You’re Obliged

You’re obliged to buy that car you saw during the commercial break for that TV show you’re obliged to watch while eating that burger and fries you’re obliged to buy and drip ketchup on the shirt you were obliged to get to look like that guy you’re obliged to watch play basketball in the arena named after the airline you’re obliged to fly to the city where everything stays and where you’re obliged to spend your vacation in the hotel your friend recommended as you two were drinking coffee from the place everyone obliges to buy their morning stimulants.

No. You’re not.

You’re obliged to create the things in this world that no one but you can create except the person with your experience, skills, passions, attitude and personality.

So, if you feel the pressure to be the consumer instead of the creator. Do me a favor.

Oblige me.

February 3, 2012 – 9:00 am | By DUST!N | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (1)

Creating is Serving

If you are a creator, sometimes the typical motivation of money, deadlines and productivity are not enough. There are days when it is hard to write the thousand words you set as your goal or make those ten phone calls to land a gig. For the creator, an additional motivator should be the act of …

Read More →

January 27, 2012 – 9:00 am | By DUST!N | Posted in Creativity, inspiration | Comments (0)

What happens when you stop posting?

What happens when you stop posting articles? Based on my experience, your blog begins to die slowly. You can let it die. You can fight like hell to revive it. You can half-heartedly allow it to languish in limbo. Your past creations propping it up like an iron lung. This is cruel, both to you …

Read More →

January 25, 2012 – 3:39 pm | By DUST!N | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (2)

How do you relate to memes?

A meme is defined as “an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture.” This could be anything from fauhawks, to LOL Cats to how you practice religion or whether or not you recycle. We often unconsciously make decisions on how we relate to these memes. We can easily consume and be …

Read More →

October 21, 2011 – 7:00 am | By DUST!N | Posted in memes, Persuasion, Society | Comments (0)

A Vision of Possibility

I have been reading Roz and Benjamin Zander’s FASCINATING book called The Art of Possibility. I have known of Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, through friends who have heard him speak and more recently by his famous TED talk.  Even though his presentation at TED is highly inspirational, I was not prepared …

Read More →

October 14, 2011 – 9:21 am | By DUST!N | Posted in human spirit, inspiration, Recession, Success | Comments (0)

At Their Mercy

We love our independence. It is an empowering thought to imagine all of our needs being met within our own power. It is also inaccurate. We do not entirely depend on others for our success, failure or enjoyment; but our experiences are directly influenced by other individuals. When I call customer support, the person on the …

Read More →

October 7, 2011 – 9:39 am | By DUST!N | Posted in Customer Experience | Comments (0)

Critical Anecdotal Mass

While staying with some relatives, my wife and I visited their church. The pastor began his message with an anecdote, a personal story involving him and his wife during their dating years. The story was humorous and seemed to get the attention of the church congregation. He then continued into a 3-point sermon about… something. …

Read More →

September 30, 2011 – 8:30 am | By DUST!N | Posted in brand you, Branding, Customer Experience, Personal Brand, Professional Development | Comments (0)

Never Outgrow Inspiration

I’ve probably mentioned my grandparents owned a grocery store as I was growing up. Both my parents worked there, along with uncles, aunts, cousins and other members of my rural hometown in Kellyville, Oklahoma. At the front of this store sat a large, wooden display rack with magazines and comic books stacked together like fans …

Read More →

September 23, 2011 – 7:00 am | By DUST!N | Posted in Creativity, inspiration | Comments (6)

The Elephant and the Fruit Fly

There are a lot of allegorical references to how speed is the answer to ruling your market. It is true that being first to market is a powerful positioning tool. We have flipped the story of the tortoise and the hare. We have accepted that faster equals better. But what if the key indicator of …

Read More →

November 12, 2010 – 12:56 pm | By DUST!N | Posted in Advertising, Branding, Communication, Marketing, Viral Marketing, Word of Mouth | Comments (0)

9 Lives

Cats don’t have 9 lives. Most of them are perceptive and nimble creatures. Growing up, we actually had a cat that wasn’t perceptive or nimble. He fell on his back ALL THE TIME. Needless to say, he didn’t last long in rural Oklahoma. But this isn’t a cat blog, so I’ll get to the point. …

Read More →

June 11, 2010 – 6:45 am | By DUST!N | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (3)

On Being Patronizing

I rented and watched the movie The Soloist the other day. I want to buy it now. My wife asked me if I really thought we would watch the film enough to justify buying it. I don’t. I just want to support a good film and have it as a reminder of its message. This …

Read More →

June 10, 2010 – 6:45 am | By DUST!N | Posted in human spirit, Seth Godin, Society, Word of Mouth | Comments (0)

Mighty Might

“People might laugh at me.” “I might lose it all.” “You might say no.” “Might” is mighty. It holds so much power over us. It makes many decisions for us. It enslaves us to the safe and known… as long as we allow it to. By living in the “might” of the moment, we lose …

Read More →

June 6, 2010 – 5:04 pm | By DUST!N | Posted in brand you, Personal Brand | Tagged , | Comments (2)

Mothers are an Invention of Necessity

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there. We need you… or we wouldn’t be here. I’m a lucky one. I’m blessed with a wonderful mother of my kids, and a wonderful mother of my own.

Read More →

May 9, 2010 – 12:49 am | By DUST!N | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Write Your Name in The Margin

The world continues to move at ever-increasing speed. Twitter is not going to slow down for you to catch your breath. Not only is work filling your day, but so are non-profits. Even consumer marketing seems to be vying for your time (“Visit our website.” “Fill out this survey.” “Engage in these conversations.”) instead of …

Read More →

April 16, 2010 – 11:58 am | By DUST!N | Posted in brand you, Personal Brand, Professional Development, Society, Success | Comments (0)

“Post-It Note” Your Brand

We’ve talked about the difficulty in discerning your unique, personal brand. Here’s an exercise that can help you see a snapshot of your life and/or career, and ultimately help you define the ‘Brand Called You’ (ala Tom Peters). Post-It Note Timeline First, you’ll need three colors of Post-It Notes. In this example, we’ll be using …

Read More →

January 15, 2010 – 8:00 am | By DUST!N | Posted in brand you, Branding, Personal Brand, Professional Development, Purpose | Comments (2)