Friends are the family we choose .. and other life's learnings

Disclaimer: these are not from me but from a 90 year old.


1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and
parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their
journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. B ut don't worry;
God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. B ut the second one is up to you and
no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no
for an answer.

21. B urn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.
Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. B e eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important vital organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will
this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. B elieve in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you
did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,
we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Are you a good Story Teller?

Everyone who needs their place under the sun , needs a story thats different, relevant and interesting. The same applies to marketing.

How are you not a 'me-too'?

Are you just latching on to the latest 'buzzwords' or 'hype words' or do you have a story that nobody else in the market place?

A Groupon story of 'local discount deals' quickly gets copied by LivingSocial.com .

A 'Harvard Connection' story is better executed by Facebook which kills Myspace on its way.

A 'Your body is your Game Controller' story brings 'Kinect' to limelight and can help it compete with a Wii.

Whats your story and how is it different , how difficult is it to copy and how well is it executed?

Think or Tech?

iPhone,Blackberry,Internet,Facebook,Twitter,Google, Cable TV,Mobile Phone..... The technology around us is endless and seems to be all invasive in our lives. Do they help us think better?

I heard a colleague comment recently that her daughter feeds her kid based on what internet 'advises' her rather than her mother.

It may be wise to separate technology from our innate human quality of THINKING. IDEAS /Thinking/Judgement has to be independent of information overload.

A better phone or laptop will not make you ideate better or think differently. Thats a quality you need to develop independent of these. On the other hand, 'over dependency' on these devices may blunt your cerebral abilities.

When you want some fresh thinking, switch off that device first.

Style Guides that will help you

Use these style guides next time you write a note to customer/ web page/brochure/white paper/case study/article. You will benefit from what's working for millions.

Economist - The best in business

http://www.economist.com/research/styleguide/

Yahoo

http://styleguide.yahoo.com/

Quality of Language

In the tweeting/texting/googling era, colloquial words are getting added to the dictionary all the time. That is not to say that business english has become casual/frivolous.

As people get used to more cryptic communication, do not let this extend to your marketing /customer communication. Business still makes its first impressions on the quality of language used and texting abbreviations are not tolerated.

Think twice before you talk to your customer in a texting language.

What you need to know!

As a marketing professional, you have two choices:

Be the Voice of the company - for this you need to know your product/service inside out. you are the 'Product Expert'.

Be the Voice of the customer - in the company. For this you need to know your customer inside out. You are the 'Market Expert'.

If you are neither, your chances of success in marketing are low.

Does 'Experience' matter?

As jobs get commoditised, people get replaced by those who can do it cheaper,faster,better. How do you ensure you are in the second list?

- What innovation are you bringing to your job, everyday?

- The biggest impact seems to come from technology- internet, mobile,TV,convergence,social media.... How is this impacting your job/helping you do it better? Are you using these?

- How relevant is your experience? With everchanging marketplace, the experience of an environment 10years ago may need to checked.

- Are you learning from others' failures and successes so that you 'experiment' less?

- How 'networked' are you for absorbing ideas from outside your 'field of comfort' and apply them to your current job?

There is a reason Robots did not replace humans. we need that creativity all the time!