There is a retail store in San Antonio that sells wedding related merchandise and has been selling t-shirts, sweatshirts and mugs bearing the Feyoncé mark. One mug reads "Feyoncé - he put a ring on it".
Beyoncé filed suit against the San Antonio, Texas-based defendants earlier this year, alleging that they “have willfully traded upon the goodwill and notoriety of Beyoncé, arguably one of the most famous musical artists and entrepreneurs in the world” by offering for sale an array of “infringing merchandise...” This week the courts handed Beyoncé a loss, saying that consumers are unlikely to confuse her name with the Feyoncé brand.
I think the merchandise is fun. I think their idea is super creative. Is it an infringement? - well - the courts ruled it wasn't.
Most ideas are actually not new. They are a modification or improvement or they built on other ideas. There are many ways Beyoncé could have responded to this situation. Her Company chose the lawsuit route. I see other options - one being a partnership. These Texas ladies came up with a very innovative play on the song and Beyoncé name. Beyoncé might have connected with them to partner on the merchandise - increasing her good will and fan base and supporting the business.
I have a friend that makes and sells yoga leggings. She was wearing them to a yoga class she was attending and a fellow yogi inquired about her pants. She shared her business and passion in a private conversation with that woman that was overheard by the yoga studio manager. She was reprimanded and directed not to discuss her business in the studio. What?! The studio could have realized that members really liked my friend's pants and offered to partner on selling the pants in the studio instead of policing private conversations (in which you are allowed to discuss anything you want to).
So many times we push to be right and make the other person wrong instead of stepping back and seeing opportunities to work together.
What are your stories? What opportunities have been missed because of the knee-jerk reaction to correct and be right instead of seeing opportunity. What is at risk?
I attended a play at the Alley Theatre recently here in Houston with family and friends. The play was Holmes and Watson. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was tired of writing about Sherlock and wanted to get into other things so he killed him off in 1893 - both Holmes and his arch enemy Moriarty went over a cliff and died. Or did they? There was such an uproar from the public that Doyle eventually brought him back.
In this play, three men in an asylum all claiming to be Sherlock Holmes are discovered and Watson is called in to determine which one is the real Sherlock. At the beginning of the play Watson introduces himself and shares what he has been called to do. You are immediately wrapped up in the situation, believing everything he says.
But is he telling the truth?
It turns out he wasn't. But because we were initially led to believe that he was in the beginning we accepted that at face value and went through the entire play observing the story as if the real Watson was the man that introduced himself. How different the play would be if we went back to see it again knowing who he really was.
The same is true for The Sixth Sense that came out in 1999. In the movie, a boy who communicates with spirits seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist. It's ok for me to reveal it after all this time that the psychologist was actually deceased in the movie and didn't realize it. But the first time you saw the movie you had no idea. And once you knew the catch, and went back to see the movie again - it was such an interesting watch from the new perspective.
We are all so quickly pulled into situations accepting things at face value. We need to go a little deeper and stay open to possibilities. How easily our lives get influenced by our first impressions. What a great risk it is not to question and remain curious. Stay aware - stay curious my friends.
I bring cold eucalyptus scented towels to my Sunday indoor cycle class as a treat for the participants. Why? About two years ago I stayed at a hotel on the beach with some friends for a few days. Every day while we were out at the pool they brought around cold scented towels. They were a welcome relief from the heat. As I enjoyed their cooling effects I thought they would be a great treat for my cycle class members. So when I returned home I purchased some washcloths and essential oils and made a batch for my next cycle class. They were such a hit, I still continue the process.
The other day, a young woman came up to me after class and thanked me dearly for the towel. She said she wouldn't have made it through class without it. She loved my class and the towels. She said was about to leave class at the halfway point (it was about that time I brought them around), but the towel saved her. She then proceeded to tell me that ever since she went through chemotherapy for breast cancer she couldn't tolerate the heat and 30 minutes of cycling was all she could handle at a time. I was so glad I was able to give someone exactly what they needed at exactly the right time without knowing then how much I was really helping them. Isn't that a cool feeling? We probably do it more often than we know, but don't always get told about it.
She then shared she was going to have some additional surgery in two days and was going to be at the gym working out the next morning in weight lifting class since she didn't know when she was going to be able to come back to the gym. I filed that comment away and told her I would be thinking of her on surgery day.
On the way home I decided to Go the Extra Mile. I stopped at the store and bought a pack of washcloths affixed with a pretty bow and a bottle of eucalyptus oil. I packaged them up in a colorful little bag with tissue paper and put it in the car to take to the gym the next morning. I don't normally go to the gym on Mondays, but decided I was going to get up the next day and attend the weight lifting class that member was going to be in.
Sure enough she was there, just like she promised herself. I gave her the package and she was delighted to find what was inside. It made both of us so happy. I just saw her at the gym tonight and the surgery went well. She looked happy and healthy.
We see it and do it all the time. Maybe it isn't so noticeable - because it is part of how you act all the time - or we are not aware of every little thing other people do. I noticed it recently when I visited the bulk discount Sam's club. When I entered the store, there was the greeter getting a cart ready for me, pulling it out of the tightly packed cart line and cleaning it off with a sanitary wipe. How wonderful I thought. But it stood out even more the next time I went to the store and the greeter was just sitting behind a table looking bored. That made the person that pulled out my cart even more special - and it reminded me to pay more attention to noticing people going the extra mile.
There's a Chick-Fil-A commercial airing about a woman with several children that had a hard time getting them all together to get to the Chick-Fil-A restaurant in time in the evenings for family night. A restaurant worked realized her plight and was able to get the family night hours extended by an hour so this woman would be able to treat her family. That is Going the Extra Mile. It first involves noticing - then it takes action.
I encourage you to Go the Extra Mile and connect with people at a deeper level. What's the risk if you do? What's the risk if you don't?
In July, we visited family in Minnesota - the land of 10,000 lakes. I was talking with my niece, Amy, about plans for the week and we started to throw out ideas around what we could do to enjoy the area. SUP - Stand Up Paddleboarding came up as an option. Neither of us had ever done it so the idea sounded fun, adventurous and a tiny bit scary all packed into one. I suggested we could do some yoga on the boards too, as teaching yoga was one of my many treasured jobs. Amy checked in with her sister by phone for tips and then checked out which lakes had the sport option. We opted for the closer lake. Her sister assured us it was easy to pick up the techniques and the rental company would surely give us a lesson on how to SUP. So we changed into our bathing suits and headed to the lake, still a little nervous underneath our excited facades.
It was a gorgeous sunny day and many people were out enjoying the lake, hanging out on the beach and in the water, We checked in at the equipment rental shack, but were dismayed to find that the wind speed was above the limit for paddleboarding and they couldn't rent to us. Our first reaction was disappointment - we were physically and mentally prepared. Then there were a few seconds of relief - at least on my part - that we weren't going to have to scare ourselves out on the water. We considered just hanging out on the beach to wait and see if the wind would die down. Then Amy, with her growth mindset in high gear, (mine usually is - but that day I was comfortable sitting back and not growing!), said - "let's check with the other lake, maybe their rules are different". She called them and sure enough - their wind speed limit was a lot higher, (me - silently questioning if that was a good thing or a bad thing), and we headed off to the other lake.
We arrived at the new location, a bit busier but just as beautiful (what lake isn't!), and headed toward the rental shack. Once we were checked in, we were directed to the paddleboards on the beach. The young man let us know the guy down by the water would show us what to do. We grabbed boards and headed toward him. He set mine out on the water and told me to step up, placing my feet on the markings on the board and said, "Ok - go!". "What about my lesson?", I exclaimed, "That's it! Just go!", he replied. And so I did. Amy was right behind me, and soon ahead of me though I tried to keep my paddling rate even with hers. It was a lot easier than we both expected. Though there were a few times when the wind blew us off course toward a pile of anchored boats or the side of a bridge (maybe that wind speed was a little high!) - but never too much to handle. We had a great time exploring the lakes and even tried some yoga without falling off. We were quite proud of ourselves.
I mentioned the growth and fixed mindset above. Fixed is where you believe things are as they are and your personal qualities and capabilities are carved in stone. A growth mindset believes that you can develop your qualities through your efforts, strategies and help from others. I like to apply this here - where my temporary fixed mindset believed our options were limited by one lake's rules and I threw up my hands accepting our fate while my niece's mindset didn't stop there and she set out to explore other options. (What was holding me back? - a little bit of ridiculous fear!). The growth mindset opens up the thinking to be creative and solve problems. It can be applied to our paddleboarding adventure in another way. It wasn't a skill we had and we approached it as if we could learn it anyway. We continued to express that mindset by watching others paddle and imitating their expert moves.
Your mindset may fluctuate from fixed to growth. If you stay aware you can steer it toward growth every time. What area of your life is in need of a mindset adjustment?
Occasionally I treat my yoga class with a format I've dubbed Sock Day! I bring dozens of clean socks to class and give each participant a pair. During several parts of class we put on the socks and do yoga poses, sliding from one challenging pose to another (i.e. from a forward one legged lift sliding both legs back behind us for a plank), playing with creative plank jumping jacks and with other vigorous atypical yoga poses. It is a great fun challenge for all.
One member delighted in the format and claimed we needed to do it more often. So the next time I knew he was coming to class I decided to bring my socks for a Sock Day. But I had been working late into the night for weeks on a work project and didn't have time to make up more Sock Day pose challenges. So - I decided that we would still do a Sock Day but the members would suggest poses when my list was exhausted.
And so they did.
And they were great ideas that we played with until we couldn't slide any more.
I flipped the classroom and made the students the teacher. It turned out to be a great idea that I will definitely use again.
I actually heard about it years ago at a training conference. A gentleman relayed a story in which they had a speaker set up for a session at a conference. The speaker didn't show up and they were stressed out about what they would do with the 200+ people gathered to hear him speak. The host ended up having each table in the ballroom select one subject from the missing speaker's agenda and discuss their tips on the topic. Each table ended up sharing their best tip with the whole room. It turned out to be a great alternative. (The speaker had an emergency and couldn't make the event). The attendees became the experts in the room - flipped!
So what can you flip in your organization, during your next speech, or in your work or home project to add creativity and a new twist?
We go to a conference and we collect business cards and come home and put them in a pile - and the next time we go to an event we do the same thing and bring the cards home and add them to the pile. Maybe we connect with a few of the people - but mostly we end up collecting cards and are unable to find the one we need when we need it. Does this happen to you?
We get a recommendation for a book from a friend or a speaker or a reference in an article we are reading and go to a bookstore or on Amazon and get the book and when it arrives we put it on our desk or in a basket or on a pile of other books we want to read when we get some time to read. The problem is that the precious time to read never comes - things are always getting in the way. So the books pile up and we become a book collector instead of a book reader.
We go on vacation and buy a trinket at every city or monument we visit.
We run marathons or perform a triathalon and get a t-shirt at every event.
We drink beer and collect the bottle caps.
We go to workshops and collect notes and workbooks.
We go to beaches and collect sand dollars, shells or rocks.
We are collecting and collecting. Some of the things make beautiful displays we enjoy every time we see them. Other collections sit there wanting and wishing to be enjoyed at a deeper level.
How can we ever get through the books and workshop books to enhance our personal growth? A bit of reflection on what you really want to learn about and what you need to apply right now to enhance your personal or professional life may help you sort through stacks to determine which book or workbook to start with. Thinking about that before signing up for a webinar, event or buying a book will help reduce the incoming and make your collections more manageable. Researching CRMs (Client Relationship Management) systems can help you stay in touch with your contacts. You are sure to find one that suits your needs with the number out there available.
Want more help with that? Look for my presentations on "MindFULLness for Peak Performance: The Cure for Infobesity" coming up soon under events at www.margaretajohnson.com or contact me for coaching on dealing with INFObesity - the overload of information - at margaret@ideasandbeyond.com.
All In - No Exception! Do it or don't do it but if you are going to do it - go all in.
There is a program called Whole 30 - a 30 day program in which you eliminate a number of foods from your diet including sugar, dairy, processed food and alcohol to reset your body. The point is to see how different you feel without those foods in you. Most people lose some weight, feel 100x better and even recover from some medical conditions including skin issues. You basically eat vegetables, protein (meat, fish, eggs), and some fruit. Everything is clean and as close to the source as possible. I eat that way most of the time but do enjoy an occasional Diet Coke (love those bubbles), chocolate every day and I sure can't turn down great bread at a restaurant.
I first went on the program last summer right before Hurricane Harvey hit. I decided I was all in and followed the program 100% to the tee. To me it was easier than cutting back on M&M's or limiting bread to one serving a day. Most people think it would be so hard but to me - going in 100% left out the decisions and the hemming and hawing that waste time and energy. There were no decisions to make - it wasn't allowed and I wasn't going to eat it. And I was very successful. Within two weeks I noticed significant changes in how I felt - no aches and pain, I was stronger and less tired. It was amazing. I gradually added a few things back but to this day have not had an M&M. I did try a Diet Coke one day when there wasn't anything else to drink - and it tasted like chemicals to me - so that was the end of that!
Jack Canfield, author of the book series, "Chicken Soup for the Soul" shared many of the struggles in his life including how he got rejected by over 140 publishers. In a video of his I recently viewed, he shares the story of how much easier it is to go all in at 100% versus 99% and says that 99% is a bitch and 100% is a breeze.
Are you ready to go all in? Take a chance! Take that step! Take that risk!
The steps for taking a risk are -
- select your smart/heart goal (S - specific, M - measurable, A - actionable, R - realistic, T - time-framed - Heart - means something to you - ask yourself why you want to do it and you will have the Heart part)
- get creative about ways to accomplish the goal
- select a path considering your personal risk taking style
- increase your chances of success - with research, taking more time to plan, share risk with others, try a prototype
- go all in 100% take action!
Need help staying 100% committed - give me a call and we will work out a plan and keep you on point. (281)648-0380
What do you think? Is it a bitch or a breeze? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
