Next Lifetime

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In a nutshell: Buy now, later, or never?

Some updates: Last month, I met with Canvas Rebel to talk about Logo’s backstory. Read more about it here.

Song of the week: Erykah Badu, Next Lifetime, 1997 

When we think of provision and being ‘universal’, talking to the masses for trade, (selling), we are to recognize where dilemma sits. 

People in the midst of taking to a decision, like choosing you again or letting someone else take the throne, first ponder their own standing. They request of themselves things like answering why they have belonged to who for the longest. They wonder if they have been holding onto their chances for too long and check to see if it was the right moment to give one out. They riddle with the chance of lending themselves to borrowing another’s proposal in the meantime.

This was where an uncharted opening sounded, where their sense of place attempted to materialize:

“Now what am I supposed to do 

When I want you in my world… want you in my world

How can I want you for myself 

When I’m already someone’s girl?”

…

Getting tricked is not the topic at hand, jumping sides because of mere choice, but it can feel like such when you find yourself at some core, thinking of your adorned reality and the gap between the promise of availability, being presented another garnered realm that lays out orderly, what you could relieve yourself of instead. 

I’ve been thinking recently about ideas of ‘restarting’, getting to the bottom of some proceeding, drawing up what’s required when faced with yet another set of piled-up blank pages, in this case, the: why, who, and what am I doing this for?

For many brands/projects/and almost businesses out there for the public, a revival or renewal happens/launches every few years to keep up with the times. This is encouraged to not show you were not caught lacking: settling into the alright and mediocre. When you stay in the mix as someone social, visible, your ‘relevance’, people’s memory of you, helps them establish parallels, creating new company and bonds.

If we know not everyone ‘arrives’ to the party at the same time, this ‘principle’ applies to this situation too. There are those who get to the shore a minute after the wave reaches its peak. They attempt to ‘catch up’ but still end up being too behind to participate without trying to follow the already complete. 

There’s a handful that may even make a joke out of this unused chance (restoration). They use losing their place as a comic interlude, then a lesson. 

Some already move so ahead, (so routinely), that they (can) reference themselves (anytime) down the line, showing their history by the season, demonstrating their been-there-did-that archival game. 

The rest may not know where the(ir) reset button is. 

Blindspots were common, until you were apt to admitting what you didn’t know. 

Finding this button or ‘switch’ to knowing where to re-begin came from starting back at 1: who you were doing this for? In most cases, this was usually people. 

When you can break down who you’re talking to, you match what you assume to a series of realities.

Some initial questions that fell under this existence deconstruction were about having an answer for who you wanted to ‘buy’ from you, more specifically, which part of what you provided did you want them to enjoy; what did you see when you ‘heard’ these things? 

I’ve observed that with the way popular culture rolls, many think it’s better and less ‘cancel-able’ to give a platform to an audience called ‘everyone’. This concept and practice have been deemed ‘easy on the eyes’ because it seemingly leaves no one out, since all are invited. Yet, if we’re being honest, every person cannot be worth your life’s attention, unless their direction points to your mission.

If we acknowledge the economic temperature of the world, ‘everyone’, can never stray from needing. The catch is realizing that the term necessity has the same amount of faces as it does fountains, too many to count. Seldom can it be called sufficient to attempt to cover a multitude from one sole channel. ‘Fullness’ had its pieces, selected and numerous.

When you put a lot of ‘time’, effort, and energy towards ideating, customizing, and developing for specific individuals, you change places with them through nature and ability. Their fantasies and regrets become what you contemplate before and when your pencil touches paper.

If you take yourself out of this pattern and trip over confusing yourself with including the painted, ‘all of the above’, you lose out on getting feedback and ever granting any more details as a result of imposing ‘all’ to come to you.

Uncomplicate what you have written about consumers by:

A. Showing them they’re understood

B. Helping them find what they’re looking for

If someone -who you had no plans for- buys from you, this gives you the opportunity to expand your product(s)/service(s) (line) because you are now presented with this person’s needs. You may possibly be offered the how and why they were attracted to you: your approach, design, delivery, tempo, etc. *new reference alert*

Bottom line: design for those who activate the world you want them to have.

Dollars and cents come on their own accord and follow the originally-described-as intention. When you can keep organized, you avoid mazes of doubt.

Another element to pay attention to when pressing ‘reboot’ is noticing what the person you’re building for already buys. What’s easy about this is, you can direct yourself around your own spaces, browse your cabinets, drawers, shelves, and rooms. See where the (in)congruencies are.

Do you keep things that have a certain color, odor, texture, wording, promise, initiative, person, language… what makes you a repeat buyer? What brought you to be that person that can’t not have that one thing on hand? Extremes are also starting points. 

When you begin to put two and two together, you’ll naturally know what (other) questions to bring up about the person you have in mind. In turn, you’ll be practicing your comfort with predicting, anticipating what could be said about what you’ve done and forgotten, foretelling suggestion.

As the maker, your technique of asking is deliberately admitting, processing, approaching, and crafting your way through the little things.

This ‘last’ question may seem rhetorical and can be quickly truncated into necessity. How would you respond to: why does this person buy? You don’t want to hold onto “They need this, though”. That phrase holds empty reason. Opposite this would be, what vessel would they replace this for?

‘Need’ can be twisted in a second and can lead to people resenting their purchase after they pick up onto everyone saying the same thing: ‘you need this in your life’ or even more not-believable phrases like ‘best-in-the-world’.

There is no such thing that can be measured to such a degree, and there is way too much nuance to even want to attempt to get a survey on whether that’s correct or not. Focus on getting this part sorted: knowing why your person decides to swipe their card and pay in full.

My question to you is, will your audience meet you in this lifetime or the next?

If you’d like to build on what you discover as you exercise how you question and resolve, feel free to reserve a time to chat during my office hours.

See you soon

x

Madison

@logourl