Strands of Genius: Hanlon's Razor, Brave Brands, Article Summaries, Hannah Damn Dasher
Plus: we're on sabbatical!
WRITING FROM | Hong Kong
WORKING ON | ~*planning a sabbatical*~
LOOKING AHEAD
Aug 10-17 | Auckland, NZ
Aug 17-21 | Matakana Bay, NZ
Aug 21-24 | Hong Kong
Aug 24-?? | Thailand
October 1-22 | Japan
Oct 22-Nov 4 | Isla Mujeres, MX
Nov 4-Nov 12 | Nashville, TN
Nov 12-23 | Chattanooga, TN
Nov 24-Dec 5 | Isla Mujeres, MX
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
Oh hi there! Greetings from Hong Kong!! We’re here just on a short layover en route to Thailand, because when we saw that we’d have to have a long flight followed by a long layover (bc New Zealand isn’t really *that* close to anything*), we decided we’d book a short stay here to chop up the travel. Today we’re headed on a food and walking tour, and tomorrow we’ll do a soup dumpling making class before we head on to Thailand on Thursday.
It’s the start of our sabbatical to celebrate 10 years of nomading! As many of you know, when we kicked off our travels in March 2013, we weren’t planning on being nomads — we just thought we’d take a 6 month sabbatical and then pick a new city to live in. So we figured the best way to celebrate 10 years of being nomads would be another 6 month sabbatical. Then we bought a house and remembered we live in a capitalist world where money is used for goods and services, including to buy things like couches (expensive!), fridges (expensive!), washers & dryers (expensive!) and all the other things that you put inside a house. Remember — we’re starting with clothes and some art we saved from NYC. No plates, no appliances, no furniture, nothing! (Added all up: expensive!) We wouldn’t suggest buying a house and planning a sabbatical in the same year, and we probably won’t end up taking 6 months off, but, we are carving out some time to celebrate building a life we love, and to rest! Because, ya know, rest and recovery are crucial parts of the creative process, and critical when you run your own business.
As for the newsletter, we’re going to play it by ear and see how things go. You’ll always have guest curators on Thursdays, but there may be a few Tuesdays where you get a “Blast from the Past” (an older edition of Strands, so you don’t miss us too much while we’re doing yoga and reading our kindles.) We may decide that with all our free time, we have even more time to read and write. Or we may decide that we are enjoying being laptop free. Who knows!
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
the gorgeous country of New Zealand, Sophie & Jonny, Andrew, Georgia and Jonno, Percy & Lenny, Matakana, The Farmer’s Daughter, Campowerment connections, & YOU.
:: THE LINKS ::
HANLON’S RAZOR: NOT EVERYONE IS OUT TO GET YOU
I’d heard of Occam’s razor, but wasn’t familiar with Hanlon’s razor until reading this article. It’s easy to assume that when something goes wrong, it’s not only the fault of someone else, but that they were doing it to intentionally harm us. But, “Hanlon’s Razor teaches us not to assume the worst intention in the actions of others. Understanding Hanlon’s Razor helps us see the world in a more positive light, stop negative assumptions, and improve relationships.” Click through for some examples, and to hear from leaders who articulated the sentiment in other ways. (Farnam Street )
BARBIE, MATTEL & BRAVE BRANDS
Our friend Megan Averell wrote a great post on LinkedIn on what Mattel has taught us about brave brands. From talking real truths, to trusting a creator to push them beyond strict brand standards, Megan dives into how brand bravery and how this benefits them. We really enjoyed this perspective and feel like there’s something all brands can learn from her perspective. (LinkedIn)
GOOGLE CRHOME WILL SUMMARIZE ARTICLES FOR YOU WITH AI
Google’s AI-powered “Search Generative Experience” will act as a live cliff notes for articles you read on Chrome, pulling key facts and giving you the ability to jump to a different part of the article/page based on what you’re looking for. Right now, it’s in beta, so it’s not rolling out to everyone — and it will be on iOS/Android first, before it comes out on the desktop version of Chrome. I find it exciting, but the author also wrote a different post on why he doesn’t like it. (The Verge)
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:: I’M THE ONE WHO TAUGHT HIM THAT THING YOU LIKE ::
When I was in the Music Business program and UGA, so was Hannah Dasher. Or Hannah Damn Dasher as we called her. This was a woman with energy unlike anyone else I’d met. But years passed and we didn’t stay in touch — and then, just this past week, someone shared an Instagram video on their story and I *immediately* recognized her. She and comedian Andie Marie Tillman made a comedy video about prank calling exes current girlfriends to deliver the chorus line of one of Hannah’s new songs: “I’m the one who taught him that thing you like.” It cracked me up, and I shared it with Faris who was like “this lady is larger than life!” Yep yep yep. (How fun would this be if she did it as a Cameo service to call up your exes?! It would be such a hoot!!!) Anyway, from there, Faris and I went down a whole Hannah Dasher rabbit hole. Here’s the full lyrics video for her latest single: Hope you enjoy as much as we did!
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
rockON,
faris & rosie & ashley | your friends over at geniussteals.co
@faris is always tweeting
@rosieyakob hangs out on instagram
@ashley also writes for deaf, tattooed & employed
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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based in Tennessee where our company is registered, our admin extraordinaire is based in Playa del Carmen, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)