Sunday, November 23, 2008

People are People


Landing in Shanghai, China I’ve realized that people are people. We all want to be brave. We are searching for identity and meaning in life.

Often in advertising we get discouraged and question the validity of our chosen field. The same is true in Shanghai.

One of our translators and new friends, Rachel, an advertising student at Fudan University Rachel is studying advertising, yet yearns to be a fashion designer. Rachel loves to create but isn’t sure if she wants to “sell” things for the rest of her life. She is unsure. Rachel represents a good chunk of the students in the advertising track at U of O.

We told Rachel that graduating with a degree in advertising doesn’t make her a product pusher, it makes her a cultural anthropologist, a problem solver and a producer of good ideas.

There are some mornings when I wake up and ask myself, “What the hell am I doing with my life?” These are the good days. If we settle for one pursuit we limit ourselves. Why say no to anything where there is possibility and potential in each track of our lives.

It’s normal not to know what to do with your life. We are all searching. If we stop questioning ourselves it means we’ve settled This can only lead to a life of mediocrity and white bread.

4 comments:

Chris said...

Life is full of divine moments, and we have all been given the freewill to choose whether or not to act on these moments everyday. I mean, think of all of the sourdough, rye, and whole grain that we could be missing out on...and then there is flax seed bread with roasted pumpkins, or that delicious Hazelnut bread that I tried a couple of years ago.

But seriously, good thoughts.

Anonymous said...

A producer of good ideas...for selling things.

Anyone who says advertising isn't about selling something is deluding themselves.

The Family Cat said...

http://www.clandavidsonusa.com/homeframe.htm

Check this out. Now you know what to wear next time you are in China if you want to show up all the skinny Chinese girls.

All these blog posts were cool, was that Henry in that one picture?

megan pants said...

Dear Anonymous Friend,

Selling things sure, but it doesn't have to always be the way you think. Try selling sustainability. Where is the harm in that?