Strands of Genius: Taming The Beast, The Power Of Time Off, My Curious Eyes

Guest curated by Michelle Lee

Jul 07, 2022

:: A BIT MORE ABOUT GUEST CURATOR, MICHELLE LEE ::

LOCATION: Toronto, ON

PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: Freelance Strategist

I am a freelance strategist based in Toronto, Canada. I’ve been in the industry for about 20 years and I am part of the Naked alumni crew which is where I first met Faris in Sydney and then again in New York. Along the way I've worked at boutique shops like Rethink, TAXI, innovation consultancy, ?WhatIf!, and some of the usual suspects: Ogilvy, Saatchi, etc. I also did a stint in the PR world, spending some time at Edelman.

Editor’s Note (Faris): I did indeed meet Michelle during a stint at Naked Down Under and got to work with her again in NYC. Like many Naked alumns she has worked at a broad group of incredible agencies from creative through innovation, brand and PR and is still leading the charge for the discipline and the industry with Canada’s APG and her own with Uncommon Sense boutique. Michelle is lovely and brilliant and cares a great deal, we haven’t been to Toronto in years and thus have missed having lunch with her at the Kaoh Sahn Road Thai restaurant - but we’ll be back at some point! Miss you, Michelle, and thanks!

:: THE LINKS ::

TAMING THE BEAST

Watch Marsha Shandur in this hilariously honest keynote on Taming the Beast, that negative voice in your head that constantly reminds you that you are not good enough, you will never be enough, and that you should give up trying to be awesome. (World Domination Summit)

THE POWER OF TIME OFF

This TED Talk from designer Stefan Sagmeister is hugely inspirational. He regularly closes his NYC studio and goes on sabbatical to recharge and comes back even more productive than ever. (TED)

MY CURIOUS EYES

My Curious Eyes is a photo project run by Curiosity Guru, Karen Ward. Every day for two weeks, you get a simple prompt/challenge. You snap a photo, or several cause you can't help yourself, and share with folks from all over the world. (Curiosity Global)

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:: AND NOW… SOME FAST FAVORITES ::

:: Game :: Monopoly for Sore Losers, you get rewarded for things you'd normally get punished for

:: City :: Vancouver because that's where I originally hail from. Mountains, hiking, ocean, Chinese food that rivals HK....seriously what more could you ask for?

:: Book :: Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari. Ansari worked with NYU Sociologist, Eric Klinenberg, and social scientist Sherry Turkle, to pull together this thoughtful and hilarious exploration of "contemporary mating behaviors."

:: Podcast :: Sounds like a Cult, a show about modern day cults from fast fashion to the Royal Family.

:: Album :: Hey! Ho! Let's Go: The Anthology Compilation album by Ramones

:: FRED HAS A PEN IN HIS POCKET ::

These illustrations from my friend Freddy Jana always make me smile. It's amazing what you can do with just a pen in your pocket.

Just breathe. It's the most instinctual thing we often forget to do.

Michelle Lee

Leemichellei@gmail.com

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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 :)

Strands of Genius