Just when you thought it was safe…it gets worse. Kind of like an X-Box 360 shoot ‘em up – all metaphors have some basis – I’m in the middle of Gears of War2 – not for the faint of heart… But the good news – at least so far in the game – there is always light at the end of the tunnel. You just keep playing – get “killed.” The game loads where you left off and you are on your way – hopefully with some learning that gets you through the obstacle and closer to your objective.
So, while I’m not sure Voltaire would have approved of Gears of War2 as philosophical symbolism – actually he might have – it’s what I have today and where I’m going.
It’s all about moving forward with determination and the ability to not let the obstacles stop you. In the short term – even the best players get stymied – but learn and move on: learn and move on – it’s the rhythm of the game.
To that end I have gone for another two-quote Ramble – with deflation, shrinking budgets, falling market and general loss of confidence in the economy – it’s the only increase I can feel good about…
The first I find amazing and suggest you look up when and under what circumstances it was said:
Emergencies have always been necessary to progress. It was darkness which produced the lamp. It was fog that produced the compass. It was hunger that drove us to exploration. And it took a depression to teach us the real value of a job.
— Victor Hugo
Tough love in that thought – but how true. We do need to be grateful – and conscious of those not as fortunate – but we also need to value the work we do. And, the value our work brings…particularly in times like these.
But even so the progress doesn’t just happen. We – you — have to make it happen. There is a theory that whole populations disappeared because they couldn’t move on – cultures that fished who couldn’t figure out how to farm, farmers who couldn’t get it together to hunt – you get the picture…survival of the fittest – as I wrote about a number of weeks ago.
To that end – here is my second thought:
Only some people get what they want. Those are the people who show up to get it.
—Dianne Houston
Woody Allen has used this quote as well – I’m happy to have someone post it.
Bottom line – we have the perfect storm – it is what it is – but the outcome is what we make it.
Your call…
During the storm, the thing that break most readily are those that weren’t tied down properly, or were in the wrong place, or weren’t strong enough, and some bad luck. The test is evenly applied…
After the storm, the surviving things can be extended to fill some of the gaps. Broken things need to be replaced or rebuilt or the need for them questioned, with lessons learned and mistakes avoided.
And willing hands at all times.
Try > get killed > do it smarter before you run out of lives. It’s the gaming equivalent of the test > learn > refine cycle we’re all so familiar with.
In times like these, I guess the key is to find the balance between going in with well-planned gusto and going in like Lee Roy Jenkins (and if you’re not familiar with ol’ Lee Roy, check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkCNJRfSZBU).
You have to be really smart or have very big guns or have an amzing team around you – or, better yet, all three. Which means we should survive this storm quite nicely.
p.s. thanks for the Xbox-love, David!
It all relates to perspect …. tow-in surfers have been chasing opportunities like these all over the world for years!
http://www.wallpaperbase.com/wallpapers/movie/perfectstorm/perfect_storm_1.jpg
Argentinian Creatives assert that their campaigns are today much better, more effective, more awarded than before the 2001 crisis.
Clients in Argentina expect much more from what they invest in advertising -and so in direct marketing- so agencies have to explore more. And both have to be braver when thinking different.
Now maybe is our turn to explore…
P.S. I’m not from Argentina.