Strands of Genius: No More Expensive Coffee, Unremarkably Average, Possibility and Different Paths ...Plus, an Easy June giveaway

Guest curated by Ivan Saenz

Nov 03, 2022

:: A BIT MORE ABOUT GUEST CURATOR, IVAN SAENZ::

LOCATION: Atlanta, GA

PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: Founder of Easy June

You just never fucking know. Often when I visit places, I think of what my life would be like if I lived there. Or if I was raised there! I also do this with careers. What if I had been an author? “Mom, I’m an author!” I would have said. And sometimes I get more granular: I wonder how different my life would be if I hadn’t gone to one specific party.

In 2016, I moved to Los Angeles. I was living in Texas and Trump had just been elected and I don’t think I need to say anything else about that. But here’s what I’ll say: I was happy in Houston. Oh, was I happy! But I moved. Not because I had to, but because I wanted to.

A few months after I moved, and after a very bad, very long day at work (very bad), I got a message from a guy I’d been talking to: “do you want to go on a date tonight?” This was around 4:00 pm, and in LA, you just don’t spring something like this on people. Have manners!

I was reluctant but I agreed, and long story short, that man later turned out to be my husband. And we live in Atlanta now. And with his support, I’ve quit my corporate legal job, and started a small skincare company. More importantly, his community has become my community. It’s how I know so many of the people that I genuinely call close friends. It’s how I know Rosie and Faris. Who I love dearly, and inspire me deeply. [Editors: Awww, Ivan! You’re too sweet. We are such big fans of yours, too, and so thankful to call you a friend.]

I mention this for your benefit, and for mine. I mention this as an incentive to say yes. There is life hiding behind every choice. And maybe (just maybe!) reading this newsletter is the thing that will silently whisper to you “Yeah, go do it.” Maybe you’ll say yes to that dinner that sounds incredibly boring and end up meeting a friend that feels so much like home that you’ll wonder how you ever had a life without them. Or maybe you’ll meet me!

You just never fucking know.

Editor’s Note (Genius Steals): When we first heard about this skincare endeavor, we were so excited, but Ivan was cool, calm and collected, holding his cards close to his chest — and making us promise not to spill the beans. I’m telling you — starting a brand from scratch?! Working with labs to use science to create things that are good for your skin?! — these are hard things! [Faris and I were talking about it, and we were like, but where do you even begin?!] We’re crazy impressed with the product and with the packaging and branding and so proud of what he created, and so excited to feature him here as a guest curator today.

Oh, and true story: When we ordered the product it arrived with a dope smiley face sticker on the outside and I carefully preserved it and then put it on my notebook. Then, I went about opening the rest of the package. Turns out that there were free stickers included, but that’s how much I loved the sticker, ha!

All Strands subscribers have been entered to win a bottle of Easy June’s face oil! Scroll down for details on how to snag extra entries below :)

:: THE LINKS ::

NO MORE EXPENSIVE COFFEE

You won't be able to buy yourself an expensive coffee ever again without thinking of this article. And no, it's not what you think. It's great reminder of the systems in place designed to keep us spending, and more often than not, dissatisfied. (Films For Action)

UNREMARKABLY AVERAGE

You've probably been dying for a guide on how to be unremarkably average. Well, I have one just for you. I read this long ago, and since then, I often hear these words in my head. They've propelled me to take action when I might have otherwise just taken the safe route. (The Art of Non-Conformity)

POSSIBILITY AND DIFFERENT PATHS

Continuing with the theme of possibility and different paths, I've always found this scene to be a profound conversation that touches on motherhood, regret, and choices. Warning: spoilers for The Hours (2002) ahead. However, you've had 20 years to watch so your statute of limitations on this one has expired. To catch you up: Julianne Moore's character abandons her son when he's only 8. Never to be seen again. The son (played by Ed Harris) grows up to be Meryl Streep's platonic soulmate. Eventually, the son (Ed Harris) (as an adult) decides to take his own life. In this scene, Julianne Moore is meeting Meryl Streep for the first time shortly after they both learn of his passing. (YouTube)

Looking for more from Ivan Saenz? Those enrolled in The School of Stolen Genius will receive a deep dive from him in their inbox shortly! You can access all our expert interviews for SOSG here.

:: AND NOW… SOME FAST FAVORITES ::

:: Game :: Mafia (social deduction game)

:: City :: Madrid

:: Book :: My Name is Lucy Barton

:: Podcast :: Founded Beauty

:: Album :: Norman Fucking Rockwell

:: EASY JUNE::

If you're into skincare and want to support a good cause at the same time..might I recommend Easy June?

Besos,
Ivan

:: HOW TO WIN A BOTTLE OF EASY JUNE’S FACE OIL ::

Just by being a subscriber, you’ll already be entered to win. However, we’ve also got a few ways for you to earn some extra entries, capped at 100 entries per person.

All you have to do is share a link to the newsletter in some capacity, and send an email to ashley@geniussteals.co on or before November 30th.

Here’s the scoop:

Sharing on social media = 5 extra entries, per platform. You’ll send a link to your post(s) to Ashley.
Sending an email to your team/department = 25 extra entries. We hope your team will thank you! Forward your email to Ashley for your extra entries.
Sending an email to your whole company = 50 entries. Damn, look at you willing to use that all-agency list serv. Thanks, we appreciate that! Forward your email to Ashley for extra entries.

We would like to grow our subscribers so obviously this is helpful for us and we are incentivizing that a little bit but we also believe that sharing is caring, that people we meet always tell us they find this newsletter unique and useful amongst the advertising industry, both broad and personal, and if you like it, wouldn’t people you like enjoy it too?

We’ll select winners on December 1st, and announce the winners on December 5th.

:: WHAT TO SHARE ::

We’re leaving that up to you. We’d love for you to share what you love about the newsletter, or why you read it, or what you appreciate about it — but just sharing a link will still get you extra entries.

We’ve flagged some of the more popular editions of Strands of Genius here, in case you want to share a past edition:

There was that edition where we explored grief, which included links about overcoming productivity dysmorphia, when a major life change upends your sense of self, and 3 questions to ask about trends.
Or the edition where we highlighted social media bans around the world, which included links about why community matters so much, retouching and influencer marketing, and shrinking The Gap (how the clothing brand lost its way.)
We covered the tough topic of abortions in May, and included links on big ideas in advertising, why Marvel is the most important cinematic innovation of the 21st Century, and why analogies are superpowers.
The newsletter we received the most responses to was when Rosie wrote about what it’s like working with a spouse, and included her favorite writings from Faris, including a post about America, Freedom & The High Cost of Healthcare, toxic nostalgia, how to get lucky, and Stone Junction.
And then there was a follow-up from Ashley, our Director of Operations, who wrote about what it was like working with a married couple, and included links on the nature of fame and attention, Italy’s B Corps, and the gay history of camels.
Or the time when Faris wrote about constraints, and included links on playing with brands, how tenderness and attention are related, and why we love the word ‘smooth.’
Rosie was a little nervous to send the newsletter where she talked about waning ambition, but it turned out many of you shared the same perspective. That edition also included links on why the return to the office isn’t working, the six forces that fuel friendship, and the first edition of the Warc Attention Economy podcast.
And there was the edition where we shared our favorite questions to ask, which also included links on being wrong, the insane cost of cars, and nine ways to channel stoicism to help your anxiety.

You can find and search the entire archive of Strands of Genius here, if there was an edition we didn’t spotlight that you loved and wanted to share :)

Strands of Genius is currently read by 13,000 subscribers. Support us by sponsoring an issue, becoming a member of The School of Stolen Genius or encouraging friends or colleagues to subscribe.

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.

Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)

Strands of Genius