The Relationship Equation

I recently went to lunch with a woman who made me feel <. You know. Less than. Less than important. Less than worthy. Less than her.

Most of our discussion centered on wealth. While nothing was ever said directly, she clearly communicated that I didn't have enough money to matter. 

Now, those of you who know me know that money has never been my primary motivator. On the other hand, I have made a good living -- and a good life -- as a writer and I'm very proud of that.

So why did I take her comments to heart? I don't know. I don't know. All I can tell you is that she reminded me of the truth in the old cliche: People will forget what you say. People will forget what you do. But they'll never forget how you made them feel.

Fortunately, I am typically surrounded by people who make me feel =. Even a handful who make me feel >. Not greater than them -- that wouldn't be fun. But greater than your average Joe. Greater than ordinary. Definitely greater than I did when I walked into the room.

I love these people. They're > than anything. 

What about your people? What about you? When you consider your relationship equations, are you making people feel less than? Equal? Greater than?

There are lots of ways to know. A little self-actualization helps. But you can also watch the other person's body language. Does he make eye contact? Is she suddenly slumping in her chair? Is he physically pulling away?

Then, take a psychic step back and listen. Does she sound defensive? Is he getting awfully quiet? Are you the only one asking questions?

People matter. Feelings matter. Words matter. Why, just writing this post is my way of getting my mojo back. And I've got one more thing to say before I let it go:

Kindness is > wealth.

Proofread. Seriously.

Possessives are not difficult. Educators should certainly understand them. So seeing this sign at my daughter's high school? Well, yeah. It pisses me off.

When I Say Crank ...

There's been some discussion re: the name Copy Crank. Am I cranky? Or fast?

I am both. But, if you're trying to track, demands to crank don't make me cranky. Take yesterday, for example. One of my clients needed a complete brand guidelines document. From scratch. In a matter of hours. Because they had a meeting. And it had to be designed. Now.

The assignment included writing their core purpose and mission statement. That took about 20 minutes.

Do you know how long it takes to write a core purpose and mission statment when you do it by committee?

It's good to be the Copy Crank.

Just Say It

I was recently invited to a training session on digital acceleration. I had to ask what the session was about. Turns out, it was on social media. Go figure.

My writing session is called, "Better Business Writing." The first lesson is on why a creative writer would have a presentation with such a non-creative title.

Let me share: If your choice is clear or clever, choose clear.

Not A Word: Functionality

Functionality is not a word. Never has been. Never will be.

This will be a continual crank. With different "not a words." Feel free to leave me your favorites. I promise not to parking lot them.

What does 565 mean?

I don't know what it means. It was in the template. Ergo, it's on the blog.

And that is the first time in 30 years of writing that I've used the word ergo. We're off to a very good start.