I admit it. I swoon over creative marketing. It’s one of my many inspirations and favourite guilty pleasures.

The best kind of marketing, in my opinion, is done for organizations or causes that try to advance society. They usually don’t have the funds to blow on big (and unsuccessful) marketing, so they make what they make count. None of this “buy this beer to be cool” or “grab this face wash to be attractive.” I’m talking…

and…

Solidarités International: Water talks from La Boite Concept on Vimeo.

and…

These ads remind me of the importance of business. It’s not all about profit. Nor the fancy titles or the enjoyable expense accounts. It’s about changing minds. And yes, there are issues we currently need a lot of minds changed for. If a 2 minute video can play a part in that – awesome. It at least created a spark.

And the spark is all we need.

Pick of the post: Switchfoot – Awakening (official music video)

                          

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TOMS Shoes has a great business model. For every pair of shoes they sell, they give a pair of shoes to a child in need. One for One. Awesome? Awesome!

I recently found another great company that follows a similar philosophy. FIGS – threads for threads – gives a school uniform to a child for every tie or bow tie you purchase from them. Threads for Threads. Awesome? Awesome!

From their website:

In many parts of Africa, a child may not attend school without a proper uniform. This is due to the strict rules about pride in appearance within most cultures.  Unfortunately many areas are stricken with poverty and so countless children do not have uniforms, resulting in lack of education quickly becoming a widespread epidemic. … We hope to soon provide uniforms to children all across the world so that they can get the education they so rightly deserve, one tie at a time.

Spreading knowledge and style at the same time? Sign me up. I know where I’m getting my next snazzy tie that’s for sure.

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The 20 seconds we share with a stranger passing us on the street is filled with opportunity. We could smile and brighten their day. We could ignore them and give them the cold shoulder. We could trip them, nudge them, yell at them, or even try to steal their iPod.

The interesting thing is that we don’t usually know who that stranger is or, more importantly, who that stranger will become. They may go on to yield incredible influence and be able to shape how our community, our country, our world is led – for better or for worse.

Now imagine if those 20 seconds were the ones that gave them such a positive perception of your community that they went on to create monumental changes for your community.

With the world coming to Vancouver for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, we have more than just 20 seconds with some strangers. We have packed buses, crowded streets, and long lines that are filled with opportunity.

We can yell, get frustrated, and complain about all these “stupid tourists.” Or we can smile, have patience, and offer up our seat. We’re not just here to “welcome the world.” We are here to engage with the world. It is with a level of engagement, those small interactions and nuances, that we will be able to leave a lasting impression on the hearts of future world leaders.

They are coming.

How are you going to represent Canada when they are here?

Pick of the post: Kris Allen – Live Like You’re Dying (official music video)

                          

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As Seth Godin writes: “Now, more than ever, we need to shake things up.”

In preparation for the new year(s), and his new book launch no doubt, Seth brought together more than seventy great thinkers to create an e-book called “What Matters Now.” In classic Godin fashion, he uses short ‘chapters’ to jam-pack quality into every page. In this case, every page is authored by a different person and provides their answer the questions:“What word matters most to you of all?  Can you explain what and why?” You can download a copy for yourself here, or flip through the pages on the embedded version below.

What Matters Now

I thought I’d save you some time and pick out a sampling of some of the tidbits I jotted down from my favourite ‘chapters.’ I also realized that my favourite chapters all dealt with topics revolving around gratitude, leadership, education, and health. (No surprise there, eh?) Below are some inspiring quotes from the e-book. Feel free to share your favourite excerpts as well in the comments section.

Gratitude:

Seth Godin – Generosity
“If you make a difference, people will gravitate to you. They want to engage, to interact and to get you more involved. If you make a difference, you also make a connection. You interact with people who want to be interacted with and you make changes that people respect and yearn for.”

Rajesh Setty – Enrichment
“If you are truly enriching someone’s life, theywill typically miss you in their past. They think their lives would have been even better if they had met you earlier.” “You are only as rich as the enrichment you bring to the world around you.”

Joichi Ito – Neoteny (retention of childlike attributes in adulthood)
“The future of the planet is becoming less about being efficient, producing more stuff and protecting our turf and more about working together, embracing change, and being creative.”

Penelope Trunk – Social Skills
“Getting or giving anything is about social skills. The world is about being comfortable where you are and making people feel comfortable…”

Leadership:

Michael Hyatt – Vision
“Leadership is more than influence. It is about reminding people of what it is we are trying to build – and why it matters. It is about painting a picture of a better future. It comes down to painting the way and saying ‘C’mon. We can do this!’”

Dave Ramsey – Momentum
“Slow and steady wins the race. … Whether it is branding or wealth building, I call it The Momentum Theorum: (Fi/T)(G)=M
FOCUSED INTENSITY over TIME multiplied by GOD equals UNSTOPPABLE MOMENTUM”

Chip and Dan Heath – Change
“You’re probably trying to change things at home or at work. Stop agonizing about what’s not working. Instead, ask yourself, ‘What’s working well, right now, and how can I do more of it?’”

Gina Trapani – Productivity
“Don’t worry too much about getting things done. Make things happen.”

J.C. Hutchins – Gumption
“Disbelief is now the enemy, as is the notion of settling. … Get fired up. Find your backbone, and your wings. Flap ‘em. It’s the only way you’ll be able to fly.”

Education:

John Wood – Ripple (loved attending his event)
“Education has a ripple effect. … Yet for hundreds of millions of kids in the developing world, the ripple never begins. … ‘We are too poor to afford education. But until we have education, we will always be poor.’”

Dale Dougherty – .eDO
“The 21st Century challenge for education is to integrate learning into the growing richness of digital life where students are active and engaged every day. … As students realize that the tools for living are the same for learning, they will naturally expand the range of things they can do.”

Dan Roam – Knowing
“There is no such thing as boring knowledge.
There is only boring presentation.”

Health:

Jay Parkinson, MD – DIY (Do-It-Yourself)
“Your health is up to you. Start small. Eat well. Eat less. Move your body. Love your lover. Be a good friend. Let others care about you. Say you’re sorry. Laugh a ton. Drink one (sometimes two) for me. Simplify. Buy more experiences than things. Create your own health. Do-it-yourself.”

Arianna Huffington – Sleep
“There is nothing that negatively affects our mood, our productivity, or our effectiveness more than lack of sleep.”

Pick of the post: Dave Matthews Band – You & Me

                          

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The fanfare of this holiday season doesn’t have to take a toll on your wallet, or the environment. Here are some helpful tips to make this Christmas a little bit greener.

1. Take public transit (or walk) to go Christmas shopping. It may add a couple minutes to your trip, but it forces you to plan your route ahead of time. By doing so, you can actually save money by missing the shops you didn’t want to go to in the first place and by keeping that gas money in your wallet. Don’t forget the reusable bags – less bags to carry is always better.
2. Rent a Christmas tree. Two UBC Forestry alumni have created Evergrow, a hugely successful business here in Vancouver where you can get your very own potted, growing Christmas tree. Since it is still alive, you aren’t killing a tree by having one in your living room and it doesn’t dry out (meaning less of a fire hazard too). The price may be a little steep, but having it delivered and then picked up after the holidays may seal the deal for me.
3. Buy a reusable advent calendar. My favourite are the ones from Thomas Haas (see mine below). Wooden boxes with flaps to reveal a great choco delight every day. Steph got me hooked, and now, with a T.Haas open in Kitsilano, I can see this being a very tasty start to my day.



4. Re-gift it for a Secret Santa. To find great (cheap) gifts for your secret santa, try heading to your local Salvation Army. They are perfect to find that random gag gift or that board game you always wanted (which are now marked at 10% of their original price – great for meeting those price restrictions you usually get when buying for a secret santa). When you go to pick up a couple treasures, be sure to drop off some items for the next person to find. It’s only fair right?
5. Continue your favourite traditions. Whether it be decorating the Christmas tree with your friends, watching the Santa Claus parade, making snowmen with your family, or ordering in Chinese food on Christmas Eve, keep your holiday traditions alive. They create gathering points for friends and family to come together – regardless of generation.

Hope these help you have a great Christmas season … and many many more there after. I’d love to hear how you make the season more sustainable, so please share any extra tips you have in the comments below. Let’s get festive!

Pick of the post: Taylor Swift – Christmas Must Be Something More

                          

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While studying at the Copenhagen Business School, a classmate of mine asked the prof “What do I need to know in order to prepare me to be successful in international business?”

His response: “Geography”

His rationale:

International business is influenced primarily by international laws and politics.
International laws are influenced by domestic laws and governing systems.
These laws are influenced by social norms, culture, and value systems. (I’d argue technology fits here too.)
Culture is influenced by history. (eg. Current Canadian values very related to Europe’s values based on Canada originally being a colony of Europe)
History is influenced by where cities and travel pathways were. (ie. the creation of nations, wars over land/resources)
And, finally, where cities were created was influenced by the physical geography of the land.

Therefore, to be successful in international business, start with learning about international geography.

Do you agree?

Pick of the post: Cascada – Evacuate the Dancefloor [music video]

                          

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The future of technology is daunting to some, but paralyzing to many. We can’t just adapt what we already have, we must redesign what (and how) we operate. Watch this sweet video to get a glimpse into what could be our not too distant future:

Pick of the post: Ke$ha – Tik Tok (music video)

                          

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For the 6th year in a row, I headed to War Memorial Gym at UBC yesterday for the Remembrance Day ceremony. It was encouraging to see the 350+ people there, as I remember my first two ceremonies had probably between 100-125. It’s nice to know that our generation still cares about those who came before us.

Remembrance Day serves as a reminder of many things, but I wanted to highlight one aspect that doesn’t get told very frequently – why the space is called “War Memorial Gym.” While watching sports heroes battle on the court, I rarely connect the gymnasium’s name with the fact that it was built to commemorate the UBC heroes that died during the world wars. I usually rush by the memorial on the wall which reads:

To the men and women of our University and our province who gave their lives for freedom, this building is dedicated by the students and friends of the University of British Columbia.

This made me think of the other “uncovered” stories we have at UBC, like:

Why is Totem Park called Totem Park and where are it’s totem poles now?
What’s in the Science Undergraduate Society’s time capsule and when will it be opened?
Why was UBC REC’s Great Trek Run forbidden to happen off campus?

And these stories don’t just happen at UBC. As my roommate knows, every piece of furniture in our apartment has a story behind it – a previous owner, marking a first of some sort, etc. It makes them seem more important than just a couch or a picture. When you live (or work or study) in a place with history, it makes you feel like you are part of something bigger than you. A part of a legacy started by those who came before you.

What story can you uncover today?

Pick of the post: Backstreet Boys – Bigger (music video) … they are STILL around!?!

                          

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A week ago, while I folded my laundry, I watched the Dalai Lama take the stage at the UBC Chan Centre alongside other notable Nobel Laureates as one of the events taking place during the Vancouver Peace Summit. (Hat tip to CTV.ca for streaming it online.)

One of his comments really resonated with me:

Real change must start with individuals, then family, then community.

How often do we strive to change the community, our team, or the global world without actually changing ourselves first. His simple words reminded me of the stereotypes, preconceptions, and temperaments I have and exhibit that I need to first check at the door before preaching “the good word” of world peace. Peace actually starts within me. It starts within you.

So does workplace culture shifts. Loving relationships. Strong family ties. Friendships that know no geographic boundaries.

And as the Dalai Lama said, gender should not matter.
As the amazing guests at Me to We Day hammered home, age should not matter.
The Charter for Compassion also shows that religion nor location will matter either.

It all starts with you. You can lead others to greatness, only after you can lead yourself.

Pick of the post: Secrets in Stereo – Falling

                          

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Talking about social impact usually involves mentioning the ripple analogy: you being the rock that is thrown into still water, and the ripples being the effects you made on others by your presence. We can’t see these effects, but others feel them. This was especially true for me today as I was participating in the first day of TD’s Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.

After volunteering out at UBC REC’s Day of the Longboat clinics, I spent some time with my good friend Kimmie picking up trash and garbage from the shore of Acadia Beach. This beach doesn’t have the same foot traffic as say Kits Beach or English Bay, so I was amazed when I found things like towels, golf balls, hub caps, candy wrappers, and old cigarette packs. It was clear that many of these things had been brought in with the tide.

Thumbs up for clean beaches!

To think, an overboard item from a boat out in the bay or a wrapper blown into the water from another beach resurfaced miles away in an entirely different location. Unlike the rock, which has one opportunity to make ripples, this trash made its impact in more than one region – harming ecosystems as it traveled with the tide along its path to the shore.

Facts on the Shoreline Cleanup bag

It is clear that our presence and actions impacts the lives of others – both positively and negatively. That being said, we can choose to have our actions create ripples or we can choose to leave a path. This, too, can be both negative and positive. You can choose to briefly harm your team’s effectiveness or consistently let them down. You can chose to jump into an activity once to leave your mark or be continually involved to really influence that community.

Leaving your mark is great. That single act created ripples of change.
But imagine if your rock never sank and it just continued to skim along the surface.
Your ripples would change the water.

What would you rather be known for: making ripples or creating pathways?

A pathway creater...

Pick of the post: Colbie Caillat – I Won’t

                          

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