Strands of Genius: Migration Pivotal to the Beautiful Game, Breastfeeding or Going to the Olympics, Let's Fucking Go
Strands of Genius: Migration Pivotal to the Beautiful Game, Breastfeeding or Going to the Olympics, Let's Fucking Go
plus our thoughts on: 2 Community Meetups and the Power of 'No'
WRITING FROM | Dallas, TX (Ashley)
WORKING ON | All the work associated with new business - pitches, proposals and procurement ;) deck on writing award winning case studies, 2 workshops, new idea for an article
LOOKING AHEAD
June 15-30 | New York & Connecticut (Rosie only)
July 1-8 | Nashville, TN (Rosie, Faris, and Ashley)
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
Ashley, here. I’ve been living with a friend whose house flooded during the winter storms here in Texas, and we were given a 48 hours notice that we needed to be out of the house for renovations, so things have been a little chaotic, but if pandemic life and nomadic life has taught me anything, it’s that I have to be okay with sudden changes and allow for flexibility and a go-with-the-flow mentality.
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
The southern hospitality from old and new friends, Kelso (the cowboy corgi), a lovely airbnb in a different area of town, last minute plans to join Rosie and Faris for the 4th of July, Crossfit Deep, stretching class, lots of soccer to play and watch, and of course, the start of Wimbledon, my favorite of the 4 grand slam majors in tennis.
S C H O O L O F S T O L E N G E N I U S >> H I G H L I G H T S
//SOSG June Yoga | Community Meetup//
Starts (Tues) June 29, 2021 at 12:00 PM EDT
We hope you'll join us for our fifth community yoga session! Our instructor will be Elea Soler, and she'll be leading us in a practice designed for all levels -- meaning you're most welcome whether you're new to yoga, or have years of experience.
//SOSG x Tom Roach | Community Meet Up//
Starts (Weds) June 30, 2021 at 12:00 PM EDT
"I'd never heard of Jellyfish...but now I work there."
Tom talks a bit about his past, present and future, what Jellyfish is all about, why he's gone there, and what it's making him think about the future of agencies.
Enroll at http://schoolofstolengeni.us
:: THE LINKS ::
MIGRATION IS PIVOTAL TO THE BEAUTIFUL GAME
The Migration Museum in London has launched a campaign celebrating the role of migration in soccer (football to most of the world) amid an ongoing movement to fight racism in the sport. The campaign known as “Football Moves People” coincides with the current Euro Championships tournament. It highlights the fact that all 26 competing teams feature players who are from outside the country.
The ads can be spotted on out-of-home sites, pub screens, and social media throughout the tournament which runs through July 11. It aims to put migration at the center of conversations about soccer and to honor its positive impact across sport, culture and society. (AdWeek)
CHOOSING BETWEEN BREASTFEEDING OR GOING TO THE OLYMPICS
Due to Covid rules set for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, a female basketball player from Canada says she’s being forced to decide between breastfeeding her daughter or representing her country in the Olympics. In the past, athletes have been able to bring family and friends to the games, but this year is different with Japan only allowing in country fans to attend and media (never mind that they are flying in from all over the world). She’s trying to appeal to the International Olympic Committee and has received no response. (DailyHive)
LET’S FUCKING GO
‘LFG’ from Academy Award Winning documentarians Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine was released on HBOMax last week and tells the story of the US Women’s National Soccer Team and their fight for equal pay. The team, who has repeatedly brought home more international titles than the men’s team, sued their employer, the US Soccer Federation. Despite the lawsuit not going the way they hoped, this film showcases that the fight for women and equal pay is far from over. (The Hollywood Reporter)
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:: WHAT WE’RE THINKING ABOUT: THE POWER OF ‘NO’ ::
Are you sensing a theme here? Sports are a passion of mine and something I truly believe has the power to change society and culture. I mean wars have been ignited because of soccer. Colin Kaepernick took a knee…
Naomi Osaka made headlines recently when she announced that for mental health reasons (Osaka has shared that she struggles with anxiety and depression), she would not participate in the required press conferences during The French Open and would instead pay the $15k fine. The leaders of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments threatened the possibility of disqualification or suspension for Osaka if she continued to skip news conferences. Only after Osaka withdrew from second round of the tournament did the leaders announce that they would address players’ concerns about mental health.
Admittedly, when she first announced her stance, I wasn’t entirely sure I agreed with her. We all have parts of our jobs that we don’t particularly care for, but we carry on. However, when the leaders banded against her and when I gave myself to reflect on my own mental health, the switch was instant. The reality is that most of us women have grown up in a society that says you can’t say ‘no’. As a woman with a disability, I’ve always felt that I had to say ‘yes’ to everything and do all the things to be accepted as a worthy and capable member of society.
Why is it that women are the puppets in society? Osaka saying no to press engagements, Sedona Prince revealing the huge differences between the men and women’s March Madness, and the US Women’s Soccer Team fighting for equal pay are just a few of the recent incidents of women “being their own windkeepers”. This phrase is in reference to a book prop specifically created for ‘Friends’. In the specific episode, the show’s 3 main female characters are reading the book which says that men are said to steal a women’s wind by taking over her right to refuse to do something, taking her choice away.
In today’s world, these instances of women taking back their wind is the start of something revolutionary for women, a new level of negotiation and boundary setting.
A newsletter from Grey summed it up perfectly, “Covid provided a chance for many of us to articulate what we needed in our lives and from our employers and collaborators— to say “no” when we need to. A taste of that license is enough to show us how much better things could be for us.”
In the past year, nearly 3 million women have left the US workforce or opting for part time work (and loving it). Companies are taking note and offering incentives to potential hires like higher salaries, signing bonuses and work-life flexibility to bridge the employment gap.
The pressure we put on ourselves, and the pressure society puts on us to perform and conform to stereotypical gender roles is subsiding as more of us learn to say ‘no’, and more importantly, as more of us learn that it is okay to say ‘no’. It does not diminish our worth and ability to be amazing. We’ve been taking on the queen of all trades role for so long that our own well-being has taken a backseat, without many of us realizing, to be honest, so thank you to the pioneers like Osaka who’ve cast aside the outside pressures to put herself first.
:: AND NOW… SOME GRAPHIC TEE HUMOR ::
Dallas Farmers’ Market findings
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rockON,
faris & rosie & ashley | your friends over at geniussteals.co
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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 out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, 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.
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