Wake Up and Smell the Solar System

I work hard. Everyday.

Who doesn’t?

The demands we kids face as we grow professionally are huge. And it seems like the better we do, the harder it gets. Life is constantly presenting new challenges. It’s a balancing act just to keep our shit together, let alone thrive and sieze everything we want from our career.

As soon as I overcome each daunting professional obstacle, a new and unexpected challenge is waiting, more bloodthirsty than the last.

(Shrug) No bigs. I say bring it on.

The alternative is a life of retreat and atrophy.

This is why I work hard. Everyday.

But sometimes I lose focus.

I work too hard.

I stress.

I start to feel behind.

I feel I’m lacking something.

I feel I need to do more.

This feeling sucks.

So I stop.

I take it all in.

I remember how connected we are.

I remember the glory of it all.

I remember that I’m sitting on a properly ergonomic chair, hand-selected by the owner for this cafe. I remember that a team of hard-working men build this cafe brick by brick in zone mapped out to compliment this Minneapolis street.

And this street is more than cement and tar and traffic-jams. It is part of a well-designed city network, both functional and beautiful, that supports the living and working habits of hundreds of thousands of people daily.

And these people go to work each day with the intention of supporting themselves, but also indirectly support everyone else by providing products, services and ideas that we all share. Each job is a thread in the complex web of productivity that gives life to our community.

I’m busy ya’ll.

Who isn’t?

But I will remain chill.

I won’t let stress drive me insane.

I like beauty. And details are ugly.

Trust me, the big picture looks way sexier.

Skip the Ladder to Success. Take the Elevator.

Life is a bitch.

So they say. They are partially right.

Life can be a bitch.

But if the women in my life have taught me anything, it’s that so-called “bitchy” behavior usually results from someone not understanding how they want to be treated. Treat a girl with honesty and respect, and, unless she’s actually insane (I know a few), she’ll be sugar and spice, and all that good stuff.

Life is the same.

She’s only a bitch if you don’t know how to treat her.

Ask for a fight and you’ll get one.

Give up the struggle and things get easier.

The problem with engaging in struggle is that it doesn’t end. It is a mentality that feeds itself; it always looks to engage in new setbacks.

I’d rather float.

Don’t get me wrong; hard work is mandatory. But struggle isn’t.

• Set clear goals about where you want to be
• Live like you’re already there

Stop listening to everyone around you. People always try to make their issues become your issues. You don’t have time for that.

Get in the elevator.

Select the floor you want to reach.

Let the mechanics of the good Earth do the rest.

Where’s the Fire?

As I sit inside Starbucks catching up on email while chilling out with a mid-afternoon caffeine buzz, I’m finding it hard to concentrate.

Downtown during business hours is a tense scene.

Everyone is in a hurry.

Businesspeople with self-important postures rush past me. Most likely they are in between meetings. Meetings that will produce nothing of value. Rather they will merely determine how the last meeting went, and decide when they should schedule the next meeting.

It’s a cycle of busy unproductivity, getting nothing accomplished at breakneck speed.

And I’m putting my foot down. Slowly.

These people don’t seem happy. Their smiles don’t seem sincere. And I am going to set into motion a strategic goal to live and work at a steady and thoughtful pace that is directed by my personal intent, not the office whirlwind around me.

I’m going to go against the logic of business and capitalism.

I’m going to slow down.

As I see it,

When you work too hard and too fast, you:
• Give yourself unneeded stress and anxiety
• Overlook the important subtleties of your actions
• Miss the emotional queues of those around you
• Rush into bad decisions

But when you work with clear head and steady pace, you:
• Take time to foresee the consequences of your actions
• Put care into details
• See the big picture
• Are at peace with yourself and those around you

The world around me can rush to their grave meeting. I’m going to stay right here and let my mind wander. It may not look like I’m being productive. But I’m putting my mind in the right place. And when I go back to the office I will have a clear head and renewed perspective, making my work stronger and more creative.

I’m the tortoise. All you slick suits are the hare.

See you at the finish line.

Be an App.

What I love most about iPhone and iPad apps is how they operate in the easiest and most intuitive way possible. In contrast to websites, which are usually overly complex and loaded with trivial information three or four navigation levels deep, apps offer clarity.

Businesses should behave more like apps.

These days, companies that want to thrive need to adapt to the principles of the new economy. The smart move is stripping down to the essentials. And apps provide a great template.

Apps are:

• Simple: Everything in an app is essential. You get what you need and nothing more. It’s a natural tendency to cram your business with “more”, but if that extra stuff isn’t directly helping your company, it’s probably harming it by making your message less clear. The intelligent restrictions of apps help you focus on what matters.

• Transparent: Too often, websites are weighed down by complex site maps and hidden information. Even with the best design and navigation, it’s a mess of excessive information. In contrast, everything in an app is upfront and honest; there are no secrets. Your clients and customers will trust you when they feel they can see and understand everything you do. This means more than casual Fridays. It means being naked all week.

• Intuitive: Apps don’t challenge you to figure them out; they are easy to understand. They adapt to the natural way the user processes information. Your business practices should be just as clear. Your actions should make sense (not just rigorous market-research sense, but common sense).

• Free: We expect a lot for free, and most apps cost little or nothing. How can your company give something away that will ultimately create more revenue? Maybe you can start a company blog and provide relevant content to your readers. Or start an employer garden and share the harvest with your customers. Or host an event and provide your guests with an evening of entertainment, drinks and networking opportunities. Giving something away establishes trust and will generate interest in the profitable side of your business.

If technology can be so made so easy and fun to use, think of the business potential of applying these principles to your day-to-day client and customer interactions. Suddenly it’s not so hard to connect with people.

It’s refreshing to realize that success doesn’t come from making your business complicated.

It comes from making it easy.

What is No Brand Like Home?

A little about me:

I live in Minneapolis. I drew a lot of dinosaurs as a kid. I also played a lot of basketball. When I was 13 years old I wrote an epic novel about the civil war. It was predictably terrible, and was never published.

In college I started designing stuff. And last summer, just for fun, I launched a small fashion line.

I am a creative professional.

I work for an awesome media and marketing agency. My firm is very cause-driven. Our primary focus is on the business markets of health, community building, organic food and sustainability.

My agency is loaded with forward-thinkers. We do more than typical marketing, web design and online branding. For us, delivering a high market share is not enough. We help clients who want to change the world.

We get it.

We understand that the world is changing.

We understand that if you want your career or business to survive in the changing economic landscape, you have to change along with it.

And you have to start now.

This blog is about helping you make that change.

If you want to make yourself indispensable (and who doesn’t) you need to keep up with the game. Want a great career? It takes more than a college degree and a good resume. Want to grow an awesome business? It takes more than an office and some clients.

It takes more, but it also takes less.

The keys to good business are invisible.

Start investing in the intangibles that impact who you are and not just the bottom line.

The jig is up. You can’t fake it anymore.

It’s time to start thinking big instead of just acting big.

May I suggest the following:

• Be authentic. Make sure you actions are aligned with your values. Bullshit might have worked at one point, but it’s getting easier to detect. Be legit. Come real or don’t come at all.

• Simplify. Nearly everything in life is too complex. The best way to sort through the maze is to jump over it with a simple solution. Simple beats complicated every time.

• Let go. Don’t hold onto mistakes or failures. Freedom to do whatever you want comes from choosing to let go of negativity. Never start today with yesterday’s baggage.

• See possibilities. Limitations are in your head. Question what other people expect from you. Be better than restrictions. Be smarter than rules. Solutions are wherever you look for them.

Stick around a little longer because what I’m about to say is very important. And no, it has nothing to do with Lady GaGa’s latest outfit.

But it has everything to do with positioning yourself ahead of the competition in a changing world.

What I’m suggesting is two simple steps. But they aren’t easy. And neither is recommended if you have a queasy stomach.

If you’re not brave, stop reading this and get back to work.

Step 1) Break away from the status quo.

The world is always changing. But today it’s changing faster. Social structures, long ingrained into the way we live and think, are crumbling all around us. If we don’t take initiative to jump ship from the status quo, we will become wreckage of the old world.

What is changing? Everything. But a few things in particular…

• The rules of business
• What we own
• What we eat
• What is socially acceptable
• How we connect
• How we commute
• Our sense of home and living space
• Our dependance on tradition

The changing of outdated rules makes our lives simpler, more efficient and more independent.

A 40 hour workweek is no longer necessary. Neither is an office. Or a boss. Blindly following protocol has become dangerous. The new economy needs everyone to take charge and become an innovator. The demand for creative thinking is at an all-time high.

The demand for your ideas is at an all-time high.

Breaking away from the status quo and becoming an independent thinker has never been easier. In fact, it’s become essential. With the world in fast transition, those who don’t break away and start living by their own terms will be left in the dust by everyone brave enough to move forward.

• It makes business sense to stop following the rules
• It makes career sense to not accept a traditional role in your company
• It makes brand sense to do “crazy” things that haven’t been done before
• It makes sense to stop making sense. It also makes cents. And dollars.

Breaking away from the status quo is not a risky decision.

It is the smart thing to do.

Step 2) Design your life.

So we’ve stopped following other people’s rules.

Great! Now what?

Now we start making our own.

Without traditional rules to guide our decisions, it is essential that we start living with full intent and purpose.

It’s time to actually design how we live.

Think of something you’re good at. What makes you good at it?

Whatever skills, talents, strengths and attitude that produce your finest moments can be adapted and put to use in designing the basic foundations and patterns of your lifestyle, career and business. You can strategically design your career, life or business to be exactly how you want it to be.

Make it a priority to evaluate your thoughts and actions, even the small ones, and determine if they are in support of your ideals. If your small actions are not consistent with your big goals, make adjustments. It’s okay to start small. The important thing is to pay attention and become critical of unproductive thoughts and actions. Everything you do should support your vision of ideal happiness.

Simple.

The way we are living is not sustainable. On a global level the lifestyles created by the way we think has led to a dwindling ecosystem, loads of debt, civil unrest, widespread unemployment and millions of abusive relationships.

These problems are connected, and have one common source.

We aren’t thinking clearly.

Huge global problems can’t be solved until we fix the individual mental problems we have gotten accustomed to living with.

As I see it, this is good news.

Think about it. Making small adjustments to your attitude and the way you think is way easier than figuring out how to fix the global economy or solve hunger issues.

But that’s all you need to do.

Better thinking leads to better living, which leads to better interactions, which leads to better growth, which leads to better governing. Every aspect of society is interconnected and it all begins with us as individuals and the principles we apply to our lives.

Stay connected. Stop by Facebook to say hello, or send me some love on Twitter. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to my RSS feed. Let’s stick together. Welcome to No Brand Like Home.