Blink:

When I share my thoughts regarding the accelerated transformation of societal lifestyles (e.g., fashion, health & beauty, etc.), people frequently ask whether I am spotting a trend or fad? Typically, every generation during its youth feels a burden to keep up with trends; Therefore, I usually reply – peer pressure!

Read On:

On a regular basis I read pop culture articles online associated with Gen Z, the current generation born between 1997 and 2012, ages 13 – 28 and how they are managing life. Specifically, the onslaught of noise via social media they receive every time they pick up their phones – microtrends like fast fashion, athleisure, skincare, haircare, rad jargon, etc. In Gen Z research conducted, teenagers and twentysomethings expressed their concern how many trends there were and how overwhelming/stressful it was to try to keep up, thus not feel left out. So, my query today is when a 17-year-old female buys a six-pack of assorted scrunchies from Temu, is she genuinely on trend or just trying to keep up, thus succumbing to peer pressure? My POV: Peer pressure.

 The driving factors behind the different types of peer pressure are highly complex. They can occur at any age, but research indicates the most impressionable age seems to be middle school years. Peer pressure can be either positive or negative. A short list of some driving factors:

• A Desire for Social Acceptance (a.k.a. Wanting to Fit In)
• Lack of Self-confidence/Self Esteem
• Impact On Mental and Physical Health
• Experimenting with alcohol, drugs, sexual activity, and other risky behaviors.

Opinions Welcomed!

Blink:

Stoic wisdom: “You can waste your life by drawing lines or live your life by

crossing them.”

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Today’s query. Why worry about the lines? I suggest living life outside the lines (OTL). Based on experience, OTL is where the real growth begins and transformation takes place. I apologize for posting my favorite Twayla Tharp quote for the third time about venturing out of your comfort zone (a.k.a. OTL):

“The better you know yourself, the more you will know when you are playing to your strengths and when you are sticking your neck out.  Venturing out of your comfort zone may be dangerous, yet you do it anyway because our ability to grow is directly proportional to an ability to entertain the uncomfortable.”

Opinions Welcomed!

Blink:

Great word: Zeitgeist – the general, moral, and cultural climate that defines an era.

Read On:

1. Big Tech (“tech-industrial complex”)
2. Gen AI (Artificial Intelligence)
3. Turbulent Geo-politics (Russia & Ukraine, the Middle East, the Middle East, the etc., etc., etc.)
4. The Far-Right Surging
5. Climate Change
6. Extreme Natural Disasters
7. Electric Cars
8.  The Circular Economy & Sustainable Lifestyles
9. Self-Improvement Industry (Health & Wellness, Personal Development, Spirituality, Relationships, etc.)
10.  Community
11.  Social Media Influencers.
12.  Fast Foods (e.g., McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, etc.)
13.  Behemoth Retailers (e.g., Walmart, Amazon, Costco, etc.)
14.  Sports – arenas, team clothing (e.g., jerseys, hats, etc.), fantasy leagues, gambling, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, etc.
15.  Athleisure, jeans, sneakers, and flip flops
16. TMI
17.  Sound Bites (nanoseconds) – X, Texting/Emojis, YouTube), the Like Button
18.  Streaming & Binging
19.  “Over the Top” Show & Tell (Exotic Travel, Weddings)
20.  Millionaires to Billionaires

Welcome to Zeitgeist!

Blink:

Recently I was searching for an old post when I came upon two classic, forever relevant lists of commonly used clichés and corporate buzzwords. Great stuff!

Read On:

1. Authenticity.
2. Awesome.
3. Busy, Crazy.  I’m swamped.
4. Collaboration.
5. Disruptive innovation.
6. Ecosystems.
7. End of the day.
8. Fake news.
9. Start-ups.
10. Sustainability.
11. Transparency.
12. Work/life balance.

OMG!

Cliché (noun): A phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought. Do you have any clichés to add to the list?

Blink:

I do not partake in the annual ritual of making New Years resolutions. Why? I am an advocate of recurrent change; thus, people do not have to wait until a new year to implement changes. Instead, I utilize an analysis called corkscrewing to regularly reflect on my path ahead.

Read On:

Last week I finished processing my last three medical insurance claims for the year. I will not bore my readership with the details, but 2024 was a medical year, a year where I learned exceedingly about the value of resiliency. Consequently, I took time out to think about 2025 and my path. To get my juices flowing, I went into my wisdom archives and pulled out my two favorite path quotes which I would like to share today:

“Equilibrium, status quo is the precursor for death. Challenge change. Remember that living systems cannot be directed along a linear path. Unforeseen consequences are inevitable” – Fast Company Magazine

“If the path before you is clear, you are probably on someone else’s.” – Carl Jung

Bonne Année!

Blink:

Today worldwide, consumerism receives a gigantic dose of steroids! It is Black Friday 2024. There has been a plethora of influencer marketing content online lately detailing whether influence marketing movements are authentic and translate into real-world sales. Makes me wonder the impact influencers will have on today’s retail sales.                                                                                                                                                                                                             

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This past year I have shared my concern generative AI is the elephant in the room in regards to planet earth’s environment. It is used as a marketing tool to influence consumer purchasing behavior thus fueling the overall consumption of material-based products which might not be manufactured by numerous companies within the sustainable guidelines needed for a healthier planet earth. In addition, most of these products are delivered in environmentally unfriendly packaging. AI is one of the tools marketers utilize to crunch consumer data in real time to develop personalized content/messaging via social platforms. By the numbers: According to Retail Media Networks, 86% of U.S. marketers will dedicate a budget to influencer marketing in 2024 an industry estimated by Influencer Marketing Hub to reach $24 billion by year-end. The rationale being consumers have grown wary of conventional corporate advertising (including email) and are increasingly relying on interactions from their social platform connections. They find influencers authentic and persuasive when it comes to making purchasing decisions increasing the consumption of goods and services purchased in the market

In closing, my POV is smart marketers are finding more tools to drive consumption of products. Their latest focus being social media influencers. They understand and are creating a new industry, influence marketing, leveraging all the relevant consumerism buttons via social influencers. More importantly, the flood of consumer goods and material possessions purchased today on Black Friday 2024 will further contribute to the fragile health of our planet.

Opinions Welcomed!

Blink:

I binged on Netflix’s Emmy-nominated documentary series the Chef’s Table over the weekend. Some of the segments about world acclaimed chefs provided me with insight which will help guide me on my forthcoming business journey as I reposition myself as a food futurist.

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Key lessons:

• All new concepts start with a blank page.
• Tweak/experiment with every new concept for as long as it takes until your heart believes it is 110% right.
• Rules are restrictive. There are no boundaries. Consider reverse engineering old norms.
• Fully understand the ecosystem of your business and the interaction/connectivity of each element.
• Further validation of wisdom I previously posted from architect Frank Gehry,

– Artists serve people and live in a commercial world, but they need to discover how they can step outside the norm, take risks, and slice their sliver/niche.
– When artists/creative people step outside the norm they must accept criticism, wear it like an article of clothing for a while, then toss it and move on.

• No risk, no fun!

Opinions welcomed!

Blink:                       

Instagram is saturated with self-help guidance – social intelligence, life lessons from renown philosophers including the ancient Greek stoics, daily step by step high performance improvement objectives, etc. I advocate everybody needs to find a medley of self-help guidance that work best. I also suggest a pinch of doing nothing.

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One prominent component of self-help guidance all the online advisors tout is time utilization. They remind us we are always running out of time every day in our life which we cannot get back. Most recommend we hit the ground running and need to own the morning to establish the standard of our high-performance day. Intense! However, I have learned over the years when it is time to take a break from my high-performance drive, I need to take time to slow down, reflect and put everything in perspective. Do Nothing!

To all the readers of this post striving to become a high performer, in the words of American author Gertrude Stein: “It takes a lot of time to be a genius, you have to sit around so much doing nothing, really doing nothing.”

Opinions Welcomed!

Blink:

In October I experienced a surreal moment thanks to an old fashion circular wall clock with a second’s hand, the type we used to stare at in grade school during childhood waiting for the bell.

“Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” (Sam Levenson – American Humorist)

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Let me set the stage: It was 1pm, I was in the Cannes hospital taking a pre-operative, disinfectant shower to prepare for a minimally invasive procedure to repair my urinary system when there was a knock at the bathroom door. It was a hospital attendant ready to roll me through the bowels of the hospital to take me to the operating theater in the basement. He was early and wheeled me on a gurney to the waiting area (a.k.a. on deck circle) placing me flat on my back facing/under an old fashion circular wall clock with a second’s hand at 1:10 pm. As I started watching the second’s hand, the anesthesiologist’s nurse missed her first three attempts to pop a vein for the intravenous drip. Not a good sign! At 1:35 pm I knew I was in for a long wait.

As I watched the second’s hand I focused on two things:

• Stoicism – The Greek philosophy & life lessons (resiliency) I have posted about which helped me cope with the Summer of 2014. I thought about stoicism week which was starting Monday the 21^st. When it came to time management Stoics believed: “It’s not that we don’t have enough time. But that we waste most of it. Life is ticking by and we can’t get back each moment that passes.” (Seneca)

• My sense of humor – I began to realize in this age of digital time, it must be difficult to be an old fashion circular wall clock (with a second’s hand) sales person. How do they manage their time?

Finally, the bell rang at 2:54 pm, I went into the operating theater and I was back in my room in time for dinner. Now I am back in my apartment resting. Good news! So far everything has been normal.