[Originally posted Sept., 2004]
There are a lot of great marketing books and blogs out there. That being said, I still think the best marketing stories come from personal, first-hand experience.
Here’s a favorite one of mine:
Back when I lived in New York there was this fabulous, crazy-ass juice bar on West Houston called Lucky’s Juice Joint. I think it’s no longer there. I hear it’s moved.
It was the most out-of-place business south of 14th Street. Hard to descibe, except as a “hardcore hippie haven”. Just had this weird, crazy, psychedelic-rainforest vibe. But damn, it had the best juice in town. It was amazing stuff. Tasted like the fruits and vegetables were picked that morning. Fresher than anything else I found in New York. And yes, I had searched high and low for even better alternatives, but never found one. In New York, this was really it.
The boss was this crazy looking tie-dye wearing guy who looked and talked like he had done too many drugs back in the ’sixties. A big ol’ middle aged, acid-head teddy bear. One day we struck up a brief conversation. I complimented the hell out of his product. “Wow,” I quietly gushed, “Your stuff is the best. It really is…”
“Sure it is,” said the guy. “That’s because we make it with reverence.”
You don’t have to get a job with a famous company or hot-shot industry in order to have a spectacular career. You just have to do what you do with reverence.
The New Republic
Len Schlesinger
Tony Hsieh
Seth Godin
Brian Clark
Maybe there was more than fruits and vegetables mixed in that blend.
I appreciated that story a lot. I struggle to teach my teenagers that wastefulness is more than just throwing things away that you could have recycled or reused. It is important to live with reverence, appreciate that even the cheaply made stuff in this world were made by somebody and represent the limited resources on this Earth.
My daughter is a vegetarian because she does not believe that it is right for us to kill animals for food. I have tried to point out to her that plants are living creatures as well, and that so long as we honor the source of the resources we use, it shouldn’t matter if we are eating plants or animals. Who’s to say that plants don’t have souls?
Okay, that’s my total tree-hugging-hippie crap moment for the day, and I don’t even know you! Thanks for a great story! (Now I’ve got to go back to painting my house, but I promise to do it with reverence!)
Cheers,
Julie D’Arcy
yes, better results come up, when you do job with passion.
Basically, Colossians 3:23.