Don't hold back

The hardest thing to is fear. My life is filled with family and friends who love and encourage me in all of my triumphs and failures. I do not have any reason to give up or question myself, yet I find myself holding myself back a lot of the time. 

I have concluded that I am scared of one of two things:

1) My Failure - defined: Lack of success and/or an unsuccessful person, enterprise, or thing

2) My Success- defined: The accomplishment of an aim or purpose; or the attainment of popularity or profit

Failure is understandable. Also the easiest to get over, I know that no matter what I fail at, I will not only survive, but it will probably lead me to something else. I have come to terms with fear, yet at times it still holds me back.

BUT success? Why would I be scared to succeed. Simple, because what happens when you succeed? What if tomorrow all of your dreams come true? Then what? That is scary to me. My dreams are BIG, but they are also attainable. They WILL happen one day, and that is the scary part. The fear of your own potential is the strangest but most exciting feeling. 

I believe the only way to conquer these 'fears' is to mentally challenge myself. To stop saying can't, no and later, and start saying can, yes and NOW! Today I proved to myself that I have the ability to do anything I set my mind to- I challenged myself to a 9 minute mile. I did it. Why have I not done this before? Because I have been telling myself I can't and that I would do it later. Completing such a small, accomplishable task feels insanely rewarding. I am no longer scared of the failure of a 9 minute mile- because I know I can do it; and I am no longer scared of the success- because it feels great. 

Next goal: 8 minute mile. YES, I CAN!

xo Emily

Did you know that?

Wide away, can't sleep and have to leave for class in just over 2 hours; it's an XL coffee kinda day. 

School is back in and I find myself picking up and remembering the most random, but seemingly important pieces of information. Yesterday for example, in Marketing- favourite class by far, we touched on #ParisHilton briefly to discuss her frequent outfit changes. Girl will wear up to 10 different outfits a day and is the most photographed celebrity, that is her 'brand.' Reason being, it gives the media and paparazzi more opportunity to sell and print their pictures of her. Also touched on this with little #HarryPotter (Daniel Radcliffe) who wore the same outfit to and from filming, to avoid the paparazzi using his photos. 

Is it true that any publicity is good publicity for a brand? 

#JodyFoster, an extremely private person, poured her heart into her acceptance speech at the Golden Globes on Sunday. This is a woman who is known for her movies, refuses to use social media, and is also respected by the paparazzi.  

A brand is not just a name, or packaging. A brand is the perception of a person, place, movie, products or thing. That perception is meticulously thought out, down to the smallest detail.

In 1915, Earl Dean, designed the original #Coca-Cola bottle. The bottle had a faint green tint, and contoured edges. The mentality behind the bottle design was recognizability. If the bottle were to be smashed into a million pieces, would one be able to recognize that it is still a #Coca-Cola bottle based on that one piece? 

Another example of branding done properly is depicted by artist Andrew Miller. He painted 20 products, completely white, stripped them of their logos and colours. He wanted to show just how recognizable brands design and advertising is. 

Link to his artwork: 

http://hypebeast.com/2012/5/brand-spirit-branded-objects-painted-white

Link to Jody Foster's acceptance speech:

xo Emily

Dedicated to Mr. Brian Burke

As a Canadian, hockey has always been a huge part of my life. My Dad was a referee up until last year, my family billeted Jr. A players, my friends always played hockey and watching live games became a favourite past time that lasted for 20 years.

I have had a change of heart about the game since this past lockout. I think it is silly to have such a public lockout over the large amounts of money that the league was dealing with. The majority of people who watch the sport, are regular people, who make regular wages, and having it blasted all over the televisions, and newspapers about just how much money the players and owners are making already and to be demanding more, is ridiculous.

From a PR perspective, I think that the honestly and transparency is important, however I think the lockout has hurt the sport a great deal. I feel that current impression of players and owners is that they are greedy- and who can blame them? It will be interesting to see whether or not the lockout affects the number of people who purchase tickets to games.

A ticket for a Toronto Maple Leaf game can easily set you back $200, in addition to dinner and drinks before and during the game; and for those who are driving in from out of town: the cost of gas, and parking, their hotels, and the time they spend taking time off work or away from family. It is not cheap to see an NHL game.

I work in the service industry, and if I had a dollar for every time someone has asked me if the lockout has affected my business.....I wouldn't be complaining, BUT it has. The lockout has affected a lot of businesses: restaurants and bars, hotels and shopping centres. Hockey brings in the right kind of business. The customers we want. They aren't cheap like basketball fans, or obnoxious like baseball fans. They are loyal to the sport, and want a beer in front of them, and to have their bill settled up in time to catch the National Anthem. A bartender's dream guest.

I think it would be great if nobody showed up to the NHL arenas for the rest of the season. You want to watch the game, go watch at a local sports bar and support the businesses that have been affected most by the lockout. Trade in $150 tickets and $13 beers for free entry and $5 pints.

I feel like it's time for the fans to strike. Hold on to their hard earned money, and enjoy the game in an different way- a local sports bar, with other fans. Save the extra money, meet some new friends and pour money back into the businesses that have lost out because of greed. 

2013 Leafs Promo Vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZNvF4JczHQ

xo Emily

Isn't she lovely?

Having just finished work, I decided to throw the news on and see what I missed while slinging drinks tonight and while being heartbroken by Team Canada's loss, and saddened by another Aurora, Colorado shooting, I also find myself uplifted by a young man from Berkshire, UK, Jimmy Higham.

A 26 year old teacher and rugby coach, passed of cancer last year, and although teaching was his passion- he loved to sing. Before he died he recorded a version of Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely." His students released a copy of it, turns out no one except for a small handful of his kids knew he loved to sing, not even his parents. The campus came together and made a video using the song to play tribute to Jimmy. The kind words his students had to say about him, how kind and funny he was and how much everyone missed him warms my heart. 

For all the bad that is going on in the world it is amazing to see people come together and create such a beautiful tribute to someone who left such an extraordinary impact on his  community. 

The song is for sale on iTunes, with the proceeds going towards a bursary set up in Jimmy's name. The bursary will benefit students who are underprivileged. 

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/isnt-she-lovely-single/id580686040

xo Emily

The One Percent

The One Percent : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmlX3fLQrEc
Born Rich : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xhuSxyHWRw

These documentaries directed by Jamie Johnson of the Johnson & Johnson family, are both intriguing, and thought provoking- too thought provoking for me to get into right now. I will have to watch them again and research my questions in order to educate myself enough to answer my own questions.

A couple things I want to look into, and call my Dad to pick his brain over:

1) Estate tax
2) Rich v. Poor
3) Hurricane Katrina
4) How money is viewed by those who have and those who don't

I am so curious as to how things work in different walks of life; how people react in extraordinary circumstances; and how as human beings we choose what path we are going to take in this world and are the ultimate factor in whether or not we can succeed or not.

xo Emily

Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest OH MY!

With more social media sites popping up as each month passes, how do I remain ahead of the game and learn how to use a site effectively while maintaining a level of privacy over my life? I think staying on top of the latest trends is important, but should not be life consuming. There is no possible way for one person to know how to maximize the use of each site right away. Like anything it takes time, and practice.  My goal for the next year will be learning more about the new social outlets, and how I can link them successfully to my other pages.

I have broken down what sites I use, what I use them for, and who my interactions are with:

1) Facebook- I find with Facebook, I want my friends to actually be my friends, I tend to put the most personal things on my page, but limit who is able to see what. My closest friends have access to my pictures, while my work friends have access to my statuses and my own posts only. I can always change privacy settings if I become closer to someone. I prefer to keep a level of separation between work and my personal life. 

2) Twitter - In 140 characters, I will say a lot but I will not use profanity, or defame anyone. I like to say what I think and stay true to myself without offending anybody. Twitter has become a huge marketing outlet and a powerful means of communication, and I do not want a potential employer to look back on my Tweets and see how much I disliked something specific. I do not want to burn down any bridges before I get to them. Twitter is something I have linked to my other pages, as I feel it is not as personal as Facebook, and shows my personality.

3) Pinterest - Such a great way to interact and connect with another person or company and see their likes. I like being able to see what a company likes, and see how our interests compare. It is also great for recipes and outfit ideas. Since I am still fairly new to the site, I have not yet linked it to any of my other pages. 

4) Linkedin - When I first heard about Linkedin I didn't understand what it was all about, but now that I have created a page, and have updated it a few times, I understand just how important my online network is. I feel my next job, will come out of my interactions on Linkedin, and because of this is it extremely important to brand myself well. I have linked Twitter to my Linkedin account, so far that is it. 

My social media presence is a great representation of myself, I choose quality over quantity, and follow a "less-is-more" approach. I think it is more important for me to have an active presence on a few sites, rather than minimal and possibly flighty presence on many sites. 

xo Emily