So many things can influence the decisions and judgments we make. In this Science of Attraction video for Channel 4 (UK), which is introduced by Derren Brown, Kat Akingbade and Charlie McDonnell investigate the Halo Effect and discover the impact it can have on first impressions and how others perceive you.

Many things influence the decisions and judgments we make and we are usually aware of what they are. However when it comes to the Halo Effect can we genuinely be influenced to think a certain way about a person or a product because of one perceived quality?

Enjoy this interesting experiment in social dynamics and perception. Note that the Halo Effect is quite important in all human interactions, but is highlighted in dating dynamics.

Interesting info: Elliot Aronson, a social psychologist at Stanford University, believes self-fulfilling prophecies - in which a person's confident self-perception, fed by healthy feedback from others - may play a role in success. Aronson suggests, based on the self-fulfilling prophecy, that people who feel they are attractive - though not necessarily rated as such - are just as successful as their counterparts who are judged to be good-looking.

As some of my readers know, I'm a part of the communication industry, a market that has been created by some of the likes of George Lois, Leo Burnett, Bill Bernbach and David Ogilvy.

These people crafted and created their magic by possessing a single great skill that put them miles ahead from all their competition, a skill I still am trying to perfect, seek and master: the art of persuasion.

Bill Bernbach once said: “Advertising is fundamentally persuasion and persuasion happens to be not a science, but an art.”

It is well known that Bernbach, with his deep knowledge of human nature, believed that in order for brand communicators to persuade, they needed to get at the heart of what motivates people. A skill we need a lot of today especially with the mass spamming and visual chaos we live in every single day.

It was important for Bernbach to understand in advance what people take out from our creative work, our writing and how people read and listen.

"Good communicators understand that readers read with their ego, their emotions, their compulsions, their prejudices, their urges, their aspirations and that they plot with their brain to rationalize the facts until they become the tools of their desires."

In other words, good communicators must be good storytellers. 

Being creative by nature, humans are wired to instinctively react to stories as they are embedded in the heart of our psyche. Stories move us, they make us react and creates a certain kind of rapport with the brand, that is now being perceived not as a person anymore, but as a being, a "living thing".

In order to succeed in our creative, chaotic communication world, in order to touch a crowd that is connected and interacting 24/7, we have to learn to creatively and strategically balance emotion and intellect by becoming master storytellers. 

I couldn't believe the hype and the whole buzz in EDM land about the new upcoming Will.I.Am album, a controversial mix of blended beats and a huge, angry global reaction....well, couldn't believe it until I heard this, his latest collaboration with Chris Brown called Let's Go.

Let's Go sounds extremely similar to "Rebound" a gem of a track released on Anjunabeats and produced by two great superstar producers: Arty & Mat Zo. Take a listen below to understand what the buzz is all about. Arty explained, in a series of tweets, that no one had approached Anjunabeats, the owning label for the rights regarding that song. Anjunabeats is a trance music label run by the legends Above & Beyond.





Jono Grant of Above & Beyond reportedly tweeted about the situation but then deleted the tweets.

I don’t understand how a large sample of the track could have slipped, I guess they felt they could get away with this, or thought they could bully Mat Zo and Arty out of their own music. I understand Mat Zo's reaction by deleting his twitter account and his below Facebook comment:

If you stream both tracks you will know what a huge theft this is and what a mess it has been creating! This is unacceptable, especially that I myself am a huge fan and a trance music DJ and I can't let such a case go! With the growing number of "slipping samples" out there and the large sums of money being tossed around to shut people up and the threat of big label lawyers coming down on a “small time” artist like Arty or Mat Zo, there is a reality to be faced and its important to keep the pop guns from shooting all over the different music scenes in this world and the amazing work being created by our rising superstars and future producers.

"Bang Bang" also uploaded, mimics the exact chord progression from the drop in Sandro Silva and Quintino’s “Epic.” Listen to Will.I.Am’s drop at 2:15.

I'm proud to write this post, one as an alumni of this exceptional institution and two, as a communicator and a creative. You all must have recently heard the buzz around a video, a Lipdub going viral in the recent days made by the students, administratives & professors of one of the leading institutions in the creative communications field, ALBA (Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts).

What is a Lipdub? well, it is a type of video that combines lip synching and audio dubbing to make a music video. Yes, the ALBA community created a music video showcasing the spirit of the university, its people and the minds behind it. It also communicates quite effectively the atmosphere of creativity there.

After the massively successful 3D mapping showcased on the ALBA building in Sin El Fil, the university hits with another fun concept, indirectly promoting itself, clearing the misconceptions, atmosphere and promoting the people as well. A brave, and unique move that no other university has done in addition to that, the video was conceived, produced, directed and featured only ALBA alumni, admins, students...etc. From the song choice, to the different parts of the video, the video created a mix of showing the premises, different classes and sections of the university (from administration offices to the drawing classes to the library) and the different kinds of creative characters that make up the people.

This goes to show that communication is getting even more fun, although we all know it takes a whole lot of work and planning, and ALBA is already known to be one of the toughest educational institutions in the country. But with a creative result like the video below, I believe its all worth it in the end.

I bet the students and everyone at ALBA is proud, I know I am as an alumni, from leading the field throughout the years, to all the books released, to the great creative people we have come to unleash into our creative business world...and more! It really feels great to know that I was once spending my days (and sometimes nights) at THIS university building up my own creative self.

Enjoy the full video below and the recent interview on MTV's Men el Ekhir Show!

In a new and creative initiative, leading Lebanese Retailer ABC will be brining together a group of Lebanese designers as part of their new campaign "Designed & Signed", an inspirational venture that would raise vital funds for a good cause. Joanna Atallah & Riham Serhan, co-founders of Brave Heart, the NGO who will benefit from the initiative, commented that they "highly appreciate ABC's initiative to increase awareness on Congenital Heart Disease and work towards the day when no child should die of heart disease because of lack of funds."

The concept is simple: Challenging participants to dress-up ABC triangles. Fashion and art fans will be treated to a host of exhibitions where triangles will adorn ABC premises in Dbayeh and Ashrafieh to celebrate these unique creations.
In a fusion between fashion and arts, the campaign reflects a commitment ABC had previously made in order to strengthen the influence of these two sectors: fashion and art. A great play of branding and interactivity, the campaign engages and creates interest while keeping its classy ABC feel and distance.

Kickstarting the campaign is Lebanese prominent photographer Roger Moukarzel who dressed the triangle in green and crowned it with a fashionable spider in high heels.

 

Roger met fellow bloggers and PR to discuss his thoughts on the campaign and said that he didn't hesitate one bit to take part in such a n event, stating that he didn't know exactly how the design idea came to mind. He commented that he dreamt it one night and put it on paper the next morning. In his opinion, the spider represents fashion. "Like the spider attracts insects on its net, fashion attracts people around the world to its beautiful realm", he added.

The "Designed and Signed" venture will run along the year at the end of which all designers' creations will be exhibited before being auctioned. I hope this campaign helps in creating a needed buzz and interest from the important people who can help Brave Heart on their humane quest.

Meet George:

George Lois is an American art director, designer, and author. Early in his career, he pioneered the concept of "The Big Idea. Combining shrewd visual images with irreverent copy, he created a plethora of seminal advertising moments in American history, making more products famous than anyone in the marketing world. He is the only person alive who has been installed in the Art Directors Hall of Fame, the Creative hall of Fame, and a recipient of the AIGA Lifetime Achievement Medal as well as receiving hundreds of industry awards. Mr. Lois is an art director by craft, a communicator by instinct, a writer by imagination and an entrepreneur by character. 

After reading his latest book, I decided to share some of the ideas he discussed in the book. An eye opener and interesting read for any creative!

Enjoy His Tips Below:

1. MY FIRST COMMANDMENT: THE WORD COMES FIRST, THEN THE VISUAL.

When young art directors ask me to reveal my "formula" for creating advertising, I answer … start with the word! This advice, with a biblical reference, is carved in stone--my first commandment. Art directors, presumed by many to be illiterate, are expected to think visually--and most do. They sift through magazines to find visuals, however disjointed and inappropriate, to help them "get started." Most art directors, unfortunately, do not sit and try to write the idea: They usually wait with their thumbs up their ass for a writer to furnish the words, which usually are not visually pregnant. By contrast, a handful of great art directors are authors of some of the finest headlines in advertising--or they work intimately with gifted writers as they conjure concepts together. Conversely, even when a writer works on his own, his words must lend themselves to visual excitement--because a big campaign idea can only be expressed in words that absolutely bristle with visual possibilities, leading to words and visual imagery working in perfect synergy.

If you’re an art director, heed my words: Each ad, TV spot, and campaign is in your hands--it’s your baby. If you’re a copywriter, on the other hand, you must work with a talented visual communicator!


2. BREVITY ROCKS

"If a client takes ten minutes to tells me about his business, then it’s not a big idea," Lois says. "Advice" cites Abraham Lincoln’s apology for writing a long letter because 'I didn’t have time to write a short one.' Condense the concept, because, Lois writes "After three sentences of explanation, people’s eyes glaze over."
Case Study: Lois yoked celebrity and a call to action with four words that transformed a upstart cable network into a national powerhouse. "I want my MTV" became a generational battle cry after Lois, a pioneer in exploiting celebrity cachet, persuaded Mick Jagger to appear in a TV commercial delivering the line.


3. TRUST YOUR GUT

"Ad agencies do all kinds of market research that ask people what they think they want, and instead you should be creating things that you want. If you do something and you get it, the rest of the world will get it. too. Trust your own instincts, your own intellect, and your own sense of humor."
Case Study: After restaurant critic Gale Green slammed one of Lois’ clients, he took out a subtly snarky full-page ad that never would have gotten approved by focus groups. Centered on a one-sentence note that read: "Dear Ms. Greene. After all the lovely meals we’ve had together--Restaurant Associates." Readers picked up on the subtext and began flocking to the Four Seasons.


4. TEAMWORK MIGHT WORK IN BUILDING AN AMISH BARN, BUT IT CAN’T CREATE A BIG IDEA.

The accepted system for the creation of innovative thinking in a democratic environment is to work cooperatively in a team-like ambience. Don’t believe it. Whatever the creative industry, when you’re confronted with the challenge of coming up with a Big Idea, always work with the most talented, innovative mind available. Hopefully … that’s you. Avoid group grope and analysis paralysis. The greatest innovative thinker of our age remains Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, a modern-day Henry Ford. Jobs was not a consensus builder but a dictator who listened to his own intuitions, blessed with an astonishing aesthetic sense.

Everybody believes in co-creativity-not me. Be confident of your own, edgy, solo talent.

(Once you’ve got the Big Idea, that’s where teamwork comes in--sellingthe Big Idea, producing the Big Idea, and bringing the Big Idea into fruition.)

5. TO CREATE GREAT WORK, HERE’S HOW YOU MUST SPEND YOUR TIME: 1% INSPIRATION, 9% PERSPIRATION, 90% JUSTIFICATION.

I don’t care how talented you are. If you’re the kind of creative person who gets your best work produced--justifying and selling your work (to those around you, to your boss, to your client, to lawyers, to TV copy clearance, etc.) is what separates the sometimes good creative thinker from the consistently great one.

6. RESEARCH IS THE ENEMY OF CREATIVITY--UNLESS IT’S YOUR OWN "CREATIVE" RESEARCH (HEH-HEH).

Advertising is an art, not a science. If you create advertising to pass a research test (as almost all establishment agencies do), the "science" of advertising runs the show. Most of my ad campaigns would have flunked commercial pre-testing because edgy, sometimes mind-blowing concepts get ripped apart in group-grope "focus groups." I once used research (conceived and conducted by my agency) to create a gigantic marketing success for Quaker’s Aunt Jemima pancake brand.

Inexplicably, Quaker refused to market an Aunt Jemima syrup, a no-brainer if I ever poured one. Their management was adamant every time I brought it up. But I plunged ahead with a research questionnaire devised on Aunt Jemima pancake mix, including one question at the end of the survey asking consumers to name the syrup brand they used most recently--and I included the nonexistent Aunt Jemima syrup among a list of 10 brands. Eighty-nine out of 100 pancake eaters claimed they had purchased Aunt Jemima syrup that year! The honchos at Quaker were stunned and convinced by my results--and they finally plunged into the syrup business. Within a year, the new Aunt Jemima syrup became the best-selling syrup in America.

If you can’t convince a client to produce a no-brainer win, manipulate them any way you can to win them over.

7. CREATING ADVERTISING THAT IS ICON RATHER THAN CON DEPENDS ON THE DEEP BELIEF THAT YOUR MESSAGE IS MORE THAN THE PURCHASE OF A PRODUCT OR SERVICE.

In 1961, Dr. Benjamin Spock asked me to do a New York subway poster. Nuclear testing in the atmosphere by the U.S. and the Soviet Union was threatening the continuation of life on our planet, without one bomb being dropped in the Cold War conflict. Dr. Spock, one of the bravest leaders of the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (SANE), alerted the public with warnings by Nobel scientists that the fallout from radioactive materials would result in a growing number of birth defects and deaths. The poster combined the image of a pregnant woman with a hard-hitting, absolutely factual headline. The press called me a commie sympathizer. Today, nearly half a century after the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963, it seems incomprehensible that a poster about the malignant peril of nuclear fallout could ever have sparked such outrage. But my poster made an iconic statement that opened the eyes of many in those scary days.

If you don’t believe that advertising can be icon rather than con, you’ll never understand the potential of great creativity.

8. NEVER EAT SHIT. (IF IT LOOKS LIKE SHIT, AND IT SMELLS LIKE SHIT, AND IT TASTES LIKE SHIT... IT'S SHIT. 

If you're in a relationship (with your boss, supervisor, partner, or client) and you suspect that you are continually being used and/or abused, admit it-you're eating shit. Without the courage to put an end to it, you'll never create great work. Put an end to it.


9. YOU CAN NEVER LEARN ANYTHING FROM A MISTAKE


Nobody's perfect. I always swing for homers, rather than lay down drag bunts. Trouble is, I sometimes strike out. I've had a few bombs, turkeys, misses (let's call them stinkers), but I contend to this day that they were all magnificent conceptions. A failure is supposed to give you pause, shake you up, humble you. But that would be the end of being a fearless, creative thinker.
Onwards and upwards, and never give your failures a second thought.

10. OPEN WIDE AND SAY "AAAH!"

If you're a creative in any business, think of yourself as a doctor giving a patient medicine that will save his life. I'm serious.

A tear in a coffee shop runs down a face, quietly making its way to the ground.

A silence filled with screams takes over, suffocating walls look at them with hate, guilt, disgust and betrayal.

A silent glistening tear in a coffee shop, whispers its last breaths as it blends into the perfect brazilian liquid and mutes away their words on its way down.

Dear God,

My name is sam, and people say I’m growing up fast.

Momma always told me that when I become a grown up, I would never be like daddy and that the small ladybugs I like to talk to will become smaller and I would never see them the same way. Momma says all the dress up in the robes and the bed sheets and acting like ghosts or spooks or something are gonna be a thing of the past. I wear my magic shoes all the time. They keep me fast and strong to run away from all the danger this world holds so well. Momma bought them for me, it was my birthday and she baked me the best birthday cake ever!

I have the best momma. She’s always around me. I can even hear her sing to me right now. Oh God, you did good by sending me here to her, that made her so happy...seeing me happy.

I love nature too, you know, the big place you created? 

Momma always told me not to smell the red roses, they gave me allergies…made my nose all red. I like my red nose, it looks funny.

I once watched a big man with a red nose. It was fake you know. We call him a clown cos he makes us kids laugh. Momma always laughed with us though. I think she was a kid in her heart. She gives the best hugs the world has ever felt, her warm hands hold me tight in the cold winter and they are as cool as ice in the summer. Magical hands I tell you.

Momma said I'd make a good husband in the future, she told me I would never leave like dad did. I would never beat like dad did. I can’t really hit well. I always miss when shooting a basketball. People laugh, I’m not sure its funny.

Dear God, I'm not a smart boy... but I know what love is. I’ve been given so much of it thanks to you. Thanks to momma and now you can make me a bird. So I could fly far away and see the world. Now you wouldn't believe me if I told you, but I could run like the wind blows! Momma might not be happy but I sure would come back with so many pictures, just for her to look at and keep beside her warm heart. I wanna run like a fast leopard. I’ve never seen one in real life, but they sure look fast on TV! I could use my magic shoes, I never take them off. Well, I do when I sleep.

Dear God, momma always said dying was a part of life. I sure wish it wasn't.

Take care of her for me. I’m a big boy now; I suppose you know that already. I can take care of my own self cos I’m growing up fast.

Recently, more and more creative minds have been trying to search for new ways to better the city they live in and the space they love the most. A new project surfaced recently, ambitious and quite interesting, called بيروت ناقصها ألوان Beirut Na2esa 2alwein (Beirut Missing Colors).
Described as being a new platform for Lebanese people who believe their city is too gray and misses colors, this project aims at putting a creative, personal and interesting touch around the city and help in making the environment more friendly and eye-friendly.

Tanios Abou Khalil, Patrik Abdel Sater and Vladimir Kurumilian

 Last weekend, the Rmeil area in Achrafieh hosted, a green and environment-friendly car free day with the participation of the Beirut Na2esa 2alwein team who added a creative and colorful touch to the area. A great initiative to spread the message and get more people involved.

Support the team and follow them on Facebook here.
Follow them on Twitter here.

 

 

The project is slowly building momentum and needs all our support to blast away color tones and personalize a city that is slowly losing its identity and the personal human touch. With a bit of color, time and effort, we can make the place more personal, more fun and give it the real identity of its people. Below, a few pictures that describe what its all about. Let's help this city get back its lively colors and let us all help the ambitious team in making our place, ours.

Finally, the digital revolution, after taking a bit of time arrives and reworks radio to its core. Radio shows became digital bits, shared all over the net and platforms (ipod, ipadm cell phones....etc) and are now delivered through many ways, from Web to satellite to cell phones.
Listeners no longer have to tune in at a certain time to catch a show. They are the decision makers, they tune in, out, choose what songs are played at a certain time, interact with the radio staff & presenters...Listeners are simply finding alternatives to what they want.

As digital forms of radio proliferate, listeners are enjoying an abundance of new programming with much of it still lacking a proven business model. In other words, radio is still losing its revenue models. For radio to make money, execs must be as innovative with the business model as they are with technology. Satellite is losing money, but its subscription approach (think OSN now with the premium package subscriptions, HD box service...etc) is expected to pay off in a couple of years. Now, Net radio players and cellular services are experimenting with subscriptions, too.

As old-fashioned radio struggles, listeners are creating the future: Podcasts (which are starting to get more and more sponsorships) are a big boom around the globe and a sure way to try and get more listeners.
The revolution also will follow TV with the HD sound. Yes, high definition sound will be a key in the revolution of radio itself. Subscriptions to HD channels, choosing your own sound, and getting things your own way are just a few of the options that go with this change.

Thanks to the new technology, more people than ever will be creating and listening to audio programming in coming years. The radio industry is turning into a free-for-all, on this note let's take a look at the 3 major English speaking stations in Lebanon:

Firstly, I'd like to start with a messy NRG: NRG started well but suddenly it was overshadowed by the two major stations and in two different ways we will discuss below. But it is important to note that playing "good music" on your airways nowadays will not cut it! Interaction and communication with your audience is key in addition to separating yourself from the crowd, something NRG is still stalling with and not really doing well.

A major player in the scene and a personal favorite is Radio One. They're doing it right! They have a full schedule of weekly shows that spans a staggering 12 hours with interactions on several digital social networks, they are in a constant conversation with their listeners, adapting to what the listener wants. They give and take and have successfully managed to get the advertisers and sponsors on board! The introduction of the Apps and the creation of a "Network of Music Stations" have made of them a great leader in the business and given them the insights they need to grow and develop even more! The radio has become much more personal and people can relate to it in a much more human way. From the way things are developing it sure is looking good for Radio One!

Another player on the scene is Mix Fm. They have taken a different route, but are still trying to follow on with the digital boom of radio. They weren't the first to successfully interact and promote their shows on Facebook or Twitter but they sure were the first on the Events front. They plan and produce some of the best events in the region something that needed to be developed further with the introduction of the Mix Productions company. But with this came a major stalling on radio production and programs (and they still are a radio station no?)....something I find really sad since they could've clearly aced it all to rapidly become the only leading player. Something that could have forced all the other players to follow the same path: imagine owning radio and events together...

For now, I'm keeping an eye out on things and how this whole music business is developing. What do you think? Will we, the people, get more power and influence? And what do you think of the stations in Lebanon?

"He was younger than I was...I remember he looked up all the time,
I don't know...he could stare at the sun longer than anyone I've ever met.
And like, he was part of his surroundings rather than being overwhelmed by them.
He showed a lot with his aunt. She traded him with the intelligence he deserved.
He didn't play with friends. He had a gentle presence.
You almost didn't notice he was there but...you hoped he would be.
He always covered his collar bone, he made a point of it. As if he didn't like the feeling of wind against his neck.
He always carried a camera around his neck, just for the act of documenting what was happening to him, who he shared moments with, as if interactions with people were rare and out of the ordinary."

I know I posted the video of this amazingly twisted yet beautifully done video, but its worth checking out once again. Click here to watch it to know what this whole text above is about.

Recommended music after that: Bliss - Silence (Listen here)

We live in messy times, in periods of intense uncertainty. We live in what is called the age of information, in days where distractions are so voluminous, so overwhelming, so intense, and so persistent.
Ringing phones are one thing, but email notifications, Twitter and Facebook messages, an array of browser tabs open, and mobile devices that are always on and always beeping are quite another.

Today, as we're working, we have distractions coming from various angles. In front of us our computer, with email notifications and other notifications of all kinds. There's the browser, which contains not only an endless amount of reading material, unlimited opportunities for shopping, for chatting, for gossip and news, photos and so much more. All the while, several new emails have come in, waiting for a quick response. Several programs are open at once, each of them with tasks to complete. Several people would like to chat, dividing our attention even further.

That's in front of you. Now, we get to the desk phone, mobile, music from several different coworkers, a colleague coming to our desk asking a question, incoming papers needing attention, other papers scattered across our desks, someone calling a meeting, another offering up food. With so much competing for our attention, and so little time to focus on real work, it’s a wonder we get anything done at all.

And then we leave work we have our mobile device, with incoming text and email messages, all needing a reply, with incoming calls that can’t be ignored.. We are bombarded from all sides by advertising, asking for not only attention but our desires. We get home, and there’s the television with 500 channels all asking for yet more attention, with 500,000 ads asking for yet more desires. There’s our PC asking us to do more work, sending us more messages, more distractions, social networks and shopping and reading. There are kids or spouses or roommates or friends, there’s the home phone, and still the mobile device is going off. This is unprecedented, and it’s alarming.

BUT WAIT!

There’s instant positive feedback to such constant activities as checking email, surfing the web, checking social networks such as blogs, forums, Twitter and Facebook. That’s why it’s so easy to become addicted to being connected and distracted. It's important to note that other addictive activities, such as doing drugs or eating junk food, have the same kind of instant positive feedback!!
You do the activity, and right away, you’re rewarded with something pleasurable but don’t feel the negative consequences until much later. You check your email and look! a new email from a friend! You get a positive feeling, perhaps a validation of your self-worth when you receive a new email. It feels good to get a message from someone. And thus the instant positive feedback rewards you checking email, more and more frequently, until the addiction is solidly ingrained.

Being connected, getting information all the time, having constant distractions … it has all become a part of our lives.

Everyone's Fighting For Your Focus

Everyone's fighting for your focus, and so many "things" want your attention. But time is a non-renewable resource. I've mentioned it time and time again (especially on Twitter you can follow #leadwhereyouare). You get 86,400 seconds every single day to your benefit and you can either use them wisely or they will  be gone forever. Your attention is valuable, don’t be so generous in giving it to things – unless it’s for something that truly matters.
So clean out the distractions in your workspace and personal life. I read that special forces on a military mission are kept in isolation from other teams and denied access to TV/Newspapers/Internet. Why? To PROTECT their focus so they deliver perfection on their mission. Pretty great metaphor for you and I, no? A huge competitive advantage falls to the 1 in 100 performer with the brilliance to develop the skill of becoming massively focused on the one thing in front of them. Truly a game-changing move.

A valuable tactic is developing rituals and methods of work that fit in your lifestyle. Obsess in consistency in the way you do things, waking up at a certain hour, doing the things in patterns that are clear. This clears your mind to leave more energy and space to things worthy of your thoughts. Practice doing work that matters while sitting in one place for many hours focused on a single result (without possible distractions). Practice disconnecting at specific moments each day and give yourself some time to fill up your well. Practice running rituals and elite performance routines that will lift you into the realm of world-class. Because as I know you know: Genius isn’t so much about genetics as it is about work ethic and sheer practice. You were born at level genius, why not prove it?
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Between small pages they rest, taken out of my heart. Thoughts of magical experiences take shape as they leave away from my soul unto the innocent blank paper, ready to be touched by a sensational truth.

Out of my soul I release, what your magic has done to me. What you have given me with your silent eyes and mysterious beautiful smile. Out of my heart I sent them, away to touch you in their spirit and bring your soul closer to mine. Out of my being I take you, to shape you in pages ready to be taken to new heights and filled with your gift.

Words dance to the music that I play, with my inner mind, my very self. Music that comes to life from life itself. With every breath you take, every smile you make that breaks the silence surrounding you, a melody  of giggles and laughs, a beautiful symphony.

Between those pages, a world comes together for you, for your senses and eyes. It all comes out of my soul, impulsively and instantly as thoughts of you rush into my mind. Between those pages, breaths of joy, adoration and passion, shapes that crave losing themselves in you again. Pages that create the book of beauty, passion and innocent joy. Pages that create the book of you. 

String melodies unite in a crescendo of a burning passion, slowly building to a burning release. Magic created by glistening eyes flows through my veins as she looks inside my heart. Her breath takes me inside her soul, in and out in a spectacular play of sensations.

This magic coupled with passionate touches of her face build up as I wander inside her soul with every kiss, softly playing with her increasing heartbeats. With every touch of my hands on her delicate face, my hands running through her hair, music comes out of her losing itself to our quiet, summer surrounding.

But in all of this warmth, I find myself lost.

Lost in the beauty that is her heart, lost in her magnificent eyes. I find myself wandering in the most peaceful setting, magnificently created out ultimate joy. In the midst of all this madness, her lips softly calm me down, take me in and her eyes tenderly let me out from a magnificent journey inside her core.

I sit here wondering how magnificent all of this is, and I look back at the ground beneath me and a smile draws itself upon my face.
For I have been lost in a part of myself again, for I have been lost in the magic of you.

*This is a special blog post co-written on location on the shores of the Mediterranean

The silky sheet spread itself across the waves, dressing them in its majestic aura of divine color and pure simplicity.

With glittering lights of a nearby town, they sit on the shore, contemplating the magic of the moment while the deep, echoing sound of the waves crashes between every kiss.

She takes a moment to embrace his inner beauty, the beauty he feeds her with every look, every smile, and every breath. She's never felt so full of bliss, so confident, so extravagant. Her emotions resound this compilation through her moves as she wraps her arm around him. A melody written with pure emotion of love, passion and adoration.

He loses himself in her eyes of shattering beauty, coupled with a smile that has the power to stop time itself. The moment takes them in and loses them in its simplicity, in its magesty, and in each other. She closes her eyes and takes in a breath, trying to grasp this moment's essence and trap it forever in her soul, taking the chance to become one with this magical world.

And as he watches, he knows at heart that he has found her, his other self, the missing piece, a perfect match. He looks into her eyes and simply understands the majesty of this glorious world. A smile is drawn upon their faces, as they come to silently understand the truth of the moment, an honest revelation that the world has given them the perfect place to lose themselves in.

Joe the painter takes a brush to release his burning thoughts unto the magical empty space of a new grand canvas. As he slowly takes his brush he splashes huge shots of fiery red onto the pure white space. He moves with his bare hands to create a form as his breath deeps with every move and his eyes slowly close to remember the moments that will inspire an incredible, impulsive, piece of art.
His hands glide slowing down sometimes and speeding up at others. His head moves with every touch of the frame's texture. He then suddenly stops, as he takes his breath and admires his work, diving in deep thought as to what he might be expressing.
He slowly closes his eyes, his hands fall down to his sides spitting small drops of red passionate paint unto the white smooth ground. As he closes his eyes, he lifts his head up, his eyes reaching up to the sky and takes a massive sigh.

A delicate tear falls slowly from his eye, making its way to his mouth, fusing with the red paint all over his face. He takes a few steps back, smiles so innocently as he looks at his finished masterpiece. Vibrant huge letters that spell a grateful "Thank You" coming from a sincere passionate heart. A moment of glory for someone giving thanks for all the gifts he has come to receive in his recent journey.
As he makes his way towards the bathroom he takes a quick glance at her picture and smiles peacefully.
Message received.

It is quite obvious that today, your brand and business must innovate and take things steps further. From a business perspective, today's communication world is shifting towards reputation management especially on social media platforms. I have previously discussed the shift in the market and leadership here.

Today, It takes a single negative Tweet, Facebook post, Youtube video to burn fast through a brand's values, equity and company. At this moment, brands have become at such a big risk that grows by the minute (not even by the day) with brands acting as media in real time, this is being called Brand Journalism.
These are major reasons why reputation management has become a very important element of social media. A few reviews on a blog, a few Facebook comments without a brand's presence and engagement in the conversation could and most probably would hurt the brand without a doubt. Customers or consumers who were to consider any kind of interaction with the brand would simply decide not to do business with it upon any negativity or slacking. It is important to mention that virtually every study shows that people trust peer recommendations more than corporate marketing, therefore a brand's (or company's) approach to the conversation plays a major role.

Reputation management (online) requires 3 things: planning, proactive listening and well-defined response mechanisms. Therefore, in essence, its quite simple to understand and do.

Below are a few points to consider when building an effective strategy:

- Understand that people are talking openly online about brands and companies, and defining them as time passes. Therefore, managing your brand is a must.
- As mentioned above people are talking, and its time to listen and start doing the necessary tweaks and changes to get your brand or company to level great. As you listen, fix and let people know what's happening, what's developing and changing. Effective brand management has a human element to it.
- Brands and companies cannot control conversations, but can be part of it.
- Honest, caring conversations and reactions, with the new social media, old school business practice returned.
- Press releases as a reaction to crisis (regarding a brand) are a thing of the past. So the time is right to set a standard and commit to customers. Business as usual doesn't cut it anymore.

Remember: social media is not marketing, its not a media. Its a relationship.

So, an effective online reputation strategy is essential in our world, knowing that powerful consumers are defining your brand, Today.


If you believe the time has come for you to shine and want to take your brand and/or company to the next level of wow, in a changing world filled with challenges and wrong information CLICK HERE

What you're about to read puts things in perspective when it comes to our human experience as a whole.
You see, everyone wants instant gratification these days and no one seems to realize that it takes time to get results in anything. But in life, there are cycles and when you are in these cycles you will always be in one of these four seasons in any given area of your life.

Winter
The most difficult season of them all, winter is a season that you just have to tough out, but you should always be preparing for. When you are experiencing winter in a part of your life you should always keep the good times in mind. The main thing to keep in mind about winter is that winters don’t last forever so you just got to hang in there and always thing about summer through winter.


Spring
Spring is the opportunity to plant a harvest. So its the season of opportunities.
When you plant in the spring you are not guaranteed a harvest, but it is the chance to plant one. Spring is a time for fresh starts and looking forward to what can be achieved.

 Summer
Summer is the time to reflect on winter. Think of ants.
The reason ants get so much done during the summer is that all summer long they’re thinking of the coming winter. Summer is the time of the year that you have to fight for your harvest. All summer long you have to fight off the bugs and the weeds that are trying to wipe out everything that you’ve worked so hard to plant during the spring. Summer is a time to get busy to help ensure you’ll have something to harvest in the fall.

Fall (The Harvest)
Fall is the sum total of all your efforts over the spring and the summer. If you’ve been sticking with your plan of action and doing the work of summer you should have a good harvest, but there is no guarantee. The best way to guarantee a good harvest is to keep doing the work, yes persist.

The main message of the four seasons is to always be productive no matter the season you are in and to keep a positive outlook on the future.

I believe the time has come, its approaching fast and I decided to make this serious decision once and for all.
It's time to say goodbye, to let go of the past resentments and make place for the magnificent future.
It's time:
- to sing the brilliant song that my life was meant to sing.
- to experience the natural power that inhabits me, to do great work and achieve great things.
- to inspire, become the example and touch the hearts of many along the way.
- to transform adversity into victory.
- to leave this world better than I found it.
- to leave a trail of excellence behind and know that one day my name will resonate with the big ones out there.
- to speak the truth, to be the truth no matter how blunt it might be.
- to go beyond the good enough, beyond the better and go for the best.
- to sing, dance, smile and celebrate life in its simplest forms.

Yes, time to say goodbye to the old ruined victim of the past for it will not prevail. Its time to love the people around you in the simplest of forms, and respect their existence for it was in a moment of love that they were created and were given the privilege to live.

The time has come to dust ourselves up and start walking again. Towards a better future, better people and more positive transformation, taking out every challenge we face for on its other side lies our greatest selves and our expanded realities.

May this year be filled with the most magical surprises, the most magnificent stories and the very best for you and your loved ones.