Strands of Genius: Storythings, Short Fiction in 2031, Intimacy in America, Audacity in Advertising
Strands of Genius: Storythings, Short Fiction in 2031, Intimacy in America, Audacity in Advertising
plus our thoughts on: vacation guilt
WRITING FROM | Tulum, MX
WORKING ON | finishing up some projects before Dec 1
LOOKING AHEAD | Tulum, Mexico :: Nov 9-17 | Isla Mujeres, Mexico :: Nov 17-22 | Nashville, TN :: Nov 22-Dec 2 | Beersheba Springs, TN :: Dec 2-18 | Atlanta, GA :: Dec 18-20 | Nashville, TN :: Dec 20-30
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
We’re enjoying our final warm days of the year here in Mexico. Our scouting trip to Tulum was a bust in that we don’t want to spend a longer period of time here, but a success in that we figured that out before we booked a longer term stay. If you have suggestions for chill / warm places that have good wifi and aren’t primarily homes to influencers and dance parties, let us know. (Look we’re not against influencers and dance parties, but it’s not what we want for a longer-term space.)
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
Isla Mujeres, AGI Tours, Javier, random encounters, Vosters, rainy days, micheladas, ceviche, shrimp tacos, more shrimp tacos, cochinta pibil, cenotes (which means hole of water in the indigenous language the word is derived from and are really cool), La Croix, finca coffee, tie dye, tropical house, riding bicycles (but not when the sun has set and it is pouring rain and there is traffic, that was scary), Ted Lasso (we thought we finished it but we still have more episodes!), & YOU!
:: THE LINKS ::
SHORT FICTION IN 2031
Our friends over at Storythings celebrated their 10th birthday this year. To celebrate, they commissioned a brilliant set of writers from across the globe to create original pieces of short fiction set in 2031, as a nod to their first project in 2011, which looked at the world in 2021. The themes of the stories cover digital identity, artificial intelligence, work, healthcare & more - all things that will matter in the future. Y’all. This is ridiculously cool. Here were some of the outputs:
+ An email exchange by Maria Anderson and Jessica Buchleitner in response to Night Farm.
+ Duncan Geere explains climate migration on five levels in response to Undullah Street.
+ Casey Fiesler answers questions about technology ethics for Ask an Expert in response to Robot Poet.
+ A reading list by Rana Sweis in response to Three in One. (Storythings)
INTIMACY IN AMERICA
We were connected with the folks over at Nonfiction Research earlier this year, and had the pleasure of hosting them for a School of Stolen Genius meet up today. Nonfiction brings an uncensored approach to research to their clients, and today’s session was all about Intimacy in America. It was fascinating, y’all. This is the kind of research that doesn’t just give you insight, but goosebumps. You can find the full report online here, and we’ll post the video from the session for the School of Stolen Genius members next week. (Nonfiction)
AUDACITY IN ADVERTISING AWARDS
BP, Facebook and Amazon all get roasted in this hilarious sketch from the cast of Saturday Night Live. (SNL)
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:: WHAT WE’RE THINKING ABOUT: VACATIONS GUILT ::
We’re wrapping up our work for the year, and will “close” our “offices” (air quotes since we don’t have an office to close, but you know…) from December 1st through January 15th.
In addition to that official closure for us and our team, we’ve also had vacations blocked for part of November. I’ve felt this weird shame whenever we tell our clients that not only will we be closed for a month and a half, but they’ll also get an out of office from us for several days in November. A small clench in my belly appears, and a heart-ache, or rather guilt-ache, threatens to takeover.
We’ve run a successful, profitable business, since we opened in December 2013, and I’m proud of what we’ve built. And still, sometimes the guilt creeps in. And so, I’m returning to something I wrote earlier this year:
Faris often talks about the “Protestant Work Ethic” that seems to be instilled in most Americans. But: we are more than our work. We deserve breaks, no matter what our job entails. It’s necessary for mental health, and physical health. Whether you work at a table overlooking a beach, or a desk in a living room, or you’re on site in an office, you still need time to turn off your working mind.
Which brings me to vacations. Creating a balanced life requires more than just a few hours thinking about things other than work. It also means taking vacations, or ‘holiday’ as the Brits say.
Many Americans don’t have paid leave, and choose to prioritize wages, while other countries require time off.
“And the guilt factor is real! More than half of U.S. workers ― 54 percent — reported feeling guilty about taking vacation time either sometimes, often or always, according to a survey of more than 2,000 full-time workers in the United States by TurnKey Vacation Rentals.” via Washington Post
And of course, the pandemic didn’t help. It made taking time off that much harder. It was stressful, dangerous, expensive, and in some cases illegal or impossible to travel. We’ve all been living through this long term trauma and it’s hard to carve out time and space to nourish our souls.
I write this to remind you that it’s OK to take time off, and to remind myself of the same. To give you and I both permission to care about more than work, and to allocate your time (and mine!) in that capacity.
:: AND NOW… YOU DO YOU, BOO ::
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 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 :)