138 Words on You

There are entire sections of the bookstore with books about being, doing, accepting, loving, and improving YOU.   I find this fascinating and even approve of the general logic.  But have you ever stopped to think how a big part of who YOU are to the world is almost entirely out of your hands?   Because it changes as you bounce between your various social circles.  Among one set of friends, I’m the outgoing party-planner, while amongst another I’m the quiet guy who doesn’t say much.  I am a corporate business guy in one circle and the creative guy in another.  Rich and poor.   Follower and leader.  Cool and lame. Old and young.  Good taste.  No taste.   I guess the most socially successful people are the ones that embrace the various roles they play in others’ lives and contribute accordingly.

138 Words on Digital Marketing

It happened.   The one thing that I’ve built my career on thus far, digital marketing, annoys the hell out of me.  I say that as I’m blogging while refreshing Facebook and Twitter – the axis of digital marketing evil as far as I’m concerned.  I was once obsessed with figuring out how to be the first to put certain technology to work to solve marketing challenges. Let’s enable consumers to upload videos.  Let’s prove that CPG brand can leverage Myspace, then Facebook. Notice the problems with those statements?  As I matured professionally, I started to lose interest in the latest technology and capabilities, instead obsessing over the basic human needs that technology and content were fulfilling (or in some cases exploiting).  But people like the old version me are very important – I know a few that are invaluable.

138 Words on Bouncing Back

There’s so much that I love about people. Sure we are riddled with flaws and do ridiculous, regrettable things (everything from drunk texting to genocide) but I think the overwhelming majority of us mean well. Regardless of how stone cold the crazy guy on the subway may look, he still hopes for a little warmth in the form of love, friendship or a laugh. But one of the human characteristics that fascinates me most is our ability to bounce back when we’ve been knocked down. It’s instinctual – a survival mechanism and clearly effective. We instinctually seek and latch on to opportunities. A few slip through cracks, but most seem to be compelled to make things happen and do. Some may say it’s society’s pressure to conform, but I’m guessing it was the same when we were cavemen.

138 Words on Being From Texas

I was born, raised and lived in Texas for 31 years. Strange thing is, I never identified myself as a ‘Texan’ until I came to NYC. So few people you meet here are from here. For the first time in 31 years, I had to address the fact that I am from Texas and all of the negative stereotypes and to a lesser extent, the positive ones. Now that I am forced to think about how I may be perceived as a Texan, I have developed this strange pride in being from Texas. I like the fact that I’m apparently a horse-owning, BBQ-eating, Bush-loving, trailer park-living, redneck-having, Willie Nelson-listening, pickup truck-driving, hillbilly from Texas who within 2 years, has been able to milk a little success out of this big city. (Because apparently, I owned cows as well.)

138 Words on Father’s Day

This will be my first without my Dad. He’s by far the closest person I’ve ever lost, and his loss inspires the strangest feelings. I’ve only made very slight changes in my life since his passing. I have a new filter for the big decisions I make on a regular basis and it’s heavily influenced by him. My desire to tighten the amazing relationships I have with my Mom and Brother has strengthened. Most days I live on, un-phased by his passing. Others days, there are moments when I hit a wall and break. A movie. A song. Or the realization that when I want to tell him something that happened or ask for his opinion, I simply can’t. You can’t experience that feeling without spending ten minutes to get over the fact that he’s gone allover again.