hazy stars

Lesson 4: Are You Afraid of the Dark?

This week, Artie Isaac treated a group of us Youngsters to a rather delicious lunch at The Indian Oven and an even more enjoyable conversation.

The topic: What would you do if you had no fear?

While waiting for our food, we were each given the assignment of writing down 3 things. What would you do if you had no fear? What are the obstacles preventing you from overcoming these fears? What fears have you overcome in the past year?

This is an exercise that everyone should take a moment to complete.

What did I learn from the experience? No one is exempt from fear. Fear is both harmful and healthy. It paralyzes and it activates.

Fear and stress are interrelated, if not interchangeable terms. Both can stimulate the same physiological responses. Both are debilitating as well as detrimental to our well being. Fears can prevent us from achieving true actualization. Fear is paralyzing.

Fear is also a natural response to threatening stimulus. Fear can protect us from being harmed. There are reasons why man should fear potential harmful or fatal stimuli. Fear heightens our senses and enables us to make split second decisions. Think of the fight-or-flight response. Fear is activating.

Everyone has different coping mechanisms for dealing with fear. Articulating fear is a powerful step to take in overcoming it. It allows you to organize your thoughts and feelings as well as put fear in prospective.

Fear makes us vulnerable. Vulnerability in itself is a great fear. In order to overcome our fear, sometimes we must make ourselves vulnerable to others by confiding in them. Talking about my fears with my fellow Youngsters was an invigorating experience. Some empathized and shared the same fears. This made me feel better that I was not alone. Others provided positive feedback on how to overcome those fears. And some just listened.

It is hard to open up the emotional inner workings of our mind to others, especially co-workers. The fact that we all could do it so openly, without judgment and with complete support, shows how truly special and unique the Young Isaac team is. Hopefully you all have the same type of camaraderie and trust with your fellow co-workers.

HTGP: Artie's Addition

The previous 3 installments of "How To Get Promoted" were graciously borrowed from Ogilvy & Mather. These next 6 suggestions are a continuation written by Artie Isaac, refounder of Young Isaac, Inc. Take them to heart.

16. BE THOROUGH

God is in the details. Emotional visionaries (clients and bosses) dwell on the lone typo, the one pig-out-of-a-blanket. Don't let carelessness hide your genius. Proof everything you write. Find someone critical to check your work. Why embarrass yourself later?

17. BE YOURSELF

Life is too short to pretend. Bring your own style to your life. It may cost you a job someday, but it will never bring on schizophrenia. And you'll enjoy a career that feels, deep-down, right for you.

As the old Scottish proverb says: "Be happy while your living, because you're a long time dead."

18. DON'T SPIN YOU WHEELS

Work smart. Work fast. Get things done. Then go home and invest your free time. Relax your mind. Play smart. On-the-job, your time is billable; off-the-job, your time is priceless. (This line is absolutely brilliant).

19. KNOW HOW OTHERS PERCIEVE YOU

In interpersonal relationships, as in public relations, "Perception defines reality." Wearing a bowtie has taught me that, if someone thinks you are a geek, they'll treat you like a geek. When everyone dismisses you as a geek, it doesn't matter whether they're right or wrong - you ARE a geek.

Do your colleagues and clients value your ability to think? Why? Why not?

20. FULFILL YOUR PROMISES

Protect the value of your word. Always beat your boss' expectation. This will get harder. When you deliver, the expectation grows. Do what you say you will do.

21. BUILD YOUR BUSINESS

When your ideas and work expand the revenues and profits of the Group and Agency, you will find yourself responsible for more -- which is a promotion in the Agency world. Suggest business building ideas to your boo. This doesn't necessarily mean courting new clients; work on building business with new clients.

That person that helps an agency grow, soars above all others.

Truly inspiring. Pardon me while I take a moment.

"Moderate" Makeover: Blog Edition

In case you have not noticed, the title of my blog has changed. As much as I love Shakespeare, the title "All the World's a Stage" was a bit too long. So I've chosen to go with a name that I've been using since freshman year of high school for everything internet related (e-mail adresses, log-in names, and of course my AIM screen name).

hazy stars

What is the significance of hazy stars? Stars comes from my preoccupation with everything astronomical. I love learning about astonomy and I absolutely adore star gazing. All of my past art teachers can testify my love for drawing the star. In fact, if there is anything I draw well, it is stars. My bedroom in NY is the black sheep of my parents house. Each room in the house is a beautiful pastel shade with stenciling of nature. My room is a deep dark purple covered in hundreds of silver stars. Stars are my thing.

Where did hazy come from? That story is actually not hazy. Once upon a time I wanted to create an original screen name for AOL instant messenger. One requirement was the use of the word star. So I flipped through my thesaurus until I found a unique adjective to pair with it. That is how I found hazy.

Hence: hazy stars.

Also, for all of you adoring fans... (ok too soon for that). For all of you who would appreciate an e-mail update every time I write a new blog, I have added an e-mail subscribe widget box-a-ma-gigger do-da thing to the top of the left column on my blog!!! Three cheers for technoology! Hip-hip ...

Thanks for being awesome and investing your brain power and time into reading my blog. It is genuinely appreciated!

The 3rd Installment of HTGP

This is quite possibly one of the easiest blogs to write. Let us recap. Artie, my mentor first - boss second, has impressive credentials. Including working for the big dogs at Ogilvy & Mather in NYC. I've made it my job to snoop through his old files. Recently, I found something quite interesting written by Andrew Kershaw for the Ogilvy & Mather associates. It is called, "How to Be Promoted." Artie added on a few of his own suggestions and passed it around Young Isaac in 1990. I'm reviving it since the information is just as relevant today as it was then.

Review:

1. Listen
2. Ask questions
3. Read
4. Write well
5. Be a good presenter
6. Don't talk too much
7. Be sure of your facts
8. Speak out
9. Do more than asked
10. Anticipate

And now, without further ado...

11. MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOTICED

Or heard. The squeaky wheel and all that. But let it be a musical squeak. A Hungarian proverb says, rather crudely, "Not even a Mother can hear the words of her mute child."

(Artie wears a bow tie. I blind others with my hair. How do you stand out?)

12. DON'T ASK FOR A RAISE

When you ask for a raise, your boss -- if he is good -- will feel that he has failed. Either you are worth a raise, in which case he will feel guilty because he did not get you one. Or you are not worth a raise, in which case he will feel guilty because he did not explain things to you.

The proper course is to ask for more work, or for more responsibility. Oddly enough what matters is not what you earn now, but what you will earn in the future.

13. THANK PEOPLE

A lot of people, little people, will help smooth your career, and make you more successful. Be sure to thank them, loudly, and in public, or in writing. You graciousness will redound to your credit.

14. HAVE VARIED INTERESTS

Being good at a job is okay, but it tends to make you deadly dull if that is all you know. Most people have one hobby or special interest -- the outstanding people in this world are able to converse intelligently about dozens and dozens of subjects. (Note: see Ashley)

The more you know, the more valuable and interesting you are. And let you interests be known to the world; don't hide your light under a bushel.

15. KEEP FIT

Exercise, take holidays. Nobody can maintain intellectual equilibrium without physical exercise and relaxation. Your cheerfulness, your concentration, and your optimism --which should be infectious -- are adversely affected by keeping your nose to the grindstone for too long.

I've given you fifteen tips for getting promoted. None will help if you are not good at your job.

None will help if you do not work hard. And none will help if you don't enjoy what you do, your colleagues in the agency and the client.

If anyone thinks, in years to come, that I gave bad advice, ask for your money back! (This is Andrew speaking, not me. You will not get money from me).

I've not mentioned the key issue. How important is it to you to get promoted? How important is career progress in relation to family, home life, your hobby, adequate leisure, etc.

Don't be surprised -- ever -- that the person who puts career ahead of all else gets promoted faster.

Until next time...

Round 2 on HTGP

You've been up all night waiting for this. Do you have the last five suggestions memorized?

Review:

1. Listen
2. Ask questions
3. Read
4. Write well
5. Be a good presenter

Hungry for more?

6. DON'T TALK TOO MUCH (Oh this one's a doosy for Ashley)

My greatest annoyance is when, before being shown advertising, I am told: "Here is the background." The consumer or viewer is not told the "background." Why inflict it on me -- especially since the chances are I know it anyway.

It should take not more than a sentence of two to explain things. If it requires more, the idea is bad or you are making a hash of it. Great ideas are simple; they are easy to communicate.

7. BE SURE OF YOUR FACTS

Half the time, when people present things to me, they do not know all the facts. Don't let this happen to you.

8. SPEAK OUT

You are the most junior person in a meeting; but something worthwhile has occurred to you. Don't be shy: Speak Out.

Opinions and suggestions do not recognize age, experience, or seniority: Speak Out. Let them find their level and worth.

Our classic story is of the account executive who was on his way to present a new campaign. Before he got to the client, a new, unauthorized, unique storyboard fell into his hands. He sold the new campaign -- at a great risk to himself, and the agency. It was a superb campaign. And he was promoted instantly.

9. DO MORE THAN ASKED

When you get instructions to do a job, first consider how the assignment can be widened. Ask yourself: is it possible to be useful by doing more than I have been asked?

Probably the surest way of noticing outstanding performers. They always go beyond the narrow task asked for.

10. ANTICIPATE

You must anticipate your bosses' intentions. During reconnaissance for the Battle of Waterloo, Wellington dropped his glove on a little hill. One of his general returned it. Later, Wellington said to him, "I want you battery of guns where I dropped my glove." "Yes, my lord, I've already done it."

Lucille, my secretary, says: "Don't worry about a thing." What she means is, "Don't worry about the details of where and how -- I've anticipated every eventuality, and made provisions." And so she has, by God.

And thus, I leave you to ponder these next five tips. Bottom line: Unless you know your stuff, keep your yapper shut. Nothing can come from nothing, so if you know something you better speak up. Go above and beyond the call of duty. And most importantly, work like the masters play chess. Always anticipate the other player's next moves and think 5 steps ahead.

With these tools you are well on your way to going from: "Yes, sir" to: "Get me some coffee, kid."

I leave you to anticipate the next installment...

How To Get Promoted

Do I have your attention now? Excellent.

When I can rip myself from the grueling task of learning everything there is to know about everything, I like to spend some time at work rummaging through Artie Isaac's things. Which is completely acceptable since Artie is the one who said that nothing he has is off limits. Once I told him I stole his book and he told me that nothing he keeps at work is entirely his own and everyone should have access to everything. He said that no one should keep anything at work that they do not want anyone else to find or to borrow. To me this means, "Go ahead and snoop and take whatever you want".

Artie is a really fascinating man. You can imagine how cool his things are. The other day I stumbled across a memo he sent out to all his YI employees in August 1990. The heading of his memo is, "How to Build a Career." Attached to the memo is an article written by Andrew Kershaw for Ogilvy & Mather, New York. It is entitled, "How To Get Promoted". Now I will tempt you with its content.

1. LISTEN

Michael Ball (smart man, no clue who he is) says, “Many people have talked themselves out of a promotion, or out of some new business - nobody has ever listened himself out of a promotion." Don't talk unless you have something to say. Chatter annoys busy people, or your bosses, who prefer to listen to their own voices. (Ouch).

2. ASK QUESTIONS

Good questions can be memorable. Be sure they are good, and not ho-hum. A good question is one that elicits this response: "Hm, I don't know, I've not thought of that before." (This of course does not apply to the question; "Who do you think would win in a fight: Brittany Spears or Paris Hilton?)

3. READ

Read everything. (Point for Ashley). Almost indiscriminately. (That means reading my blog). Learn to read fast, and to skip.

4. WRITE WELL

Short, clear, crisp sentences. No spelling mistakes. Good grammar. Read all the books on good writing and practice. If you are not a foreigner, try harder. Foreigners write better. The greatest secrets of good writing are:
-Never dictate.
-Always edit or rewrite. (Guilty of never doing either).
-If, after many attempts, you cannot shorten it, it may be ok. (Oh, my. This blog has a long way to go).

5. BE A GOOD PRESENTER

Learn to speak properly. Watch for all the little things in my book. Above all: Practice. Presenting is theater. (All the world's a stage anyone? Buehler?) Act it out, persuade, do not try to be dry, impartial, solemn. Rehearsal is the key to learning to be a good presenter.

Five down and 16 more to go. I'll let these first five sit in. Chew, swallow, digest, and absorb them. And stay tuned.

Lost in Gen-Y Translation

Oh how I miss those days in high school when saying "word" and "your mom" were the hip phrases. It wasn't hard to keep up with the latest kid "jargon" in those days. Even for a nerd like me who refused to say curse words until her later years in high school. (Disclaimer: I still absolutely loathe curse words and only tend to use them during football games).

It seems that every decade in the past 100 years has created its own slew of terminology inspired by the time. Baby, the 1920's was riddled full of jazz age slang. Yep Daddy-O, tell it to Sweeney. Nothing has insulted the English grammar like Generation Y, though. Watch out Webster, move out of the way Oxford. Generation Y has made the dictionary its target for destruction.

The earlier half of Gen-Y, which I belong to, started the ambush on the English language. In college, we created dialogue so cryptic it could stump the world's greatest cryptologists. Thank you AOL. Yes, that is the difference between Gen-Y and all the previous generations. Online chatting became a phenomenon in the mid to late 1990's. Developed as a method to increase communication skills, AIM took the world by storm. And so began the era of the LOL.

In the beginning, e-mails and AIMs started out with a more formal grammatical structure. Time put pressure on internet users to use quicker, more casual forms of speech. Acronyms formed to take place of phrases and words too long for the average typest. Seconds were shaved from online conversations through the use of IDK, ROTFL, and BFF.

Then came the cell phones with text messaging. Now there is MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube - oh, my. Each and every one of them is accompanied by its own cute jargon. And me? I'm just as guilty as the rest when it comes to making up my own words. In a way, there is an unspoken competition between fellow Gen-yers to invent or discover the latest, hippest phrase or slang term. When it comes down to it, at the end of the day I'm still a stickler for grammar. It can be fun to receive text messages with cute little acronyms, but in order for me to invest time into a person they must be capable of speaking and writing proper English.

Even though I'm young, I'm still at the older end of the spectrum for Gen-Y (what I like to call Gen-Me). The youngest strata of Gen-Y completely perplex me. My 13 yr old cousin Jackie belongs to this self-centered, slightly delusional and brand-driven group of gibberish speakers. Since she was born and raised on Staten Island, her close proximity to NYC puts her on the cutting edge of teenage slang. When she sends me messages on MySpace, I cannot help but be appalled by her use of language. No punctuation, no capitalization, no structure. Any word capable of being spelled a different way is utterly destroyed.

For example:

"hey cuzz sup i miss u so much how r u in ohio ur mom was just at mii house and well i miss u lots u need to call me we need to talkabout grl stuff lolz na rlly we do i miss u so freakin much but i herd u quit the resturante y i wanted u to be a chef forfill the dream for us both well hun i miss u lots and call mii"

Want more? This is an excerpt from her site; "im a little in to mii self but i dont care wat u say i do go to church icc its the best i honesly have been singal4 like a year call me boyzz lolz jk jk but yeah i am singal K IM DONE LOLZ PEASE" Baffling isn't it?

My personal favorite is Gen-Y's trend of making any and every noun or adjective into a verb by adding "-ing" to it. Hey, we can call it verbing!!! And I'm definitely guilty of it. (At least I've rid myself of the "-ing it up" habit ... i.e.: macking it up). My friend Marko is an advocate of making awesome a verb. Who knows, awesoming could turn into the latest buzzword.

Maybe I'll update my Facebook status to:

Ashley is busy awesoming it up all over town.

Have you made a word today? Well Supercalifragilisticespialadocious, what are you waiting for?

YI Web Launch!

The moment we Youngsters have been anticipating for quite some time has finally arrived...

The brand spanking new Young Isaac website has gone live! And what a beauty!

The cutting edge website is a beautiful collaboration of talent between the YI creative team, our eloquent copywriters, and our new interactive director, Dan ("Dano") Weatherby. In addition, several Youngsters contributed many hours into planning, concepting, developing, and launching. Just about everyone touched the process in some way. Among other things, the internal team put in many excruciating hours just doing endless internal reviews and proofs. One does not know true perfectionism until they see the extremely critical internal review and proofing process at Young Isaac. All for good reason, though.

And the result of our hard work? (Besides the psychological effects that accompany insomnia, caffeine addiction, and obsessive compulsive disorder...). Pure brilliance! But don’t take my word for it, see for yourself!

Young Isaac presents a one of a kind interactive experience. Most companies can barely conceptualize let alone execute what YI has created. Lucky for us, our charismatic charm and manipulative wit allowed us to steal the brains and talent behind "D Interactive". After considerable wooing and serenading, "Dano" has finally fallen under the Young Isaac love spell. Although still maintaining his own interactive company, Dan is one of us. Without him we could not have produced our beautiful new love child.

The YI website is the ultimate testament of our unique and exclusive branding process and extraordinary team. The proof is in the pudding. Being a small company, we cannot afford to hire mediocre talent. Every member of the Young Isaac team is here because they are the best at what they do. Being composed of the best of the best, we naturally only want to team with the best as well. We freelance only the most articulate copywriters and partner with the utmost strategy/media/web teams. Together we are a force to be reckoned with; an allianance of talent with the mission of crafting messages to change behavior. (One could even go as far as calling us a contingent of superheroes...).

Saying this, we choose to only serve the greater good. Our work is important to us. We only partner with important clients who sell important things. If you are impressed by our work and interested in developing a partnership; contact us.

Lessons: No.3 Moderation

This is a lesson I struggle with more often than I would like. Whether it be eating, drinking, spending money, working etc ... I have rarely been satisfied by "one bite". This is not a problem if the overindulgence is harmless. No one ever died from eating excessive amounts of broccoli. Unfortunately, the things we do in excess tend to be detrimental to our well-being.

"It is better to rise from life as from a  banquet -- neither thirsty nor drunken" -Aristotle.

Being impulsive has its advantages. It keeps me on my toes. I love challenges and living in the moment. And it also has its disadvantages. For instance, I decide I want ice cream. Instead of eating 2 normal scoops, I end up eating a whole half gallon. Not all impulses should be acted on. At least not in excess.

There is a trend of attaching the suffix "-aholic" to objects or actions that people obsess over. The dictionary meaning for -aholic                     (ə häl′ik): One who exhibits an obsessive need for or interest in (something specified).  One that is addicted to or compulsively in need of. For example: workaholic, chocoholic, shopaholic. 

Everything in moderation. My mother loves to say that to me. It is easier said than done. For me, sometimes it is easier to completely abstain from something. Abstinence prevents the temptation to indulge in excess.

"To many, total abstinence is easier than perfect moderation" -Saint Augustine.

Then again, life is way too short for complete restraint. I don't believe in denial. Especially of the things that bring the greatest pleasure. If you love something, then let yourself indulge every once in awhile. Have your cake and eat it too. (Afterall, what other reason would you have a cake than to eat it?) "Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit" William Somerset Maugham.

Just take heed. Moderation may not always be the most attractive option, but it is usually the best one for you. "Temperate temperance is best; intemperate temperance injures the cause of temperance" -Mark Twain.

Lessons: No.2 - Self Loyalty

"This above all: to thine ownself be true" -William Shakespeare.

My mother has said this to me a countless number of times throughout the years. It has always been a little motto of mine.

My decision to go into advertising was not random or impulsive. (Although, impulsiveness is a weakness of mine I've been fighting for years.) Before making the career leap, I knew that I needed to be properly educated. So I sought council from Artie Isaac, a man whom I perceived to be a genius in the field. He graciously accepted my meetings and serviced my requests for knowledge. It was not my intention to solicit a job from him. All I wanted was to know what I had to do to get to where I wanted to go.

But then he had to go and say something that changed my mind. It was at that moment I knew I had to work for him. We were sitting in a small tea cafe, enjoying a rich chocolate cookie and great conversation when ... BAM he hits me with a metaphor laced with a powerful message. My version is the cookie version, since we were eating a cookie. For others I have heard the potato chip version. Make it what you will.

"I'm a cookie man. I love cookies. My family loves cookies. We buy cookies, eat cookies, and make cookies. However, I will not sell cookies. At the end of the day I do not want to be know as the peddler of junk food."

The bottom line is you cannot sacrifice your values and morals for the purpose of greed. Otherwise you will be risking not only your self-identity, but also your sanity and well-being.

This is why I work for Young Isaac. We help important people sell important things, which is important to me.