Returning to Simplicity
For some time, I have been studying a trend that has come to be known as “voluntary simplicity.” It is a growing movement toward a simpler, more meaningful life. Born out of people’s disenchantment with the frantic, harried pace of modern life, it is a trend whose time has come.
In a society that has embraced the philosophy that “busier is better,” spawning scores of methods for doing more and getting more, people are finally realizing that there is life beyond tag sales and to-do lists. Simply stated, more and more people are awakening to the reality that there is a vast difference between living life and making a living, and that busy-ness is not necessarily profitable.
“You are not here merely to make a living,” said former president Woodrow Wilson. “You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.” It is a sentiment echoed by the philosopher Henry David Thoreau. “There is no more fatal blunderer than he who consumes the greater part of his life getting his living,” he suggested.
As the Bible itself states in Ecclesiastes 4:6, “better is a handful with quietness, than both hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.” And it is Thoreau who queries us, “Shall we always study to obtain more of these things, and not sometimes to be content with less?”
As the founding father of voluntary simplicity, Thoreau captured the essence of it when he stated: “Simplify. Simplify. For as one gradually simplifies his life, even the laws of the universe will appear less complex.” Taking his suggestion to heart, there are many who are quitting the rat race and instead of caving in to peer pressure are returning to the simplicity of living more by making do with less.
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Monday, June 14, 2004
Spreading the News
In the book The Anatomy of Buzz: How to Create Word of Mouth Marketing, author Emanuel Rosen points out that it’s not necessarily expensive advertising, marketing or public relations that get people to select certain products or services over others—instead it is word of mouth among consumers.
According to a May 2001 McKinsey & Co. study, 67% of U.S. consumer sales are influenced by word of mouth. And personal experience products such as books, music and movies are especially susceptible to the powers of personal persuasion. No doubt all of us can think of incidents in which we have shared buzz about products with business associates, close friends and family members.
“Word of mouth has superseded any form of paid advertising, in terms of influence,” says Marian Salzman, author of Buzz: Harness the Power of Influence and Create Demand. In our world of round-the-clock media bombarding us with an average of 10,000 images daily, personal recommendations carry much more weight than conventional hype from professional spinmeisters. “Go to the trend spreaders and plant yourself intelligently on their radar,” suggests Salzman.
Perhaps the best example of a trend spreader is Oprah Winfrey. It is not unusual for sales of her latest book club selection to skyrocket into the millions of copies, many times thrusting them from the shadows of obscurity into the limelight of newfound fame. Note to trend spreader wannabes: the secret to her success is the uncanny connection she has with her audience created over years of bonding with them.
In its simplest form, the creation of buzz is about one person sharing their experience using a product or service with someone else, usually someone with whom they have an existing relationship. While trend spreading may come more naturally to some people, buzz creation is an activity that anyone can practice with positive results. Pass it on!
In the book The Anatomy of Buzz: How to Create Word of Mouth Marketing, author Emanuel Rosen points out that it’s not necessarily expensive advertising, marketing or public relations that get people to select certain products or services over others—instead it is word of mouth among consumers.
According to a May 2001 McKinsey & Co. study, 67% of U.S. consumer sales are influenced by word of mouth. And personal experience products such as books, music and movies are especially susceptible to the powers of personal persuasion. No doubt all of us can think of incidents in which we have shared buzz about products with business associates, close friends and family members.
“Word of mouth has superseded any form of paid advertising, in terms of influence,” says Marian Salzman, author of Buzz: Harness the Power of Influence and Create Demand. In our world of round-the-clock media bombarding us with an average of 10,000 images daily, personal recommendations carry much more weight than conventional hype from professional spinmeisters. “Go to the trend spreaders and plant yourself intelligently on their radar,” suggests Salzman.
Perhaps the best example of a trend spreader is Oprah Winfrey. It is not unusual for sales of her latest book club selection to skyrocket into the millions of copies, many times thrusting them from the shadows of obscurity into the limelight of newfound fame. Note to trend spreader wannabes: the secret to her success is the uncanny connection she has with her audience created over years of bonding with them.
In its simplest form, the creation of buzz is about one person sharing their experience using a product or service with someone else, usually someone with whom they have an existing relationship. While trend spreading may come more naturally to some people, buzz creation is an activity that anyone can practice with positive results. Pass it on!
Monday, May 31, 2004
Learning to Listen
It has been said that God gave us two ears and only one mouth, indicating the proper proportion of listening to speaking. And statistics make it apparent that listening is a lifelong lesson for us all to learn.
Of all the four communication skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—listening is the most frequently used. Research suggests that we spend about 70% of our waking hours communicating, with about 40% of that time spent listening, 35% speaking, 16% reading and 9% writing.
One of the most effective techniques for learning to listen is capitalizing on thought speed. While we speak about 125 words a minute, we mentally process information at about four or five times that rate, so the closer we pay attention the more we remember.
And good listeners also realize that listening has a visual component, as nonverbal factors contribute as much as 80% of message meaning. Such factors as voice tones, voice volume, facial expressions, hand gestures, and body posture can all carry important meaning.
When all is said and done, enhanced listening centers primarily on common sense and courtesy. Perhaps the most applicable rule to follow is simply a revised version of the Golden Rule: “listen to others as you would have them listen to you.”
It has been said that God gave us two ears and only one mouth, indicating the proper proportion of listening to speaking. And statistics make it apparent that listening is a lifelong lesson for us all to learn.
Of all the four communication skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—listening is the most frequently used. Research suggests that we spend about 70% of our waking hours communicating, with about 40% of that time spent listening, 35% speaking, 16% reading and 9% writing.
One of the most effective techniques for learning to listen is capitalizing on thought speed. While we speak about 125 words a minute, we mentally process information at about four or five times that rate, so the closer we pay attention the more we remember.
And good listeners also realize that listening has a visual component, as nonverbal factors contribute as much as 80% of message meaning. Such factors as voice tones, voice volume, facial expressions, hand gestures, and body posture can all carry important meaning.
When all is said and done, enhanced listening centers primarily on common sense and courtesy. Perhaps the most applicable rule to follow is simply a revised version of the Golden Rule: “listen to others as you would have them listen to you.”
Monday, May 17, 2004
Digesting the Data
According to the U.S. Library of Congress, 128 million items, including nearly 30 million books, are housed on 530 miles of bookshelves at the world’s largest repository of information in Washington, D.C. About 100,000 books are published each year in America alone. As one observer has said, “‘Print control’ is probably more urgent than birth control.’”
A single edition of today’s New York Times contains more information than an 18th century American would have encountered in an entire lifetime. And on the World Wide Web, total information available is doubling every 2.8 years. In other words, if you think life is complex now, in three years you’ll have twice as much noise to sift through just to get stuff done.
From a professional standpoint, business practices and assumptions constantly become obsolete, but most of us never see the new trends emerging. As all the statistics suggest, the problem is not a lack of data on which to base our assessment.
Indeed, according to Trends newsletter, more unique information was created in the last couple of years alone than is accessible from all prior human existence combined. It’s incredible to think about and even more so to comprehend.
The lesson to be learned here is that about 80% of communication has a major problem: the information doesn’t require action, or it requires action but there are no consequences of doing nothing. My suggestion for cutting through the data smog is to be more selective in personal media consumption with a goal of using it, not simply perusing it.
According to the U.S. Library of Congress, 128 million items, including nearly 30 million books, are housed on 530 miles of bookshelves at the world’s largest repository of information in Washington, D.C. About 100,000 books are published each year in America alone. As one observer has said, “‘Print control’ is probably more urgent than birth control.’”
A single edition of today’s New York Times contains more information than an 18th century American would have encountered in an entire lifetime. And on the World Wide Web, total information available is doubling every 2.8 years. In other words, if you think life is complex now, in three years you’ll have twice as much noise to sift through just to get stuff done.
From a professional standpoint, business practices and assumptions constantly become obsolete, but most of us never see the new trends emerging. As all the statistics suggest, the problem is not a lack of data on which to base our assessment.
Indeed, according to Trends newsletter, more unique information was created in the last couple of years alone than is accessible from all prior human existence combined. It’s incredible to think about and even more so to comprehend.
The lesson to be learned here is that about 80% of communication has a major problem: the information doesn’t require action, or it requires action but there are no consequences of doing nothing. My suggestion for cutting through the data smog is to be more selective in personal media consumption with a goal of using it, not simply perusing it.
Friday, April 16, 2004
Savoring the Sabbath
A timely cure for our harried and hurried times is a Scripture that is always in season: “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” For too many, remembering the Sabbath has been a drudgery more than a delight, yet it was designed to be a blessing not a curse.
Indeed, it is a timeless solution for modern maladies like sleep deprivation and other stress disorders. For as Gordon Dahl noted, “Most middle class Americans tend to worship their work, to work at their play, and to play at their worship.”
Judith Shulevitz, writing in The New York Times, observed that “the Sabbath, the one day in seven dedicated to rest by divine command, has become the holiday Americans are most likely never to take.”
In her articulate call to savor the Sabbath, Shulevitz suggested that, “the Sabbath is to the week what the line break is to poetic language. It is the silence that forces you to return to what came before to find its meaning. We have to remember to stop because we have to stop to remember.”
I am reminded often of the mantra from my favorite jazz station: “relax, refresh, renew.” Such words of wisdom may fall on deaf ears much of the time, but to me it is not only music to my ears but also a salve for my soul.
A timely cure for our harried and hurried times is a Scripture that is always in season: “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” For too many, remembering the Sabbath has been a drudgery more than a delight, yet it was designed to be a blessing not a curse.
Indeed, it is a timeless solution for modern maladies like sleep deprivation and other stress disorders. For as Gordon Dahl noted, “Most middle class Americans tend to worship their work, to work at their play, and to play at their worship.”
Judith Shulevitz, writing in The New York Times, observed that “the Sabbath, the one day in seven dedicated to rest by divine command, has become the holiday Americans are most likely never to take.”
In her articulate call to savor the Sabbath, Shulevitz suggested that, “the Sabbath is to the week what the line break is to poetic language. It is the silence that forces you to return to what came before to find its meaning. We have to remember to stop because we have to stop to remember.”
I am reminded often of the mantra from my favorite jazz station: “relax, refresh, renew.” Such words of wisdom may fall on deaf ears much of the time, but to me it is not only music to my ears but also a salve for my soul.
Thursday, April 01, 2004
Countering the Critics
With more than 100 million books in print in the United States the last dozen years, best-selling author John Grisham personifies publishing prowess. Yet the critics still hound him doggedly, as if commercial success somehow disqualifies someone from being considered legitimately good at their craft.
To his credit, Grisham generally tries not to pay the critics much attention. “I’ve sold too many books to ever be taken seriously by critics,” he told the Associated Press. “What I think about is making the best book I’ve ever written. That’s my goal every time.”
I think that is an attitude worth emulating and it reminds me of a quote attributed to Teddy Roosevelt: “It is not the critic who counts…the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.” While I’m on the subject of Grisham, I must admit that I like his sense of priorities also. Included below is an insightful excerpt from his interview with the Associated Press.
“His workday usually begins at 6 a.m., when he walks out to a small cottage behind his home and writes about 10 pages by noon. The cottage has no telephone, no fax machine and nothing to distract him but two slips of paper hanging on his wall—his children’s sports schedules. ‘I guess you can see what’s important,’ said Grisham. ‘We never miss a game.’”
As Grisham’s comment indicates, family is forever while fame is fleeting, so we need to treat them accordingly. This reminds me of a thought-provoking Scripture: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” [What is dearest to him, in other words.] It’s food for thought.
With more than 100 million books in print in the United States the last dozen years, best-selling author John Grisham personifies publishing prowess. Yet the critics still hound him doggedly, as if commercial success somehow disqualifies someone from being considered legitimately good at their craft.
To his credit, Grisham generally tries not to pay the critics much attention. “I’ve sold too many books to ever be taken seriously by critics,” he told the Associated Press. “What I think about is making the best book I’ve ever written. That’s my goal every time.”
I think that is an attitude worth emulating and it reminds me of a quote attributed to Teddy Roosevelt: “It is not the critic who counts…the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.” While I’m on the subject of Grisham, I must admit that I like his sense of priorities also. Included below is an insightful excerpt from his interview with the Associated Press.
“His workday usually begins at 6 a.m., when he walks out to a small cottage behind his home and writes about 10 pages by noon. The cottage has no telephone, no fax machine and nothing to distract him but two slips of paper hanging on his wall—his children’s sports schedules. ‘I guess you can see what’s important,’ said Grisham. ‘We never miss a game.’”
As Grisham’s comment indicates, family is forever while fame is fleeting, so we need to treat them accordingly. This reminds me of a thought-provoking Scripture: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” [What is dearest to him, in other words.] It’s food for thought.
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