A Max Tale: What my dog taught me about love and loss

I used to judge "those" people. You know the kind of people I"m talking about. Those pet owners who lovingly kissing their pooch on the lips, or speak to them in baby talk as if they actually comprehend human language, or worst of all, dress them up in cute little sweaters that always makes the pets look like they hate life. When I saw these people, I would instinctively shoot a "Jim from the Office" stare at someone nearby, or at least pretend there was a camera there to capture my incredulousness. 

But then, about 10 years ago, my ex and I adopted 2 Shih-Tzu's from the pound, who were rescued from Hurricane Katrina, and I became one of those people. Okay, perhaps not the sweaters, or kissing on the lips, but I became a dog/pet lover. 

All pet owners should be able to empathize with this statement: No matter what words we use, there is simply no way to describe how much our pets mean to us. 

To us pet owners, they aren't "pets", they are family. 

My beloved pet/family member, Maxine, recently passed away at the age of 15, and I am heartbroken about it. 

The funny thing is, when we first adopted her,  I was ADAMANTLY against it. 

Not only was I allergic to dogs, I simply didn't want more pets around the house to clean and take care of (taking care of myself was hard enough). 

"You know there's another bed open, right?"

But when they came home from the shelter, they were so small, scrawny and timid, they looked like they had to have been abused at some point. They would often disappear under the sofas to hide from us. It became evident that they had been through so much trauma, the mere sight of humans seemed to scare them. It hurt me to know that anyone could treat an animal this precious, so hatefully. 

Because my ex and her roommate had to work so much, I was often the only one available to take them out on walks, and feed them. Max was a little bigger than her sister Tellie, and had a voracious appetite. She would not only clean her bowl, but would often casually nudge her sister aside to finish off her dish as well. A tactic that I often employed as a young child myself in a family of 4. 

Being the one that the dogs instantly bonded to, I felt a shared connection. My life started to change. I stopped going out so much. I spent more time walking my dogs and playing with them than socializing with my friends. 

In short, I began to love them deeply, and treated them as if they were my own. 

Max helped me through one of the most difficult, painful moments in my life. She brought me so much joy, love and happiness, that I sometimes wonder if I would have survived my ordeal, if she had not been there to comfort me?

Now I understand why pet owners treat their furry animals like children....because to them, they are. They teach us love, kindness, and compassion. And those things are essential to becoming a good writer. 

And Max was the best. She never complained about not getting attention, never barked (except occasionally at other dogs), and was always so obedient. I can't imagine a better dog. 

So as much as it pains me to say goodbye to my best friend, I am grateful for the time she gave me. I hope I gave her a life worth living. 

I saved her life, and she ended up saving mine. 

---

PS: This post is dedicated to all the pet owners, and pets who bring each other joy every day. In honor of my dog Max, I am making a monthly donation to Old Dog Haven, a local shelter here in Washington that houses and cares for older dogs who are either unwanted, or homeless. If you're looking for a way to help our furry friends, they are a great organization doing God's work. 

https://olddoghaven.org/donate-2/donate/

Goodbye my friend

Why Good Writing Shouldn’t Be Limited To Just Writers

Anyone can be a good writer. And it’s not as difficult as one might think.

Yet so many people, including those in high positions of influence, seem to fail at grasping the basics of clear, simple writing. Becoming a good writer doesn’t mean you have to write eloquent prose like Hemingway. It also doesn’t mean your words must be so big, it sends readers off to their dictionary to understand what it means (or Google, let’s be real). 

No, quite the opposite in fact. A good writer simply means that people can understand what you’re saying, at a level that someone with a basic education can comprehend.

One of my favorite online tools is a site called http://www.hemingwayapp.com/. Simply paste your copy into the text body, and the tool will tell you the reading level of your written content. The idea is that the lower the grade level, the more likely it is that your writing is clear to the average reader.

Why? Because simple words are typically better, especially if you are trying to convey a relatively simple point. Bigger words are great if you’re naturally eloquent, and its use comes to you organically, but otherwise, save them. 

And business jargon? Please drag those to your recycle bin and burn them from your memory forever. 

Bad Writing Makes Everything Suck

A recent Harvard Business Review study showed how poor writing in the workplace can actually severely hinder a company and cost inordinate amounts of money; due to the lack of clarity and confusion in their communications.

The study articulately conveys how clear writing doesn’t just get a point across, it exemplifies intelligence and leadership in a way that otherwise would have been lost. Texts with your closest buddies are one thing, but in a professional environment, vague writing will just confuse everyone around you. 

Personally, my advice is to not overthink it. Don’t try to get cute, clever, or use big words that even you don’t fully understand, in order to make yourself seem smart. Write what you mean, and how you would say it if you had to say it out loud. Then go back and make sure it makes sense. 

Use words that everyone with a basic education can understand, and you just might find yourself communicating to people in a way that people will truly appreciate. 

You owe it to yourself, and to those of us that have to decipher your confusing messages. 

Using Your Best Guess to Make Decisions

I was working on an email campaign for one of my clients recently, and the topic of email subject lines came up during a discussion. Having worked in the business for several years now, I always assume to know the most proven/best practices when it comes to copywriting.

I went to work, developing dozens of various email subject lines, plugging them into an email subject line analyzer (this one is my favorite), all to test the results and use a data-driven approach to creativity. All of this before I even had my morning coffee. 

The client made one, basic subject line using cringe-worthy email practices such as multiple exclamation marks, cliche phrases and too much copy. 

But when it came down to the A/B test, guess what happened? Well, my subject line still won out, but not by very much. It won by a measly 1% point. 

What did those results tell me? Well, for starters:

1. I may not be as smart as I think
2. I'll NEVER NOT need coffee, and
3. Sometimes things just don't make any sense

That's not to say that you shouldn't use data, or analyzation tools to drive decisions; in fact, that's exactly what you should be doing. But with that should come the expectation that even your most "educated guess" may not work out as well in real life as it does on paper. And that's okay. If it doesn't work, digging deeper to find out why not is part of the battle. 

Nothing is for certain-even in industries like science, where people much smarter than me test theories for a living. And that's especially true in marketing/copywriting, where not only is the industry ever changing, but the methodologies evolve almost as fast as the technology. A well executed, insightful ad campaign however, like the recent marketing push behind the movie "IT", are almost impervious to failure (provided the movie ends up not being a Rotten Tomato).

Ultimately though-it's about having confidence in your best, most educated guess. You can't know until you try something, and sometimes just trying (and failing) is the path to a better outcome. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go back and relearn everything I thought I knew about email subject lines. 

How Childish Gambino retiring is a lesson for all creatives.

It was announced earlier this week that Childish Gambino, better known as Donald Glover of Atlanta and Community fame, is “retiring” his rap moniker after his soon to be released album drops. 

At first, many in the hip hop community thought Donald Glover/Childish Gambino was retiring from music entirely, but upon further clarification, it appears he is simply retiring the name. 

Why you ask? Because in his words:

“I feel like Childish Gambino is a period that should come to a close.”
 

It’s an interesting take from one that many consider to be the peak of millenial hip hop in today’s rap landscape. After all, Donald Glover not only raps, but sings…and oh by the way, writes, directs and stars in his own TV shows, and sometimes movies (Lando Calrissian anyone?). It reminds me of the last scene in Mad Men where Don (spoiler alert) closes his eyes and the Coke commercial music starts playing. 

As far as his music career is concerned, Childish Gambino has never really been a top selling chart burner, like say a Drake or Kendrick Lamar. What he has done though, is gain recognition from many in the hip hop community for being not only lyrical, but thoughtful on his commentary as well. And if you haven’t done so already, check out his most recent album, “Awaken, My Love!” if you really want to hear some next level sh*t that will make you call D’angelo at 4am in the morning. 

All this is to say that Donald Glover can basically do whatever the f*ck he wants, because at this point, he’s earned the trust and respect of his fans. 

His announcement of retiring the Childish Gambino moniker is a subtly genius move, and should inspire any creative out there looking towards their next move. 

You know, I like it when something’s good and when it comes back there’s a reason to come back, there’s a reason to do that.”

He added: “Like I feel like there’s gotta be a reason to do things and I always had a reason to be punk

As a creative, there has to be a reason to do something. And if the reason isn’t apparent to you right away, you should probably question why you’re doing it. 

In movies, sequels are made to make money. However, rarely are these movie sequels truly original (with some exceptions, James Cameron’s Terminator 2, and Ridley Scott’s Aliens come immediately to mind). But if you’re making a sequel just to make it, you’re not really growing, evolving, or learning….which should be at the heart of every creative looking for originality. Otherwise, you’re on your 8th Transformers movie, killing the dreams of every kid who grew up in the 80’s (totally not me). 

If you couldn’t tell by now, I’m a huge Childish Gambino/Donald Glover fan. He’s inspired me to think about my own work, as well as take on challenges that I might not have otherwise. His lesson about not doing something without a purpose, and ending chapters in your life I think is an important one. 

One that I think I will take to heart, and so should you.

I’m not going to produce creative work that I don’t feel a purpose or connection to. Because then it’s not creative. It’s output. 

After all, the British Office, Mad Men, and Breaking Bad (all classics) knew when to wrap things up. They ended things when it got they felt their story has been told. 

The question is, do you?

How traveling abroad makes you a better person.

So I just got back from spending some time overseas, and I feel a little like John Travolta in Pulp Fiction, talking about all the little differences between other countries and ours. Royale with cheese is a real thing my friends, but that's not really what I wanted to get into (plus, I prefer Big Kahuna burger). 

I believe it's my 8th or 9th time in Europe, and each time I come away with some type of lesson or experience. Anyone who's ever been probably already knows that one of the first culture shocks is just how old everything is. Here in the US, we're used to strip malls, skyscrapers, and Starbucks that we'd be lucky to call older than ourselves. It makes sense, good ol' America is all about staying current, evolving and being on the forefront of technological advancements. And don't even think about putting us in a wifi-less location for more than a couple hours. 

But the biggest thing that traveling in Europe (or anyone else for that matter) does for me is give me a sense of appreciation and perspective. I get to appreciate certain advantages that I am given here that I probably wouldn't get if I were a citizen of another country. 

I also get to see perspectives outside of our own. After all, you hear about people in other countries all the time, but unless you actually speak and interact with them, how do you know how they truly feel about certain topics? I was questioned a lot on the US' current political climate, and without getting too politically charged, I'll say that my understanding is that many that I spoke to couldn't understand how we could elect a "man" such as Trump to be our President (see what I did there). Unfortunately I couldn't really explain in an easy way, other than to simply let people know that we have a fairly poor education system here in the US. 

In the short time I've been alive on this earth, I really haven't learned much. But one thing I have learned to be true, is that it's important to be humbled, and understand your place in the world. The bigger the sphere of understanding and perspective grows around you, the more you can put into perspective the kind of life you should be living. 

It's taking me longer than I would like it to, but I think at some point....after perhaps a few more trips with more nights filled with wine and tapas, I'll eventually figure it out. And when that happens, we'll have another national embarrassment that forces us to apologize to the citizens of the globe all over again. 

In the meantime, Salud.