October 2, 2023
Good morning! It was as if Claude Monet had positioned himself as our windshield. An unplanned 300-mile journey through the foggy and forested fall foliage provided a mysteriously beautiful if surreal softness to what might have otherwise been vibrant colors. Pastels in the mist.
Of all the work-related virtues, why do you suppose getting started early in the morning, before most others, survives long after most of us aren’t agrarian workers?
- Most of us have been directionally lost or geographically confused more than a few times.
- It’s interesting to consider almost no one stays that way permanently, almost no one.
- Hip Hop is 26% of all music sold.
- How much cash do you stash?
- Presumably not as much as Bob Menendez, but, experts do recommend you stash some in the cookie jar or in that empty coffee can in the garage.
- Among those in upper income brackets, a horde of about $150,000 is typical right now, but that’s what’s liquid in bank accounts (Bank of America, 2023).
- During the plague, that amount per person in those brackets shot up briefly to over $200,000.
- How much to stash as cash in your sock drawer? Experts recommend at least two weeks worth of expenses, more if you are hurricane or earthquake prone. (Lahart, 2023)
- So, for example, if you are spending $5,000 per month for everything, including rent or mortgage, stash at least $2,500 in that false bottom of your silverware drawer.
- But, then what happens if you can’t access where you’ve hidden it?!?
- They also recommend multiple hiding places — and to keep a record of where those places are — because you will forget.
- (Since gold won’t deteriorate, at least not in your lifetime, a hole in the backyard is OK for that asset class.)
- Seattle-based Costco has increased its customer loyalty by seven percentage points (+7%) over the last fifteen years, from 86% membership renewals to 93%.
- Which means it still has to find seven percent (7%) of its customers new each year just to stay even.
- It has $13,700,000,000 cash in the bank, the most ever. (CostCo data, 2023)
- If you watch traditional television (network or cable), you are in the minority.
- The majority of those being entertained — or medicated — by the home television screen purchase some sort of service such as Disney, Peacock, or (HBO) Max.
- Netflix ($15.49/ mo.) has been around the longest, since 2011; Hulu is the most expensive ($17.99) and is eight-years-old.
- Disney is a latecomer and has had the sharpest price increase, from $7/month three years ago to $13,99 today. (Whelan, 2023, plus company-provided data)
- If your costs are different than these data, it’s because there are always dozens and dozens of introductory and discounted offers out there.
- Data are not immediately available for those who still use rabbit ears, and/ or antennas — and yes, there are some.
- The ubiquitous and revered Hostess Twinkie has risen from the ashes like a Phoenix to be once again savored as it has hitched its wagon to none other than Smucker’s of Ohio.
- The $4,600,000,000 deal is pending, but in the meantime, stock up and maybe horde a few just in case; they keep forever.
- Haven’t had one in decades, but apparently the original banana flavoring is no longer de rigueur.
- Consider this metaphor: For aesthetic purposes, intense groupings of the same species of flowers or vegetation tend to make a more profound statement than random, mish-mash patterns featuring numerous colors and textures.
- It has to do with focus. Do what you do best. Do more of what you do best — and then do more if it. Stay focused.
- “Refreshing dormant ties can be as important to enhancing your network as adding new people or strengthening existing ties.” (Rondi, Etc., et al.)
- Try it and report back.
- Social Media… almost as ubiquitous a topic as artificial intelligence nowadays… a few thoughts:
- If you have to speak to experts to figure out ways to speak to your own audience, you’ve already lost.
- Instead of focusing on mass market, you’re better off focusing on the niche you want to be a part of…
- To humanize community building (branding), treat it like marriage. You work hard to get to the point where you find the person you love and then you get married.
- You don’t then stop. If you do, we know what happens.
- Apple ruined marketing because everyone tries to do what Apple did — and does… and only Apple is Apple!
- It’s all about zigging when everyone else is Zagging. (Informed by Murray)
These accumulate from week to week… I can’t bear to take leave of them… these are not required re-reading:
“Content marketing is like a first date; if all you do is talk about yourself, there won’t be a second data.” (Moore)
“Don’t bring cheap wine; bring the best you can find of what you can afford.” (YT)
“Don’t let anybody ever tell you happiness has to be earned.” (Pickart)
“To wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing.” (Wilson)
“Scars have the strange power to remind us our past is real.” (McCarthy)
“The desire for safety (status quo) stands against every great and noble enterprise.” (Tacitus)
“Vision is equal parts inspiration and aspiration.” (YT)
