You couldn’t risk eating that forbidden chocolate bar when you were a kid not because you were obeying the rules but because you couldn’t replace it.

Ability to replace is a very powerful concept.

The scale of our lavishness is extremely bounded to our ability to replace.

You can spend with ease if you can replace it likewise.

But there are things that we can’t replace: Time, our attention, loved ones, and days we celebrate all together.

Eid is upon us. You can’t replace it. Spend wisely.

Once I read a quote for an ultimate business attitude: Never settle!

Well if the subject is ‘decision making’ you have to abolish that attitude.

This is the first code of decision making. Because when you make a decision you have to settle for an unknown possibility.

Secondly, decision making is about creating momentum. That makes you move forward even sometimes not knowing the exact direction. But ‘momentum’ tho is a very precious asset and purest form of it comes once you have made your final decision.

Honest Abe said once:

“When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion.”

Third and maybe the most important part of decision making is honesty. Being honest with your course of action and commitment to that goal is a must. Like it or not that wouldn’t be much different than being religious.

Settle. Use the momentum. Be honest.

And you’ll be fine.

I saw Jaeger-Lecoultre’s 400K$ watch ad yesterday.

This watch shows zodiac signs, days, and months on an annual basis. It has a golden case and over 520 moving silver mechanic parts.

But obviously, these are not the features that make you pay 400K$.

It’s the craftsmanship, excellence and uniqueness. And these terms are incomparable.

Because these terms have nothing to do with your FMCG daily tag crosscheck routine.

Still, if you can’t see the value is not because you can’t afford to purchase but because unconsciously you keep crosschecking.

Raincheck is a ticket issued for later use for the postponed event.

In an era of uncertainty, using this term can be very expensive.

What is the alternative?

Well, U.S. Open will be held with no audience at all.

I heard one guy say: “There is but one degree of commitment; total.”

I agree. So sometimes no commitment is the best commitment.

Factcheck: These are those times.

When you are smart enough to understand how incredibly stupid you are that reality stinks.

Because at that point you realize how relative capacity can be and that you won’t be able to expand no matter how hard you try.

What is the alternative then?

Well, the capacity to achieve character is not as notional as the capacity of learning.

True genius for me resides in the capacity of building good character.

To that extend all men are created equal.

Winning can be trivial.

Maintaining your gains tho is the real challenge.

Nazis lightning warfare resulted in quick and absolute win. But they lost in the long run.

Because sometimes you win but the game doesn’t end.

Because sometimes not winning but maintaining your leverage is the deal.

Make no mistake, very few have the guts to flip that coin.

Spend hours on editing or spend days, you will make a mistake. Spend a week on coding or spend a month, you will make a mistake. Spend months or don’t, you will make a mistake either way.

The question is not “Are you going to make a mistake?”

We are all convinced that you will.

The question is “How consistent you‘ll be in correcting it?”

It is hard for us to switch our barbers or tailors to new ones.

That’s not because they do the best cut or we can talk with them about sports and politics.

We can’t do the change because we hate new introductions.

Even if another barber on the next block is far better with his craft considering a switch makes you pause.

Because introductions demand preparation and readiness requires time.

So don’t be surprised when your long term clients are not running away after your mediocre service.

It’s not because they love you so much but its because they hate new introductions.

Was an exclusive club founded by working man who fell from the Golden Gate Bridge into its safety net during the construction (1936-1937).

Most of them were saved with minor injuries and aftermath they named this fall as halfway to hell.

We know that clubbing is a thing in the West. There are clubs devoted to hobbies, social activities, politics, and so forth.

But t****his one caught my attention because it was about the type of experience that you can’t choose to volunteer.

Experiences tho are hard to share and thus they’re unique.

You can build a massive bridge, connect bays, and be proud of engineering but recognizing that fall of Al Zampa is incomparable. Organizing a club for it is priceless.

During this pandemic we are overwhelmed by such unique experiences.

We’re witnessing falls alike almost every day.

Now is the time for you as a brand, as a company to grab those moments and to find a way to share those experiences and to club but not just offer consolations.

I loved when I watched this movie back in 1997.

During this unexpected break I decided to rewatch some of my favorite 90s movies.

However the try out to see if it would exorcise my inner enthusiasm what I had back then for American way of life seemed to be absent.

The core thrill I felt watching The Firm (1993) back in 90s was driven by the way of communication we had. If bad guy Avery has had a cell phone Mitch’s plan would have fallen apart. So is the entire scenario. So goes my thrill.

Tools we have today makes our recent past stories stale and irrelevant.

Tools we are going to get in near future (Like AI, VR etc.) will make today’s stories nonsensical.

I always tell you that marketing is about storytelling and marketer is a storyteller machine.

One who studies marketing today should be very careful with her way of story consumption.

Same goes for the companies tho.

Because stories are backbone of your behavioral pattern.

Update your stories by fact checking on emerging future technologies.

If you fail to do so it is very likely that you will end up loosing your business.