Issue 387
A notebook about how we work, and learn, and love and live.
"Don't plant your bad days. They grow into weeks. The weeks grow into months. Before you know it, you got yourself a bad year. Take it from me - choke those little bad days. Choke 'em down to nothing." - Tom Waits
This week the hummingbirds left our yard, destination: southern Central America/northern South America. We will see the same birds in the spring. The Monarchs are gathering here now, as are the Cabbage Whites, which seem to flock together more than they did earlier in the season.
I love transition. I love change. Happy Friday.
Eco-consciousness
Follow your water to the sea.
This is such a cool tool. Drop the point where your rain falls, this algorithm will show you where it flows.
Website: River Runner
How we work
“What if business is a sacred activity?”
"It’s like a secret that doesn’t need to be kept. It’s far better shared. I can already feel the sheer joy of the sacred economy, where wisdom and appreciation of life guide decision-making.
"Some people feel unsure about the word sacred. It has religious undertones that have left bad memories. It can remind people of heavy ritual and ominous obligations to a God who might punish you if you get it wrong.
"I’m trying to bring people back to a deeper, more truthful and lighter meaning of sacred. For me, it helps to reflect on the sacredness of life. It’s that unspeakable, indescribable aspect of life that leaves me in awe and wonder at the beauty and the mystery. It makes me feel very open and tender towards life and also towards myself as a part of life.
"You could ask yourself, 'What do you hold most sacred in your life?' It might be a relationship, a person, an experience, a spiritual activity or something quite different.
"Once you have that feeling of sacredness, see what happens when you apply it to the activity of business."
Article: So Far It’s Working: Business As a Sacred Activity
Social Systems
Why inviting your mother-in-law to dinner might be a challenging event, for reasons you have never considered.
"The book aims to explain, illustrate, and model the unique and fascinating nature of small (social) systems by relying on deep scientific foundations and by using examples from sport, movies, music, and the martial arts."
Book summary: How Small Social Systems Work – From Soccer Teams to Jazz Trios and Families
Learning
A library of people
This week my friend, Beth Tener, shared this very cool idea with me. I hope a Human Library comes near me soon.
"The Human Library® is a not for profit learning platform, that has hosted personal conversations designed to challenge stigma and stereotypes since 2000.
"The Human Library creates a safe space for dialogue where topics are discussed openly between our human books and their readers.
"All of our human books are volunteers with personal experience with their topic. The Human Library is a place where difficult questions are expected, appreciated and answered.
"The Human Library host events virtually and in libraries, museums, festivals, conferences, schools, universities and for the private sector. We have published our books in over 80 countries."
Website: The Human Library
Learning
Several demographic traits are linked with not reading books.
Image by benuski via CC BY-SA 2.0 license
"Roughly a quarter of American adults (23%) say they haven’t read a book in whole or in part in the past year, whether in print, electronic or audio form, according to a Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted Jan. 25-Feb. 8, 2021. Who are these non-book readers?
"Several demographic traits are linked with not reading books, according to the survey. For instance, adults with a high school diploma or less are far more likely than those with a bachelor’s or advanced degree to report not reading books in any format in the past year (39% vs. 11%). Adults with lower levels of educational attainment are also among the least likely to own smartphones, an increasingly common way for adults to read e-books. In addition, adults whose annual household income is less than $30,000 are more likely than those living in households earning $75,000 or more a year to be non-book readers (31% vs. 15%)...".
Article: Who Doesn't Read Books in America?
Branding
How having a clear internal and external focus fuels brand growth
"Relevancy is every brand’s lifeline. So is creativity. Yet, both get easily lost in the everyday brand operations, business targets, and commercial planning."
"Relevancy is created by mixing a) what a brand stands for (a set of values), b) why it exists in the world (purpose), c) how it interacts with culture (strategy) and d) where consumers spend their time, attention and money. Brands with history and heritage can achieve relevancy by taking what people already know about the brand and are nostalgic for, and positioning it in a way that feels fresh: by creating hooks to the current moment. Those without history and heritage start from creating these hooks, and carefully weaving a story."
"Creativity fuels relevancy. It’s an internal mantra that permeates everything a brand does. It’s the organizing principle of a company, and a North Star of teamwork, processes, communication, and problem-solving. Creativity doesn’t exist in isolation; it requires diverse information sources, a more nuanced interpretation of history, heritage, culture, and digging deeper beyond the surface trends. Creativity is key for a brand taking part in cultural dialogue, not being outside of it. Creativity is most visible in how brands approach:...".
Article: Creativity & Relevancy Flywheel
Advertising, Corporate Activism
"Every brand has a purpose."
"A collective of women’s health and wellness brands, including pregnancy care brand Oula and LGBTQ+ healthcare brand Folx Health, are taking aim at Texas’ new restrictive abortion laws (SB8) with a message: Our bodies, our choice.
"The stunt represented another way of how brands as of late haven’t shied away from getting political when they disagree with legislative decisions. Seemingly, it marks a new era of marketing in which there is more pressure on brands to appear to be genuine.
"In bold letters, the collective took out a full-page ad in the Sunday New York Times that stated: 'Access is dignity. Access is power. Access is freedom' and touted a site where readers can directly donate to activist organizations and find more information about reproductive freedom.
“'We’re not an activist organization, we’re just a business,' said Alexandra Fine, co-founder and CEO of women’s sexual wellness brand Dame Products. 'But when things like this happen, and then something happens again that feels even more restrictive, I feel like ‘what could we be doing?’”
Article: A Collective of Women’s Health Brands Rally Against Texas’ New Abortion Law
Playlist
On Tuesday, the day set aside as International Day of Peace, my client and friend, Jonathan Early, sent me this note.
"I have always loved this song, and it's even better performed by the world. Foster Peace."
Yes, Jonathan, I agree. If people can make this video using vision, and a practiced process with a beautiful outcome, people can deliver the promise of peace. Let's do it.
Video: Peace Train featuring Yusuf / Cat Stevens | Playing For Change | Song Around The World
Oneliners
Article: Fugees Announce Reunion Tour
Article: Pavement Announces Europe Tour 2022
Image of the Week
The image of the week is a photo of "pre-colonization Glass Gem Corn, indigenous to North America, regrown by a Cherokee farmer in Oklahoma. This particular corn is a mix of ancient Pawnee, Osage and Cherokee varieties."
Twitter Thread: Lakota Man
What’s Love & Work?
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