So I'm thinking Rebranding

Over a month ago I wrote an article about Branding and about how I love brands. This is not going to be a repeat blog nor is this going to be super specific about the concept of rebranding. In fact, this is about how I will be making changes to this blog this next year.

I have been writing much more frequently and especially since I wrote a series, I decided that I needed to make a bigger commitment to this blog, plus I felt like writing more and with saying the next post I would do would be related to this series I felt a little stuck. Because I of this stuck feeling I decided to evaluate this blog. I have been spending the last month deciding how I am changing the image of this blog, well maybe not image, but having more consistent content.

What I’m saying is I will be blogging more and have specific topics for each day. I have evaluated what type of posts I enjoy writing the most and what have been the most read and I tailored made them into that.

In 2014 Speaking Inferno will consistent of 3 different types of blog posts:

·       Monday

o   Quoting Monday

·       Wednesday

o   Let’s Get Down to Business Wednesday

·       Friday

o   Random Thought Friday

These posts will not be exactly named after that, but I like the names and it just easier to put them into categories. I have been working hard on this change and been writing ahead to make sure that I will consistently get content out on time.

I am very excited for this change and what this will turn into in this next year. But until my new blog topics come out (the change will officially be taking effect January 6,2014).

I will be posting a blog next week, but it will not be on business , but it will just be a review on the year.

But until January 6,2014:

Have a Merry Christmas!

My Customer Service Experience

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The final part of my Customer Service series is finally here! We’ve covered the definition, the importance and how it must come from the top to have any effect on any lower level of business. Now comes the section where my personal experience can come into play.

I have worked in retail for over three years and have been tested during my undergrad about customer service. I have been forced to understand that the customer comes first, giving customers that “WOW” experience each time they come in, making sure I am having that happy face all the time, leaving anything I am dealing with at the door and being able to correlate that with the information that I learned in some of my business courses. So what I’m saying is that I get customer service on a certain level.

I think customer service is exceedingly important, even though it may be exceedingly difficult to give it. Being on the side of a sales associate I can admit that sometimes you get annoyed with customers and the behavior that they may treat you with, but that is where you can tell whether someone gets the idea of customer service. I can also say that you can tell whether a person gets customer service if their managers get it, you know, that whole funnel effect.

As easy as it would be for me to talk about the ways I have given customer service in different situations, I’m not going to do that. In fact, I’m going to more so discuss some of the times I have experienced excellent customer service.

One of the places that I go constantly is Starbucks. I go to the same Starbucks a couple times a week and I just love the work I get done, in fact I’m there writing this post.  The reason I go to this Starbucks is because of the service they provide. They recognize me and are just an overall good staff. They are very inviting and there are some of the employees who I chat with each time I’m in.

Another example of great customer service was in what I thought was an odd situation. I had a job interview a while back and the guy who interviewed me gave me some of the best customer service I have ever seen. I had arrived there a few minutes early, like I typically do, and was waiting in the designated area. The receptionist called him and she said to me that he was still in a meeting and was running behind. I honestly didn't mind since he was doing his job, but a minute later he was out of the meeting greeting me. He took me to their break area and got me a cup of coffee. He wanted me to be comfortable while I was waiting for him and gave me a rough estimate of how much longer the meeting will be. I thought that was a perfect example of customer service and just me such a positive image of him as a leader. I met a couple of the associates and they acted like that as well, talk about a perfect example of that Funnel Effect.

I have said it before in this series and I’ll say it again, customer service is key in retail or any business for that matter, but that’s not the only place for customer service. I have worked for the past seven months as an interim youth pastor with two others and talk about an important place to have good customer service. We have to not only provide something for our youth group kids to keep coming back, but also to be able to appeal to parents.

What I’m saying is that anything or any place where you deal with people, there is going to be a need of some type of customer service. People want to be treated well, respected and are valued. At the end of the day, that is what customer service is. It is making the customer feel valued and taken care of. The whole mantra of “the customer is always right” may be a pain to deal with, but they are the ones who purchase products/services and if they don’t like how you treat them, then they aren’t coming back.

Customer Service Funnel Effect: Part III

The first two parts of this series are the basic foundation. Having a formal definition and a basic description of the significance of customer service is great, sound bit like a textbook at times, but foundations are needed.

This week’s blog is not necessarily a new concept or theory; I have not personally seen any graph/chart on this topic. Any way, I have decided to at least take a jump in trying to come up with an idea to describe Customer Service in an effect form by creating the Customer Service Funnel Effect.

Side Note: This is just my personal opinion of what creates a good customer service environment in a hierarchal form. I have never worked in a corporate environment, at least not yet, but this is just the view of someone who has worked on the lowest end of this funnel.

The Customer Service Funnel Effect

In part 1 of the series, I reiterated the definition of customer service in different ways, but one of the ways was the preference to this post.

Each of these definitions builds upon each other, which makes sense. The first definition deals more with corporate, the next one deals with production and the seller, and the last deals with retail or an ending point of a supply chain when the consumer has access to the final product.

With the visual in place, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty details.

The top of the funnel represents where everything comes from and the basis of everything. In the relations of this to Customer Service, this is where the idea is formed. If looking back at the first blog where I have listed the definitions of customer service, it deals with corporate philosophy, which means there has to be something about customer service at the top for it to come down to an ending point.

So it makes sense that if a company positions themselves as a company that delivers great customer service, it must be in the DNA of the company. For example, in the textbook Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage: Concepts and Cases there is a case study that focuses right on this point. Southwest Airlines is a company known for their customer service, but that goes much deeper than on the customer end, but comes from the top with a decision that they made as a corporate entity. Later I will go on to how this will affect the people on the ending point.

The Production/seller aspect of this model is a bit more abstract, but customer service is still important. This middle section is that middle of the supply chain where getting the product to a warehouse. One can easily assume that customer service does not play an important role in this area, but I beg to differ. If a warehouse is not delivering products on schedule or making the right shipments to stores, then they themselves are not providing good customer service. If they are unable to do the job before them, then corporate is not keeping their customer service promise and the ending point has to provide service in a different way.

The ending point or retail, the area where I have the most experience in, is where most people think about customer service. People assume that if you are in retail/store, restaurant, or service industry then that is the main area of where customer service can be found. It’s that make it or break it point on whether people think a company as a whole has a good customer service policy. What most consumers realize though is how the corporate decisions really do affect these employees. I mentioned earlier, the case study that focuses on Southwest Airlines states that:

Employees were provided the following policy guidance regarding how far to go in trying to please customers:

No Employee will ever be punished for using good judgment and good old common sense when trying to accommodate a Customer—no matter what our rules are.

When you empower People to make a positive difference every day, you allow them to decide. Most guidelines are written to be broken as long as Employee is leaning toward the Customer. We follow the Golden Rule and try to do the right thing and think about our Customer (1).

They are giving their employees a chance to make a decision within parameters. If your choice is in the customer’s favor then that is your guidelines, if it is not, then you are not necessarily giving great customer service.

I have personally experienced situations exactly like this where managers trust your judgment on circumstances involving customers that are within reason. I won’t go to much detail on my personal experience yet, because that is for next week’s blog.

The overall point is that for customer service to be consistent in a company is that it MUST funnel down from the top. If there is no basis of customer service at the top of the funnel, then that mentality cannot shuffle down into the management in charge of the stores or areas of distribution to the public. Customer Service must be at all levels for it to embody a company.

Next week I will be finishing up this series with my personal experience with customer service. I will not be viewing this only in the eyes of a retail employee, but at different places where I have witnessed and experienced good/great customer service at different levels.

1. Thompson, Arthur A., and Arthur A. Thompson. Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage : Concepts and Cases. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2012. Print.

Customer Service is Important:Part II

Customer Service is Important. No one can disagree with that statement. That’s it. Customer Service is important and if a company does not have it, then they will not be in business for long.

I could easily leave the post just to contain that, but leaving it at that is not getting to the heart of the issue. See, everyone understands that Customer Service is important, but the real question is not whether it is important or not, but why is it important.

To give a quick recap of last week, Customer Service is:

• Customer-oriented philosophy that is to help integrate and manage
• It is identifiable, but intangible
• It is to increase value

In this post I will be focusing more on the last two points

Why is Customer Service Important?

To best get an idea on why it is so important, I picked up some of my old textbooks and read a number of articles on the issue. As I read through these sources, specifically my textbooks, I was able to gain a better grasp of the significance Customer Service plays in business.

Customer Service can lead to Customer Satisfaction

I will be the first to admit that this sounds great! You give good customer service and then the customer is satisfied and comes back to your business.  Sounds basic, but as all things that sound too good to be true, it is not that simple. Gauging customer satisfaction with customer service is exceedingly difficult and not because gathering data is difficult, but it is clearly something of perception.

Gathering data is easy, but it is making sure your customer satisfaction survey is asking the right questions.

Marketers can use such data to retain customers, sell more products and services, improve the quality and value of their offerings, and operate more effectively and efficiently (1).

Data is easy, but it is using data to help better customer service can prove difficult because there are certain items that a business can't change. One of those areas is a company policy.

For example, if a company’s policy says that you can have a no-hassle return and that associate is not making it easy for the customer, then you can speak with that associate for next time to make the experience better. Now if your company has a 90-day return policy and a customer comes in and it has been past the 90-day period, then the customer is going to be dissatisfied. With a policy set in place, it is difficult to appease certain customers, but these policies are set in place for a reason.

Customer satisfaction is needed for consumers to return to your business and by sustaining this high standard of customer service, a company is positioning themselves with a key strategy.

Customer Service can be a part of a Differentiation Strategy

Think of a store, restaurant or any other service business that has excellent customer service. Any of these places can be substituted with any of their competitors. Some of these places that you thought of may not have the best deals in town or are quite expensive. Now why do you continue going to this business? You like the quality or taste? That does play a role, but would you continue going to that place if they were horrible at customer service?

A typical response for this would be no. You would go some place else.

In a Virginia Libraries article, libraries also are concerned with customer service, stressed the importance of customer service by stating:

In this era of transition, customer service is more important than ever. We need to maintain a positive welcoming image—both to retain the patrons we have had and encourage them to bring others (2).

This differentiation approach is increasing the value of your company, increasing company reputation and potentially bringing more consumers to your door. Your product or service may be excellent, but if your service is unbearable, then consumers can go to one of your competitors. Building a reputation for customer service takes a considerable amount of time, effort and resources. In Grewal and Levy’s textbook entitled Marketing, they state “…once a marketer has earned a good service reputation, it can sustain this advantage for a long time because a competitor is hard pressed to develop a comparable reputation (3).”

An awesome example of a company known for customer service that had a featured case study in Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage: Concepts and Cases textbook is Southwest airlines. One of the many ways that Southwest made sure that they excelled in customer service was their 2007 gate makeover. Southwest understood that they have two specific types of customers: families and the businessman. So like any strategic company, they decided to differentiate from their competitors and created a gate that met the needs of their customers.  This makeover “…included adding (1) a business-focused area with padded seats, tables with power outlets, power stations with stools, and a flat-screen TV with news programming, and (2) a family-focused area with smaller tables and chairs, power stations for charging electrical devices, and kid-friendly programming on a flat-screen TV (4).”

People, consumers, whatever you want to call them do remember these positive changes a company makes, especially if it is customer service based.

One of the major lessons I learned consistently during my time in college was how negative news/media spreads quicker than positive. Keeping that consistently excellent customer service can help deflect some of the negative feedback that people have said. If consumers can experience excellent customer service and it does not seem insincere, there is a greater likelihood they will return and potentially lead to a loyal customer base.

Customer Service is important and there are a lot of reasons why that I didn’t even touch in this article because then the article would be way too long. The main point though is that it is IMPORTANT and we all need to evaluate our level of customer service and understand why we are giving this specific type of service.

The next two blogs to come with this series:

3.  The Customer Service Funnel Effect

4.  My Customer Service Experience

Sources

(1) Boles, Patrick F. Pearson Custom Business Resources (Buyer Behavior University of Akron). N.p.: n.p., 2011. N. pag. Print.

(2) Gardner, C. A. "The Importance of Customer Service." Virginia Libraries 51.4 (2005): 2-4. Print.

(3) Grewal, Dhruv, and Michael Levy. Marketing. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2010. Print.

(4) Thompson, Arthur A., and Arthur A. Thompson. Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage : Concepts and Cases. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2012. Print.

So Let's talk Customer Service

I have meaning to writing a post about Customer Service for a while, but I have been distracted on which direction to take this in. With a lack of direction for a singular post I have decided to do a four part series on this topic. 

Customer Service is a term that is thrown around all the time no matter what business you are in. In retail, customer service determines if your store is worth shopping at. In restaurants, customer service determines if a customer is going to be coming back. This is just the first round of what customer service can mean.

Instead of just focusing on what I may think customer service is or what managers/professors have taught what customer service is, let's look at how the American Marketing Association (AMA) defines Customer Service.

The AMA has a couple different definitions of what Customer Service stands for in different perspectives. They are as followed:

Customer Service (physical distribution)

A customer-oriented corporate philosophy that integrates and manages all of the elements of the customer interface within a predetermined cost-service mix.

Customer Service ( production development)

The identifiable, but essentially intangible, activities that are offered by a seller in conjunction with a product, such as delivery and repair. These activities may be priced separately, but usually are not, and are provided only with a product that is being sold. These activities are not to be confused with intangible products (services), the types of products for which the activity is the primary purpose of a sale. The sale of service products may be accompanied by the provision of customer services, an example being the courteous treatment a bank client receives when entering the lobby for the purchase of any of several service products such as check cashing or a loan.

Customer Service (retailing)

The set of retail activities that increase the value customers receive when they shop and purchase merchandise.

To get this straight, there are a total of three definitions of Customer Service and the main parts of these definitions are as followed:

• Customer-oriented philosophy that is to help integrate and manage
• It is identifiable, but intangible
• It is to increase value

Each of these definitions builds upon each other, which makes sense. The first definition deals more with corporate, the next one deals with production and the seller, and the last deals with retail or an ending point of a supply chain when the consumer has access to the final product.

It seems repetitive to state these definitions in different ways, but these concepts will be important to understand the point of view I will be writing in.

I understand that I have not gone in-depth with this particular article, but this is just the base post which will be leading to more in-depth posts. I will also be doing some research on this topic as well so it is not just an opinion series, but more balanced.

If there is a particular point you want me to cover in customer service, please let me know. I would love to do research in different perspectives to have a more well-rounded post.

To give a glimpse of what is to come with this series:

1. Importance of Customer Service
2. The Customer Service Funnel Effect
3. My Customer Service Experience

So Let's Chat Social Media

Both yesterday and today I have come across two articles that really peeked my interest. These two articles were posted on LinkedIn, the first article a friend had shared and the second one came up on my Pulse article feed, carry the same meaning.

The main topic or major theme in both of these articles: Social Media.

I have always found Social Media to be almost controversial when talking with marketing students/marketing professionals. Everyone has a strong stance on a very specific direction on it and what makes the debate even more complicated is that it is still a fairly new medium that has a specific form, but still changing. I understand that the last part sounds a little odd, the fact that it has a form but is changing, but that is the best way I can describe the state that Social Media is in.

Before I go on I want to specifically say that my view points on Social Media were different than some of my professors and even some of my classmates. I am a person who believes that the marketing world and public relations world are starting to collide in many ways. With the way Social Media Marketing is heading, or at least where I believe it is heading, there is going to be more contact with the consumer and more urging the consumer to participate in advertising. I could honestly go more in detail in this section on my thoughts, but I will return to the point of the articles and explain my opinion in regards to the two articles.

The first article that I came across was entitled Marketing Trends for 2014 written by Zach Heller. In Heller's article, he only focuses on three trends. They are:

1. Segmentation and Data
2. Integration
3. Social Media

All three of these trends are in marketing already and many people understand this, specifically the last two. For example, I was talking about this article on my lunch break last night (I worked an overnight shift at work) and one of my coworkers was shocked that the last two were on this list.

My coworker was right. None of these concepts are new ideas or they shouldn't be new concepts, but Heller's explanation of them are what sets them a part.

The Segmentation and Data portion wasn't stating that marketers aren't using this, if so that would be a HUGE fallacy, but is mentioning how it will be something that all companies can do without spending an arm and a leg. With all the data that is out there, especially with all the trackers on online platforms, marketers will be able to better focus and be able to become effective.

The second trend that Heller mentions is Integration. As a person who graduated with a degree in Integrated Marketing Communications, I'm all over this one. I could go into so much detail on this subject and how this is such a key thing, but Heller states it best when saying:

I believe that 2014 is the year we turn the corner, at least the smart companies do. We will create campaigns that incorporate all the individual channels and manage them together, as one unit. All of the pieces will support the larger goal of connecting with more consumers and generating more sales. And we will measure these campaigns as a whole as well, instead of trying to separate out the response generated from each component.

 The third trend is Social Media. I LOVE the fact that Heller says that spending money on Social Media just because you can is coming to an end. More Social Media sites are moving towards monetization, which throwing money towards these sites just because a company can is not going to work (not that it worked in the first place). This really means that companies are going to have to evaluate what they are doing and deciding which site to spend there time and resources on. It is forcing companies to actually have a strategy with their pages and not having these empty and useless pages (I know and understand that there are many companies who will not make this transition and will still have useless pages. This is why not all companies are necessarily considered 'Smart').

This article really validated my thoughts and opinions, which is a major reason why I am writing a blog about it and sharing it.

Now the next article that I came across was Social Media Doesn't Drive Sales...But That's Not The Point written by Tara Hunt. The main reason I even clicked on this article was because I said something along this line during my last semester in April. I am so happy that the title pulled me in, because I enjoyed this article. There were many good points such as marketing is not a cure all (I have experienced this at my second internship. My boss hired me thinking that Facebook and Events that she didn't want to put effort into would save her non-profit. Those situations are just so frustrating, especially when you are trying to explain how just creating a page is not going to lead to brand awareness) and advantages that Social Media Marketing has built into them.

Hunt, just like Heller, had three points at the end that focused on features that Social Media has:

1. Analytics
2. Feedback
3. Relationships

I don't know if it is just me, but those seem to correlate with points in the marketing trends in Heller's articles. The analytics, feedback and relationships all go with integration and social media and how the marketing is changing.

If one was to say that social media is the only way to go with marketing, I would say no. It's not that Social Media is the only way to go, it is how your company is utilizing Social Media; it's how your company is leveraging their Social Media pages; it's how strategy and thought is being put into your Social Media Campaign; and it's how your company's Social Media pages are being integrated with your company's entire marketing strategy.

I have always believed that Social Media is not a cure all, but I don't believe that many have been utilizing Social Media in the best way. It's almost as if people are becoming complacent with the idea that creating a Social Media page is a marketing strategy, which is far from the truth.

What we need to do is break out of this mindset and get into the mindset of integration and being okay that Social Media is NOT a direct marketing technique, but is more of a public relations function.  We need to be okay that marketing and public relations are becoming integrated. If we can do this then we can change the way marketing is done.

We will create campaigns that incorporate all the individual channels and manage them together, as one unit. All of the pieces will support the larger goal of connecting with more consumers and generating more sales. And we will measure these campaigns as a whole as well, instead of trying to separate out the response generated from each component.
Read more at http://www.business2community.com/marketing/marketing-trends-2014-0691545#Gb0ZD4O2uJLK5Qsm.99

We will create campaigns that incorporate all the individual channels and manage them together, as one unit. All of the pieces will support the larger goal of connecting with more consumers and generating more sales. And we will measure these campaigns as a whole as well, instead of trying to separate out the response generated from each component.
Read more at http://www.business2community.com/marketing/marketing-trends-2014-0691545#Gb0ZD4O2uJLK5Qsm.99

We will create campaigns that incorporate all the individual channels and manage them together, as one unit. All of the pieces will support the larger goal of connecting with more consumers and generating more sales. And we will measure these campaigns as a whole as well, instead of trying to separate out the response generated from each component.
Read more at http://www.business2community.com/marketing/marketing-trends-2014-0691545#Gb0ZD4O2uJLK5Qsm.99

We will create campaigns that incorporate all the individual channels and manage them together, as one unit. All of the pieces will support the larger goal of connecting with more consumers and generating more sales. And we will measure these campaigns as a whole as well, instead of trying to separate out the response generated from each component.
Read more at http://www.business2community.com/marketing/marketing-trends-2014-0691545#Gb0ZD4O2uJLK5Qsm.99

Mentoring is Key

I have been debating whether I wanted to write this blog topic or not, but I have decided that I want to. After I had graduated college I had written a blog about teachers and professors who have had a major impact on my life. Today I am going to write about mentors who have really guided me and may not know it.

So I have met many people in my life. Being a Pastor's Kid, I have the opportunity of meeting a wide variety of people who do a wide variety of occupations, but I have also met people on my own now that I am older. This combination of people have led me to evaluate my own life and have shaped how I react to things.

This blog has really been in development in my mind the last two weeks, but really came to fruition when I was speaking to a counselor about a specific Grad School program I am trying to pursue. She had mentioned that there will be people in class who will have tons of experience and to partner up with them to learn some very invaluable lessons and skills. This of course brought me to this "Aha" moment and now I'm writing a dedication blog to those who have been willing to help teach me these lessons in the world (even though I'm pretty sure the majority of these people will never read it, but it is here for them).

On of the first people who really made an impact on me with guiding me in a direction was an adult volunteer when I was in seventh grade. This young woman was awesome! She mentioned how when she was in college she had liberty spikes and was super into punk music. She was super alternative and was not afraid to be goofy and hit the tough subjects. She left shortly after that year, but she really influenced me on how to be a youth director and I use a lot of the same techniques she used on that Sunday night junior high girls class.

Another person who really impacted me was a friend of my brother who became a big sister to me. She was there for me whenever I needed her and shared her own experiences with me. She taught me how to be selfless and how not to be afraid to be vulnerable in front of people. She was actually the person who introduced me to Maya Angelou, coffee, The Bronte Sisters, and my favorite chapter of the Bible, Lamentations 3. I lost touch with her when I started college, but from what I'm seeing, she is still impacting youth in the same way she was able to inspire me to be a smart, strong woman who shouldn't be afraid to confront her weakness.

From my high school graduation through my sophomore year in college (This was exclusively teachers, but had some awesome profs my junior and senior year of college), I really just was influenced by teachers, but that kind of changed when I started working in retail.

I work with so many cool women who have taught me how to have fun at work. I cannot express the amount of community I feel when I go to work. It's seriously awesome!

But the person at work who has impacted me the most has been our general manager. When I started there, she was the assistant manager and I'm going to be honest here, she scared the crap out of me at first. I have no idea why, but she just was super intimidating or more so, my perception of her was that she was super intimidating. That kind of changed when I talked to her about school and found out that she had some of the same professors as I had and just talking to her about business. She was really helpful for me to put the connection of the lessons I was learning in class and how they were applicable to in the work world. There have also been times when I have seen her not as a manager, but as a leader (in my management class, we stated that being a manager does not make you a leader, but a leader can be a manager).

None of these women are perfect, but they are all different and were able to show me how to act in different situations. These women are in fact completely different from one another, but each have had a part in mentoring on how to be successful.

I Love Brands

This is a blog that I have been meaning to write for a while and I believe today is the perfect day to do so.

One of my favorite topics to discuss is branding. I took a brand management class my last semester and that was my absolute least favorite class, but that caused me to be determined to understand brands outside of class and that's how I found my love for brands and branding.

The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as:

A brand is a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.

Or

A brand is a customer experience represented by a collection of images and ideas; often, it refers to a symbol such as a name, logo, slogan, and design scheme. Brand recognition and other reactions are created by the accumulation of experiences with the specific product or service, both directly relating to its use, and through the influence of advertising, design, and media commentary."

Or

"A brand often includes an explicit logo, fonts, color schemes, symbols, sound which may be developed to represent implicit values, ideas, and even personality."

The definitions that the AMA presents are pretty much the same. They are more so defined using different terms, but that is what causes it to be fascinating.

The three items I will be focusing on today are:

1. Brands to their core help identify a particular product/service
2. Brands are very much connected to a customer experience
3. Brands can represent specific values, ideas and even a personality

Brands to their core help identify a particular product/service.

What do you think of when I say Golden Arches or make a swoosh sign? I'm sure that the first image to your mind will be McDonald's Arches and the Nike symbol.

Having a specific name or logo come to your mind is not a bad thing, in fact that is showing that these two marketing teams are doing their jobs. This top-of-mind recognition is what all marketers and brand managers hope to achieve. This feat of having that high of brand awareness is key for any business to be successful or memorable.

Now I don't just write blogs that give definitions and talk strictly about marketing alone and talk about concepts. The key point in this is how this relates to everyday life.

This idea is helpful  to realize because we as consumers understand what a specific brand is and know what it sells. It makes it easier for us to understand print ads, television ads, etc. without having an agency example everything about the brand every time. We as consumers know about the product/service and that is why brand awareness (top-of-mind recognition) is so key.

Brands are very much connected to a customer experience.

Think of a brand that you have had a bad experience with. No matter how they try to portray themselves, if you had a bad experience with them you won't ever buy their product. For example, when I was in junior high I was super into cross country and you have many different options for running shoes. During my eighth grade year I had Adidas running shoes that looked really cool. When I got in my season the shoes felt exceedingly heavy (if you have ever ran competitively then you understand what I mean by having a heavy shoe). I have not bought an Adidas shoe since, because I did not like how they feel. In my mind, Adidas equals being a heavy shoe. Is this case for everyone? Of course not. Do I think Adidas is a bad brand? No, because I do have some clothing from them, but I won't buy their shoes because I have the perception that they are too heavy.

My customer experience with that brand is defined and no matter how they advertise, they will not win me over. So a marketing team can create an amazing ad campaign and be able to position their brand in such a unique way, but if I had a bad experience with that brand, the ad campaign will not effect me at all. Meaning that advertising is only half the battle with keeping a good brand image, but making sure the customer experience is positive (customer service) is the next side of the battle.

Brands can represent specific values, ideas and even a personality.

I'm going to be completely honest with you and admit that this is probably my favorite things about brands, especially in the area of which I read about in marketing.

The area that I'm going to be focusing on in this particular part is the personality aspect of a brand. I believe that as we enter into a more digital age with social media marketing and content marketing, firms will be more so inclined than even currently to personify brands.

Think about it though. When you follow a twitter page of a brand you are seeing what they would be like if they were a person. Taco Bell can reply to a tweet you make about them or Starbucks can like a picture that you take on Instagram. We as consumers are able to interact more intimately with brands then ever before and that makes it so much fun to be a part of the marketing world with all these major changes.

In my mind this is why so many marketers who are not necessarily in love with change are having such a difficult time with this. Brands are no longer just trying to relate to people, but they are in a way a living entity. Marketers are not just trying to sell an idea or concept of a brand, but are trying to convince you that you can be "friends" with this brand.  

For example, I'm not the biggest fan of Taco Bell's food, but I will eat there occasionally with friends. The thing I do love is that I could see myself being friends with Taco Bell if it were a person. Look at Taco Bell's social media pages. All of their pages are fun and they don't take themselves too seriously. The perception that I get from their social media sites is that they are that fun, easy-going friend who will be urging you to have a good time.

Another example of a personification of brands is that of Starbucks. Starbucks in itself gives off that super hip and artsy vibe. From their social media pages one can gather that they would be that friend you would have deep conversations with. They are that friend who would read about current events and be able to discuss what is happening in politics while still having a fun conversation about music, art or literature.

These two brands are completely different, but you can see them as a person because that is what marketing is doing. Marketing has been doing this since marketing has been invented, but it is becoming more relevant. Brands are not just going after a target market, but are becoming their target market.


There are so many more facets of brands that I have not even touched in this blog. Brands are so complex when you dig deeper into the world that these marketing departments are creating. There are so many layers that go into that add to the complexity and that is why I find them so interesting.

So, what are some interesting things that you think of when you think of brands or branding? What are some of your favorite brands that have a distinct personality?

I'd love to further discuss this topic and might do another blog on brand. Let me know what you think.

My Views on the Google/YouTube Integration

I typically don't write much about business, especially when it comes to my views on what is happening in the business world. It's not that I don't enjoy writing or discussing these items, I just find myself discussing them more in person than writing about them. This all changes with some huge news that I keep seeing on almost every social media site and in online periodicals: the Google+ YouTube Comment Integration.

As a side note: I do enjoy using Google+ and have had an account for a while now. I enjoy the fact that I can connect to multiple sites while just logging in once. Though I have this in mind, I will try to as unbiased as can be.

I first heard of this integration when I was on Tumblr and saw a post that Hank Green posted explaining lessons from this integration. It is no surprise that the Green brothers are not a fan of this integration, not because it is change, but more for the fact that content creators who have been a part of this website revolution have to change how they post and a system that they have made.

It also is able to give these content creators a way to separate their lives from what they post. I'm a huge fan of a lot of vloggers, seriously I follow some vlogs more than I watch television because I find it more relevant. Though I am a fan I do respect that there are areas in their lives that they may not want to share with the internet. I respect that they have personal accounts that they only have with their friends and not their fans. They need privacy and Google+ is not necessarily helping in this area. In fact, it is display their lives, which can lead to the debate that if they are posting content online then they must live with the consequences (Side note: I think this debate is stupid. They are people and each person deserves privacy. I post things online, but I don't necessarily post details because I don't think the details are relevant for all to know.).

Now on the other hand, I completely understand why Google made this move. As a person who loves studying new and emerging media online, especially when it comes to marketing, I think this is brilliant. Not only are they growing their user base for Google+, but they have a better opportunity to be able to mine for data. Google is known for their stellar algorithms for search engine optimization (SEO). This will be able to help them target users and to better help with SEO. Now with this comes the whole idea of what George Orwell gave in his classic 1984 novel, but I believe we overplay this and have been playing into this idea for years (Side note: Once again, I find this argument a little overplayed. Since people are fighting back with petitions and finding new ways to create content, we will not be in this 1984 society.).

There are other good points coming with this integration with some of the limitations with comments, like having limitations on what words are not acceptable for your comment section and showing conversations. Being completely honest, these changes make sense to me. For example, when Twitter made changes with their feed when it comes to connecting conversations, I really enjoyed that. I was able to follow what was going on better and felt more involved instead of having to search around or specifically seek out the conversation. These changes that Google made are positive.

Back to the main reason this is causing controversy with forcing content creators to have a Google+ account. As a whole I understand where Google is coming from, because having a Google+ account connects a user with every online Google products (maps, play, news, calendar, YouTube, email, etc.). In theory, Google is making it more convenient for content creators, but that did not happen.

My view on Google has not changed with this integration and I still think Google is an awesome company making some smart strategic business moves. This integration was going to happen all along and people will be angry, but I do not think this will hurt them in the long run.

What I do think will be interesting to watch is how sites like Subbable will compete with this, since the content creators do have YouTube sites. I'm curious to see if more sites will have a more NPR type of existence to be able to go against Google/YouTube. I feel like this is a trend that will be happening, especially as more millennials enter the workforce and support the online entertainment world as opposed to the current/traditional entertainment.

I have always found this interesting and excited to see where this debate will lead.

By the way, some of the articles that I read and found interesting are listed below:

• Google+, YouTube Comment Integration Sparks User Outrage
• Google Plus YouTube Comments: Reddit Users Fight Back Against Forced Integration 
• Google Plus Creates Uproar Over Forced YouTube Integration
• YouTube faces backlash for Google+ integration 

 
 

Finding My Inciting Incident

So I have been horrible with updating because I had planned on writing more often. Alas, I have been exceedingly busy this month so far, which is kind of odd.

First of I want to give an update with NaNoWriMo: I have been horrible with writing so far. I have so much to do to catch up because everything has been popping up around me this past week and I have literally no time to write and when I do, I have absolutely no inspiration and it feels like I'm pulling teeth, but still writing. My word count is horribly low, but I am keeping my mind positive and I am dedicating my next Friday to writing all day so I will be isolating myself all day, but have been getting inspiration by listening to Vitamin String Quartet, my main character's favorite band.

Next is I finished a book last week which has really changed my perspective on a lot of things, well a lot of things on life. The book is called "A Million Miles in A Thousand Years," by Donald Miller. It was such a good book for this time in my life. Not only did it discuss the idea of character in the literary perspective, but discussed your own character in this story called life. I know it may sound a bit cheesy, but thinking of yourself as a character is awesome.

One of the many parts that really touched me was:

I think this is when most people give up on their stories. They come out of college wanting to change the world, wanting to get married, wanting to have kids and change the way people buy office supplies. But they get into the middle and discover it was harder than they thought. They can't see the distant shore anymore, and they wonder if their paddling is moving them forward. None of the trees behind them are getting smaller and none of the trees ahead are getting bigger. They take it out on their spouses, and they go looking for an easier story. (Miller)

I can completely relate to this. Seriously, if you have read any of my past blogs you can understand my frustration of feeling stuck and unable to advance in any way. I feel like I have to fight my way to where I want to go and I have become weary of this. I'm refusing to go through one of my many middles of the story and fight for a goal. I am refusing to see the horizon or just not willing to look for it.

A point in the story (btw: I am jumping around the book with quotes so sorry about that) that makes you realize that you can't give up was this part:

Robert McKee says humans naturally seek comfort and stability. Without an inciting incident that disrupts their comfort, they won’t enter into a story. They have to get fired from their job or be forced to sign up for a marathon. A ring has to be purchased. A home has to be sold. The character has to jump into the story, into the discomfort and the fear, otherwise the story will never happen. (Miller)

I have had a couple of inciting incidents this week and to be honest last week. I won't go into detail with them here and may not go into detail with them in the future, but it was/ is good. I have been in this super nervous and excited state all week and it feels sucky yet  amazing all at the same time. It's like I'm seeing the potential for future and am feeling like I'm taking that jump off of the cliff to land in the cool water below.

The idea of looking for inciting incidents and looking for the better points of life sounds basic, but it is so hard to do. I mean, think about it, how often do we focus on negatives; how often do we pity ourselves; how often do lose hope when hope is right in front of us? This book helped me find the hope again; this book helped me see the positive things in life; this book helped me understand the inciting incidents in my own life and actually take action.

Now I don't think I have mastered this at all. I have just come to the realization that life is pretty awesome and focusing on some of the negatives is not worth it. One of the moments that I just marveled over was a time when I was going into work for an overnight shift and the sky was filled with stars. When was the last time you just took a moment and looked at a starry sky with no distractions? I had mine a couple days ago and it was breathtaking. I also had another moment after I finished working that shift that I saw this beautiful sunrise over the parking lot at work. For anything to make a parking lot look beautiful, it would have to be God made. Seriously, as tired as I was, I was taken by the beauty because I got the chance to experience it.

The way I am viewing life is in a much more beautiful way. I'm trying to make the positive decisions instead of easily falling into the trap of negativity or helplessness. I guess the best description of this is perfectly explained when Miller wrote:

And once you live a good story, you get a taste for a kind of meaning in life, and you can't go back to being normal; you can't go back to meaningless scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted time.

I'm tired of the meaningless scenes and I'm ready to take action. The reason I love the characters in literature that I do are because of the struggles they have to face and what they overcome. I can be just like those characters and have to face my middle or middles. I guess I'm now actually ready to face the middle and start the next chapter of my life. It's completely terrifying, but sometimes the most terrifying things are the absolute best things in life.

Oh, So You're Still [Insert Place/Job Here]

There have been a couple of statements that have truly gotten under my skin recently and I'm not sure if I have written about this before, but this may be a repeat type of post and I don't care if it is or not.

The statement/question duo that has been killing me is the one about my lack of a "real job." As you know I still work in the same store I worked in when I was in college. I have been there for 3 years and have been on the constant job search. I have applied for who knows how many jobs. I literally have no idea how many jobs I apply to in a week and who knows how many I have applied to since I have graduated in May. I just haven't gotten anywhere and it is frustrating beyond belief.

Now the real reason I bring up this frustration is that a guy who I know who is still in college asked me if I was still working in retail. I replied "yes" that was accompanied with a heavy sigh. He then went forward and said "Oh, so you're still there." I contained myself from freaking out at him and replied with a "yes... yes I'm still there. Job market is tough and I'm actually now looking into going to grad school." He then replied with, "Make sure you don't get too much experience because companies don't want that."

...

At this moment... let's see what is the best word phrasing that can describe how I was feeling. Oh yes, I was LIVID! Seriously!?! I could not believe that reply!

Luckily, I was able to respond in a way that did not show my inner pissed-off self. Even though I was ticked, I was able to gain some type of knowledge from this experience.

Here's my epiphany:

1. I am employed and should not be too hard on myself
2. I am trying to find employment in my area of study 
3. I am trying to find alternative ways to achieve the goals I have set for myself (Like grad school)
4. I have a totally different experience from him since he has not yet had to experience this job search yet

So after having to work an overnight at work I was able to come to these realizations and not feeling self-pity or anger.

But I say that I am fine with all of this, I still am pretty beaten because of the fact that I haven't yet found a career in my area of study. I have two degrees and worked my tail off and I have just a piece of paper to show for it.

I know people don't mean harm with asking these questions, but I don't think they realize how detrimental these questions can be. I am hard enough on myself with still being just a part-time sales associate, I don't need people to remind me of it.

I think the true challenge of dealing with this is how to cope when you see people around you moving on with their lives and you feel like you are stuck and have been trying everything to move your life. Hopefully I will learn how to cope with this for the time being.

You're writing what?

I have been horrible at blogging for the past month and I can completely explain. I just took the GRE, like I finished it four hours ago. So basically what I am saying is that I have been extremely stressed the last month and what is worst is I feel like I need to take it again.

But lets get off of that negative thing and get on a happier subject. I am tired of working on a writing project and never finishing it. I have about four projects I have in the working, but have never gotten the motivation to completely finish them, but NO MORE!

The way I plan on concurring this issue is by joining NaNoWriMo. I'm sure you may potentially be wondering what this is exactly. WELL, it stands for National Novel Writing Month, which more specifically means one is taking on the challenge of writing a novel in an entire month. That means 50,000 WORDS!!

I'm actually super pumped for this and have been coming up with a good idea of what to write on. What I'm hoping to do, which I'm giving myself some flexibility on this, but I plan on writing a blog each day I write to give an update and maybe some idea of what I'm writing about.

So what do I know now about this potential novel?

Not much actually, which I know is kind of bad since I have to have an idea for it because this event starts in a couple of weeks, but I do have a basic idea.

So what do I have?

A title and the genre. That's it. I have a title, which is what inspired me to actually write this. And the genre came from the research of what type of writing I plan on doing.

My current title (which let's be honest will most likely change...maybe): This Brand of Me

The Genre: New Adult Fiction (a developing genre of fiction with protagonists in the 18-25 age bracket)

What I'm really hoping is that this will give me a fun activity to focus on that will really challenge me. Fifty thousand words is a challenge and especially making sure that your plot stays consistent and interesting. But I'm up for it and ready for the challenge.

Now, I'm going to finish up this post so I can actually plan an outline! Happy writing!

Happy Reflective Birthday

So I have been trying to think of something to post about for a bit of time now and the only thing I can think about is my most current life changing event. Well, I don't know if it is life changing as much as it is another milestone that I have hit in my life.

Yesterday was my birthday and I'm actually not a person who loves celebrating it with huge festivities or claiming it as my own personal holiday. I view it as just another milestone. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy people wishing me a happy birthday but I hate that stupid song (just way too much attention that I do not like to have). But coming back on point, it is another milestone and almost had a very reflective birthday. The best way to describe this is to honestly layout my day.

Yesterday I worked a long shift at work (I worked 6am to 230pm). So I got up before the sun was even a thought and went to work and mainly stayed in the back of the store and restocking the section that I typically work in. I actually didn't mind the shift and thought it was a good shift to have because it is such a specific shift to have. I mean, it was just a super straight-forward, task-oriented day, which I totally love.

After my long shift, I hung out at home before heading over to a friend's house to celebrate my birthday. We called this celebration "the introverted birthday party," which included just the two of talking, having jazz music play in the background and drinking wine. It was an excellent birthday for me, because I don't like the big fuss. The best part about it was the life reflection.

Both my friend and I are at a point in our lives that we are trying to figure out what we are supposed to do. I described my life as a type of saga, where i am constantly on that journey of trying to find myself and my purpose. I have always had a plan for my life and more recently I have been plan-less. I do not have this clear cut direction on my life and there are a couple of different routes that I could go, but I feel so useless because I'm not a hundred percent on any of them. I feel like I am wondering through the woods with an injured leg just trying to survive and trying to find help.

So as we continued to talk about this we then went looking at our childhood and I of course bring up a huge realization on why Snow White is my favorite princess. There is a part of me that has to be strong all the time and I feel like this leads me to be not as gentle and kind as I should be. It causes me to be very harsh and prevents me from being my true self.

Some of the characteristics that Snow White possess, I admire. She is gentle, kind and sees hope in people. One can call her naive, but if she didn't respond to the queen's disguise she would have closed the door of her life and would have never of been able to fall in love. She has a type of strength that I believe is overlooked too often and I admire this quiet strength. In fact, I am envious of this quiet strength because I almost find it more admirable than just being the hero.

This thought has stayed with me since my conversation last night and after describing the type of characters I write in my stories (I write a lot of strong women who are very complicated who both show my strengths [hero] and my biggest faults [villains]). I have been mulling over this and I agree with my friend's statement about it being a type of therapy for myself on a way of clearing my soul of my biggest faults and fears. I find this even more interesting from the characters I wrote about when I was in high school, because they almost foreshadow some of the actions I have done, for example my brash temper with some people. Just the correlation between my characters and myself and one of my favorite literary characters all relate more than I could have ever imagined.

Now this connection did in no way help me figure out what I am doing in my life, but it did help me reach some type of temporary self-actualization of myself. The self-awareness now is both this utterly freeing and weighing feeling all at the same time. It is like the seams of my life are being unstitched together to reform this better hem.

I just feel like this year of my life will be exceedingly difficult in the way of trying to decide my future, but it is necessary and I feel like I will be able to better come to realization with the development of these characters.    

Creative Geniuses

“Colleges hate geniuses, just as convents hate saints.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is the first day of school for many of my friends who are still in college. It is utterly odd for me to have worked a shift this morning and be at a coffee shop later in my day and have no worry of a class schedule, what books to buy, or trying to figure out how early I am going to leave my house so I can get a parking place that isn't on the other side of the campus. It just feels weird not to have school.

I have been going to school for 17 years (yes I'm including preschool). I have had homework, stress, extracurricular activities for 17 years... and I no longer do. Well, I do have stress and I do other types of activities, but it's not the same.

Seventeen years of school and I have to completely admit, I don't miss the format of it at all. As I have had time to look back at my four years of college with the rose colored glasses off of my face, I have come to realize that creativity is really not liked and that people are so one-sided that we are not taught the big picture. Oh, and if any brave soul does bring up a different idea than the rest of the class or a new concept that the professor does not like, then it doesn't matter.

“Colleges hate geniuses, just as convents hate saints.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

 I am choosing this moment to take liberty of changing my view on what genius means. I will start by sharing one  of the many definitions of what genius means from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:  

Extraordinary intellectual power especially as manifested in creative activity

 The reasoning of focusing on this particular definition is
1. I have never heard this definition of the word
and
2. The part after the adverb is interesting (as manifested in creative activity)

So if my understanding is correct of this definition, a genius can be created and stimulated by creative situations. Does anyone else find this interesting?

Now let's take a quick look at the word creative:
Creative comes from the create, which is starting something new or not imitating something. A synonym of this word is IMAGINATIVE.

“Colleges hate geniuses, just as convents hate saints.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

I bet by this point you might hate the quote I have been posting, but are you finding the deeper meaning? 

The system has been okay with the way they have been doing things for who knows how long and they do not appreciate people calling them out. People, geniuses, saints are challenging institutions or people in power. And what is one thing that causes challenges? Creativity.

Creativity is thinking outside the box. It is looking at an old way and inventing something new from it. I believe there is much of this in today's world and have been digging deeper and deeper into this slow paradigm shift that is happening with how we communicate, how consumers look at different products and how this changing the way we view media.

These connections are key to be able to look to the future and I yearn to learn more. I believe if we are not using transmedia communications and truly understanding both the positive and negative effects of it, then how can we best reach this ever changing consumer base. 

The baby boomer generation is getting older and the millennials are gaining ground and starting careers. We must be prepared to best reach this group and not by cheap gimmicky aspects either. We need to understand how these mediums have become integral parts of their lives and then move our products to be connected with this.

To best do this though is to think creatively. I have ideas forming on how to do this and really do not wish to share them on the web yet, but I believe there are many others just like me who are yearning to challenge the people in power or who set the rules. Too many times we have been asked to read about people who challenged the system (Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and many other people), yet they choose to hinder us to think creatively like the people they admire so much.

This is my declaration of change and my declaration that I will find a unique way of reaching this base. Things are changing and I am determined to be a part of these creative geniuses.

I do not claim to be a genius nor will I ever claim to be this. I do not believe I am smart enough to be considered a genius, but I do believe I dream enough to be driven to make a difference. 

Dreams and challenges won't happen unless we get the motivation to make it happen. So with the start of this new school year for so many, how will we continue learning and challenge what we have be trained and taught to believe? How will we change the world? How will we make a difference instead of just sitting on your computer all day? 

I know I have my motivation of making things happen, how about you?

Understanding Now and Then

I have probably written about 4 entries at this moment and do not feel good about any of them. It's not that I don't like the idea of them, but they are still in the editing phase.  So I will write about a quote from one of my favorite movies.

Samantha: [talking about the night in the graveyard with Crazy Pete] He said something that didn't mean as much then as it does now... He told me that things happen in life that you can't stop but it wasn't a reason to shut out the world...
[sighs]
Wow... I realize that... I've been so afraid of the bad things that um... That I've missed out on the good... You know I didn't wanna come back here... But I'm really glad I did... I'd forgotten how much it helped to have you guys as friends... I'm really lucky to have this place... and each other...

 I first saw the movie Now and Then when I was in middle school, which was perfect at the time since the characters played middle school kids. As I got older, I was able to reflect on what they did more and more. (Let's be honest, when I was 12 I really wanted to make a pact with my friends that we would be there for each other forever)

As I have grown up to be a young adult seeking to have a career, I look at that line from the film and realize just how much I relate to Sam. Even when I was a kid, I always related with Sam with her imagination and wanting to just get away from the small midwest town she grew up in. All through school and especially in high school, I was determined to move away from Ohio and go someplace that people understood me. I was determined not to be stuck here forever and I specifically remember that thought going through my 14 year old mind.

And just like Sam, I have the issue of running away from certain situations. It is just a horrible thing that I am certainly getting better at, but it's true. By my senior year of high school, I was ready to move on and get started on my life. I knew I would not be in contact with all of my friends from high school, which I was able to prepare myself for this thought since I was able to see an idea of this from my two older brothers who ventured that path before me. The idea of not having all the same friends from high school didn't bother me too much, since I was prepared for making new ones.

I'm actually happy that I never made a pact when I was 12 with my friends though, because things do happen in life that we can't stop. I had a ton of friends in high school, who I still am friends with on facebook (whatever that means), but am only in constant contact with only 1 of them. I met this friend in 2nd grade and we have grown so much closer since we have been in college, which I find funny because we live in different states. That just shows how some friendships can last the test of times.

Another reason I like this quote so much is because I have been able to be super thankful for the town I grew up in. It was a small town in the middle of nowhere in Ohio. Literally, it was in the middle of nowhere, like it was so small that Walmart said it would not build a store there since it was so small (the closest one was 30min away [more like 34 minutes away. I just google mapped it]). I hated the fact that we were not close to anything and were surrounded by fields. The city limits, because by population it was considered a small city (I still don't believe them on that), was a mile by a mile.

Now that you understand how small the town I grew up in was, I'm actually thankful for growing up there. I know I had days when I was bored, but I can remember all the good times I had with friends there. I was able to ride my bike around town with ease and really had a safe childhood.

This town wasn't perfect or anything. Each small town has their share of problems, but I was able to play in the orchestra, be in musicals and play, and have a lot of opportunities. Our small town even had a performing arts center in our high school. It wasn't perfect or anything, but it was still something to be proud of. I actually have a lot of proud for my hometown now after I left it.

Do I plan on moving back there? Heck no! I don't think I could ever live that far out in the middle of nowhere again, but it was perfect for my childhood.

The reason I feel so inclined to write about this is because I have had a lot of reflecting time and I've just realized how happy that I started out as a small town girl, because it has really helped me enjoy the little blessings and the great friendship that I have now.

Unassigned Essay Question

So I have been casually reading this YA novel for the past couple of weeks and I completely loved it! John Green's "Looking for Alaska" is a book that I really needed to read, not only because I recently bought the book, but the underlying message of the book was just what I needed at this point in my life. This message was noted throughout the the book, but best asked in an essay that the students must write.

The question that really caused so much thought was: "And so that is the question I leave you with in this final: What is your cause for hope (Green, 216)?" This question was spurred by final words of  Simón Bolívar  (who was a Venezuelan military and political leader), which were "How will I ever get out of this labyrinth!"

Both the question and quote I find are very deep, especially being in a place in my life where it feels like I am wandering through this labyrinth called life. I'm still working in the place where I worked when I was in college and still living at home. In all sense, I am not where I would want to be in this point in my life or a better way to phrase it, I am not where I thought I would be at this point.

This talk of hope, which is a topic that I find myself often writing about and thinking about, seems almost like a faint site right now. I know who/what I have hope in, but it is some of the more practical sense that I feel like I do not have a large cause for hope.

For example, I believe in God and I gave my life to Christ when I was in junior high and strongly believe in Him. I can site all these scriptures speaking of hope and how we must go through tough times, since that is what helps us keep hope. I can also quote one of my favorite passages, which is Lamentations 3:19-23, which speaks so much of hope. I get and understand hope.

Another example: I write stories. I do not share them often, but I have multiple notebooks with different stories, whether they are finished or not is irrelevant, and the biggest theme that I find myself writing about over and over again is hope. The whole story of being taken to the lowest you can go and fighting your way back up or trying to fight against someone/something that is suppressing you is such a wonderful story. It's the story of the underdog and seeing them come out victoriously. That's pretty much half of the movies that are made/ books that are written. We all love those stories and can relate to them.

I have seen hope in many different things, but what is my cause for hope?

The best way for me to answer this is by asking another question. Have you ever had so much hope that you have hoped so much that hoping doesn't seem like it has a point anymore? Does that question even make sense? Or does it just make sense to me? It doesn't really matter does it.

I have been in a state where people have had hope in me to be able to do something and I have been losing hope in myself. This is one of the worst states to be in because:

1. The feeling of hopelessness just plain sucks
2. You feel like you are letting people down since you are not feeling as hopeful
1. Which leads to the feeling of disappointment, which also sucks
3. You pretty much want to roll up in a ball and just hide from the world
4. You become bitter (which also sucks)
5. And life pretty much seems like it sucks all the time

 I understand that this is not the most hopeful answer to this question, but I feel like it is very relevant because we all go through points in our life where hope doesn't seem to make sense or seem practical. Don't get me wrong, hope is one of the best things to have, but don't we all lose hope?

Now looking at it from the main quote perspective, isn't it a bit hopeless to just think of a labyrinth? I mean, a labyrinth is something that is utterly challenging and it is not just physically exhausting to wonder around one, but it is also mentally exhausting. Think about it, life is just overall exhausting and sometimes it just seems easier to give up a bit and be complacent. It may seem easier to just sit in the middle of the labyrinth, because that is not challenging you if you just sit and do nothing. How is that a way of living?

So maybe this feeling of hopelessness leads to the feeling of complacency, which can lead to a realization. This realization is that life sucks and you need to get over it!

If I know and understand what hope is in the many forms it may show up in, then this is a choice to feel hopeless and pitying myself, which is a horrible excuse if you ask me.

"And so that is the question I leave you with in this final: What is your cause for hope (Green, 216)?"

My cause for hope, which may seem futile at times, is always there because I have this hate for being complacent. This feeling urges me to act and do. When you act, this leads to further thinking, which then leads to using your imagination, which then leads to hope.

I do not know how I will get out of this labyrinth or if we are ever supposed to get out of this labyrinth, but I do know that if you hold on to that hope and never let it go, that will be light enough to be able to help lead you through.