In the video above, in his own words, Narayanan Krishnan says, “I thought, what is the purpose of my life? What am I going to do? … And I quit my job and I started feeding all these people from 2002.” And later: “There are thousand and thousands and lots and lots of people suffering. What is the ultimate purpose of life? It’s to give. Start giving. See the joy of giving.”
Beta Cool Free
The FvF mixtape series: still going strong
When I last wrote about Friends of Friends – the international interview magazine that illuminates people of diverse creative and cultural backgrounds in their homes and within their daily working environments – the subject was their latest mixtape. At that time it was number 101, and it featured the artist known as Kyson.
Each FvF mixtape offers an amazing contemporary soundtrack for your life, and that is definitely true for the latest. It is number #163, and it features the renowned German electro-pop duo, 2RAUMWOHNUNG.
Sales expertise for creative entrepreneurs…
universal positive readers already know that I’m a big fan of author, speaker, and advisor David C. Baker. By visiting David’s website, you can find information on his books, upcoming events, and much more.
If you haven’t already read it, I also encourage you to review this candid interview with my dear friend Lisa Cleff Kurtz, who is a philanthropist, education and arts activist, and a bona fide rainmaker.
Many other noteworthy experts also offer sage business development advice that you can easily find online… often for free. Here are five more that are definitely worth subscribing to right away.
Marketing Imperatives: Center Everything Around Your PR Strategy
I have a longstanding working relationship with a CEO who recently changed jobs. Coming into his new company, he told me that his mantra was this: He intended to center every marketing initiative around PR strategy. In virtually every industry, I’m seeing many wise marketing industry leaders endorsing this idea. Another prominent example from the past several years comes from Jason Harris of San Francisco- and NYC-based Mekanism, where in an interview with HubSpot.com, he described his agency’s framework for creating shareable content.
“Our approach is to always think about the PR headline. Why will the idea, content, innovation, etc., travel? Why will people care, and why will they want to talk about it and share it? If there is no PR headline, the idea won’t be shareable. That is our goal on every project.”
The video I’m embedding with this article perfectly demonstrates the increasing focus on PR, presenting the 47-minute “Content & Storytelling: Is the PR Landscape Shifting?” session from the 2014 CDO Summit in NYC.
Read moreMarketing Imperatives: Center Everything Around Your PR Strategy
Media Spotlight: Creators
Creators was VICE’s arts and culture platform, covering every aspect of the creative process. Its mission was to make art more accessible to a wider audience with diverse voices reporting on emergent arts and artists.
From sculpture and light projections to street art and dance, the platform’s curators and contributors immersed themselves in cultural hotbeds and travel to the far corners of the globe to explore the spectacle and color of making art today.
March 2016 Inspiration
Featured Image: Tongue Point, Washington, USA, by yours truly. Notes from On & Up, my personal blog: “Throughout time, the areas all along Washington State’s Highway 112 corridor have been home to people of the Klallam and Makah tribes: Exploring their cultures and histories are wonderful aspects of visiting…. During our visit, we searched for … Read moreMarch 2016 Inspiration
Interested in being a guest speaker? Start early!
If you have the goal of becoming a successful guest speaker in the business world, I have some tips to share about getting started. These are based on my experiences working with some very talented people who are currently on-the-rise as star presenters, including Erin Sarofsky – and Chad Hutson and Jason White, the principals of Leviathan. Here are the preliminary tips (two more follow below):
- Start early
- Focus on these efforts as a key business activity
- Set your sights strategically to target the right opportunities
- Have a very specific vision for your proposed presentation and communicate it with the correct person before the deadline while also providing a well-organized summary of your speaking history
Have you seen our cosmos?
The National Geographic Channel and Fox teamed-up this year to launch the new 13-part documentary series starring astrophysicist and author Neil deGrasse Tyson, who has proven to be the perfect person to fill Mr. Sagan’s enormous shoes.
Forces for good: Creativity + John Cleese
Today’s post is a mash-up featuring clever ideas from a highly esteemed master of creativity, and 99U, which is the education arm of Behance, the world’s leading online platform for showcasing and discovering creative work. So literally, there should be something here for everyone. Let’s begin!
Sharing secrets: Know your audience!
When trying to communicate with someone, it is vitally important to understand who that person is, whether or not they speak your language, their age, where they live… and also, factors like what’s on their mind right now, and where they are physically. The point of this article is to emphasize that communication – and marketing – is usually a waste of time if the particulars of the human beings comprising the audience are not taken into account. Personally, I’m shocked at how often people fail to address this mission-critical first step, explained so effectively by Seth Godin in the video presented here.
Effective communicators like Mr. Godin begin their programs by assessing their target audiences, exploring the relevant demographics and/or psychographics, and analyzing data. Indeed, the information we exude into the world is measured and used… whether we know it or not.