Every now and then I come across something that??s so beautifully stated, so in line with how I think, that I wish I had written it myself. Other times, something pops up in a post that stops me dead in my tracks ?? a perfect idea; a stunning line.
After reading something today that perfectly sums up the previous paragraph, I decided to start pointing you to these posts. After all, if you??re reading my blog to get a sense of how I think, why not highlight the thinking that I haven??t written yet (that others have) and the lines I wish I had. (You follow?)
? CK??s ??Normal ain??t so bad? is the post I was referring to up there. Here??s a snippet:
??I’m all for special; and people need to feel that way. But what they want most is pretty darn normal: a good experience and a product that delivers on its promises.?
This is something creatives ought to be thinking about when they get to work. Sadly, though, it too often is the last thing they consider. People want normal. People want simple. Creative that makes people think too much, where the reward isn??t quick enough, or that is too cryptic isn??t what people are looking for. They??re looking for benefits. Prices. Where to go to get it. They??re looking for normal. They’re looking for answers.
? Saturday??s post over at Simplenomics titled, ??Will Reading More Lead To More Sales?? was great. Mike opens with this poem by Laurence Hope:
??Men should be judged, not by the tone of their skin, the gods they serve, the vintage that they drink, nor by the way they fight, or love or sin, but by the quality of the thoughts they think.?
Wow. What a way to open a post. Mike then goes on to make a parallel between the poem and why some salespeople never become successful. ??Their thoughts aren??t the right quality of thoughts.?? He goes on to conclude that ??Salespeople who read more, sell more. Period.?
Couldn??t agree more. Without the massive reading binge I??ve been on for the last year and a half, there??s no way I??m doing what I??m doing or convincing my clients to take my recommended approach. Reading is the most powerful tool we have at our disposal. Not only will it open the door to new ideas and directions, it??s a pretty cheap key to that lock.
? A few weeks back, like most marketing bloggers, Valeria wrote about the whole Boston fiasco. This comes from her post titled, ??The Substance of Marketing?:
??A few years ago I was on my way to doing something else while the TV, on a rare occasion it was on, broadcast a PBS program. “The ancestor to every action is a thought,” said Dr. Wayne Dyer, and that’s when I stopped what I was doing and sat in front of the screen.?
The quote had the same effect on me, only I was frozen in front of my laptop. At the time, I was being challenged pretty heavily in my post about the Boston debacle. One commenter was really raking me over the coals. And he wasn??t wrong. I was too quick to write that post and probably went a little too far, got carried away. When I read what Valeria had written, it really made me think about how I should proceed when commenting on stories like this one. Thanks for the wake-up call, V.
? CK makes this list twice (yes, I do read other blogs, hers just happens to be a really good one), when she responded to Dr. Michael Keren??s assertion that bloggers are “lonely, melancholic, disillusioned” people. Her post, titled ??Just another lonely, terrorist-like blogger? highlighted all the reasons why Keren is F.O.S.
I had read many other responses to Keren??s study that just seemed too ego filled and silly. CK really nailed it with her well thought out post.
That??s it for now. More ??I wish I wrote that? as we go along.
February 12th, 2007 at 9:36 am
Mark:
Thank you for your kind words. What a nice way of sharing information with your readers. CK has a fresh perspective to add to our conversation, I’m glad you linked two of her posts.
I was especially intrigued by Mike’s use of Laurence Hope’s poem to make a simple analogy: the quality of our thinking does indeed color how we behave and as a consequence what comes our way. To continue with Dr. Dyer’s work: “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
February 12th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Thanks for the kind words and the link love.
February 13th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
Love that quote, V. It’s up on the marker board over my desk now. Thanks!
Anytime, Mike.
February 14th, 2007 at 2:03 am
I am so touched to be included on this…you know this “Wish I wrote that” is a great idea for a series! Maybe Ryan should make a great logo for it ;-). Yep, just trying to see more of Ryan’s snazzy designs on your blog!
I know and love Valeria’s inspirational work (I swear it’s just like breathing to her to write so eloquently) but now because of this post I know of Mike’s blog, too.
And that post to Dr. Keren that I wrote, I felt as tho’ I was writing for all of us. I feel a true commitment to this community and all it does for me professionally and personally…so I found it an opportunity to explain the value and it actually made me feel bad for him that he’s just so out of touch with it. His loss.
I’m really enjoying your blog…keep ‘em coming.
February 15th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
CK: Been thinking of doing exactly that, turning the idea into a series and maybe more than just that. We’ll have to see as we go along!