“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It’s what sunflowers do.” – Helen Keller Do you see the world through rose-colored glasses? Or are you more of the “glass half empty” type? Evidence shows that positive thinking and optimism leads to better health and higher levels of happiness in…
We all know charisma is important, but few of us know how to be charismatic. Many people think it’s something you’re born with and that it’s impossible to learn. While some people’s personalities may be more naturally charismatic, there are some simple tricks to increase your charisma quotient: Be kind. People are drawn to those…
Evidence suggests that people who experience and practice gratitude are happier. They sleep more soundly, have fewer medical problems, and report strong relationships with friends and family. Hofstra University researchers expanded the research to show how gratitude brings many benefits to children and adolescents. Grateful kids are overall more satisfied with their friends and family,…
Many brands come and go, and a few even stand the test of time. An even smaller number are among those that customers truly consider to be trustworthy. Why do we trust certain brands, and distrust others? It boils down to whether we perceive the company acts in our best interest, or in theirs. An…
Positioning is about strategically marketing yourself so that you fulfill a perceived need in someone else’s mind. Jack Trout pioneered the concept back in 1969, and has been writing about it ever since. Positioning is about finding the most advantageous position against your enemy. It’s how you differentiate yourself in your customer’s mind. Positioning is…
At Thanksgiving, we often go around the table and discuss what we are thankful for. But don’t stop there. Expressing gratitude is an exercise that can dramatically improve your life if practiced regularly. It is all too easy to dwell on the problems in our lives, and far too often we overlook how lucky we…
It is cliché in classical consumer marketing that the brand is always the hero. The brand (think Coca-Cola) is always the fix or the problem solver. Have a Coke and you will be happy. Buy our product and life will be better. This is certainly the messaging that you see in the cable series Mad…
Boys like blue and girls like pink. Men like football and women like romance novels. Gender is pretty straightforward, right? It’s actually much more complicated. For example, what would we find if we were to look across time and space to discover what it means to be a man? During the Renaissance era, only the…
Brands are one of the most powerful tools used in business. From restaurants to retail, almost any business can benefit considerably from a powerful brand image. Brands communicate trust, professionalism, playfulness, or any other desired message. The most powerful brands are simple and can stand the test of time. Global consulting firm Interbrand released the…
Your domain name is your online identity. It is the first thing people know about your website and therefore it is the first thing people know about you as an online presence. Like it or not, before someone even reaches your home page, they have already made a judgment about you based on your domain…