How many days? February 2, 2010

I have been alive for 14,556 days (work that out in your head!).   Like many people approaching a ‘number’ birthday I am delving back into the ‘who am I & how do I get what I want’ question of my youth.  Only now I find myself pondering more the ‘who am I & how can I make a difference’?

So all those days equate to around 349,344 hours…wow…say it slowly three hundred and fifty thousand hours…so knock off say half of that to allow for foolish youth and you have around 175,000 hours, then 1/3 of that is sleep time, leaving 116,666 hours of conscious living!

Where am I going with that?  Well as the date of my 40th birthday draws closer (shh don’t tell), that small little number seems so much less significant.  Assuming that I am around half way through my life, I still have (allowing for sleep time) 233,333 hours to contribute to my family, society, myself…it’s such a wonderful thought.  So rather than new year’s resolutions, I am developing my new decade conspectus…fourties here I come!

Honest Scrap Award January 16, 2010

Well, I had never heard of this before until the fabulously talented Kari Lonning  @karibaskets ‘tagged’ me to take part.

I decided to find out a bit more about this, which lead me on a journey, Kari was tagged by Susan Cohan who was tagged by Gardening with confidence who was tagged by…well you get the picture.  15 blog hops later I hit a dead end with the prior tagger not being referenced but isn’t that amazing!

I guess it is a bit like a chain letter we used to send as kids, but there is no promise of either good luck or a curse…it is simply an honour bestowed upon you by a fellow blogger who appreciates you.

So, here are the rules as they were handed on to me:

The award has two components. You have to first list 10 honest things about yourself (and make them interesting), and second — present the award to seven other bloggers.

I’m not sure at all who started it, but I like the idea of it, so here goes, here are some honest truths about me and how my brain ticks…

1. I am very very inquisitive and continuously feed a very strong need to keep learning…I’m on a mission to know simply everything about everything…I’m getting there….
2. I have 2 gorgeous children who I love with all my heart. I made all my control freak mistakes on the first child, learned to totally loosen up for the second child and marvel every day at their differences in personality and wonder how much of that is my ‘fault’ and how much of their early years ’stimulation’ has contributed to their brain functioning capabilities today! The nurture or nature debate continues…
3. I love art, design and being creative yet never seem to find the time to get out of gallery gazing and into some real nitty gritty….or perhaps is that just an excuse for my own fears of the outcomes being less than I hope for?
4. I believe wholeheartedly in the laws of attraction, yet find myself not applying them to gain maximum benefit.
5. I wish I lived in England or the South of France, somehow I just feel like I am home when I am in these places…
6. I love the cold and hate the heat…I think I have a faulty internal thermostat.  Temp gets over 27 Celsius and I am like a she-devil from the fiery depths.
7. I collect anything that would be material for art works and never throw them away…I have a dirty secret…I have spent hundreds of dollars on art supplies and things I will surely never use because they are ’special’…shhhh don’t tell my husband!
8. I am trying very hard to love the skin I’m in!  When did I start to look like this? At nearly 40 (shhhh don’t tell anybody) and carrying more weight than I should be; I swing between acceptance, chocolate & happiness; and the realisation that acceptance probably just = laziness because from a health perspective I really should lose weight, eat less and exercise more!
9. I love christmas cake, hot cross buns, fruit cake, christmas pudding…catching a pattern here…it can’t be bad for you with all that fruit in it!
10. I love the end of the day and the start of the day…they are the signposts of possibility and that excites me!  Although sometimes I lament the wasted possibility when I get sucked into some kind of time wasting vortex, but then I move on and anticipate the new day to come again…

So who am I going to ‘point the bone’ at…well many people that I would love to learn some ’secrets’ about, who I love chatting with are not all bloggers, or have professional blogs that may not be appropriate for the disclosure of such revealing honesty!!! ie:  @maikelvdm @susanAnichols @benandefrat @pripper @michelleoxman @rebeccalange @zataylor @designosophy @ideasculture @sammutimer (who should have a baby by now and be waaaay to busy to be involved anyway) @gariphic oh so many wonderful conversations….

There are just some of the gorgeous people I liaise with on Twitter so I tried to find twitter buddies with more personal content on their blogs and came up with these three gems….

My mysterious friend @BWLight at UmBecauseISaidSo….love it!

Oh and the delightfully inspiring @StaciJShelton from Love Staci

A man with such lovely manners and the web designer dude we love to love @BKMacDaddy at BKMacDaddy Designs

So friends…you have been tagged…and now people know a little more about me!

Giving your brain a boost with social media December 13, 2009

Just catching up on my podcasts and listened to a great episode, #258 of the Engaging Brand from Anna Farmery.

You can download it here engagingbrand.com show 258 guide to brain fitness

Anna talks with Alvaro Fernandez of SharpBrains, all about his Guide to Brain Fitness.

Anna asks:

• What is brain fitness?
• Why learning is physical
• The importance of learning how to learn.
• How experiences aid learning
• The importance of regulating your emotion
• How social interaction is needed for a healthy brain.
• Do some people have higher natural brain fitness than others?
• The key facets to a maintaining healthy brain

It is worth a listen as Anna, in her usual perceptive style, points out that blogging and podcasting is a very good form of brain boosting behaviour.  One of the discussion points that Alvaro makes is that talking about what you have read and learned and reinforcing the neural pathways is what cements learning – hence gossiping around the water cooler the next morning at work about a tv show is not conducive to brain boosting activity!

However reading a book or attending a seminar and then repeating that knowledge, discussing it, asking yourself questions about it – that is what will help keep the neurons active.  As Anna points out, by blogging and podcasting she is exploring new ideas every day and then imparting that knowledge to others via her blog and podcasts.

Brilliant stuff! So people, not only is blogging a great way to boost your brand or expertise, it is a great way to boost your brain and keep your neurons active and firing.  If ever we needed another reason to keep on blogging!

So I have renewed energy!  I did feel that what I had to say was surely nowhere near as interesting or important as what other more intelligent marketing and creative minds had to say -but you know what?  I’m blogging for me, and if you find it interesting from time to time then welcome aboard!

The Existentialism of Branding November 25, 2009

Søren Kirkegaard statue in Copenhagen, credited to be the father of existentialism

I tweet therefore I am…does anybody else out there think that modern marketing, in particular social media seem almost to perfectly fit into the existentialist philosophy (and I totally paraphrase here) to be true to one’s self?

According to the site all about Philosophy “existentialism is a philosophy concerned with finding self and the meaning of life through free will, choice, and personal responsibility. The belief is that people are searching to find out who and what they are throughout life as they make choices based on their experiences, beliefs, and outlook.”

The word “existence,” comes from the Latin “existere,” meaning “to stand out.” Is it not a marketers role to make the brand or product stand out?  And with the advent of social media channels the message we hear over and over again is that marketing today requires transparency and authenticity.

So as a marketer, it is my job to help the brand find itself, its authentic message and fulfill its responsibility to society.  So much easier as a corporate than as an individual don’t you think!

Yes, a very simplistic view and the exsistentialist movement is much deeper than that…but given my current phase of exploration this just seemed to resonate…plus it is a cool word don’t you think!

 

Ride of the year! November 1, 2009

I worked out today that my children have a different perspective on motivating thoughts than I do!

We just completed part one of a 36km return bike ride from Lilydale to Warburton. Not an all together taxing ride, just fairly constant.

So we get to within 2km and Miss 11 has like her 3rd major meltdown for the day, not too bad considering! I said come on honey you are just 2km away…you can do it! To which she replied is that supposed to help?

OMG!!! In my book that was 34km down only a smidge more and heck I’ve made it this far what’s a few more? To her it was like we are not there yet, i have to keep pedalling amd my butt hurts, end of story!

Well after singing to her and trying to make her laugh for the 15th time today we finally arrived, crashed into the hotel for a shower and later tonight we will go out hunting for food, and it’s gonna taste good.

So until the return journey tomorrow when the whining starts about sore butts again…I’m proud of my 2 children even if it was a grudging achievement!!

Books I love…#1 Hot Button Marketing October 25, 2009

Hot Button Marketing: Push the Emotional Buttons That Get People to Buy by Barry Feig

My rating: 4 of 5 stars A really interesting and succinct look at some of the emotional drivers to purchase and how to tailor your offer or service to meet the needs of your market for greater success.

Great chapter summaries and clearly set out making it a useful reference tool.

Possibly a tool for evil in the wrong hands! A great force for good to help you reach the right people in the right way for their (& your) greater good.

A great companion to Buy-ology (Martin Lindstrom). View all my reviews >>

Diligent Creativity Day 10 September 10, 2009

As fragile as a...

Ever have those days where you wake up and it’s a feeling in your bones…it may just be one of th-ooo-se days?

I woke up today with a sore head and a sore throat – feeling as fragile as an eggshell.

Shower, rouse the kids…my shell took a battering…well have you ever tried to rouse a 14 year old who is on a teenage hormone inflicted altered body clock???  Yeah…bet your eggshell took a battering too!

Finally get everybody out the door…driving down the freeway…my nerves took a battering…get – out – of – my – way!!! Arggggg

Arrive at the office to several minor calamities, none of which I was either equipped or inclined to deal with…that eggshell is not looking really flash about now…just…managing…to…hold…together…

Where did I put my lunch? Oh darn I left it on the bench at home…along with my wallet! OK so beg borrow or steal…yep…small cracks appearing…

OK some positive thinking as I devoured the 5 water crackers and only just out of date cheese I found in the fridge at work and my 6th cup of coffee for the day…I (sing along if you know the words) I will survive, as long as I know how to love I know I’ll be alright…

Feeling the love the afternoon soon reveals the best is yet to come…calamity abounds as the only just out of date cheese turns out to be quite offensive to my fragile eggshell coated stomach…looks like I’m off home…crack…

Arrive in the door after a particularly road rageous drive home…race in to find…oh for goodness sake who left the dog in the house this morning?  Well it was all too much as Rufus bounded on top of me with a face full of mischief and the feathers from my pillows…

I mean how much can an eggshell take…?

Diligent Creativity Day 8 September 8, 2009

“Stop the car….STOP THE CAR!!!!”

I could hardly believe my eyes…as we sat at the lights I happened to glance over to the line of retail shops all jostling for trade and there in the front window were the most be-a-utiful pair of wingtips…

I knew that if I wanted to be taken seriously as a man about town, I really needed to look like a man about town, and to look like a man about town I must have those shoes.

I pressed myself against the window and tried to read the price tag…oh that was 4 times what I earned in a week!

“Hey, Ferdie…got any spare on you…pay you back…you know I’m good for it.” I yelled, knowing the answer before the question had even reached my friend’s ears.

“Marco…stop dreaming those big dreams…what are you a wiseguy? You aint never gonna make enough money to buy the suit to wear with those shoes.” he laughed…”You gonna wear out the leather on those wingtips before you even got enough for the fancy socks to put on your feet to put in those shoes.”

Oh he was on a roll…I had heard enough.

I kept my composure in front of the small audience he had managed to attract with his little diatribe about my financial situation and I vowed that I would prove him wrong, and when I did I would buy 2 pairs of those wingtip shoes and make him eat one of them!

That was my driving force, my motivation.  I would one day walk proudly in my wingtips, with my suit and silk socks and watch as Ferdie, the guy who mocked my ambition, shined my shoes…oh yess sir…money means power, we all know that.

Money means wingtips and everything they stand for…how’s that for emotive branding! Got your own wingtip story? I have.  There is a particular designer I just looooove but cannot justify the expense…one day I shall have my ‘wingtips’…then I’ll know I’ve made ‘it’…And those snooty sales assistants will see what an important person I have become…won’t they?  And then I will be happy…won’t I?? Because things maketh the man…don’t they???  That’s what the advertising told me anyway…

Diligent Creativity Days 5, 6 & 7 September 7, 2009

OK so I didn’t post over the weekend because I was being diligently creative.

Those who follow me on twitter will know that my BFF has recently bought a cafe and I am doing the artwork so I spent all weekend creating 4 large canvas works.

I have not done much ‘commercial’ art as such before like this.  Stressful I must say, perhaps it is the fact that it is for my friend so her opinion counts more, I don’t know, but I was shaking by the time we got to the big reveal!

So here they are, about 15 hours of work on 4 canvases of 600 x 1200 – another 2 in this ’series’ and then another 6 possibly with a different theme for another part of the cafe.

The photo’s don’t do full justice, the butterflies are made from pages in a street directory and are dimensional on the page, the flowers are leather and embossed paper.  I have a limited colour palette by the client’s request.  It was fun, stressful and so invigorating all at the same time!

So my post for today…my diligent physical creativity days!

I would love to know what you think!

Butterfly fly away

The happiness we share

Diligent Creativity Day 4 September 4, 2009

Go take a long walk off a short pier…

Well the weekend approaches and I am reminded by this picture of 2 things.

1.  “Go take a long walk off a short pier”, was the taunt I used to say to people who annoyed me when I was in primary school,  I thought I was so smart that the people I was insulting in most cases just didn’t get it! Hee hee hee…I was a bit of a know it all kind of kid, hard to imagine but true!

2.  I am also reminded of an idyllic paradise where long walks and short piers only end in delightful plunges into warm clear waters…ahhhh.  I’m there already.  I can feel myself drifting into a relaxed bliss as my husband and I wade through the warm water, feeling the soft sand shifting under our toes.  Suddenly the silence is broken by the sounds of splashing and laughter as our kids tumble around enjoying the splashing and waves…ahhh happy times…

Then I wake up, hear the kids screaming at each other (not in happy bliss I might add) and realise it was all a peaceful meditation….

Here let me see that photo again…I’m going back in…