Upmarket Magazine |
- Kickstarter: The User Revolution
- Unlocking Imagination the Engine to our Creativity
- Get More Wisdom In Less Time With Brian Johnson’s Philosopher’s Notes
| Kickstarter: The User Revolution Posted: 27 Aug 2012 08:00 AM PDT
I must be getting older because all of a sudden I care about watches. Now I’m not one of those characters who require something elaborate or expensive – glitz has never been my thing. What I seemed to have developed is a taste for interesting watches, a timepiece that feels uniquely my own. Like I said, this probably has something to do with the fact I’m approaching 30. During a recent barbecue I found myself talking to a group of strangers, and somehow the topic of watches arose (you know, typical barbecue banter). I mentioned that I had just ordered a Pebble—a sleek and clever conceptual watch that connects to your smartphone–on Kickstarter. Before I could finish the sentence, three people simultaneously chimed in, "I did too!" That's right, in a group of complete strangers, 4 out of 6 of us had recently paid real money for a product that had yet to be manufactured and wouldn't arrive for many months. And that kind of thing is happening all the time. This new purchasing model isn't just the result of the Kickstarter platform itself; it's a symptom of a fast-paced cultural shift that's putting real power in the hands of consumers. In other words, the line between user and stakeholder is beginning to dramatically blur. We've always known that purchasing power is tantamount to voting: When I choose to buy coffee from Starbucks I am in essence telling the organization that I support their beliefs, actions, and decisions. But it's always been a passive exchange. Am I choosing to support Starbucks—the company—or do I just want a cup of delicious coffee? For most people, it's the latter. Kickstarter is taking the opposite approach: it's making the exchange of goods and services highly personal and distinctly social. If I can put up a good enough case and build some genuine buzz, I can write a book, produce a play, develop a product, go on a journey, create an LP, or start a company. What's more, I can do all of this without taking on debt or giving up any equity. This hasn't always been the case. What Kickstarter has built is not just a platform; it's a pipeline from me to you to you to you. In an age where radical transparency is championed and media is ubiquitous, Kickstarter—and platforms like it—is connecting the producer and the consumer in a more intimate and powerful way. As business continues to become increasingly personal, platforms like Kickstarter will only grow more valuable. The bank can think your idea is ludicrous; the venture capitalist can miss the point. But that's no longer an excuse. If you want to build something incredible, if you really want to create something big and important, you now have a legitimate opportunity. And that's a concept worth spreading. Image credit: teamstickergiant |
| Unlocking Imagination the Engine to our Creativity Posted: 27 Aug 2012 05:00 AM PDT  Simple Tools Can Open Creativity What do you do when you hit a creative dry spell? Maybe you've found yourself captive to a bit of funk? I get there myself from time to time. But I've learned tactics and techniques to shift my attention that open me to creative possibilities again. Would you like my recipe for pushing back against that brick wall you might be facing? Sit back for a spell, and let me share this story. It was late August and my birthday. I was at a stressful point in my career– had nothing planned and no one in particular to share the day with. I felt tired and drained, but off I went to buy myself a birthday lunch. I picked a nice restaurant, ordered and as I waited for my fish-of-the-day entrée, I took stock as we sometimes do when we mark the end of one era and the beginning of the next. What could I do to shift my energy from feeling like I was stuck in a corner to seeing bright possibilities and feeling energized again?
So I asked myself, "When is a time in your life when all you saw was possibility?" I remembered what it was like to be a kid and how much fun it was going back to school. I remembered the excitement and anticipation. I remembered gathering school supplies…my pencil box and crayons…sharpening those pencils to a fine point, and the clay like smell of Crayola crayons that promised a rainbow of new possibilities. I remembered looking at those points and knowing they'd be round soon enough with the work of new exploration and discovery. Lunch came and as I finished eating, I decided I'd stop off on the way back to my office and buy a box of Crayola's to reconnect me with memories of anticipation and possibility. In the store, I made my way to the school supply aisle. As I did, I was thinking about how time shapes possibilities and that while there were 8 colors in my box of crayons, by the time my daughter Brie went to school, the color possibilities had grown to 64 in the box. As I approached the shelf, I couldn't believe what I saw. Here was a box of 120 shades of color to play with! It was a friggin Crayola explosion of choices! I had come hungry for possibility and found bounty. I bought a box for my office and one for home. When I opened the box, the smell instantly transported me back to school…back to anticipation…back to knowing that there is still so much to learn, to experience, to enjoy. I let myself play. I was delighted by the names of the colors. I pulled out all the shades of green and scribbled lines and circles spinning a whole rainbow of green. No stark black and white choices here. I'd made the shift to a fresh perspective with a kaleidoscope of choices. That simple question had reengaged my imagination…the engine I'd ride into new possibilities. It's August and time for another birthday. Time to take stock once again. I left that corner and am in new place…in my work, my life, in my dreams. I'm busy creating what the new picture looks like. I still have my Crayola's but the imagery has evolved some. I have a new super hero for inspiration. Have you heard of Harold and the Purple Crayon? (I'll save that story for another day, but you can see other books I’ve read and recommended for igniting imagination and creativity here!) Image credit: Gwen Kinsey |
| Get More Wisdom In Less Time With Brian Johnson’s Philosopher’s Notes Posted: 27 Aug 2012 02:00 AM PDT
Brian Johnson is the CEO, Chief Philosopher and creator of Philosopher’s Notes, summaries (think mini-Cliff’s Notes) of the top personal growth books written by the greatest wisdom thinkers of all time. Brian refers to these notes as “More Wisdom In Less Time” because, through them, he’s able to deliver you the 1000 biggest ideas for creating your greatest life and business in a fraction of the time it would take you to read all those books yourself. How did he end up doing that, anyway? Brian’s story is such a great example of doing exactly what you love and creating a business from it! As a law school dropout and serial successful entrepreneur, Brian was consistently seeking to integrate his philosopher side and his business side. He had raised $3 million in capital and built a company called Zaadz, a social networking site for people who want to change the world. While reading Deepak Chopra’s book, The 7 Spiritual Laws of Success, he came to the chapter on purpose, or The Law of Dharma, where he came across the question: “If you had all the time and money in the world, what would you be doing?” For the first time in his life, Brian realized that it wasn’t what he was doing at Zaadz. He ended up selling the company to Gaiam, and decided to give himself a PhD in “Optimal Living” since there really wasn’t one place he could go to learn about optimal living in every area of life, including creativity, nutrition, fitness, positive psychology, business, money, love, sexuality – everything. Brian chose to read 100 of the most classic optimal living books, “from old school classics to modern self-development.” For each one, he created a 6-page PDF and 20 minute audio with the intent that the biggest ideas are easily digestible, and also immediately applicable to real life. That became Philosopher’s Notes Volume 1. He later did the same with another 100 books which became Volume 2. It was important to Brian to not only follow his passion and purpose, but also to demonstrate that he could turn that into a business. He did that with Philosopher’s Notes themselves, and he has now also co-founded en*theos Academy with his wife, Alexandra Jaye Johnson, a virtual school which brings together world class teachers sharing their wisdom on optimal living (the school Brian would have himself liked to go to!). Where did the school get its name? As it says on his site:
Check out the super cool these guys are up to with both Philosopher’s Notes and en*theos Academy. What can you do with easy access to the greatest wisdom of all time? Photo: Tim Van Orden |
Editor’s note: Yesterday 
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