Logos

“Act Accordingly” – Colin Wright

It’s estimated that most people see tens of thousands of marketing messages a day, and you might see even more than that, depending on where you live in the world.

That’s a lot of messages. And most of them are trying to convince you of something.

To add insult to injury, many of these messages don’t even seem like marketing. Instead, a product is mentioned in a pop song or displayed in the background on a prime time dramedy.

Perhaps the most cunning of these messages, though, is the apple on your laptop. Or the swoosh on your sneakers. Or the charging bull on your energy drink can.

I say cunning because, in most cases, consumers of the products bearing these logos are more than happy to display them. In fact, they’d feel a little ripped off if they couldn’t. The logo stands for something, whether it be quality, edginess, or a certain indefinable cool that you understand, but can’t put your finger on.

These associations aren’t accidental: There are teams of very intelligent people in charge of building up the reputation of these iconic marks. They make sure their computers are used by the right people, and their energy drinks are chugged by the most influential stars for specific demographics. It’s an aspect of branding that is part art and part science, and its most shining success has been making consumers feel that by associating themselves with a certain logo—certain colors, certain words, certain songs, certain tastes, and certain packaging—they are themselves transformed into something more. They believe that some of the quality or edginess or cool displayed in commercials and magazine spreads will somehow rub off on them.

In a way, it does. It’s said that you are what you eat, and if you decide that you’re a Whole Foods person, for example, chances are you’re eating more organic, healthy foods than someone who associates themselves with the McDonald’s brand. It’s not a given, but the likelihood is higher.

This association is very superficial. The attributes that cause a person to eat healthier are not imbued by a brand; the brand simply brings these attributes to the surface. It’s encouraging to feel there are other people like you out there, and you’re not just a log floating down a lonesome river: You’re part of a movement, something bigger than yourself. This is your grocery store. Read more on The Minimalists

“Logos” is an excerpt from Colin Wright’s new book, Act Accordingly, published today by Asymmetrical Press, available in Kindle ($3) and Print ($7) editions.

Colin Wright is a minimalist, entrepreneur, and full-time traveler who travels to a new country every four months based on the votes of the readers at his blonikeg, Exile Lifestyle.

If you are near Missoula, Montana, Colin is hosting a special reading and book-signing event for Act Accordingly on 6/26.

TEDxPhnomPenh – Colin Wright – Extreme Lifestyle Experiments

 

Extreme lifestyle experiments.

The lifestyles we live, need to be conguesive to achieving whatever goal we wish to embark towards. In that to achieve our goals we need to first ask ourselves why we haven’t achieved them already. Most of the time, one has the idea and the only thing holding him away from his goal is a lack of  “resources”.

In my experience, however little it may be, I’ve found that most people who cry about their lack of resources actually just have either a lack of self belief or the lack of determination required to obtain those  missing resources. So if you ask me what seperates us from acheiveing our goals: it’s our lifestyles. Old habits that have taken years to develop and are now taking as long to part away with. The Procrastination, the excuse-making and the hours and hours of re-planning when in fact- you’re only stalling away from the real work. The work that actually gets your whole body aching and not just your fingers and thumbs.

Watching the above clip opened my eyes to something that should have been part of my life ever since I made the decision from working towards getting a University degreee to becoming an entrepreneur.

The twelve minutes I spent listening to Colin Wright begged me to answer this one vital question that I happened to have forgotten about: what is The Love?

What is this “thing” that I’m chasing? And what sparked off the passion for achieving it?

Once I got to re-answering these questions, I designed a bunch of lifestyle experiments which could ensure that the journey towards my goal (Zooloo) becomes a fluid one.

One that comes more naturally, because the love exists everyday.

I’ll be posting up a lot of these experiments throughout my start-up journey.