doing it!

Categories
Marketing

No Small Stories

Cartoon of a boy and grandfather

“If your story is too small, it’s not a story. It’s just an annoying interruption.”

Seth Godin in All Marketers Tell Stories

We’ve all endured it. We’ve all had a friend who began to tell a story that had no point. It just drags on and on. We’ve experienced the person who starts telling a joke but gets lost somewhere before the punchline. What began as a potentially good story falls flat and becomes an annoyance.

In Seth Godin’s book, All Marketers Tell Stories, he reminds me that all marketing is a story. When we think of a brand, we have a story that comes to mind. Your favorite drink sparks a fond memory. Your favorite restaurant has a story you tell yourself about the quality, the atmosphere, and the service you expect.

We tell ourselves stories all the time when we shop. We expect this place to be too busy on a weekday evening. We tolerate this store because it has the lowest price. We begin to shop online and shun a store because we find an even better price and we don’t have to endure the crowds. That story of the store you once frequented becomes small because they can’t deliver what you expected anymore. It becomes an annoyance.

We tell ourselves stories every day. What story do people think of when they think about your business? How can you be sure your story doesn’t become too small to delight customers?

Let’s start telling our customers stories that are true, compelling and so good, we have to negotiate the movie rights.

Cartoon of a boy and grandfather
Categories
motivation

Is It Real Change If You Go Back to the “Good Old Days”?

Illustration of an Amish man at an old PC. I drew this for Illustration Friday. This week's word is "old-fashioned."

There will always be problems and issues. Frequently, when problems arise, it can be tempting to think we need to go back to the good old days. But can you really make lasting change by going back? Were the good old days ever that good?

I grew up during the Vietnam War and Watergate. I don’t think we want to go back there. Before that, it was all the riots and unrest of the sixties. In the fifties, we were in the Korean War and battling polio. And the forties? World War II. The thirties? The Great Depression.

We tend to remember only the good in a decade and tend to forget the trials and troubles each decade had. Sure, we need to learn from the past. But wishing we were back there is an exercise in futility. Nostalgia can only get us so far.

Besides, I have no desire to go back to the computers of yesterday. Who wants Windows 98 and Palm Pilots back? Anyone?

Illustration of an Amish man at an old PC. I drew this for Illustration Friday. This week's word is "old-fashioned."