March 16, 2010
Addition by Subtraction
We are often conditioned to believe that the resolution, betterment or answer for a given problem is rooted in the addition of something. We search, seek and toil for the missing ingredient; that one thing that we need to have, or have more of ⎯ to achieve our goals or happiness.
Now, it could be argued that this is natural considering the overwhelming culture of consumerism, especially in the developed world. Everyday advertisements of every variety bombard us with messages about how much we need to have this given item, and no other. We are sold on the dream that all of our inner struggles, strife or disappointments will be absolved for only $19.95 plus shipping!
None of us are immune from this pattern of belief. (I personally have gone haywire with camera accessories lately, but hey I’ve got a little girl now!) However, I would argue that whether it be your business or your personal life, it’s often what you remove from the equation that makes the big difference. Outsourcing, minimizing, leverage, organization ⎯ each of these actions requires you to discard something in an effort to gain something else.
The next time your evaluating how to better your business, your time management or your relationships with your spouse or child, consider first what you could remove from the situation before you look to add anything.
“Everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler…” Albert Einstein
All my Best,
Posted by Jay
March 13, 2010
A Horse Roadie?
We’ve all heard the phrase “…the road less traveled.” We often look back on situations and marvel at how unexpected the path to our goal became. We thought right and went left, we thought up and went down.
I came across a great article today about a Ph.D. student who’s path to her passion was nothing short of atypical. Amy Kearns has served as bodyguard (yes bodyguard) to two of the most celebrated racehorses of the modern era while completing her dissertation on Criminal Justice (yes Criminal Justice). Amy’s unique story is a sterling example of how our passions have a strange way of finding their ways into our lives, if your willing to let them find you.
Keep striving. Do what you love.
All the best,
P.S. Check out Amy’s story online here.
Posted by Jay
March 10, 2010
Welcome to Spring. Celebrate the Choice.
The frost has bid what we hope to be it’s final farewell. The Sun, after a rather extended holiday it seems, has returned to New York City. Put the jackets in the attic, break out the shorts, tan the legs spring is here!
I’ve always been a fan of springtime (although who isn’t right?) there’s something so necessary and almost magical, about those first few days. When it seems half of the city hasn’t gotten the memo yet, and there’s always a couple people who are romping around in blizzard-worthy attire, while those who don’t leave bed without checking the weather are sporting the new khakis they got on sale. Ah sweet, sweet Spring!
Now let me tell you, I love a pair of good khakis! But… that’s not why I get so excited for this season. I love Spring because of one very simple thing. Choices.
I once read: “No man can know the word spring, until he comes to see a winter pass.” I’m no stranger to the cold and snow, trust me Canada certainly holds its own in the “battle royale” of winters. I can still remember as a child the strange thrill of the grass beginning to peek through the earth, the days getting longer, and of course there was spring vacation.
Spring meant choice. No longer would I have the details of my day dictated by the weather, it was the season of freedom.
Becoming an entrepreneur is like finding Spring all year round. Your day is no longer at the whim of a boss, or a commute (I’m still working on the weather part). Each day is filled with illimitable possibility.
As this spring gets underway, I invite you to celebrate your choices; the choice to be an entrepreneur, to pave your own path, to make your own mark. Celebrate the fact that you don’t have to be in a cubicle all day, you don’t have to punch in and out, and your commute can be as far as living room today if you feel like it.
Many people have been conditioned to think that one has to suffer to experience success. It’s as though one must be stricken with a dull, boring life to remain focused, or to continue achieving.
Let me be the first to say this is so, so very wrong! Success comes as a result of doing what you love, and doing it well. From the value you provide to the society you serve. Not from attempting to endure the uncomfortable for as long as possible. Of course, hard work is involved. But hard work does not have to be a sufferable experience. An entrepreneur must learn to maintain a sense of urgency even when their back IS NOT against the wall.
Take your business outside this week. Invest in a wireless card. Make what you enjoy to do, part of your daily business routine. Answer some emails from the park or your backyard, do your follow up calls from the beach today. Celebrate the fact that you can actually make these choices.
I’ve got some steaks on the grill, gotta run.
All my best,
Posted by Jay
March 5, 2010
The simple genius of old spice…
“Look at your man, now back to me, now back at your man, now back to ME!”
Unless one has been living under a space rock without electricity for the past few weeks, chances are you have seen the hilarious Old Spice ads starring a handsome, shirtless gentleman having a rather intimate conversation with the women of America about how her man could smell like this rogue. Now, I could sit here and write about the brilliance of the comedic timing and writing but what has been rather striking to me are the core principles at work here in this advertisement.
In 2007, Old Spice (a Proctor & Gamble brand) made a daring move that shook up Madison Ave when they hired the Wieden & Kennedy Agency. The smaller collective was best known for their assertive, daring ads -amongst which were Nike’s iconic “Just do it.” campaign.
As a product based company, Proctor and Gamble has long capitalized on the efficacy of it’s products, and used the old-school idea of straight comparison (my brand is better than brand X) to convince consumers their product is the best to buy. The Internet entrepreneur is a product based company as well. Except that product is not detergent or deodorant, it’s YOU Inc.
Back to the Old Spice ad. So what is it about this commercial that has resonated so astoundingly with consumers all across the globe? As I type this, the commercial has received over 4.4 million views on YouTube (talk about going viral). One could argue it’s the pure comedic quality of the commercial, but I would argue it’s something much more simplistic than that.
1. Consumers want you to: “Talk with them, not at them”
The character is constantly speaking directly to the audience. Engaging and prompting even your very movements at home (look down, now up…where are you?). This type of conversation keeps the audience attentive, relaxed, and psychologically establishes an immediate bond.
2. Invention of Personality
You are what you present. Authenticity stems from an unbridled presentation of your personality. It does no one any good to be overly reverential about yourself, take yourself too seriously, or worse be obviously reverential and taking yourself too seriously! If you want people to know your product or service is fun, rewarding and simple. Be fun, rewarding and simple in your ads!
3. Brand Building Laboratory
Brand building is always an experiment. No profitable company, in the history of the modern world, has maintained the exact same marketing or advertising strategy from start to finish. Break rules, try new things, let your imagination guide your experimentation and most importantly of all, be yourself! Who knows what you might come up with!
By the way, I’m on a horse. Have a great weekend.
All the best,
Posted by Jay
February 9, 2010
Thoughts On Google And China
Google’s decision to second-guess its relationship with China has raised some interesting questions recently. Namely, whether Google’s decision sprang from their moral opposition to censorship, or simply from a decreased financial interest in a country with a much more popular search engine, known as Baidu. So far, the controversy appears to be more of a commercial, as opposed to a political dilemma. A private, business-related concern. But whenever the question of morality, of a battle between good (Google) and evil, comes into play in the news, you can be sure that the blogosphere will start freaking out.
Probably the most quoted passage in the outpouring of articles on Google China (or Google.cn) is Google’s well-polished credo: “Don’t be evil.” The more opinionated news outlets cite this as the reason that Google is shying away from China, because censoring websites and people’s freedom of speech is, you know, “evil.” But the real question is, are China’s actions any more “evil” than Google’s decision to set up shop in a Communist country already well-known for their web censorship in the hopes of making a profit to begin with.
On the evil scale, though, I’m taking Google’s side on this. At least for now. In Google’s statement on January 12th, they claimed that they launched the site in China “in the belief that the benefits of increased access to information for people in China and a more open Internet outweighed our discomfort in agreeing to censor some results.” Sounds convincing enough. This came with the proviso that they would carefully monitor the conditions in China, since there has been growing tendency toward web censorship in the country, the latest victim being porn websites. Google’s statement said that, should China ramp up their censorship policies, they would not hesitate to reconsider their agreement.
So what did China do, again, that got Google’s jocks in the ringer? As has been widely reported, in December a series of “cyberattacks” originating in China took place against Chinese human rights advocates living inside the country and in other parts of the world. Their Gmail accounts were hacked into, they say. Plus, the security apparatuses of thirty-four companies in Silicon Valley were breached, and corporate data tampered with.
No one is quite sure where these attacks originated. And of course the Chinese government is casting itself as a victim, too! As if the attacks were perpetrated by a group of Chinese Internet trolls. That, of course, is highly unlikely, considering China has the biggest Internet filtration system in the world, and its government has previously blocked searches for things like, say, “The Dalai Lama” or “Tiananmen Square Massacre.” Twitter and Facebook have already been blocked in China. (How do people keep in touch!?) Chances are, these breaches of security were performed by “hackers” employed directly by the Chinese government. But of course, we can’t be sure. Nobody knows. Google has since asked the N.S.A. for help investigating the issue.
This is all taking place over the web, remember, in a kind of virtual reality. I don’t even like to think about the amount of time these Google hackers in China are spending on the Internet every day in order to gain access to human right’s activist’s accounts.
Another important question—something that’s been brought up over the last few weeks—is whether Google’s decision to back out of China constitutes a kind of neo-imperialism. In other words, is Google, by setting up shop in China and then requesting that the Chinese government abide by the United States’ freedom of speech laws, making a backhanded attempt at cultural dominance?
That’s a tough one. And I suppose it’s the crucial issue. Google, being the omnipotent superpower of online search engines, is also testing the waters of globalization. They seem to be overstepping their boundaries. Then again, international human rights organizations have shown their support for Google. Liberal Chinese see it as an outrage that their government might be hacking into their Gmail accounts sometime soon. The more educated Chinese are on Google’s side. They see web censorship as an infringement on their rights.
But even so, do Google’s complaints put any real pressure on the Chinese government to revise its ongoing commitment to censorship? Does China need Google that much?
It doesn’t seem like it. So they miss out on the new Google Android. No big loss.
That China doesn’t really need Google was made fairly clear by China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Ma Zhaoxu. He said, “Foreign enterprises in China need to adhere to China’s hypocritical involvement with laws and regulations, respect the interests of the general public and cultural traditions, and shoulder corresponding responsibilities.” In other words, Google knew what they were getting into. And if they want to intrude on the Chinese market, they’re going to have to play by the Chinese market’s rules. This makes it seem pretty cut and dry. A company like Google, however almighty it may seem, doesn’t have the right to alter China’s rule of law. Or so the Chinese adamantly believe.
So far, everyone involved in this dilemma has been behaving with appropriate political correctness. When Hilary Clinton addressed the issue of Internet censorship on January 21st, she didn’t even name names (China, Iran). “Those who disrupt the free flow of information in our society or any other pose a threat to our economy, our government and our civil society,” she said, linking Internet freedom with the virtues of the United States. She didn’t call out China, partly because, as you may remember, the US is in serious debt to the Chinese right now. (Hmmm. In fact China owns more US dollars than any other country or entity in the world. A different topic for a different day though…) We have to be careful how we play this one. Google may only be an Internet search engine, but with its millions of worldwide users, it is hard to imagine life in 2010 without it. Does Google have the potential to become the most dangerous political weapon the US has ever had?
Posted by Jay
February 6, 2010
My Ride
I FULLY plan to slide into my parking spot in heaven SIDEWAYS with Jamie and the kids yelling, “HOLY SH**! What a RIDE!!” How about you?
Posted by Jay
February 2, 2010
Why I do What I Do…
I get a lot of tweets, facebooks posts, and emails messages. Even actual thank-you cards and letters via snail mail. But I have never received anything like this… This email that came in over the weekend while traveling and realized that this is EXACTLY why I do what I do. Simply knowing that I may be a small part of change in someone’s life is beyond rewarding.
Jay,
I’m hoping you read this personally. I just want you to know that you have made a difference today. I read through your entire blog. I started off sad, angry and embarrassed about the life my unborn child will be born into. By the end of your post titled “The Close of the Decennium“ I smiled, I was inspired and I was moved into action.
In the last 21 months I have slowly bled out an entire fortune with my real estate business. From living in a $2,000,000 home in Hollywood, to me, my 21 month old daughter and my pregnant wife sleeping on the couch in my mother-in-law’s house. I don’t know if you can relate but I have felt like a failure and started to lose sight of a lifetime of ambition, passion and inspiration. I no longer jump out of bed at 8am and seize the day with unbridled excitement. I slide out of bed at noon like a slug one leg at a time. This is not me, this is not who I’ve been my whole life. Although I have been humbled by this insane ride and have learned so much about myself as a man, father, husband and business owner. I couldn’t see past the feelings of guilt and shame…until today.
I believe that everyone needs a catalyst in their life, something that allows them to tap in to their deepest wisdom and power. Oddly enough I just received that catalyst from YOUR blog. I thought I was reading about one of the guys behind Meskada, but you completely caught me off guard with your eloquent, loving words. I believe you really care about humanity and it seems as though you are living your truth, your purpose. Your honesty inspires me. Today will be the last day I wake up at noon out of escapism. I’m not sure how the hell to rebuild my life but I will attack each day with a renewed sense of purpose and vision until I figure it out. 1% idea and 99% decisive action… love it!
You’ve reminded me of my greatness and that inaction is what is killing my unborn child’s future. Thank you with all my heart Jay. I hope you are proud of the man you are every day because your words have reached someone.
With gratitude and humility,
DM
Posted by Jay
Over the last five years, JAY KUBASSEK went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing the internet based business industry with the 2007 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, an internet marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries co-owned by his business partner, Aaron Parkinson; and the successful launch of [...] [Full Bio]
