Comments on: hughtrain revisited: finding meaning in marketing

By: Daniel K

Daniel K — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 05:45:36 +0000

I was planning to set up a blog with just an endless list of insights/rules that count in life. E.g. I would just copy “HTBC” over…
But one headline would be “de-centralize love” – to unknown people we interact with, to projects we declare boring at first sight, to all the little things surrounding us daily. And getting the “l”-word out of its solely romantic context – making it a “tool” of heart.
(God knows if this sounds as good for an English as it does in my German head…)

By: Anna Farmery

Anna Farmery — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 19:49:11 +0000

So glad you revisited this as I had forgotten how great this piece is….maybe the only social object is caring….the about is up to your passion. Maybe other social objects are merely subsets…great post

By: KG

KG — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 13:45:25 +0000

What a lovely and refreshing blog post! It is so right on. Love is where it’s at, and a life without love is drab, sad. Work without love is confusing, irrelevant.
I took an extensive course in cooking a few years back. I just didn’t know how to cook well and kept making the same things over and over again. I knew there had to be a better way—I couldn’t keep eating this boring stuff all my life, I couldn’t keep ordering in take-out. So I found this program where everything they put into the food and the cooking and the presentation seemed so magical.
After communing with my fellowing students and our amazing teacher-chefs over a meal, I asked the program’s director why the food was so amazing. He said, “We add extra Vitamin L.”
I’d never heard of that. “What’s Vitamin L?” I asked.
“It’s LOVE!” he said, smiling. We all broke into laughter. My cooking is much better now.

By: Oskar

Oskar — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 10:49:28 +0000

Great to be reminded of these great books.

By: Joseph Ferrara.sellsius

Joseph Ferrara.sellsius — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 05:59:09 +0000

Love in deed. Thanks Hugh.

By: Jacinta

Jacinta — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 21:48:16 +0000

Wow, this is the most beautiful blog post I’ve read in awhile! Thanks for expressing what so few do…

By: Rob Paterson

Rob Paterson — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 18:35:00 +0000

Hugh, I use this as my business card and when I offer it up, the recipient always has a “moment”. We also used it as the heart of our work at NPR and I think that it still pulls them forward.
As you think of your book, please recall that much of your earlier work had and still has great power – the power of truth
All the best for 2008
(PS looking fwd to hearing the podcast)
Rob

By: Prig

Prig — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 15:14:03 +0000

…Needless to say, all three changed book my life somewhat [especially Mark's, as it turned out]…
Did you mean “all three books changed my life somewhat”?

By: vinny warren

vinny warren — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 10:24:59 +0000

you’re a passionate celt. you can’t help that.
that cartoon is brilliant. even seth couldn’t do that!

By: Steve Lawson

Steve Lawson — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 08:39:41 +0000

Hugh,
in the musical world I inhabit, I’m often referenced as the one who’s great at ’self promotion’, even though I feel like I’m treading water… The difference between me and those around me is just that I unapologetically LOVE the music I make. It’s not that I think everyone should love it, just that it’s the soundtrack to the inside of my head, and as such provides the right kind of noises to underscore what’s going on in the world as I see it.
So what other people see as my marketing genius (yeah, right, a marketing genius who thinks he can make a living as a solo bassist…) is just me believing in what I do, and feeling like it can have meaning for the people who it resonates with.
The thing that most tells me that I’m on the right track is that almost everyone I’ve ever spoken to after one of my gigs is someone I’d want to go out for dinner with – I find my audience fascinating, thoughtful, funny and interesting. So if I’m soundtracking their world in some way as well, it all works.
Love the post, sir – as so often happens, the tough time you’ve been having of late seems to be the sand in the oyster, dredging up some hard-won but deeply important thoughts.
Sx

By: pinny

pinny — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 07:22:02 +0000

Hugh
I am so glad you exist today because i felt the love. god bless U

By: shelley noble

shelley noble — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 07:05:10 +0000

Gorgeous, Hugh. Brilliantly put, again. You’ve been knocking them out of the park all month. You’re getting it all so clear I’m afraid you’ll transcend any minute. And then who will tell me what’s going on?

By: Catherine

Catherine — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 06:39:38 +0000

Fantastic post…loved it..hope you well x

By: rachel bellow

rachel bellow — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 06:28:56 +0000

I’m very moved by this blog. It reminds me that the “essential fuel” for all our efforts–marketing or otherwise–is love, and outside of your house of worship, or the privacy of your bedroom, it’s damn brave to bring it up. Speaking as a Jew, I’m aware of raising the eyebrows of my ancestors, but I’ll say this: Jesus always appealed to me far more than any other religious figure precisely because he was always and only speaking of love. If religion can be viewed fundamentally as the marketing of specific paths to spiritual enlightenment, then give me the Jesus marketing plan any time. I’m not being glib. Tom Hopkins was onto this the other day, I think. As has been said, you can’t fake it: the authentic expression of love is an arrow to the heart of “the other.” Of course, given the vast denial of vulnerability that our society rewards….your heart will be broken every single day by going out on this limb. But not today. Today, you get a big thank you from your readers.

By: Summer

Summer — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 06:04:29 +0000

To speak to what you say, and Anton’s comment above, love is usually about helping others or wanting to. Love is what makes us WANT to help.
In massage school, a place where business, a certain kind of intimacy, and a large amount of passion are present, we learned to love everyone. You have to to be willing to walk into a room and lay hands on them hour after hour, day after day. They trust you as they lay on your table, it’s our responsibility as a therapist to set boundaries, to help, to encourage healing, rest and relaxation.
When I was in school, they told us over and over that out of our class of 11, only a couple of us would be practicing full time a year after we graduated. It’s true – because its a job you have to LOVE to do.
I like to think that we’re all working to make others happy – at least those of us who are marketing things. We sell them, market them, because we want someone to buy it, love it, be passionate about it too and the best marketing is done by people who feel that way about their product.
When people ask me what I do, I tell them, “I make people happy.” Isn’t that what we’re all aiming for?
(sorry if my comments too long… I was sorting of thinking it out as I went.)