Marketing in four steps

Seth Godin: 

The last step is so often overlooked: The part where you show up, regularly, consistently and generously, for years and years, to organize and lead and build confidence in the change you seek to make.

Kristy Tillman: Inviting Yourself to the Table

Have you ever had an idea that you wanted to execute or be involved in, but it never quite happened for you? For Kristy Tillman, this was not only true for her, but at times it felt like the defining sentiment of her career. While we live in a world of interconnection, it's still so easy to feel like we're not making the impact that we'd like or taking advantage of all of our opportunities. However, instead of asking for permission or waiting for life to happen to us, Kristy urges us to invite ourselves to the table. 

In this 99u talk, Kristy challenges us to "restate the problem: How might [you] begin to make [your] own opportunities? By inviting yourself to the table."

What is the purpose of a logo?

Brian Solis continuing a conversation about logos, after it was discovered that a few modern logos look a lot like logos from a design book: 

Without purpose, a logo is merely design. If it’s borrowed or if it’s completely original, it makes no difference if it’s unrelatable. In the end, a meaningful logo is a symbol of what you stand for and what you aspire to do or be that attracts me to stand with you. It’s how you bring that purpose and meaning to life, in every moment of truth, that shapes my experience.

How Food Became Pop Culture

Mario Batali in Lucky Peach:

Suddenly, going out to an interesting meal became as significant a piece of entertainment in northern California as going to the opera. Food came to the forefront of culture and people talked about it and enjoyed it. Then Wolfgang Puck stormed in and made it very hip to go out to dinner in Los Angeles—not just to eat but to be seen. Suddenly, the nexus of society moved from the inner circle at the opera house to the five cool tables at Spago. It was important for the rich and baronial to be in the rich and baronial spot or they would be mocked by their peers.

And then the Food Network came along with guys like Emeril {2}. That’s when, all of a sudden, a lot of voices and personalities came out. There were some that were very successful and there were some that weren’t. There are hundreds of shows that I could list where there was someone on TV for a little while, and then they were gone. But what happened when these chefs started appearing on TV is that people would have a favorite cook in the same way someone would have a favorite first baseman. Then they would go to those chefs’ restaurants and they learned that these different points of view were there. Mine happened to be kind of traditional basic Italian. Emeril’s was New Orleans and “Hey you, wake up, bam! I’m gonna show you how to impress your family, your chicks, whomever it is that you want to impress.”

Style Over Everything

99u:

From the earliest age, we’re taught to strive for perfection. We’re supposed to attend the best schools, get straight A’s, and win Olympic gold medals while we’re at it. To achieve this, we need to have impeccable grades, flawless technique, and unmatchable skills. Once in a while, our society makes a half-hearted attempt to say, “be who you are,” but it’s usually within the context of a winner’s story — someone who wasn’t pitch perfect on paper but still ended up on top anyway.

Talk to career artists and art directors, however, and they’ll tell you that the key to getting commissions and hired full-time isn’t artistic perfection — it’s artistic expression. Those that hire creative talent want, and pay handsomely for one-of-a-kind voices that shock, provoke, scream, joke, and wow — even if they are a little messy at times. Speaking in your own voice is the smartest thing you can do to distinguish yourself from the crowd. And let’s be honest, it’s much more fun. Someone can always come along and be a “better” artist than you, but no one can take away your style. It’s defensible, something you can lean back on regardless of trends and something you can sell that others can’t (one-of-a-kind = more valuable!).

There's nothing more boring than perfect.