Divine Design

Hey World,

I know its been a while, apologies but the universe has been keeping me busy. If you hadn't already noticed, some would say I am relatively spiritual not on a sciencetology level but more on the enlightenment tip.

Any who my spirituality has led me to be a strong believer in divine design which is the universe's way of rewarding intention, passion and purpose. That said the universe was definately listening to my intention, passion and purpose when it put me in the path of Nick Jankel-elliott, broadcaster, practical philosopher, leadership expert and personal development coach. Since our meeting we have been working on what I see as the future of mass collaboration and peer-to-peer learning, hence my lack of blog love, dont fear though things are back in order.

I really just want to make the point to one and all, of how important it is to first understand what it you really want, and then to dedicate as much time as possible to achieving it, then be patient and things will start to happen.

Mash-up Society

I was sent a great mashup video link this week, Like most mash-ups some talented person has spent time finding, editing and remixing different footage to make a brand new entertaining video.

As we see so many of these videos sometimes we forgot or just don't appreciate the skill involved in creating one, the video below is great example of the talent it takes to produce great content.

Another quick thought, is what we can achieve in this increasingly connected world, lets all try and make the internet a better place. Enjoy

Sometimes things are just meant to be....

I am sure you have all been in situations that are coincidental some call it fate others destiny, some just put it down to luck. I like to call it divine design, a phrase coined by Deepak Chopra, the author of the infamous ' Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. In this very book Deepak, talks about the law of least effort, and how we all manifest everything that happens within a lives. He states once we recognise this, and become conscious of our thoughts, we can apply the law of least effort, to bring us everything we desire.

I'm sure the sceptic in you is saying yeah right, well check this for a story. I have been living the life of a freelance marketing consultant for while now, I have worked with some amazing people, but as you know the freelance world can be a bit sparadic. Because of this I thought it may be good to get a part-time marketing position for 2-3 days a week to tide me over. Within 24 hours of breathing life into this thought, I check Gumtree and see what in essence appears to be the perfect job post. So perfect that I dont think I could have wrote a more fitting job description myself.

'A marketing assistant / exec assistant to grow our business and consumer brands, help radically raise our profile, and change the world a little bit.' http://www.inner-revolution.com/

I haven't got the position yet, but if this doesn't demonstrate the law of least effort I dont know what does. So in closing the more aware we become of the power within I thought, the more successful as people we are.

Three reasons why fear is a creative's friend

For the creative person, fear is always nearby. But in spite of the close proximity, it’s usually a very strained relationship. Fear is one of those emotions that most of us are trying not to have. Because it doesn’t feel good, it’s been coded as a so-called “negative” emotion. And we’re so keen to avoid this negative emotion that we find ourselves avoiding situations that elicit fear for us, so we code the fear-inducing situations as “negative” as well.

But, fear isn’t bad at all. All emotions have a positive purpose that serves us. Have you ever thought about the positive purpose of your fear?

Fear is a signal you’re learning

Because we’re designed this way, we tend to respond to ALL unfamiliar experiences with fear - even if they’re not dangerous. So long as you’re taking yourself into new territory, and growing, you’ll always feel some fear along the way. From a creativity point of view, fear is useful because it makes you more alert when you’re learning and growing. And fear is a signal that you’re learning. In fact, if you’re telling yourself you’re learning in a particular area of your life, yet you’re not feeling any fear in that area of your life, you’re probably not learning.

Fear lets you know what’s important to you

A third purpose of fear is that fear let’s us know what’s really important to us. Think about it: when something isn’t important to you, you probably don’t care what happens with it, and you won’t feel fear then. It’s the stuff that’s closest to our hearts, that we really care about, that we feel the most fear about - because it matters to us how things work out. With so many choices available to us these days, alot of creative people find it difficult to figure out what’s really important to them and decide what they want in life. A really counter-intuitive, but easy way to figure whether something is genuinely important to you is to notice how much fear you have about it. The more important it is to you, the bigger your fear will probably be.

Fear holds creative tension

When there’s an unresolved problem or a gap between where we are and where we want to be, a tension develops. The bigger the gap, the greater the tension, and fear we’ll feel. Alot of the time, in order to relieve the tension, we change our vision of where we want to be or stop asking that unresolved question. Successful creative's embrace this tension, knowing that tension is an important part of the creative process. Creative tension motivates our unconscious mind to continue searching for a resolution, even while we go on with our other tasks or go to sleep at night, those epiphanies that you have, where the idea just seems to have popped into your head out of nowhere.

So next time you feel afraid, stop and remind yourself that fear works. And then check which purpose your fear is serving, and ask yourself, “Knowing that this is the purpose of my fear, what would I love to do next?”

Adidas TV

Branded TV stations have had a chequered history. Audi TV launched in 2005 to a mixed reception, but is still going strong. Meanwhile, Bud.tv from Budweiser recently pulled the plug as it failed to attract the young, male-dominated crowd it was targeting as visitors to its 'destination' website.

So what will the fate be for adidas.tv, which soft-launched last week on adidas.com's basketball sub-site? There already seems some controversy surrounding the launch.

A selection of adidas-branded video clips could be downloaded from the beta site via a free adidas-branded player and embedded into blogs or any one of 25 social networks that are compatible with the service. This is great branding tool for adidas that will help spread its content far and wide across the net. There was also the adidas.tv widget which will relay regular content updates when these become available on the hub. The site was initially slated to offer 75 clips created by adidas and its partners, but this is expected to increase quickly, with channels covering specific sports, alongside a dedicated adidas Originals channel hosting short films. In short, adidas.tv is expected to become a hub for all adidas video content.

I believe adidas is well positioned to create content which is well suited to the sports community and will be picked up across the web by there intended audience. That isn't to say that every brand can provide the correct engaging content for the audience they serve. Adidas has a history of non-traditional marketing, and regular gets involved in collabarations which don't necceasarilly just embrace sport culture but youth culture in general. This is why i think adidas.tv wil be a success. I am sure more brands which try and follow suit as it becomes increasingly difficult to reach your target audience, as media becomes more and more diverse.

How be to a Mastermind

There has been a lot of talk in the blogosphere recently around the topic of the 'Mastermind'. Eben Pagan says 'Possibly the most important and profound action you can take to create change, transformation and success in your life is to build and participate in a “MasterMind.”'

So I guess your wondering what is a MasterMind?

A MasterMind is a group of people who have common interests and goals, who get together on a regular basis to support each other in growth and development toward actualizing those interests and goals. It’s a dedicated group of people who share at least some values, perspectives and objectives in common, who understand that the power of the “group mind” is exponentially more powerful than the sum of the individual minds from which the group is composed.

The first person that explicitly described the concept in detail is Napoleon Hill (in his book “Think And Grow Rich”).

Hill said that no individual can achieve great power with out a MasterMind. My experience (and the experience of every powerful person I know) confirms this idea.

One of the most “magical” powers of the MasterMind is that it affects you on a subconscious level… without you having to “do” anything.

We humans are programmed by everything that happens around us. We tend to be MOST programmed by what we see, hear, and experience others doing.

Not what we read, not what we think, not what we feel. We’re influenced by the OTHERS around us. We literally become those that we surround ourselves with.

Want to know how much a person makes per year? Find their five closest friends and average their incomes. That’s the answer.

Want to know how healthy a person is? Find their five closest friends and average their health.

Want to know what a person’s aspirations are?

You get the picture.

So how does one create a MasterMind group, and how does one make sure that they’re doing it “right”?

Here are a few pointers, based on my experience:

1. Make sure most of the people in the MasterMind are FAR beyond you. At least 3-5 years down the road you’re trying to travel. 5-10 years is even better. This isn’t a non-profit organization or a charity event, so don’t treat it like one. You’re in this to GROW. (All the while knowing that if you grow to your full potential, you’ll be able to do much more effective charity work later in your life.)
2. If you do allow others who are behind you on the road to success in your chosen area, make sure that they have MASSIVE POTENTIAL. You’d better be feeling in your gut that they’re a super-star, and it’s only a matter of time before they pass you.
3. Meet regularly in person. If you are located in different geographic locations, it’s fine to meet by phone often. But get together live, in-person regularly.
4. It’s great to have a few different MasterMinds for different parts of your life. A physical-health based MasterMind can be just as valuable to you personally as a financial MasterMind. Again, just make sure that the members are beyond you.
5. Make sure that the people you invite to the MasterMind can add massive value to the OTHER MEMBERS. Remember, you’re inviting people who are beyond you. They’re going to get a lot more value from the group and the other members than they are from you. Carefully select members who will get value from each other. Keep yourself out of the equation mentally.
6. Be the “hassle remover” for the group. Handle the schedule. Handle the details. Do the annoying administrative stuff that noone else wants to do. You be the one to set up the teleconference bridge meeting line, or the meeting space reservations. You be the one to walk next door and tell the neighbors to be quiet because they’re disturbing your meeting. You be the one to go out and get more drinks for the group because everyone is thirsty.
7. Remember, the value to you isn’t the tangible things you’re going to get. Don’t focus on material gain. What you’re going to get is the personal GROWTH that comes from being around evolved beings. Let the others have the perks and material rewards of the group. You sit back like the “dumb fox” and allow your mind to receive the higher-level transmissions that are coming from the others around you.

DJ Vinroc - The Art of Beat Making: "Believe"

I am a sucker for short film, and DJ Vinroc latest video making a beat for his song "Believe" plays like a short film, I thought I would share my appreciation, check it out below. ENJOY


The Art of Beat Making "Believe"-Vinroc from Vinroc on Vimeo.