Tag: narrative

Personal Branding, Story + NarrativeLeave a comment

Ha! Let’s Test This “Know The Blog, Know Me” Idea

ThisMuchWeKnow

Yesterday I wrote how this blog is a reflection of me, my set of still-forming ideas on how to change the world, my personal brand promise no less. It is a work in progress, but then so am I. If the TMWK blog is purest essence of “Jonathan”, then it stands to reason that it could become my resume / CV (especially if I get to talk about my BrandBoard, which gets me really excited…) Well, let’s test this out. It happens that once in a while I get recruiters dropping by on LinkedIn to say hi and to sense … Continue reading Ha! Let’s Test This “Know The Blog, Know Me” Idea

Story + Narrative, The Curious Will Inherit The World, The Future of Work2 Comments

#WOLyo! Close Out: Storify Reflections On Working Out Loud

ThisMuchWeKnow

Well, I put together a Storify of the #WOLyo! experiment from last week. Storify curates the social conversation around the topic – this is about me working out loud for a whole week under the stairs at work. Unfortunately, I cannot embed the Storify here on WordPress, so click through to the slightly weird but quite interesting little experiment…it looks a little bit like this. Enjoy. ←This Much We Know.→   Continue reading #WOLyo! Close Out: Storify Reflections On Working Out Loud

Social Business, Story + Narrative, The Curious Will Inherit The World, The Future of WorkLeave a comment

#WorkOutLoud Week: Day 2 #WOLyo! The Place That Adults Whisper About And Children Cross The Street To Avoid

ThisMuchWeKnow

So, word reaches me, working out loud (#WOLyo!) under the stairs at work, from two separate sources within minutes of each other – surely a meaning to this then – that Wes Craven has been here years before me, in the 1991 movie The People Under The Stairs. According to IMDb, “Two adults and a juvenile burglar break into a house occupied by a brother and sister and their stolen children and can’t escape.” Well, here I am, and there are escape routes left and right, but I’m hanging in there. Day one was very tiring because the spot light … Continue reading #WorkOutLoud Week: Day 2 #WOLyo! The Place That Adults Whisper About And Children Cross The Street To Avoid

Personal Branding, Story + Narrative3 Comments

Staring At The Ceiling Gets Me All Quantum Up On That Thing.

ThisMuchWeKnow

I am lying on my bed, looking up at my ceiling, listening to The Smiths. It is 1985, maybe. Meat is Murder is on repeat on the turntable, and hours go by. My ceiling has polystyrene tiles with random zigs and zags, lines at obtuse angles, a meaningless mélange of shapes. Yet within them, staring deeply for hours at a time, I can see many strange things: animals, narratives, emotions, thoughts scattered and now ordering. I am making sense of myself. It is 1998, I am living in Japan, and still staring at the cracked ceiling, lying on tatami. My … Continue reading Staring At The Ceiling Gets Me All Quantum Up On That Thing.

Story + Narrative, The Curious Will Inherit The WorldLeave a comment

Asking “What If?” Can Raise your IQ

ThisMuchWeKnow

In yesterday’s post I evidenced the growing requirement to ask questions if one is to survive and thrive in this mad, mad, mad world of ours. No sooner had I hit Publish, another piece of evidence crossed the wires from Warren Berger in this Fast Co. article. Asking big questions is where innovation comes from, and is associated with overcoming fear. John Seely Brown suggests starting with simply asking: what if? Yes, what if? Could there be a more beautiful question? Berger has other beauties to ask in his new book, and a quiz to take too, so you can … Continue reading Asking “What If?” Can Raise your IQ

Story + NarrativeLeave a comment

For Asthmatics, Every. Word. Counts.

ThisMuchWeKnow

The incomparable Miranda July ran one of her weird and wonderful art projects last year where she asked some renowned people to share some of their email correspondence with the world on various topics, under the moniker We Think Alone. One week, the topic was I love you. Here’s what Etgar Keret had to share, on the subject of Asthma Attacks, magically: When an asthmatic says “I love you,” and when an asthmatic says “I love you madly,” there’s a difference. The difference of a word. A word’s a lot. It could be “stop,” or “inhaler.” It could be “ambulance.” … Continue reading For Asthmatics, Every. Word. Counts.

Story + Narrative, The Curious Will Inherit The World, The Future of WorkLeave a comment

#Unsquirrel 6: I Come Back Sounding Strange Even To Myself

ThisMuchWeKnow

Travel remains a journey into whatever we can’t explain, or explain away…I know in my own case that a trip has really been successful if I come back sounding strange even to myself; if, in some sense, I never come back at all, but remain up at night unsettled by what I’ve seen. –          Pico Iyer, “The Place Across The Mountains” in Sun After Dark. I am not sure of the ratio, but let’s say it is 1000:1. One thousand pieces of data and knowledge wash over me; but one of those pieces changes something. Maybe not everything – though … Continue reading #Unsquirrel 6: I Come Back Sounding Strange Even To Myself

Story + NarrativeLeave a comment

#Unsquirrel 4: You Say Benevolence, We Say Malevolence

ThisMuchWeKnow

More on Canada’s psyche: Americans are benevolently ignorant about Canada, while Canadians are malevolently well-informed about the United States.” –          John Bertlet Brebner Agree. People here in Canada know more about US politics / affairs than they do their own country’s. We pity them. Americans’ ignorance of Canadians means we get away with a lot… ←This Much We Know.→ Continue reading #Unsquirrel 4: You Say Benevolence, We Say Malevolence

Story + Narrative, The Curious Will Inherit The WorldLeave a comment

#Unsquirrel 3: Morphing Is The Canadian M.O.

ThisMuchWeKnow

“Canada is a land of multiple borderlines, psychic, social, and geographic. Canadians live at the interface where opposites clash. We have, therefore, no recognizable identity, and are suspicious of those who think they have.” –          Marshall McLuhan Morphing is [Canada’s] modus operandi…states the anonymous article. Hear, hear. In an age of constant change, such a situation – perhaps, once, a weakness – is a +1. Those with an identifiable identity will increasingly scurry to update their status and bemoan the[ir] stupidity of youth. Newer nations, unencumbered by layer after layer of history – like Canada –  will be ahead of … Continue reading #Unsquirrel 3: Morphing Is The Canadian M.O.

Social Business, Story + Narrative, The Curious Will Inherit The World, The Future of WorkLeave a comment

#Unsquirrel 1: Concerning Owls

ThisMuchWeKnow

From The Natural History of Iceland (1758):  The entirety of Chapter XLII, “Concerning Owls.” There are no owls of any kind in the whole island. Sometimes, we need to waste a little energy to move forward. Not everything we share MUST add value. This is a huge get over it! requirement for 80%(?) of us. The very act of sharing, of working out loud, of considering “Maybe, just maybe, someone out there in my community might find value from my knowledge, data, content” – this is the critical transition from ‘Who knows?” to “Who knew!” ←This Much We Know.→ Continue reading #Unsquirrel 1: Concerning Owls

Social Business, Story + Narrative5 Comments

I Am An Artist, You Are An Artist, We Are All Of Us Artists

ThisMuchWeKnow

Seth Godin has some great content, of course, about people picking themselves. I have written previously about the transformation I went through when I realized the means of creative production were within reach upon first using MiniDV video technology and editing on an early iMac. Embracing the technology, I was effectively picking myself: because Suddenly, I was in control, a one-man shop, a creative force! I was a child again, trying things out, self-congratulatory, experimental, churning, learning. By producing content – where before I was just full of ideas – I was making art. I was a self-proclaimed artist. Modern art … Continue reading I Am An Artist, You Are An Artist, We Are All Of Us Artists

Personal Branding1 Comment

Want To Know About Personal Branding? Step Right This Way…

ThisMuchWeKnow

I closed out 2013 with a series of posts on personal branding and the BrandBoard process we excel at here at TMWK. To welcome the new year, here is a quick review of the content. It’s Me > You Every Time It starts with you. How you define yourself is the most important thing – more important than how other people define you. You own your brand. More >> Do You Have A Head-Heart-Hand Brand? We cannot be all things to all people. Don’t try it. Focus on where you make the difference. We find that most people have a … Continue reading Want To Know About Personal Branding? Step Right This Way…