Author: Garth Beyer

“That’s Disgusting!”

Garth Beyer

Sometimes I read incredible articles, uncertain if I will ever recall them again or if they have simply fell into that black hole I have in my mind.

Alas, my assumptions were countered.

Roughly four months ago, I read an article in The Chronicle Review called The Delights of Disgust. Today, not only four minutes ago, I sat down to write, a bowl of oatmeal from a local coffee shop next to me.  Whilst eating, I found someone else’s DNA in the form of bristle in my oatmeal.

While Justin Smith does exceptional work ruminating on the idea of disgust, humor, and humanity. I would like to make an aside that’s worth noting (with less sexual and political prominence).

Oh, and here is the picture of the hair. I went to pluck it out of my food and ended up pulling and pulling and pulling. “That’s disgusting!” Right?

HairInOatmeal

After putting the strand of hair to the side (as shown above), I continued to finish my oatmeal. The way I see it is this, will I let something disgusting (hair in food, smell of a fart, undercooked meat) influence my actions, but more importantly, my judgements?

For many who find themselves in a similar situation, would have complained, would have asked for a new bowl, would have ranted on Twitter, and would then avoid eating oatmeal for the next few weeks until the memory fades.

Aurel Kolnai, who in 1929 published an essay “Der Ekel” (“Disgust”) saw disgust as inherently paradoxical, to the extent that it is “a genuinely passive defensive reaction of the subject, … and yet, once aroused, it seeks out its object, as hatred does, in its entire significance, instead of unfolding according to the persona’s own condition.

Curiously enough, in any dictionary, “disgust” is juxtaposed with “humor.”

Since when did the demand of “smell my finger” become the force of what is disgusting, rather than the actual act of smelling the finger? And to the one asking, both the asking and the action of their finger being smelled is humorous. Is this not a perfect display of humanity? At the most basic level, something has an aroma, and we have the ability to sense it through smell. Then, the action of sensory perception leads to laughter. Yet, it’s not that simple, is it?

There are multiple variables attempting to dominate our lives, to make decisions for us, to dictate even. The major contributors to this dictation are morales, laws, politics, social structures and others.  I’m not sure about you, but I’m not comfortable with letting disgust control me. I think the list of factors that behest our lives is long enough.

 

Stay Positive & Human, In Control

Garth E. Beyer

 

Living Is Easy

Garth Beyer

Do one thing a day that if you died the next day, you would have been happy you did.

Most will tell you to do one thing a day that scares you. Others will suggest to play it safe. Many ignore both and just don’t care. These are hard to do, extremely hard. The amount of effort that goes into failure is insubstantial.

But, living… living is easy.

If I may add one note coming from the journalist inside me, if there is one thing I have learned from watching and reading news, it is that people die. Every single day. For different reasons, in different ways, procuring different impacts. People die.

Life can be cruel, but only if it has the first move. That’s where you come in.

Make that first move, every day.

 

Stay Positive & Live, That’s All You Have To Do In This World

Garth E. Beyer

Let’s Cooperate

Garth Beyer

As in, fill in the mortar, wear the shoes issued to you, fit the status-quo, stick to the plan, follow the rules, do as everyone else does.

Traditionally, anything outside the aforementioned is considered not cooperating, which is a case of serious misinterpretation.

There are two correcting tributes about cooperation that must be noted.

The first is that cooperation is conversation. Cooperation is not an order of command, but a dialogue of two (or usually many more than two) people.

Second, cooperation is interaction. Interaction by definition results in a variety of influence and effects. A single demand of many is not interaction.

To cooperate is to dance, to play, to connect the loop of insight and feedback. Cooperation is vital in the workplace and even more vital in the home and the heart. Keep this in mind the next time someone tells you that you need to cooperate. You may need to remind them what cooperation really is.

 

Stay Positive & I Prefer Interactive Operation Over Cooperation

Garth E. Beyer

Breaking The Long Tail Into Phases

Garth Beyer

Phase 1: It’s a common misconception that books, movies, music, etc., just make it to the top 10, to the best sellers, to the “most popular” categories – one day you don’t see them there, the next day you do. It’s magic. Phase 1 of the Long Tail is making whatever you make, big: big audience, big profit, and big exposure. 50 Shades is a prime example, it is average price and a bestseller.

For the mass, one day it just showed up and they had to have it.

Phase 2: This is when a slight price reduction takes place. Most commonly found in the form of a sale, a discount, a sweepstake or giveaway. Phase two of the Long Tail is making it (perhaps 50 Shades of Gray) slightly more available. The goal is to reach an even larger audience that without the price reduction would have never been reached.

Phase 3: While phase two slightly expands the range of those who would purchase the product; phase three involves an even larger price drop. By now the production costs are paid, the creator has profited, and the goal is to reach as many people as possible while still making profit – small profit, but profit nevertheless.

Phase 4: By now, one can cut production completely and put the product online for instant download in multiple formats. The last phase is to offer the work for free, to reach everyone (at least with internet access). The goal is to catch even more eyes on the work you have shipped while you are producing new work that starts back at phase one.

This is the progressive and profiting idea of the Long Tail that most people see.

The problem with cutting the Long Tail into phases, though, is the sociological impacts that are created as a result. At each phase, you make those who participated in the phase before it more uncomfortable. “Why do they get it cheaper.” “I should have waited until the price went down.” “Next time I’m just going to hold off until it’s free.” While this has significant effects, there is one in particular that needs to be noted.

This effect directs more of those who participate in the first phase, to dig deep for the interesting, the odd, and the most creative items that are at the end of the tail. After all, everything ends up there anyway, right? In the consumer’s mind, inaction creates price reduction. In the producers mind, inaction prevents them from ever getting a hold of the work. With the Long Tail, the consumers right.

Looking back at all of this, it seems that the Long Tail actually has a negative effect. At least, if you follow it from phase 1, it does.

But, what if I told you that the Long Tail was meant to work in reverse, from phase four, from the end of it. That before 50 Shades found itself in phase 1; the author had been producing shorter creative work, gathering a tribe of followers.

The beauty of the Long Tail is that people are able to go up the tail in short phases. All with the start of a niche product and a small, but close tribe. For most, the box office movies, the best sellers, the “top 10,” were overnight successes. Really, they worked longer and harder than one can imagine getting there.

 

Calling All Non-Freelancers

Garth Beyer

We need you to freelance.

The jobless are – without objection – staying jobless.

Remember the common saying, “the best time to start a business is during a recession?” Well, starting a business is similar to freelancing, but without the vital need of initial high monetary input.

I also believe that no matter your career interest, there is a way to hack it, a way to freelance it. (Worth noting: joblessness also gives you the opportunity to take a different path, start something new. If there was ever a time to say “you have nothing to lose,” that time is now.) For many of those unemployed, turning your expertise into a freelance model will immediately define your profession as a niche.

All that leaves is finding your market: given the internet and the long tail – check, and check.

Unemployment? Spit on it. Jobless? Create yours. Desperate? Take a risk.

 

Stay Positive & The Unemployment Rate Will Change, Only When You Do

Garth E. Beyer

Unlocked Potential Series

Garth Beyer

In a world of give-and-take, two-way streets, and a general goal of balance, I have come across some remarkable people who dance on both ends of the stick.

The middle of last year, I began writing an Unlocking Potential series. While the process was to mention people who were… well, worth mentioning, the goal was to unlock more of their potential through sharing their story, their personalities, and their creations.

It was an instant success with some interviews hitting over 1,000 views in one day.

Seeing Vanilla Ice

Walking down State Street, I saw Vanilla Ice starting a fight with – what appeared to be – an innocent bystander. Ice pushed the gentleman’s face and kept shouting at him. (I call the bystander a gentleman because he did not fight back, he was passive, true to the title of bystander.) Ignoring the forceful push-to-the-face and spit of vulgarity, he started to dial 911.Vanilla Ice then started walking away with his posse.

Of course this wasn’t really Vanilla Ice, but it sure did look like him. (Blame Google for not coming out with Google Glass sooner. Vanilla Ice was an early idol of mine, you’ll have to take my word that it looked like him.)

The world is filled with opposites, and the reason I mention this experience is to provide contrast to the next experience.

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Tyler (spiderman) and Adam AG (rapper)

While there are those who need a little nudge to unlock their potential, other’s are already an open treasure chest. Tyler Babb (T-Babb Films) and Adam (Adam AG) are two of these people. And in light of that, this is more of an unlocked potential series than anything else.

In one scene, I see Vanilla Ice throwing his credibility and respect away. The next I am face-to-face with Tyler and Adam – two people who see the bigger picture.

And that’s no filming pun.

Unlocked Potential

There was no need for me to do any convincing when sitting down with Tyler and Adam, if anything, they were convincing me that I’m not the only one with this mental attitude of positivity, work ethic, and attainable success. Some repeated comments were:

  • Take steps
  • Work hard on what you love
  • Skip the general bullfeces
  • Take things seriously
  • Connect all you can

Most significantly, we’re in a revolution; for the first time, a revolution we know we are in.

In the past – regardless of the economical or political situation – there were credible idols in every niche saying, “There has never been a better time than now.” And they were right.

The difference between then and now isn’t that we no longer hear this uplifting phrase, rather, as opposed to the past, we actually believe it.

The past who preached that “the best time is now” had to convince their audience. Now, speaking for the current generation:

We’re not ignorant. We know that we have everything on the shelf, all the resources, tools, and assistance that we could need. We know that all that we need to do is pick and choose out of what is available, to create. We don’t need convincing that now is the perfect time to do something. What we need is someone to teach us how to be creative enough with all the potential at our fingertips to make and do things that one day we will look back on in awe and jaw-dropping amazement.

The reason I write about Tyler and Adam is that they are the teachers – not waiting for someone to help them fulfil their dreams and bringing as many as possible up with them.

 

Stay Positive & Self-taught And Ready To Inspire

Garth E. Beyer

Fine Lines

Garth Beyer

There’s such a fine line between winning and losing.

There’s such a fine line between genius and insanity.

There’s such a fine line between honesty and bluntness.

There’s such a fine line between communication and interaction.

There’s such a fine line between being naive and taking a risk that’s worth it.

There’s such a fine line between capitalism and capitalization.

There’s such a fine line between reality and pretend.

It’s not that we’re not meant to cross certain lines, rather, we are meant to dance on them. I tell you, we are here on this earth to dance around, don’t let anyone make you feel otherwise.

 

Stay Positive & Hell, Just Draw Your Own Lines

Garth E. Beyer