Writing Boots

On communication, professional and otherwise.

On the arrival of fall: a more balanced perspective

by // Leave a Comment

My dad once had a funny piece in The Wall Street Journal in which he posited that most people's favorite season is fall—and most people believe this opinion makes them unique.

The odes to fall on Facebook prove Dad's theory. People publicly looking forward to wearing their hoodies, people posting pictures of dappled leaves, even grouches like me, talking about a weird sense of well-being provided by pumpkins.

But goddamnit, let's not forget what comes after fall.

This comes after fall.

So even with the inner peace that deeper sleeping brings, this is the season when I start doing strange things.

I watch professional football for hours, and wish that I still cared about it.

I watch sleeping babies, longingly.

I start perfecting sardonic lines, like, "I've got half my life in front of me!"

With white knuckles I cling to promised pleasures—a nippy motorcycle ride, a leaf-strewn round of golf—because they might be my last, for awhile.

I start reading the obituaries, and tell myself it's not bad because I read mostly about the younger corpses.

I actually have thoughts like, "What would make me happy is a new pair of bucks."

And, "As a person, I don't know whether I'm getting better or worse."

And, "This winter I am going to reread Light In August, goddamnit."

This winter I actually am going to sail a boat from Annapolis, Md. to the British Virgin Islands. I am going to learn to cook, in a house equipped with a brand-new love generator (more on that later in the week). Thanksgiving plans are a little hazy, but Christmas and New Year's plans are made.

Before long, it'll be March. And there'll still be snow on the ground, and my pals and I will lean against the bar at the Chipp Inn, debating without making eye contact, whether we're depressed because Obama isn't doing enough, or because we are getting old, or because it's still fucking winter in Chicago.

“Just be yourself”: For most of us, that’s not good enough

by // Leave a Comment

Eventually, the mind becomes merely a Magic 8-ball of contradictory bits of wisdom bouncing off each other and bobbing to the window. The best we can do is to categorize them.

Yesterday's post has me thinking about branding, so here's my Magic 8-Ball—Branding Category:

Nobody likes a whiner.

Everybody loves a winner.

People crave authenticity.

"The market for something to believe in is infinite." —Hugh Macleod.

People like to be around happy people.

It's good to show a little vulnerability now and then.

Never let 'em see you sweat.

"A leader is a dealer in hope." —Napoleon Bonaparte

You've got to see yourself as other people see you.

You wouldn't care so much about what others thought about you if you knew how seldom they do.

"Tell all the Truth but tell it slant—Success in Circcuit lies." —Emily Dickinson

You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

You are what you consistently do.

You are what you eat.

If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

"If you want to draw a crowd, start a fight." —P.T. Barnum

People don't often remember what you say, but they always remember how you made them feel.

"Everybody already knows everything." —David Murray

Whether you're a person or a company, it is which of these notions that we apply to what situations, and how we do it—and the mysterious way it all interacts with Who We Really Are (and Who Our Audience Is)—that determines whether people find us lovable or even likable, compelling or even interesting, worth listening to or impossible to hear.

This is why, when someone calls him- or herself an expert in branding, it's an awfully big claim they're making.

Probably too big.

Then again, to win at this life you've got to act as if …