#i wanted to say something profound and meaningful about how he brings the thread of the oldest human stories into the modern world

[ineffable-rohese]

Please click the link. Aardvark-verse Neil has healed something in my heart.

(Mostly the part that was despairing over never writing anything worth sharing with the world ever again. But also something about falafels.)

[annabethisterrified]

Book Review: THE TOWER OF NERO (The Trials of Apollo #5)

***No spoilers until you go under the cut!***

After months in the human form of Lester Papadopoulos, the former god Apollo is nearing the end of his trials alongside the young Meg McCaffrey. All their adventures and misfortunes have landed them back in the place it started-- New York. Meg and Apollo must defeat the final, most powerful emperor of the Triumvirate, who also happens to be Meg’s manipulative stepfather. Meanwhile, Nico, Will, and Rachel have important roles to play as the final battle looms. Even if they can defeat Nero, a more terrible enemy awaits in the form of Python, Apollo’s nemesis. Still, if they can succeed, Apollo will finally be restored to godhood. But after everything he’s been through, going back to the way things were doesn’t sound so great anymore. Apollo and his friends will have to find a new way to make all the sacrifices and pain they’ve experienced and witnessed worth it. That is, if they can survive their final trial.

As both the culmination of The Trials of Apollo series and the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles, The Tower of Nero excels at bringing the complicated, moving themes of the saga into final, meaningful reckonings. Nero proves to be a chilling and impressive enemy who forces Apollo and Meg to put everything they’ve learned through their journey together to the ultimate test. New and old characters combine to see the story to its end, and long-time readers are rewarded with actualized development and a bittersweet farewell. The Tower of Nero is a fitting and robust conclusion that shines with all the heart, humor, and growth that makes this saga a worthy frontrunner in children’s literature.

SPOILER SECTIONS BELOW

Welcome!!!!!!!!! Y’all. Y’ALL. I am REELING. If you’ve been around here a while, you probably know I’ve been online here since 2012 (?????!!!!!) where I subjected by followers to weird takes and frantic excitement about the upcoming installments of Heroes of Olympus, then Trials of Apollo. Since I was ten years old, this story has been such a huge part of my life. Now I’m 22 (?????!!!!). So. How am I feeling? I’m feeling like I need to flip over every piece of furniture in my house. In a good way. Look. I gotta break this down into three parts because I’m the worst!

I. TRIALS & TRIBULATION

The Trials of Apollo, to me, felt like the inevitable conclusion to Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Heroes of Olympus. We went through two series where we intimately followed the lives of young demigods growing up through two brutal wars, dangerous quests, and personal reckonings. Gods certainly made appearances, and some were more helpful than others, but the message was always clear-- the demigods were on their own. Two wars fought, two wars won, and at what cost? For what change?

Bringing a god down to earth (both literally and metaphorically) is really the only way a story like this could be rounded out. Especially when the god in question is Apollo. He’s the son of Zeus, who punishes him by turning him mortal. This family set-up already has enormous implications in reference to the previous chain of mythological events: Zeus killed his father Kronos, Kronos killed his father Ouranos, etc. 

Prophecy is also the scaffolding of this entire saga. Everything is dictated by it-- every quest relies on it, most of the demigods we meet are led by it, and the whole Greek/Roman world seems to build their lives around it. My point is, Apollo was a great character to use as the mouthpiece of this last series. He’s been present throughout the previous two series, and he’s relatively unaffected by the Greek/Roman divide. The enemy, the Triumvirate, is also an exciting antagonist-- they’ve fueled and funded the previous two wars, and their obsession with becoming “gods” is loaded with implications as Apollo races to return to his own status as a god.

Apollo himself is also a completely terrible being. From the first pages through his perspective, there’s certainly little sympathy or commiseration with our narrator. Apollo is many things: spoiled, petulant, selfish, and arrogant. He is not good, and now, he is no longer a god. Still, his voice and struggle remained compelling and engaging throughout the series. 

His bond with Meg McCaffrey is, without a doubt, the emotional heart of the whole series. I think they both see aspects of themselves in each other, and it was a genius move to make her the stepdaughter of the enemy. Nero literally sent Meg to be Apollo’s controller and thought that she would easily bring him down; the fact that both these very troubled people cling to each other in the face of such manipulation and frightening circumstances-- and then repeatedly choose to fight their ways back to each other time and again-- is really what makes this series work so well.

With Meg and Apollo at the forefront, after The Hidden Oracle the series takes on something of a “tour” format. We discover new places and revisit old characters across the country, which was definitely exciting for long-time readers to see familiar faces undergo even more development. (This might just be me, but I don’t think ToA can really stand on its own without the worldbuilding/establishment of the first two series-- that’s not a knock on it, but so much of it picks up where the previous series left off, which might make it a disorienting read for someone new to the world.)

Of course, the obvious midpoint reversal of the series is the death of Jason Grace in The Burning Maze. A flip switches completely-- not just for Apollo, but for the whole cast. This is not an incident that just “happens” and is swept aside. In the final two installments, Jason is threaded throughout the story, showing how grief is never truly over. But his sacrifice saved everyone he loved, and had profound impacts on everyone he knew. As brutal as it was, I appreciated how Jason really changed everything through his choice. 

By the time Apollo and Meg return to New York in The Tower of Nero, they are better, stronger versions of themselves. The things they once wanted-- godhood restored, or a father’s approval-- are no longer appealing. Their development (both individually and as friends) is utterly believable and hard-won. We see characters from The Hidden Oracle return changed, too. Losing Jason has dredged up dark feelings within Nico, Rachel is warding off the influence of Python in her mind, and Will’s healer heart is put to the test in yet another final battle. (Listen, this kid played instrumental roles in The Last Olympian, The Blood of Olympus, AND The Tower of Nero. The fate of the world really is in his capable, glow-in-the-dark hands.)

Together, Apollo and team venture into Manhattan for a very intense, exciting, and profound final reckoning with Nero. (CHAPTER 20, ANYONE????) Both Apollo and Meg, once and for all, come into their own and reclaim their power and independence. The pay-off is immaculate, and it’s jarring to remember the Apollo we once knew-- the easygoing one from The Titan’s Curse, the snobbish one from The Blood of Olympus, and the self-pitying one from The Hidden Oracle. His development throughout ToA is seamless and incredibly moving, and we’re left with a protagonist that we can truly, unequivocally root for and love.

II. HAVE YOU LEARNED?

When Nero is defeated, the real enemy still lurks. Apollo’s age-old nemesis, Python, has long haunted him. Their final reckoning is one-on-one, and after everything Apollo’s learned and been through, he goes into his last battle not necessarily caring whether he lives or dies-- he just knows Python must be defeated, no matter the cost. Don’t get me STARTED on his last conversation with Meg!!!!?????? (”Just come back to me, dummy.” I LOVE THEM) 

So, yeah, I’m already crying at that point. Apollo (slowly regaining his godhood) goes into this completely by himself, assuming all risk and responsibility. He’s forced to sacrifice the Arrow of Dodona, and eventually chooses to sacrifice himself by flinging them both down to Tartarus. But we don’t stop there! Oh, no, we go all the way down to Chaos. The primordial soup of all the pantheons, all of existence. Python crumbles, and Apollo clings to the edge-- he clings to life.

This is it. This is the literal rock-bottom moment of the saga, and I’m completely unsure of how he’s getting out of this one. Who’s going to rescue him? What can he even do at this point? Genuinely, I had no idea where this was going-- and I never would have guessed that it would be the goddess Styx who shows up. She’s played an important, but also very minor, role in ToA. I was baffled at first-- I thought, what does she have to do with any of this? But then it ended up playing out in like the most breathtaking, moving way possible. It’s one of the most defining scenes of the entire 15 books to me. 

She only asks him: “Have you learned?”

This is the goddess of promises and oaths. Since The Lightning Thief, we’ve seen how oaths are tossed around like confetti. Percy’s very existence (not to mention Thalia and Jason’s) is because of a broken promise. An oath to keep with a final breath is one of the revisited elements throughout the Heroes of Olympus series. Apollo makes willy-nilly promises in The Hidden Oracle, which he later regrets. 

Then, at the end of everything, Styx only asks Apollo if he’s learned. All the talk of promises and oaths in this story doesn’t actually have anything to do with “keeping promises”-- certainly, so many promises are broken we can’t keep track. It all boils down to whether we learn from what we experience and use that to become better people moving forward. It’s about making sure we mean what we say and what we do. It’s about commitment and devotion to the people we love and the things we care about. Promises don’t matter. Only action does. 

I can’t understate how thoroughly pleased I was that this was the final reckoning of the saga. It was an unexpected and completely profound moment, and such an important scene to use as the emotional climax of the book.

III. WHERE WE GO FROM HERE

After 15 years and 15 books, The Tower of Nero had to find a way to bring the saga to a close without nailing the coffin shut. More standalone novels are surely on the horizon (I’m looking at you, Nico and Will), but as a whole, this saga did need to come to a satisfying end. 

Let’s pick up after Apollo is restored to godhood. He wakes up to his sister Artemis, and the very first thing he does? After finally returning to his true form, the thing he’s relentlessly yearned for the whole series? He just breaks down sobbing. He’s miserable. There’s no relief or joy in the realization that he’s once again an Olympian. 

I’m always a sucker for the trope of “Character does everything possible to reach Goal only to realize that Goal isn’t actually what they want or need at all”, so of course, I was moved to see Apollo learn that he doesn’t actually care much about whether he’s a god or a human anymore. (In fact, he later remarks that he envies Lu’s new ability to grow old and age alongside Meg and her foster siblings.)

I was doubly-moved that Apollo’s restoration to godhood was not an action on Zeus’s part. From what little context we get (a lot happens “off screen” and even Apollo isn’t sure), it appears that Apollo either reclaimed his own godhood through sheer force of will to return from Chaos and reunite with his friends, and/or Styx aided him. But it seems obvious Zeus wasn’t involved, which has HUGE implications for the power structure of the Olympians moving forward.

A lot of us, myself included, had certain expectations for how Apollo’s inevitable reunion with Zeus and the rest of the Olympians would go. I, for one, was excited to see Apollo either tell off his father, or possibly assume a position as the new Camp Half-Blood director or New Rome’s pontifex maximus. Instead, we got a somewhat quiet, but incredibly tense interaction between all the Olympians. The closest thing to an outburst is actually between Hera and Zeus, as she tells him off for not mourning his son Jason, as Apollo did. (Dare I say....I liked Hera for a moment?) (ALSO, I’m fully on-board with the theory that Zeus did not intervene in Jason’s death as a punishment for Jason publicly calling him “unwise” in The Blood of Olympus.)

The whole scene reads as a powder keg. Already, it’s established that Apollo, Artemis, and Dionysus (and possibly even Athena and Hera) have no illusions of Zeus’s grandeur. They do not view him as family, or even as a leader. He’s simply just the one with enough power to punish the rest of them when they get “out of line”. 

Apollo began naming Zeus as his abuser fairly early on in the series. Perhaps witnessing the way Meg thinks and speaks about her stepfather Nero made this clear for him. In either case, he begins to explicitly mirror the very same advice he gives Meg in dealing with her abuser: distance yourself from the abusive person/situation, and accept that tyrants do not change and it is not your responsibility to attempt to make them “see the light”. Thus, Apollo makes no appeal or argument to Zeus– he understands by then that it’d be fruitless. Instead, he’s concentrating his energy on doing everything he can do with what he has; he’s committed to being a protector and friend of demigods, and he sees that other gods are beginning to (if not already) see Zeus’s wrongness. (More on this here.)

Was it what I expected going into the book? Nope. But I have to admit that it was really exciting to see Zeus try to hide the very real fear of realizing that his son Apollo is no longer afraid of him, and is quite possibly more powerful than him, too. Apollo switches gears entirely away from Zeus, and focuses his energy back on the friends he’s made and the children he has. It’s a refreshing reminder that it’s often more productive to concentrate on helping others instead of harming those who harm us. 

That being said, I would have liked a few paragraphs or pages discussing what practical differences there will be for the lives of young demigods in the wake of this change. I understand that might not have worked given the very condensed timeline post-returning-to-godhood (the story ends literally the same day or day after), but I do hope and believe that Apollo’s transformation is going to change the way demigods perceive gods-- and what they will expect of gods in the future. Just look at how Apollo is received by the campers at CHB. They’re ecstatic to see him. They think of him as a hero. Apollo is coming back just to help and spend time with his kids, his friends, and the campers, and he’s going to keep coming back. The other gods are certainly going to feel some pressure to follow suit. 

Speaking of Apollo’s reunions...shall we?

I loved that we got to see all the main-players one last time. Mimicking the “tour format” of the series, we get to watch Apollo catch up with his loved ones, who helped him learn how to be a better person throughout his trials.

It was sad, but reassuring, to watch Nico come to terms with Jason’s death. I like how he outlined the differences between Hazel’s and Jason’s deaths, and why he isn’t interfering out of respect for Jason. Watching Jason appear to Apollo (ambiguously as a ghost or as a figment of Apollo’s dream-imagination) was another moving reminder of the stark differences in the ways that different demigods prioritize and think about what it is to be a hero. Jason’s idea and Percy’s idea, for instance, are super different because of the way they were raised. Percy would put anything on the line for his family and friends; so would Jason, of course, but he also has a much broader view of what’s worth sacrificing your life for...which is admirable in ways, but also painfully sad, since a lot has to change in order for Jason’s death to carry weight. Over the course of the last two books, I think it’s very safe to say Jason’s death did change just about everything for the people who knew and loved him, and even those who didn’t. 

Whew. Okay, back to Camp Half-Blood. Nico and Will are clearly now very comfortable with each other, and it’s refreshing to see how they both watch out for each other and bring out the best in one another. I’m excited for their inevitable solo book, but regardless, it’s good to see Nico getting the help he needs (from his own experiences, from Dionysus, Will, etc), and for Rachel to get some distance from her terrible parents by living out her art student dreams in Paris. 

Then, we drop by the Waystation. I simply cannot get over the fact that Calypso is at BAND CAMP. Anyway, it’s unsurprising to find out that she and Leo are still “complicated”, but I’m glad she’s experiencing the highs and lows of mortal life, and that Leo is working on helping out vulnerable youth (and has two mom figures in his life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). Glad we get to see Thalia and Reyna both happy and healthy, too.

Next up, Camp Jupiter and New Rome. LOVE that Hazel and Frank have both reclaimed the curses that haunted them since The Son of Neptune. They really both did just...like...basically die to bring down the Big Bad and then come back better than ever. (Side note: I still obviously have issues with the fact that Hazel is SO YOUNG! There was no reason for her not to be 15/16 like the rest of the Argo 2 crew! Ugh.)

Anyway, then we say goodbye to Percy and Annabeth. Except for the annoying continuity error in terms of the timeline of them learning about Jason, I really really really loved this parting moment with them. I know some readers wanted Percy and Annabeth to stay in New York, but it always felt very natural and meaningful for me that they’d want to relocate to New Rome. That was always the Big Dream for most of Heroes of Olympus, and it makes sense to me that they’d choose to live somewhere designed for demigods to actually live and grow old and raise families. Besides, I’m quite certain they’ll frequently be visiting New York. I digress. 

It was super bittersweet to see these two finally off on their own (and basically living together, as Apollo teasingly implies) going to college! Definitely a huge sigh of relief and satisfaction after following all their exploits since they were twelve. I’m so glad we get to see them (all things considered) happy and excited for their new life together. They certainly stepped back in this series, as they deserved. But they still lose Jason, and that’s something that weighs heavily on them and likely always will. Apollo calls Jason “the best of us”, and I don’t think that use of “us” is lost on Percy, Annabeth, or anyone-- Apollo’s identity and alignment is with them now, which will hopefully lead to positive change.

Then, simultaneously the saddest and happiest (?) reunion-- with Piper. This was obviously really heavy, since the last time Apollo sees her is in the wake of Jason’s death. For me, I’m very proud and excited by the fact that Piper is the only character who basically forges a whole new life (outside of the sphere of the Olympians) for herself. She’s far from other demigods and gods, and is committed to reconnecting with her mortal family and making a beautiful life. She has a new friend, too, which is absolutely awesome. (I mean, we all KNEW, right? But it’s really great to see this confirmed on-page.) When Piper told Apollo that he did right by Jason, I definitely lost it. And I also just really loved the final beat with her-- Apollo’s stammering a goodbye, but Piper’s already turned around to walk back to her new friend and her new life.

The final farewell, of course, went to Meg McCaffrey. She’s reclaimed Aeithales, and is now foster-sibling-extraordinaire by rescuing Nero’s other adopted demigods and giving them a new chance. Meg’s really matured and grown into such a kind and strong leader, but it was super bittersweet to see how much she still values Apollo. Their reunion just about broke me. They share a bond that no one else will ever understand, and they brought each other out of darkness that nearly ended them both. I literally can’t think of a better final dialogue than what they share:

You’ll come back?

Always. The sun always comes back. 

I’m fine!!! 

Anyway, this brings me to the closing lines of the story. Just as Percy opens The Lightning Thief by directly addressing the reader, Apollo closes The Tower of Nero by bidding farewell to us. 

Call on me. I will be there for you. 

On so many levels, this line works really well as the ending. For me, and I imagine for you too if you’re reading this, these 15 books are a pillar of our childhoods. We grew up alongside these characters, and found enormous excitement and identity and magic in these pages. The story may have come to a close, but it lives on within us-- it’s something we can return to time and again for enjoyment and understanding.

More than anything, this story pulled off something I didn’t really know was possible: it makes me feel genuinely and enthusiastically glad to be human, no matter how strange or hard it gets.

____________

My fifth-grade teacher assigned The Lightning Thief as mandatory reading when I was ten years old. I picked it up reluctantly, but from the first lines, I just completely fell into this story. Twelve years since that assignment, I’m now a traditionally-published author myself...writing about what else but mythology, of course. These books saw me from elementary school all the way to post-college life. It’s hard to imagine where I’d be without them-- certainly, I’d never have achieved my lifelong dream of becoming an author, nor would I have found such an incredible online community like the one I’ve found here. I consider myself extremely lucky to have grown up alongside these characters and their incredible story. 

I know we’ve likely got more standalones in this world to come, but this is still the end of the saga. I’m sad to see it come to a close, but I’m so ecstatic with the send-off we got, and I’m excited to let the story settle and become a part of me-- something that will always affect how I see the world, something that reminds me of why I write, and something that’s always there to welcome me home.

[thtdamfangirl4]

Saying Goodbye to The Good Place

Tonight I watched one of my favorite shows in history end. I watched it live with freaking commercials and I tuned out the rest of the world. And I cried my eyes out so many times. And I don’t know how well I can explain that, or how exactly to put into words what this show has meant to me, but I’m going to cry.

I started watching this show when season 2 came on Netflix. I had heard good things about it online and a friend or two had watched it, so I decided to give it a try. (I had watched the first, like, 2 episodes months before but hadn’t kept going or given it a real chance.) I found myself completely hooked. I watched the first season in two days and had finished everything the show had to offer by the end of the week, diving into tumblr accounts, twitter threads, the cast’s social media pages. None of that is uncommon for me when I first become obsessed with a show.

But The Good Place was uncommon. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen, and remains so to this day. It had fabulous humor in many facets, from Jason’s lovable idiocy to Chidi’s relatable indecision to Eleanor’s perfectly captured selfishness to Tahani’s name-dropping to Janet’s cacti to Michael’s comments about humans and the dynamics between them all and so much more. And the show, the writers, balanced all of that with so much heart. With Eleanor’s drive to be better. With Chidi’s ever-present willingness to help. With Jason’s unexpected and loving wise advice. With Tahani’s desire to be loved. With Michael’s growing understanding of humans and our lives. With Janet’s evolution and coming to understand what it means to feel and to love. And it was absolutely beautiful to watch these characters go through whatever they might go through in a given episode. I would watch this balance of perfectly imperfect in any situation you put on my screen.

But the writers and creators put them in a situation I’d never imagined would be on TV: discovering morality and spirituality in the afterlife. These characters navigated dilemmas we all face in our everyday lives. They made jokes and went through ridiculous scenarios and reboots and they messed up and tried time and time again, and through it all, we the viewers were learning. To be good. To be better. Maybe not necessarily by copying these characters, and certainly not their lives on earth, but by inspiring us to think about these questions and the implications of our lives. This show was a lovely escape from reality for 22 minutes until the picture faded and I found myself contemplating the things Chidi’s ethics class had tackled that week, or thinking about my own actions, what my version of the good place would be. All in all, this show made me think about the kind of person I want to be. And it actually made me a better person.

I think a lot about the little speeches made on this show, which have been anything but little to me. (Don’t get me started on Chidi’s wave speech I’ll be crying about it every day forever.) And I find myself thinking about what Michael says to Bad Janet almost every day. That what matters is that we try to be a little better today than we were yesterday. That that’s where hope for humanity lies. And that thought, that simple thought which should not boggle the mind of any decent human being, is groundbreaking. Because these simple and profound truths about the universe and humanity were nestled in every single episode of the good place, right there between jokes about Jason’s dance crew and Janet’s void. And they found their way into our lives, and I know that even just watching this show once a week was one of the things that made me a better person that day. Which is why I’m so grateful to this show.

Eleanor taught me that it’s okay to make mistakes. That being a little trashy is always fun as long as you have a good heart. And she and Chidi taught me that love is out there. That soulmates are something you make, not something you find, and that even if you can’t understand why at first, people who love you are going to come into your life and the real ones won’t disappear. She taught me that the walls have to come down someday, and that when they do, the view is so much better. Most importantly, she taught me that nothing is ever set in stone. That people can change and get better and learn to love and care and be loved and cared for.

Chidi taught me that the little things can’t hold me back. I felt seen by his (albeit, exaggerated) indecision and anxiety. But he grew throughout this show and through his journey, I learned to move aside the little struggles to make room for the big joys. I learned that helping someone is always worth my time, because even if I never see them again, or I never get thanked, I’m putting a little more good into the world. And he would always do that. He taught me that it’s okay to come into your own and stand up for yourself and what you believe in. He and Eleanor taught me that there’s always someone out there who has your back, and that love means putting someone else first. I especially saw that in the finale.

Tahani taught me that it’s okay to know who I am. That confidence is something each person deserves to feel. She taught me that there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be loved, as long as you remind yourself that it doesn’t determine your worth. She taught me that mistakes are a tool for learning, but they can’t be used if we pretend we didn’t make them. She taught me that it’s okay to be a little frivolous when frivolity brings you joy. She taught me that spite can be a great motivator, but the results are much more fruitful and enjoyable when you do things for other people.

Jason taught me that I don’t have to have all the answers. That there’s more to life than numbers and books and school and all the things that give a college student looking at the future anxiety. He taught me that it’s love that matters, and doing the things that bring you joy. He taught me that people are not always what they appear to be at first glance, and that everyone has something worthwhile to say. He taught me that words don’t have to be fancy or eloquent to be poignant and meaningful. He taught me that embracing who you are and what/who you love is what makes a person happy.

Janet taught me that knowledge isn’t everything. She reinforced the idea that emotions are not inferior or contrary to facts and knowledge, but rather something even deeper and more meaningful than trivia or information that could come from google. She taught me that life is a complicated mess full of millions of questions, and there are some that cannot be answered. She taught me that you love who you love, even if it’s unexpected, and there is zero shame in that. And she taught me that one of the noblest pursuits in the world is that of making people happy, especially the people you love.

Michael taught me that humans are complex, and sometimes they kind of suck, but they are still worth loving. He proved that people are not all good or all bad. He taught me that what matters is trying to be good and kind and honest and loving. He taught me not to give up on what I know is right. He taught me that it’s okay to change your mind when you learn new things, and that it’s more than okay to decide to do what’s right at any stage in the game. He taught me that people are worth believing in. He taught me that being wrong can be one of the most rewarding things in the world. And he taught me that the human life we have is a gift.

Together, these characters taught me that we are all capable of changing and improving. They taught me that it’s okay to be who you are, even if a lot of things change. You can still be loved for all of your little quirks and flaws and habits. You are worthy of being loved even if you aren’t the best version of you yet. And they taught me that we can all get there eventually. More than anything, they taught me that the love we have for each other, the bonds we build with the people in our lives, the friends, the family, the significant others, everyone, is what makes us human and what makes us whole. It drives us to be better and to make others happy. It supports us and holds us as we grow together.

So I just want to say thank you. To Michael Shur for creating this show and its characters. To the writers for making me fall in love with these people and stories. To Kristen Bell and Ted Danson and William Jackson Harper and Jameela Jamil and Manny Jacinto and D’Arcy Carden for bringing these characters to life and making them into people that I will never be able to let go of. To anyone involved with this beautiful show that I have enjoyed through the very end. Thank you for giving me a reason to laugh, cry, contemplate, and feel content with a show that was groundbreaking and stunning and hilarious and heartwarming with thousands of good moments and a perfect ending. These characters will always be a part of my heart, and I will always try to be a little better tomorrow than I was today because of them. Thank you, and goodbye to new episodes. I have a feeling I’ll be watching all the ones which are now old time and time again.

[cryxmercy]

Dum Spiro Spero

When: apx 4 hours after this. Where: White Crest Morgue Who: @kadavernagh, @arthurjdrake, and Mercy 

Arthur meets Regan at the the morgue to identify Mercy’s body after the ‘incident’ at Dark Score Lake. Things go about as well as the rest of the night did. Which means exactly what you think it means.   

TW: character death, vomit, hospitals, drowning, description of bodies/autopsies 

This was one of Regan’s least favorite parts of the job -- possibly tied with expert testimony in a courtroom full of people. Confirming the identity of decedents. Ideally, each would receive identification via a driver’s license, prescription medication bottle, or someone coming in to confirm, in addition to biological confirmation through dental records or implant numbers. At least this time, she had a starting point and knew exactly who to bring in. Mercy Smith’s body was laid out behind the glass window of the viewing room, all but her head obscured. There was rarely any reason to expose next of kin to anything below that. The decedent’s phone has several missed calls from Arthur Drake, and there had even been an envelope with his name on it in her car. Regan guided Arthur through the long hallway of the morgue, wishing she could have been seeing him again under better circumstances; she’d come to like and appreciate him, even though they didn’t know each other well. “I’m really sorry to bring you in here,” she said, meeting his eyes with sympathy, “I know the two of you were close, and I’m here to help however I can.” She opened the door to the viewing room and walked in after Arthur, her chest tight with nerves. It was never easy being face to face with a deceased loved one, even behind a sheet of glass, and even in the clinical setting of the morgue. Regan stayed silent, waiting for Arthur to speak.

To exist even briefly in a place of apparent death while alive and healthy seemed to go against every natural wish a person might have. Life and death were a facet of existence that Arthur could intimately recognise and understand. The process wasn’t surprising, he’d seen battlefields strewn with broken and bloodied bodies, walked streets where stepping over an emancipated corpse was grim but commonplace and then he’d experienced his own death too many times to count - sometimes peacefully and other times not. Life seemed to lay a path out for each person and their choices carried them through until they met their end. He’d watched with his very eyes as folklore and history built legends out of the dead, glorifying their acts and expunging their faults. It had always been the way, but from the moment he felt the air leave his own lungs and fear swell up in his chest within the gasping for air that wouldn’t come within confines of his own home he knew something was wrong. The missed phone calls were wrong. The fact that she was… No. He wouldn’t say the word, couldn’t acknowledge the sentiment. She would come back, she always did. They hadn’t only just found one another for their time to be cut so short.

Every step along the empty, anonymous corridors of the morgue felt inexplicably wrong; a rising sense of uncertainty the nearer they drew to their destination. The drumming of his own pulse pounding, pounding, pounding, and his head with it. Drowning out any and all conversation after the drive here, seeing Regan a vacant hollowness that seemed to douse the spark of joy and life he always carried into most given situations.

He set the backpack down on the floor as they entered the observation room. No words of thanks were offered to her sympathies, they rang true but words were meaningless as he stared at Mercy’s pallid complexion. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen her like this, but it always caught him off guard. The tangle mess of spun gold pillowing her head in a halo-esque fashion that it could almost be falsely believed that she might just be sleeping. But there was no rise and fall to her chest, and the unnatural stillness couldn’t be questioned. She was no angel, but even now she was beautiful and radiant in ways no words could put into any meaningful fashion. A hand reached out, as if hoping to take her own but met only the cold wall of glass that separated them. His mouth pressed into a thin line, chin tipping down as he gathered his resolve formulating it into the first words he’d spoken since he arrived in a dull monotonous tone. “What happened?”

Regan was no stranger to grief. Mourning. Loss. It clung to her throughout her whole life, following her everywhere. Her friends, her brother, lovers, her dad. She could recognize in others when they’d lost someone special, how the grief became a physical ailment as well as a psychological scar. You couldn’t move past it; it was impossible. You could only trudge through it, slowly, painfully. And that was what Arthur was doing right now. There was no greeting, no smile, no pleasantries. Regan knew not to push for them or pretend they were necessary. If the decedent really was Mercy, then Regan knew this was the same woman who tended to the flowers in Arthur’s garden. Old friends who happened to both end up in the same damn town. Maybe more than friends. Probably more than friends. She trailed behind Arthur as he entered the viewing room, remaining silent and keeping her distance. It was strange; ever since her dad died, each decedent carried with it something she couldn’t explain or begin to understand -- an energy or a spark that jumped down her vertebrae and made her steady hands tingle. Mercy Smith hadn’t done that. Despite the stillness of her heart, and despite the deathly chill of her skin, Regan knew there was something off. But she never trusted feelings. They betrayed, where cold, hard logic scarcely did. 

She was almost surprised when Arthur had a question for her. Regan had expected him to stay there, staring through the glass, hand pressed against it like it could bring him close to her. She hesitated for a moment. “I haven’t made a determination of cause and manner of death yet. I need to autopsy the -- her first.” But that was hardly satisfactory, was it? “Based on my observations of her condition and where she was found, it’s possible she drowned. But drowning is a diagnosis of exclusion; there is no finding that is pathognomonic for it, so I have to -- it’s important for me to look at everything as a whole.” Inside and out. Especially inside. But she didn’t want to share those details with Arthur right now. He didn’t need to know that she’d be looking for hyperexpanded lungs and a trachea full of froth. “Arthur, I’m sorry to ask you this, because I think the answer is apartment, but… can you confirm that this is Mercy Smith?” Regan lingered by the door. “And would you like me to give you some time alone?”

It was perhaps every person’s worst nightmare to outlive the greatest loves of their life. A lover, a wife, a child. Loss cultivated a strange understanding of empathy, of how emotions could affect behaviour channeling actions that otherwise might never have been. Arthur had spent lifetimes struggling with death, disaster and countless crises and catastrophes moments of utter despair and profound exhilaration. But standing here, staring at the ring of dark splotchy purple bruises marring the smooth column of her neck like a horrific branding necklace were the marks of what he knew had happened. The clamp of stronger hands he’d felt by proxy around his own throat, trapping off the air before the light had gone from the world. An ire sparked, fuelled by anguish and the fury of any person thinking they might get away with laying their hands on her in such a brutal fashion, to steal even a day of her life away. His left hand tightened, fingers curling into the thick line of angular scar-tissue made anew several months earlier and countless centuries prior. A bond as evident and apparent as the invisible thread that had always led them back to one another, no matter the distance or time that had passed.

Regan’s answer was clinical, precise and omitted the details he knew any mourning party wouldn’t wish to hear but the unspoken act he knew Regan planned to perform was the last thread. His fist thumped the wall, “no, you won’t touch my wif-” he swallowed back the word with a choked sound “I don’t want anyone touching her.” Because they weren’t. They never had made it to that day. How cruel the fates were that each time they almost found that perfect ending, it was snatched away - the irony of how it was this time Mercy’s death wasn’t lost on him. He swallowed back the bile he felt working its way up his throat. “Yes,” was all the confirmation he gave “someone did this to her,” there was a strange sense of calmness in the statement. The low-burning anger simmering as he stared through the glass. 

He exhaled through his nose, she’d come back. She’d wake up and this would all be fine… That’s how it always worked. “How long ago did they-- How long ago did they find her?” How long would it take for her to come back? The question of needing time stirred him out of his stupor, “I have to… yes, I need to wait. I need to be here… I need to be here for her, when she comes back” perhaps it sounded mad, grief-stricken ramblings of a man that had just lost one of the most important people in his life. But Arthur wasn’t leaving the morgue any time soon.

Regan had seen this plenty of times before. Next of kin who couldn’t bear to think of their loved ones being under the scalpel. Legally, Regan had every right to proceed with the autopsy against anyone else’s wishes, especially if she thought there was likely to be a crime committed. She made few exceptions -- really, only in instances of apparent straightforward natural deaths where autopsy conflicted with personal beliefs -- and this was not going to be one of them. But she also wasn’t going to argue with Arthur while he was in the throes of grief. “I understand.” Was all she said. So many of the doctors she’d learned with would have been far better at knowing what to say here. Even Erin would have been more adept. Sometimes practice did not make perfect. “We’re going to find out who did this to her. That’s what I’m here for. We’ll learn what happened.” She kept her distance, as Arthur was still staring through the glass barricade, taking in the lifeless appearance of the woman he clearly loved.

“It’s been a few hours. Almost 4, now.” Of course he didn’t want to leave. But did he really think… Regan’s heart sank to her feet at the thought of Arthur waiting here, watching a decedent, waiting for the cadaver’s heart to start beating and fingers to start twitching. It wasn’t going to happen, and it wasn’t healthy for Arthur to hold out that kind of hope. “Would you like to stay in my office while I’m --” Right. He didn’t want anyone touching the body. She’d need to convince him, point out how important it was that this was investigated. She’d done it many times in the past; it was a well-practiced and sympathetic speech, but now wasn’t the time for it. “I think we should talk in my office. I can have someone come in to take care of her in the meantime, okay?” 

It was a nice effort Regan made, but it was the start of a sentiment that Arthur wasn’t by any means ready to hear. He’d seen just how badly the police and even the FBI were when it came to solving the true nature of these cases and this wasn’t going to be any different. A flare of anger overcame him, as he rounded on Regan “you won’t learn shit,” this was emphasised by a wildly animated gesture of his hand the sudden vehemence was a turn of face for the typically mild-mannered scholar who always did his best to watch his tongue and curb the harm his words could inflict. “Least of all you - someone who doesn’t even have any kind of control or understanding about what you are. Do you even know the danger you and your denial poses to the people around you?” His eyes blazed with a simmering preternatural fire, “this entire department is incompetent and ill-equipped to handle the true reality of what happens in this town because all of you choose instead to bury your heads in the sand - blind to what’s happening right in front of your faces!”

“So no, I’m not going into your office,” he retorted shortly, his back to the glass viewing window and plinth on which Mercy’s body rested “and no, you’re not getting someone to come and take care of her. Because she’s going to be fine. She’s going to come back, and you’re probably going to think I’m insane! Which, you know what, that’s fine as well. Because it’s all real. She’s not human, and neither are you. And no amount of placating and self-confirming speeches about how it’s all gonna be alright is going to change that fact - for you, for me or for her.” 

Mercy had not gone gently from this world. She’d fought until her last breath. Taunted the creature whose hands were around her neck, trying to choke the life out of her. She’d even spit words of defiance back into the face it chose to wear as it pushed her beneath the water and everything went dark. 

So it was no surprise that her return was also not gentle. Not gentle at all. 

Somewhere in the darkness of Mercy’s soul, a spark flickered to life. It grew and grew and grew… until it burned bright enough to fuel the almost imperceptibly slow curl of one delicate, pale finger. It didn’t last long, as the flame was still small, and Mercy’s body grew utterly still once more. There was a moment that followed, no more than half a minute, where the harsh, fluorescent lighting of the observation room started to flicker. Once, twice… three times. Before it went out completely, throwing the room beyond the glass into darkness. 

Another moment passed. Followed by another. And another. And still another. 

The air hummed with static, as it might just before a lighting strike during a thunderstorm. 

It was then that Mercy’s eternal flame reignited.

When the lights suddenly returned, too bright and insistent and glaring, the observation room table was vacant. 

Mercy lay on the floor, no longer lifeless and still, but suddenly very, very alive. She convulsed, gasping and choking on black, frothy water as her body did it’s best to right itself.   

Regan could practically see the rage building behind Arthur’s eyes; they burned with a hot intensity. She knew what was about to happen. Some next of kin lashed out, yelled at her, spat in her face, and they always had plenty of saliva. They couldn’t accept the death of a loved one, didn’t want to think about what came next -- only what came before. When she’d met Arthur before, she’d pegged him as a calm, rational intellectual. But Regan supposed grief could turn anyone violent under the right -- or wrong -- circumstances. Regan steeled herself, hands curled into fists, as Arthur raised her voice and his temper. She debated reaching for her pager. She didn’t want to involve security, but she would. She let Arthur’s vitriol and words slide off of her as best as possible, confusing though they were, and bit her tongue. Forcibly. It was the only way to stop the mounting pressure circling around inside her lungs. It wanted out. It wanted at Arthur. Regan clutched her chest and took a couple of steps back. She didn’t dare open her mouth. But at the same time, the insult to her ability to do her job made her temper flare. The pressure climbed, but Arthur’s instance that Mercy was going to come back made it dissipate, replaced by a pang of sympathy. To this, Regan also didn’t think it best to reply.

The lights went out before she could. For a second, Regan thought she might have screamed, breaking them, but -- no, that wasn’t right. Electrical malfunction of some kind. Just a flicker, and they were back on. She looked at Arthur, finally chancing opening her mouth. “That -- maybe it’s storming outside.” But when her eyes landed back on the glass, back where the body had been lain, there was nothing there. No body. No decedent. What? Had Arthur done something? No, he hadn’t left this spot. Had one of her technicians moved the body when they weren’t paying attention? That had to have been it. “Where… the body is gone.” She turned to Arthur, anger and fear twisted into panic. Surely it had been a technician, but… but she needed to check. She motioned toward Arthur, spurring them both toward the exit. They needed to check the other side of the viewing room, behind the glass.

A mild manner and placating tongue could get you so far in life, but right now Arthur had no bearings to lean into his good will. No valid reasoning to hold back. He’d been holding back for nigh on twenty years, never wanting to let his temper flare and lose the control he’d built across that time. It wouldn’t do to expose himself, he wasn’t so capable of defence as so many other species were. But the combination of his conversation with Nadia earlier in the night about her own safety, the truly staggering incompetence of WCPD and Mercy’s death? A death that very well could have been prevented if he’d just picked up the phone, talked her out of whatever god-awful plan she’d got in her head. She’d always been the sort to play the heroine, and look where it got her. On a cold metal slab on the brink of something horrific. The odds were slim, but they weren’t odds Arthur was willing to gamble on.

After all, what if she didn’t come back? What if she did get stuck on the other side never to return. What then? All for what? The guilt and anger mingled, fueling an ugly concoction that spilt over in vitriol that typically wasn’t imbued by the professor. 

The shudder of the lights, the spark dimming and reigniting caused Arthur’s words to fade and his eyes to go up to the light. Their eerie red glow grew more prominent for a second in the darkness before the natural lighting returned as did some of his rational thought. “Vi er født af stormen,” he muttered the words under his breath, born of the storm, “evigt lys vender sikkert tilbage” eternal light return safely. Though Regan’s explanation of a storm caused Arthur to grunt, roll his eyes and shake his head “You are something else Regan.” He grabbed the bag he’d brought along with him as he moved along to join her in the walk, his steps rapid, “I told you what it is. You just don’t believe me or anyone else in this town apparently.”

What choice had Mercy had this time? It had all happened so quickly… a call asking to help kill a demon and save the world, such as it was. Because if the creature survived, it would have laid waste to White Crest… to everything and everyone. So how was Mercy to say no? Considering what she was? And with the odds astronomically stacked in her favor to come out unscathed? This time it hadn’t been about being the heroine. It had simply been the right thing to do.

And if Rebecca hadn’t pulled on Mercy’s life force to power her final spell, they likely wouldn’t be here now. Nic would’ve never been able to harm her. But they were. And so Mercy’s Fury magic was making the situation right. And reviving her, one atom, one cell, one neuron at a time. Until she was snatched from the darkness and back into the light with all the force of a lightning bolt. Yet her body, as indestructible and immortal as it might be… was paying the price for that magic. 

What language was that? Arthur’s anger seemed to twist into something else as soon as the lights winked off and on, speaking in a language Regan did not understand. It didn’t feel like the time to ask him. “You didn’t tell me anything.” She bit back, still trying to keep the screech locked inside her. He was mourning. He wasn’t in his right mind. She needed to keep reminding herself of that to keep her own anger at bay. Her hand itched for the pager. Calling security could escalate things even further though, just when Arthur seemed to be simmering. Regan held off. For now. Other matters were more pressing. “Belief has nothing to do with anything. People in this town don’t understand that the burden of proof is on --” She pressed her key card to the side of the observation room where the body had previously been resting peacefully on the table. Dead. Unmoving. But Regan nearly tripped over the body -- now on the floor -- as she ran in, slipping on the pool of dark water. 

“How…?” Mercy’s body was still here. That was the first fact, the most important one. Had gases being released propelled her from the table? They could generate a lot of force. But, no. Regan’s eyes jumped around -- Mercy’s chest was moving. She was breathing. She was alive. She was coughing up more dark liquid. What did that mean? Had the first responders made a mistake? Had they not followed protocol? No. Regan had put the body in the freezer, had laid it out on the table for Arthur to identify; she would have noticed if it had a beating heart. She would have noticed. But hadn’t Mercy not felt dead, the same way her decedents did? She stumbled back toward the door, taking in what was happening as a scream took form inside her lungs like a brewing storm. 

“I did, you just didn’t bother to listen.” He shot off accompanied by a seriously withering side-eye. “Oh take your burden of proof and shove it Regan, I’m not in the mood for a bloody lecture from you of all people” his voice had adopted a sterner note; akin to that of a disproving parent tired of a child’s nonsense shenanigans. Arthur really didn’t have the time of day to placate to Regan’s denial nor did he really feel like pandering to her whims.

The keycard beeped and Arthur couldn’t help but hold his breath half-anticipating and half-dreading the sight on the other side of the door. But seeing Mercy coughing up black water much akin to what he’d coughed up in his own kitchen with Nadia caused him to exhale in pure relief. She was alive. Thank the gods. Willfully and pointedly ignoring Regan’s question he pushed past, dropping to his knees so that he could scoop Mercy and the sheet she’d been covered in off the floor and propping her up against his chest. 

“Shh, shh” the noises were soft and soothing as though attempting to calm a skittish creature as he brushed her hair out of her face “bare rolig, jeg har dig. Jeg er her.” Don’t worry, I have you. I’m here. She was wracked with shivers and Arthur closed his eyes resting his head against her temple as he pulled the sheet around her. Though feeling her grow restless again, the pulse of her energy amping like static on the air he hushed again “Hey, hey now…. I got you.”

Breathe. 

The voice in her head commanded her and Mercy had no choice but to obey. She gasped for air, but there was no room while her lungs were filled with water. So her body purged itself of the black liquid, quickly and violently. It hurt, gods it hurt… and Mercy coughed and choked and tried to claw at her throat… at the fire that burned it’s way up and out of her chest and onto the cold tile floor of the viewing room. But she couldn’t. Her body wouldn’t obey. The magic that made her what she was had only one goal: survival. And it would do that through whatever means necessary. Mercy’s confusion and pain were irrelevant.

Yet even the darkness of Mercy’s ‘rebirth’ couldn’t block out the light that came from Arthur’s presence. It burned against the blackness as he pulled her in, and even as she continued to tremble violently, her face turned towards him. Towards his voice and his warmth. Towards the one person she knew would always keep her safe. Her eyelids fluttered, lashes dark against her pale, hypoxic skin, and she seemed to grow more calm as Arthur spoke softly in her ear. 

Yet her shaking couldn’t be helped. She still felt cold to the marrow of her bones, even with Arthur’s preternatural warmth soaking into her skin. Her restlessness started to peak again, and the air hummed as it had before. Every breath was still like white-hot knives slicing through her chest… every cough rattled deep and wet and ominous, and her heart continued to flutter rapidly, trying to find a steady rhythm. 

“... gør ondt…”  Mercy’s voice was soft and weak. It hurts...

Arthur was down on the floor with Mercy in an instant, pushing the hair from her face and cupping her cheek. She was a her, now, right? No longer an it. No longer a cadaver. She never was. That thought practically froze Regan’s feet to the ground. How could that have happened? She so badly wanted to blame the first responders, never imagined she’d ever make a mistake like this. How -- more dark fluid being coughed up. Regan felt torn in several directions, like an aortic dissection after an ugly MVA. Mercy was clearly sick; she needed medical attention. Arthur was still being entirely unreasonable. She still wanted to call security. And the pressure in her lungs continued to build. Not again. Not here. Not at the morgue. The scream was urged on by the conflict and she couldn’t hold it back entirely -- a screech shot out of her mouth as soon as she opened it, breaking the flickering lights and cracking the sheet of thick glass between the two rooms. It was over in an instant, as she clapped her hands over her mouth and clamped her jaw shut. Regan stumbled back toward the door, an apology on her lips, but her concern about the potentially dying former-decedent and her irritable, irrational boyfriend won out. Mercy needed a hospital. She needed more care than Regan could provide. “She needs a doctor! Stay with her. I’ll be right back.” As much as she hated to leave the two of them alone here, she didn’t have a functioning cell phone, and an ambulance needed to be called. Leaving no time for argument, she dashed out of the glass-littered observation room and barreled up the stairs.

He hadn’t been paying attention to Regan the moment he’d seen Mercy on the floor, concern for her well-being overriding any good sense Arthur might’ve had in that moment of time. “I know,” he was just shifting her carefully in his arms leaning her over to help cough up any remaining water that might’ve settled in her lungs when the screech happened. Nothing he’d been anticipating nor could he brace himself and it earned a grimace of pain and discomfort almost enough that he dropped Mercy on the floor but his hold was secure enough that it didn’t happen. Thankfully his positioning let him shield her from the fall of shattered lightbulbs. “OW- The fuck?!” he shot a glare at Regan noticing her backing up over the crunch of shattered glass and then turning to leave barely hearing what she said he had to make a rush assessment of the situation. “Fuck,” he cursed, pulling Mercy and propping her up against the table he scarpered to his bag and ripped it open grabbing his oversized t-shirt and joggers out of the bag. “We gotta go… Gotta work with me now Frey,” there was an urgent note in his voice as he set about pulling the t-shirt over her head and arms (backwards in his rush) and did the same with the joggers. 

He wasn’t the strongest of people, and Mercy was fairly built combined with the fact they didn’t have the time to chance seeing if she could walk left Arthur with little choice. Hooking an arm under her knees and her back he heaved her off the floor with a grunt, and made quickly for the door. He’d have to backtrace the route he’d come in by, but he could remember it well enough. There were a couple of close-calls but he otherwise managed to pick a route that avoided any confrontation with other members of staff until he back barge his way out the doors, almost tripping in the process into the fresh night air of the car park towards his vehicle. “Almost there… We’re almost there.”

Mercy made her own sound of discomfort as the high-pitched screech echoed through the room. Her ears rang and there was a sudden, sharp pain behind her eyes that was gone as quickly as it came. The shattering of the glass was a side-note as she continued to cough up thick, brackish fluid. But there was less of it now, and by the time she was sat up against the table, it was only the deep, wet cough that persisted. Regan’s screeching had had one small benefit: it had jolted Mercy to a slightly more wakeful state. Her eyes slipped open for the briefest of moments as Arthur spoke before falling shut again. 

She did her best to help him, sensing the urgency of the situation. Lifting her arms and trying not be dead weight as he pulled the clothes on in a rush. When he hoisted her up, Mercy’s head spun wildly, and she felt vaguely nauseous as they started to move. But she did her best to wrap her arms around Arthur’s neck. They felt like lead weights, as did her head as it fell against his shoulder. She managed to stay somewhat awake as they moved through the halls, enough that her grip tightened every so slightly as Arthur stumbled into the parking lot. The cool night air washed over them, and when Arthur spoke to her again, she heard him. Almost there, he;d said. Almost there… 

To which Mercy could only reply, “... home... ‘s’go home…” 

The ambulance was on its way. Just a few minutes. Not for the first time, Regan was grateful for how close the hospital was to the morgue. She’d instructed security to let the EMTs in and send them down to the basement -- she needed to go stay with Mercy, make sure she wasn’t still on the edge of death. Keep Arthur calm, if that was even possible. She ran back down the stairs and headed straight for the observation room, but a few drops of that black fluid dotted the white hallway floor, making her freeze. There was a small trail of it headed toward the intake bay garage. She knew enough of blood spatter analysis to understand what those tails on each drop meant -- movement. Momentum. Her gut clenched and she kept running, slammed the door wide open and saw… just a lot of broken glass and black liquid. No Mercy. No Arthur. Regan pressed a hand to her forehead. How the hell was she going to explain this to the EMTs, who would be here any second? How was she going to explain to anyone? How was she going to explain this to herself? She stood in the darkness of the room, her eyes pressed shut. “It’s so much easier when they’re dead.”

end. 

[stopandimagineloveforever]

There's nothing like Schitt's Creek—in the real world nor elsewhere on TV. In this fictional town, there's universal tolerance and equality. It's a town where lifelong residents and recent transplants co-exist in near-perfect harmony, and a show viewers have flocked to for comfort.

The show and its fictional setting were designed by father-son creators Eugene Levy and Dan Levy to be a place for everyone. This TV haven has been embraced by legions of fans, picking up numerous awards and nominations along the way. Now in its fifth season, the show is more popular than ever—and it's getting ready to say goodbye.

"I think that was just a happy coincidence," Dan Levy told E! News about the show's heightened popularity coinciding with the upcoming sixth and final season. "It's strange because I think in a way, the commerce of television really affects the creators. I think for us, it's never really been about that. For us, every season, sure it means we're employed for one more year, but really what it means is that we get to continue telling these people's stories."

The series follows the Rose family, father Johnny (Eugene Levy), mother Moira (Catherine O'Hara), son David (Dan Levy) and daughter Alexis (Annie Murphy). When viewers first meet them, they are literally clinging on to the remnants of their once vast video rental fortune. By the close of the show's first scene, they've lost everything except the deed to a small rural town purchased as a joke because of its name. Enter Schitt's Creek.

Forced to relocate to Schitt's Creek and create a new life, the Roses eventually became intertwined with the town. David began a new business and embarked on his first serious—and stable—relationship with his business partner Patrick (Noah Reid), Alexis finished school, started a business herself and also found a loving relationship with Ted (Dustin Milligan), Johnny began working with Stevie (Emily Hampshire) on improving the business of the motel they call home, and Moira got involved in local politics. When they first arrived, the family did their best, but strived to get out of their presumed dire situation. As they spent more time there, Schitt's Creek's overwhelming goodness started to worm its way into the Roses—and viewers along with them.

"I think the audience, the fans of the show, have really come to rely on it as like a safe space in a dark time. And the thought of pushing that past its expiry date [Laughs.] for the sake of just being able to do another season—I care too much about our viewers and about our characters to risk taking them farther than they need to be taken. So, it was always planned that this was going to be the end. And I really had no interest in pushing that any further and potentially compromising a good thing," Levy said.

That good thing, that safe space, includes a diverse supporting cast and LGBTQ representation. Levy's character is pansexual, he has relationships with both men and women, but it's never treated as a "thing." David is not defined by his sexual orientation, that's just who David is. Nobody blinks at his relationship with Patrick. When Patrick serenaded him with an emotional cover of Tina Turner's "Simply the Best" in front of a packed store, no one cared or noticed. It was just a sweet moment of public affection. And in the season five episode "Meet the Parents," written by Levy, Patrick, who had previously never dated a man, struggled with coming out to his mom and dad. He was accidentally outed, and the only reason why his parents got upset was because Patrick was too nervous about how they'd react to come to them and be open. All of this was done by design.

"I sort of feel like as human beings, we learn through experience and what we see. And I'm only going to speak for myself in this capacity, but I don't really take in a lot when I feel like I'm being taught something," Levy said. "I think for me, when it came to the show, I thought, ‘Well, let's not try and make this sort of a lesson show.' I don't want these characters to be, you know, a lesson for people to learn about queerness. I think that the better lesson, what will resonate deeper is just showing people in love. It's really hard to turn away from two people who are falling in love.

"And so, as a result, it was really sort of a mandate from day one that we were never going to paint these characters with a brush that was different than what we were sort of painting our straight characters with," Levy continued. "I think for a long time I was watching nothing but tragedy befall queer characters on television, and the idea of creating a world where, in this particular case two men were falling in love with absolutely no push back, and to be able to depict how much joy that can bring, not just to the characters who are falling in love, but to the community itself who gets to watch it, was important."

Levy said he's received letters from viewers around the world who write to say they've been watching the show with their families and it's had a profound impact.

"Their relatives have been able to understand their lives with a little bit more clarity because they're able to see the minutia of a relationship and not just sort of an after-school special depiction…or stereotype. So, that to me, at the end of the day, it has become one of the most meaningful elements of making this show," he said. "To be able to change a conversation in someone's home just by, you know, writing some comedy, and occasionally the rare emotional, scene is a wonderful thing. And I think just again speaks to how people, when they sit down in front of their televisions, they are their most vulnerable. They're in their homes. They don't have their protective shields up that we put on when we leave the house to just walk down the street. [Laughs.] People are their most vulnerable in front of their television screens. And if you can shine some light and some love into those living rooms, I can't see how that won't help. So that's been our motto, and from what I've read and the feedback, it really seems to have helped people. So, I would love to see more of it."

While Schitt's Creek has turned out to be a safe place for viewers in a fractured world, that's not what Levy and his father initially set out to do.

"I don't think it was that specific, but I do know that we wanted the show to be a family show. We wanted the show to be a show that people could watch with their families, that spoke to people of different age groups. And I think when that's your goal, there are certain sort of universal, not mandates, but just things you need to consider," he said.

Levy looked at the shows about families he loved growing up, like The Beverly Hillbillies, Roseanne, and the Ross and Rachel dynamic on Friends, and saw a common thread in all of these beloved shows. "These stories were all rooted in love. That the conflict, the comedy, any kind of disagreements, ultimately, we're rooted in a place of love and not anything dark," Levy said.

"So that really was our mandate going into this, that this family sort of being put into this, what they considered a terrible situation, will learn that this is going to be quite worthwhile in the end," he said. "And that sometimes the things that you don't think you're going to enjoy will ultimately bring a deeper, richer sense of satisfaction."

Once landing on the story he wanted to tell with the Rose family, Levy said they knew there would be no "major conflict" on Schitt's Creek, aside from the episodic tensions.

"I think from my own experience watching TV, I want to know that at the end of the episode everyone's going to be fine. Unless I'm watching The Americans, and then I don't want to know that at all. But when it comes to comedy…I think I've just been so turned off of really mean comedy. I think there was a chapter for a while where there was sort of this sociopathic, cruelty to comedy and comedic characters on television, where the joke was that you're not supposed to like them in any possible way. And I never understood it and I never liked it, and I never watched it. So, when given the opportunity to sort of create our own thing…It was always sort of—top of the list was that by the end of every episode, let's make sure that our audience knows that everyone's going to be OK."

After five seasons and counting with Schitt's Creek and the Roses, audiences will be more than just "OK."

Schitt's Creek airs Wednesdays, 10 p.m. on Pop and will return for a sixth and final season.

[johntropea]

Statement of principle: Technology is never value-neutral.

Brilliant essay by Waleed Aly on the effect technology has on values, the new behaviours that result, and how this shakes the professionalism and ethics of media and journalism...and the new consumption behaviours and patterns that ensue

Transcript here

Video here 

He is a remarkable speaker...doesn’t preach...and doesn’t exclude himself from the negative patterns he presents

Statement of principle: Technology is never value-neutral.

It might allow us to do things we already do more easily. It may offer us new ways of delivering the same service. But it never does merely that.

You can choose just about anything to illustrate this point. The invention of the motor car didn’t merelyallow us to move faster from A to B. It completely changed the possibilities of what A and B were. It didn’t merely save us time, it contracted physical space, and with it, contracted social space. It is only when the motor car became available that the vast modern city became possible: spread out over distances that once upon a time would have encompassed different villages or even rural areas. I won’t waste your time grinding this out, but the point is that this technology changed our entire social organisation.

[…]

So it is simply naïve in my view to assume that as the platforms for journalism change, that the very idea of journalism itself will be somehow remain unaffected; that whether we’re talking about a printed newspaper, a broadcast news bulletin or a website, that we’re merely talking about different platforms for delivering the same content. We’re not. Each of these platforms has its own inherent values system. Each imposes its own requirements on the content it carries.

…And this has a repeated editorial impact.

Stories lie abandoned by television programs all the time because there’s simply no vision to carry them, for example. Broadcast media will decline to speak to certain people, even if they have world-leading expertise on a subject, simply because they don’t speak in a way that comes across well in the medium…

[…]

These limitations are no one’s fault, particularly. It’s as though the medium itself seems to impose them

….The point, to reiterate, is that different mediums will impose different values.

[…]

If I had to come up with a set of online values as they express themselves in media, I’d probably say speed and shareability were the top two.  

…you can see it in the way people will actually apologise on social media if they share something that has been around for more than a day, lest they look like they’re off the pace. That’s actually quite a profound practice: to be slow online, even slightly, is embarrassing. It requires some token of self-awareness, like an apology, because without it, it’s like we’re risking our social status. That’s why it’s more than a consequence of online interaction: it’s a value; a way of measuring our worth.

[…]

Now, speed has always been a value within journalism. Ever since reporters have existed, they’ve wanted to “scoop” each other, be first on the scene, first with the story. And that value has always existed in tension with other journalistic values such as accuracy, context and the explanation of stories.

…But I think the results are potentially radioactive when you combine this with the premium on shareability. To see how this works, consider the context.

The online explosion has meant we have access to more information than ever before. What we don’t have is the time to sort through it, weigh it against other information and consider what the consequences of it are. The result of all this increased speed is therefore increased noise. Our world, and especially our media culture – is just so loud. News, and reactions to news are now so omnipresent that they’re ambient: on screens constantly in public places as well as the most mobile private ones. It’s like we’re living our lives to an industrial soundtrack: the constant grinding of gears in the background. And yet it is the lifeblood of media organisations to attract attention; to be noticed somehow above the din. In online terms, that means to be shared. To invite have your audience harvest your clicks for you. To achieve virality. That leaves us with some pretty new measures of journalistic success.

…online articles are valued if they generate an enormous comments thread and lots of hits. That’s not a point about the evils or otherwise of social media. It’s a point about how what role we want it to play in deciding what is and isn’t successful journalism.

[...]

...although we think of ourselves as professionals, journalism isn’t really a profession in the traditional sense. It’s not like medicine or the law. We have an ethical code of sorts, but we’re not bound to it by some solemn oath. There are no induction ceremonies in which people wear ridiculous gowns or hats. There’s no official body that can strike us off the roll for malpractice.  And no one is suggesting there should be. The truth is that in traditional terms, we’re a trade. We’re pretty much self-regulated. If we stuff up, we publish a notice or an apology, maybe pay a fine if it’s serious, and we move on. We lose our jobs not because we lose our licence to practice but because our jobs either disappear, or our reputations are damaged enough to mean our market value has crashed. If we’re unethical but valuable, there’s nothing to stop us, really.

That means that when we face enormous commercial pressures, we’re vulnerable. It’s easy for us to adopt whatever values commercial realities demand. And as I’ve already said, I’m in no position to criticise the people who have to circle this particular square

(via Waleed Aly presents the 2016 Andrew Olle Media Lecture | About the ABC)

Related

Social media is, at its heart, a media model that thrives off of more; more content, more clicks, more attention. Because of that, social media sites wants more content and more engagement - not necessarily better content or better engagement.

[...]

Communities can do that because they create contextualized, trusted dialog that brings people together - reducing segmentation and extremismvia

via Rachel Happe - Social Media is Broken…. Communities Can Help

We’ve seen the race to the bottom play out, and it’s not pretty. Newer social media managers are particularly vulnerable to demands from organisations asking them to transgress boundaries to get a reaction – any reaction. Stoke a generational debate, play the race card, hot or not. They’re tabloid tactics that have been with us over a century, but they’re no more about meaningful engagement than than they ever were.

[...]

Communities are easily confused with social media. But when it comes to filter-bubbles, there’s no contest. Communities can actively reduce polarisation. The Wikipedia community has been studied at length for its success in promoting less segregated conversations. Communities proactively create culture, and culture ‘sells’ more powerfully than any product offering. Do you have the tools to steer culture on your social channels?

via Venessa Paech - Social media is dead. Long live community.

[sunshineweb]

Inverting the Money Problem

In the controversial movie, The Social Network, which supposedly portrayed Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook journey, Sean Parker’s character famously quipped –

“A million dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A billion dollars.”

It’s probably the most favourite problem that majority of the individuals in the world are trying to figure out i.e., how to get rich?

So let’s investigate this problem by using Charlie Munger’s most cherished mental model i.e., inverting the problems to solve them.

One of the ways to invert the question of “How to Get Rich?” is to ask, “Is getting rich worth it?”

Before you decide to skip this article thinking that it’s another one of those “money can’t buy happiness” rant, just stick with me for few more minutes and I promise that you won’t regret it.

In fact, this is a good opportunity to wear our curiosity hats and look at the hardships that tag along with large sums of money. Now given the fact that the author, yours truly, isn’t super rich (money wise at least) and likely never will be, is it justified for him to comment on the problems of the rich?

In my defence, all I have to say is that I never let my lack of first-hand experience with a topic stop me from speculating on it.

Maybe, like the proverbial fox and his sour grapes, I am deluding myself with a story that I never wanted what I will never be able to get. Or maybe I belong to the camp of those cash-poor intellectual types who want to prove to the world that rich people secretly live a miserable life.

I am not ruling out any of these possibilities where my subconscious is playing a game.

Yet, it’s plausible that I am trying to squint your eyes a bit to help you discover a different perspective – a view from the other side of the fence where the grass seems to be greener and wealthier.

This article is inspired by a very interesting discussion thread on Quora. The participants in this thread include some well known, successful and rich people including folks like Paul Buchheit, the creator of Gmail. So it’s safe to assume that it’s not a pure thought experiment imagined by an armchair philosopher.

Although the Quora thread had a lot of abstract and philosophical arguments, I have distilled out the ones which appealed the most to the rational side of my brain.

Put simply, the question to explore here is this – How does an incremental money above a certain amount can actually subtract from your happiness through the additional hassle it creates?

Not every item that I am going to list here is a problem for every rich person, but some, even many, of these are possibilities. And let me remind you again that these are not my personal beliefs and I don’t necessarily agree with all of them, but they made me smile while thinking about them. Consider them my musings on the topic of unintended consequences of extreme wealth.

On a serious note, if you ever plan to amass wealth and fame, you should at least know what’s in store for you.

The first category of challenge of being rich is related to the social interactions i.e., your equation with people around you.

Your Right to Crib is Revoked

Now that you’re rich (and people know that you’re rich), you are not allowed to complain about anything. Ever.

Since you’ve just achieved the financial nirvana, you’re no longer allowed to have any human needs or frustrations in the public eye.

Yet, you are still a human being. Aren’t you? But most people aren’t going to treat you like one.

This may not really be that big a problem because, when you’re rich, you probably won’t care much as to what people think about you.

But here’s the catch.

When you find yourself struggling with a nasty problem, which obviously can’t be solved by throwing money at (remember you’re rich), and you’re desperately seeking help from your family and friends – your folks won’t believe that you’re helpless.

You’re pretty much on your own.

Unrealistic Expectations

Your relationship with your friends and family will change. It may not necessarily turn sour but it will surely get harder to deal with. Not because of money but because of change in expectations.

Since you’re the superman now and have large resources at your disposal, it’s expected out of you to rescue everyone.

You may be expected, not by all but by some family and friends, to dole out interest-free – give it and forget it – loans. And it doesn’t stop there. You aren’t allowed to get away by giving modest gifts on special occasions.

“C’mon man! You’re a millionaire. Don’t be cheap. Shell out some moolah for an expensive gift.”

Hidden Intentions

Wealth makes you more discoverable unless you put a lot of efforts to lay low. Which means it attracts attention from all sorts of people – genuine and not so genuine.

Genuine people may want to learn from your wisdom, experience and skill but there would be many whose sole interest would be to shake loose some money from your pockets.

Point is that most people now want something out of you, and it can be harder to figure out whether someone is being nice to you because they like you, or they are being nice to you because of your money. This is especially true of strangers who know more about your wealth than about you as a human being.

A typical solution for this problem is to create a screen to ensure that only genuine people get access to you. But this screen will invariably filter out some good people also. Which means you’ll still be interacting with a mix of people, it’s just that the scale of this problem will be bigger because you’re rich.

A side effect of this strategy is that it can often cause wealthy people to cut themselves off from the larger society, out of fear that they will be exploited by selfish motives. As a result, the richness and variety in your social circle may become very limited.

Whoever said, “It’s lonely at the top,” probably was referring to this effect.

The next category of challenge of being super rich is related to your relationship with yourself i.e., the psychological effects of getting rich.

Amplification Effect

Wealth removes constraints, which means becoming wealthy has the potential to mess with you. But it depends on what type of person you are. In general, it makes people more of whatever they already were.

For example, if someone has a serious alcohol or other drug addiction, wealth could be fatal for him. On the other hand, if a person is generous, polite, and resourceful, money will amplify those qualities in his or her behaviour.

David Foster Wallace said, “Happy people are often still happy when they become millionaires. Unhappy people are often still unhappy when they become millionaires.”

Freedom Brings Dilemma

Money can give you the freedom to focus on the things that truly matter to you. But that comes with the assumption that you already know what truly matters to you.

Most people work hard and money keeps them focused on earning more, doing the career-ladder thing and working towards their goals, but when they finally attain that money-goal, it gives birth to weird issues.

The void created by financial freedom could be a difficult one to fill. Which is why many supposedly rich people continue to work hard at earning more money because it keeps them busy.

The most profound effect that becoming financially successful can have on someone is the task of answering the question – “I wonder what am I supposed to do next?”

Ironically, the ability to pursue activities that you find meaningful and bring you happiness does not depend on getting rich. Albeit insufficiency of funds calls for some resourcefulness on your part to continue pursuing your passion.

Many people subscribe to the belief along the lines of Charlie Sheen’s in the movie Wall Street, when he’s asked what he’s going to do when he makes his millions and he says, “I’m going to get a motorcycle and ride across China.” Rolf Potts,  author of Vagabonding, points out that you could clean toilets in the US and save enough money to ride a motorcycle across China. 

Today, you don’t need a million dollars to travel the world.

The Paradox of Desire

Now, this could appear as an entirely unanticipated downside of getting rich.

Being rich is better than not being rich, but it’s not nearly as good as you imagine it is.

All of the things you want to buy one day, are only valuable to you because you cannot afford them yet (or have to work really hard to acquire them). Maybe you have your eyes set on the new Ferrari but once you know you can easily afford it, it just doesn’t mean as much to you anymore.

It’s basic human nature that the things which are just out of reach seem desirable. The moment an object of desire becomes easily available to you, its charm loses grip on you. This is especially true for things which are your wants, not needs.

Realising that your dreams aren’t always what they were cracked up to be can bring in severe disappointment. Following which a boredom could quickly set in.

Diminishing Marginal Utility

Human mind is not good at evaluating things in absolute. It needs a benchmark or something to compare with to assess the value of something. Using this insight let’s see what The Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility says –

For each additional unit of a good the added satisfaction, you receive from consuming the good, decreases.

Yes, the first month you drive the Audi or eat in an expensive restaurant, you really enjoy it. But then you quickly get used to it. And then you are looking towards the next thing, the next level up. The problem is that you have bumped up your expectations, and everything below that level doesn’t entice you anymore.

Calvin and The Law of Diminishing Returns: Source: Bill Watterson Ben Cosnocha, in his deeply thoughtful article The Goldilocks Theory of Being Rich, writes –

[As super rich] You’ll fly private jets, yes. You’ll eat nice food all the time, you’ll have aides and servants who will save you time. Problem is, we quickly adapt to these material comforts���what psychologists call the “hedonic treadmill.” The private jet doesn’t feel so special the 20th time you’re on it.

A research was done on two sets of people. First group consisted of those who experienced a personal tragedy like losing a loved one or even becoming physically handicapped (losing one or more limbs) which diminished their ability to function normally. The second group of people consisted of those who suddenly became rich.

The research revealed that in both the groups, people returned to their base level of happiness, one year after the fortunate/unfortunate events.

Jason Zweig, in his wonderful book Your Money and Your Brain, summarized all the above points brilliantly. He writes –

Becoming a lottery winner takes only an instant; being one lasts the rest of your life. People who actually win the lottery are often shocked by the aftermath of their lucky draw. There are plenty of thrills from suddenly making a fortune, just as the winners expected. But there are less obvious and less predictable consequences, too. The phone rings off the hook with calls from crooks and desperately friendly acquaintances. Ensconced in your new mansion, you no longer see your old neighbors as often; instead, you are besieged by long-lost relatives who should have stayed lost. Everyone you ever rubbed the wrong way files a lawsuit against you. Quit your job, and you miss your friends and go crazy with boredom; keep it, and your co-workers all seem to hate you or hit you up for money. It becomes hard to tell who your real friends are, so you spend more time alone. At home, you bicker constantly with your spouse over what to do with the money.

Conclusion

I read somewhere, “Money doesn’t necessarily wipe out all your troubles. It just changes the kind of problems that life presents you. The only people who are completely trouble free are buried in the cemetery.”

If one is not happy now, chances are that he won’t be happy even when he is rich. I am sure there are many super rich people who are happy and maintain a healthy inner peace.

I suspect that it’s nice to be super rich but maybe not for the reasons many of us think.

Kevin Kelly, who is known as the most interesting man in the world, in his interview with Tim Ferriss, reminded –

Great wealth, extreme wealth, is definitely overrated. There’s nothing that you can really do with it that you can’t do with a lot of less money. The things that you want to do, the things that will make you content, the things that will satisfy you, the things that will bring you meaning … is usually better than having money.

…if you have a lot of time or a lot of money, it’s always better to have a lot of time to do something. If you have a choice between having a lot of friends or a lot of money, you definitely want to have a lot of friends.

…the technological progress that we’re having is actually diminishing the role of money. And I want to be clear that I’m talking about money beyond the amount that you need to survive. So in a certain sense, most people see money as a means to get these other things, but there are other routes to these other things that are deeper and more constant and more durable and more powerful. Money is a very small, one-dimensional thing, that if you focus on that, it kind of comes and goes. And if you … whatever it is that you’re trying to attain, you go to it more directly through other means, you’ll probably wind up with a more powerful experience or whatever it is that you’re after. And it’ll be deeper, more renewable, than coming at it with money.

Let me repeat, the intention in this post is not to pass judgement but to look at a situation from a different vantage point. And my goal for compiling these thoughts was more with an intention of exploration than preaching.

If you have any interesting dimensions to add to this line of thought, feel free to leave your thought in the Comments section of this post.

Also Read – Is getting rich worth it?

The post Inverting the Money Problem appeared first on Safal Niveshak.

Inverting the Money Problem published first on https://mbploans.tumblr.com/

[heliosfinance]

Inverting the Money Problem

In the controversial movie, The Social Network, which supposedly portrayed Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook journey, Sean Parker’s character famously quipped –

“A million dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A billion dollars.”

It’s probably the most favourite problem that majority of the individuals in the world are trying figure out i.e., how to get rich?

So let’s investigate this problem by using Charlie Munger’s most cherished mental model i.e., inverting the problems to solve them.

One of the ways to invert the question of “How to Get Rich?” is to ask, “Is getting rich worth it?”

Before you decide to skip this article thinking that it’s another one of those “money can’t buy happiness” rant, just stick with me for few more minutes and I promise that you won’t regret it.

In fact, this is a good opportunity to wear our curiosity hats and look at the hardships that tag along with large sums of money. Now given the fact that the author, yours truly, isn’t super rich (money wise at least) and likely never will be, is it justified for him to comment on the problems of the rich?

In my defence, all I have to say is that I never let my lack of first-hand experience with a topic stop me from speculating on it.

Maybe, like the proverbial fox and his sour grapes, I am deluding myself with a story that I never wanted what I will never be able to get. Or maybe I belong to the camp of those cash-poor intellectual types who want to prove to the world that rich people secretly live a miserable life.

I am not ruling out any of these possibilities where my subconscious is playing a game.

Yet, it’s plausible that I am trying to squint your eyes a bit to help you discover a different perspective – a view from the other side of the fence where the grass seems to be greener and wealthier.

This article is inspired by a very interesting discussion thread on Quora. The participants in this thread include some well known, successful and rich people including folks like Paul Buchheit, the creator of Gmail. So it’s safe to assume that it’s not a pure thought experiment imagined by an armchair philosopher.

Although the Quora thread had a lot of abstract and philosophical arguments, I have distilled out the ones which appealed the most to the rational side of my brain.

Put simply, the question to explore here is this – How does an incremental money above a certain amount can actually subtract from your happiness through the additional hassle it creates?

Not every item that I am going to list here is a problem for every rich person, but some, even many, of these are possibilities. And let me remind you again that these are not my personal beliefs and I don’t necessarily agree with all of them, but they made me smile while thinking about them. Consider them my musings on the topic of unintended consequences of extreme wealth.

On a serious note, if you ever plan to amass wealth and fame, you should at least know what’s in store for you.

The first category of challenge of being rich is related to the social interactions i.e., your equation with people around you.

Your Right to Crib is Revoked

Now that you’re rich (and people know that you’re rich), you are not allowed to complain about anything. Ever.

Since you’ve just achieved the financial nirvana, you’re no longer allowed to have any human needs or frustrations in the public eye.

Yet, you are still a human being. Aren’t you? But most people aren’t going to treat you like one.

This may not really be that big a problem because, when you’re rich, you probably won’t care much as to what people think about you.

But here’s the catch.

When you find yourself struggling with a nasty problem, which obviously can’t be solved by throwing money at (remember you’re rich), and you’re desperately seeking help from your family and friends – your folks won’t believe that you’re helpless.

You’re pretty much on your own.

Unrealistic Expectations

Your relationship with your friends and family will change. It may not necessarily turn sour but it will surely get harder to deal with. Not because of money but because of change in expectations.

Since you’re the superman now and have large resources at your disposal, it’s expected out of you to rescue everyone.

You may be expected, not by all but by some family and friends, to dole out interest-free – give it and forget it – loans. And it doesn’t stop there. You aren’t allowed to get away by giving modest gifts on special occasions.

“C’mon man! You’re a millionaire. Don’t be cheap. Shell out some moolah for an expensive gift.”

Hidden Intentions

Wealth makes you more discoverable unless you put a lot of efforts to lay low. Which means it attracts attention from all sorts of people – genuine and not so genuine.

Genuine people may want to learn from your wisdom, experience and skill but there would be many whose sole interest would be to shake loose some money from your pockets.

Point is that most people now want something out of you, and it can be harder to figure out whether someone is being nice to you because they like you, or they are being nice to you because of your money. This is especially true of strangers who know more about your wealth than about you as a human being.

A typical solution for this problem is to create a screen to ensure that only genuine people get access to you. But this screen will invariably filter out some good people also. Which means you’ll still be interacting with a mix of people, it’s just that the scale of this problem will be bigger because you’re rich.

A side effect of this strategy is that it can often cause wealthy people to cut themselves off from the larger society, out of fear that they will be exploited by selfish motives. As a result, the richness and variety in your social circle may become very limited.

Whoever said, “It’s lonely at the top,” probably was referring to this effect.

The next category of challenge of being super rich is related to your relationship with yourself i.e., the psychological effects of getting rich.

Amplification Effect

Wealth removes constraints, which means becoming wealthy has the potential to mess with you. But it depends on what type of person you are. In general, it makes people more of whatever they already were.

For example, if someone has a serious alcohol or other drug addiction, wealth could be fatal for him. On the other hand, if a person is generous, polite, and resourceful, money will amplify those qualities in his or her behaviour.

David Foster Wallace said, “Happy people are often still happy when they become millionaires. Unhappy people are often still unhappy when they become millionaires.”

Freedom Brings Dilemma

Money can give you the freedom to focus on the things that truly matter to you. But that comes with the assumption that you already know what truly matters to you.

Most people work hard and money keeps them focused on earning more, doing the career-ladder thing and working towards their goals, but when they finally attain that money-goal, it gives birth to weird issues.

The void created by financial freedom could be a difficult one to fill. Which is why many supposedly rich people continue to work hard at earning more money because it keeps them busy.

The most profound effect that becoming financially successful can have on someone is the task of answering the question – “I wonder what am I supposed to do next?”

Ironically, the ability to pursue activities that you find meaningful and bring you happiness does not depend on getting rich. Albeit insufficiency of funds calls for some resourcefulness on your part to continue pursuing your passion.

Many people subscribe to the belief along the lines of Charlie Sheen’s in the movie Wall Street, when he’s asked what he’s going to do when he makes his millions and he says, “I’m going to get a motorcycle and ride across China.” Rolf Potts,  author of Vagabonding, points out that you could clean toilets in the US and save enough money to ride a motorcycle across China. 

Today, you don’t need a million dollars to travel the world.

The Paradox of Desire

Now, this could appear as an entirely unanticipated downside of getting rich.

Being rich is better than not being rich, but it’s not nearly as good as you imagine it is.

All of the things you want to buy one day, are only valuable to you because you cannot afford them yet (or have to work really hard to acquire them). Maybe you have your eyes set on the new Ferrari but once you know you can easily afford it, it just doesn’t mean as much to you anymore.

It’s basic human nature that the things which are just out of reach seem desirable. The moment an object of desire becomes easily available to you, its charm loses grip on you. This is especially true for things which are your wants, not needs.

Realising that your dreams aren’t always what they were cracked up to be can bring in severe disappointment. Following which a boredom could quickly set in.

Diminishing Marginal Utility

Human mind is not good at evaluating things in absolute. It needs a benchmark or something to compare with to assess the value of something. Using this insight let’s see what The Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility says –

For each additional unit of a good the added satisfaction, you receive from consuming the good, decreases.

Yes, the first month you drive the Audi or eat in an expensive restaurant, you really enjoy it. But then you quickly get used to it. And then you are looking towards the next thing, the next level up. The problem is that you have bumped up your expectations, and everything below that level doesn’t entice you anymore.

Calvin and The Law of Diminishing Returns: Source: Bill Watterson Ben Cosnocha, in his deeply thoughtful article The Goldilocks Theory of Being Rich, writes –

[As super rich] You’ll fly private jets, yes. You’ll eat nice food all the time, you’ll have aides and servants who will save you time. Problem is, we quickly adapt to these material comforts—what psychologists call the “hedonic treadmill.” The private jet doesn’t feel so special the 20th time you’re on it.

A research was done on two sets of people. First group consisted of those who experienced a personal tragedy like losing a loved one or even becoming physically handicapped (losing one or more limbs) which diminished their ability to function normally. The second group of people consisted of those who suddenly became rich.

The research revealed that in both the groups, people returned to their base level of happiness, one year after the fortunate/unfortunate events.

Jason Zweig, in his wonderful book Your Money and Your Brain, summarized all the above points brilliantly. He writes –

Becoming a lottery winner takes only an instant; being one lasts the rest of your life. People who actually win the lottery are often shocked by the aftermath of their lucky draw. There are plenty of thrills from suddenly making a fortune, just as the winners expected. But there are less obvious and less predictable consequences, too. The phone rings off the hook with calls from crooks and desperately friendly acquaintances. Ensconced in your new mansion, you no longer see your old neighbors as often; instead, you are besieged by long-lost relatives who should have stayed lost. Everyone you ever rubbed the wrong way files a lawsuit against you. Quit your job, and you miss your friends and go crazy with boredom; keep it, and your co-workers all seem to hate you or hit you up for money. It becomes hard to tell who your real friends are, so you spend more time alone. At home, you bicker constantly with your spouse over what to do with the money.

Conclusion

I read somewhere, “Money doesn’t necessarily wipe out all your troubles. It just changes the kind of problems that life presents you. The only people who are completely trouble free are buried in the cemetery.”

If one is not happy now, chances are that he won’t be happy even when he is rich. I am sure there are many super rich people who are happy and maintain a healthy inner peace.

I suspect that it’s nice to be super rich but maybe not for the reasons many of us think.

Kevin Kelly, who is known as the most interesting man in the world, in his interview with Tim Ferriss, reminded –

Great wealth, extreme wealth, is definitely overrated. There’s nothing that you can really do with it that you can’t do with a lot of less money. The things that you want to do, the things that will make you content, the things that will satisfy you, the things that will bring you meaning … is usually better than having money.

…if you have a lot of time or a lot of money, it’s always better to have a lot of time to do something. If you have a choice between having a lot of friends or a lot of money, you definitely want to have a lot of friends.

…the technological progress that we’re having is actually diminishing the role of money. And I want to be clear that I’m talking about money beyond the amount that you need to survive. So in a certain sense, most people see money as a means to get these other things, but there are other routes to these other things that are deeper and more constant and more durable and more powerful. Money is a very small, one-dimensional thing, that if you focus on that, it kind of comes and goes. And if you … whatever it is that you’re trying to attain, you go to it more directly through other means, you’ll probably wind up with a more powerful experience or whatever it is that you’re after. And it’ll be deeper, more renewable, than coming at it with money.

Let me repeat, the intention in this post is not to pass judgement but to look at a situation from a different vantage point. And my goal for compiling these thoughts was more with an intention of exploration than preaching.

If you have any interesting dimensions to add to this line of thought, feel free to leave your thought in the Comments section of this post.

Also Read – Is getting rich worth it?

The post Inverting the Money Problem appeared first on Safal Niveshak.

Inverting the Money Problem published first on http://ift.tt/2ljLF4B

[exfrenchdorsl4p0a1]

How to select a common topic for a blog (or video or podcast)

When I coach executives about content marketing or personal blogging, a very common problem I encounter is the challenge of focusing on a single topic for a blog (or podcast or video series). “I like so many things,” my clients will say. “How do I pick just one?”

But it is something that must happen. When you commit to creating content on a consistent basis, you don’t want to confuse your readers (or viewers 0r listeners) by discussing cookie recipes in one post and exploring Russian history in the next. Your fans generally need to rely on you for some common theme.

That doesn’t mean you have to be stuck on one idea, or that it has to be boring. Let’s look at some practical ideas on how to achieve a content theme that stays relevant, fresh, and fun.

The ties that bind

The first thing to consider is that even if you have diverse interests, there is probably one core idea that holds everything together.

I was working with a young executive who was into martial arts, grief counseling, and leadership studies. She was exasperated and didn’t know where to start. I asked her, “what makes you come alive … what is that moment that makes you most proud?” She off-handedly remarked “when I bring people to their moment of courage.”

That was it.

That message tied everything together and provided a theme that was sort of an umbrella for all of her interests. In my book KNOWN, this would be referred to her as her sustainable interest. She is happily blogging about this core passion! I find that even when a person’s interests are seemingly disparate, there is usually some core idea we can find that holds everything together.

I’ve found that often people have a core idea right in front of them, but it may be difficult to discern until they start talking about it with another person.

Bring many ideas into your theme

Even though I blog about one theme — the intersection of marketing, strategy, and humanity — I’m never bored because I tell this story through my own varied interests and life experiences.

For example, I loved how an art museum in Scotland was using digital technology to connect to kids, and so I did a video blog about it.

I love working in the yard, and when a bunch of my new plants died, I was able to tell the story of a shocking customer service experience I had with the retailer.

I’ve related how my love of sports translates to brand loyalty.

On a trip to Russia, I was able to report on differences in advertising techniques I observed.

I even used a story about my grandfather to explain a marketing concept. So you see, I told my stories about my interests in art, gardening, sports, and travel to teach lessons about marketing. I’m always thinking in terms of stories!

The best bloggers learn to pay attention to daily epiphanies and quickly immortalize them in blog posts. The real key to success is having the discipline to collect these ideas and explore them through your content.

What is the need?

There are many reasons to blog, but if you hope to turn it into a business some day, you’ll need to focus on solving a problem for your audience. You want to be indispensable to your readers because you help them in some way every day.

If you’re active on the web, maybe you’ve noticed that something is missing in your industry. That could be a sign of a market need. How would you improve upon the existing content in your niche, or create something entirely new that pushes the envelope? Can you bring a new attitude or perspective to a stale marketplace?

How can you deliver your own story and expertise to your vertical in a way that attracts a meaningful audience?

The headline test

Start writing down headline ideas of any post you’d like to write about, or video you’d like to record. Don’t flesh out the ideas, just write down the idea.

Now look over the list. is there a certain theme that comes out? Pay special attention to the last 10 ideas on the list. Is there some common thread that holds them together?

Among the billion people who have access to the Internet, there are more than a few people who will find your insights fascinating—perhaps even profound. They will value your experiences and want to hear more. They can’t help themselves because your story will enrich their own.

It’s all about love

Here is the ultimate guideline to picking a topic — what do you LOVE? In KNOWN I use the analogy of a dog chasing a tennis ball? Most people have some topic that they love to study and tear into every day. What’s your tennis ball?

If there is something truly burning inside of you, don’t worry about the competition, don’t worry about the niche, don’t worry about the need. Just start creating content and let it rip. Other than your time, the entry barrier to creating content today is nearly zero. What have you got to lose?

Don’t become paralyzed by fretting over a topic until it’s perfect. It’s likely that your theme will evolve over time. Maybe you won’t even determine your ultimate theme until you’ve been creating content for months.

When I started blogging, I was pretty dumb about it. I started a marketing blog in the most competitive content space on the entire web. But I couldn’t help myself. I LOVE marketing. If I had done a bunch of research, I probably would have talked myself out of it — it is so crowded! But I just started … and I found that I did have a “voice,” I could make a contribution, and through some miracle, you, and thousands of others, found me.

The most important thing is to START. Six months from now creating content will be easier, more focused, even more fun. But you’ll never get to experience that if you don’t take that first step and begin!

Mark Schaefer is the chief blogger for this site, executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions, and the author of several best-selling digital marketing books. He is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant.  The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world.  Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

The post How to select a common topic for a blog (or video or podcast) appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2oXXnAs

[repwinpril9y0a1]

How to select a common topic for a blog (or video or podcast)

When I coach executives about content marketing or personal blogging, a very common problem I encounter is the challenge of focusing on a single topic for a blog (or podcast or video series). “I like so many things,” my clients will say. “How do I pick just one?”

But it is something that must happen. When you commit to creating content on a consistent basis, you don’t want to confuse your readers (or viewers 0r listeners) by discussing cookie recipes in one post and exploring Russian history in the next. Your fans generally need to rely on you for some common theme.

That doesn’t mean you have to be stuck on one idea, or that it has to be boring. Let’s look at some practical ideas on how to achieve a content theme that stays relevant, fresh, and fun.

The ties that bind

The first thing to consider is that even if you have diverse interests, there is probably one core idea that holds everything together.

I was working with a young executive who was into martial arts, grief counseling, and leadership studies. She was exasperated and didn’t know where to start. I asked her, “what makes you come alive … what is that moment that makes you most proud?” She off-handedly remarked “when I bring people to their moment of courage.”

That was it.

That message tied everything together and provided a theme that was sort of an umbrella for all of her interests. In my book KNOWN, this would be referred to her as her sustainable interest. She is happily blogging about this core passion! I find that even when a person’s interests are seemingly disparate, there is usually some core idea we can find that holds everything together.

I’ve found that often people have a core idea right in front of them, but it may be difficult to discern until they start talking about it with another person.

Bring many ideas into your theme

Even though I blog about one theme — the intersection of marketing, strategy, and humanity — I’m never bored because I tell this story through my own varied interests and life experiences.

For example, I loved how an art museum in Scotland was using digital technology to connect to kids, and so I did a video blog about it.

I love working in the yard, and when a bunch of my new plants died, I was able to tell the story of a shocking customer service experience I had with the retailer.

I’ve related how my love of sports translates to brand loyalty.

On a trip to Russia, I was able to report on differences in advertising techniques I observed.

I even used a story about my grandfather to explain a marketing concept. So you see, I told my stories about my interests in art, gardening, sports, and travel to teach lessons about marketing. I’m always thinking in terms of stories!

The best bloggers learn to pay attention to daily epiphanies and quickly immortalize them in blog posts. The real key to success is having the discipline to collect these ideas and explore them through your content.

What is the need?

There are many reasons to blog, but if you hope to turn it into a business some day, you’ll need to focus on solving a problem for your audience. You want to be indispensable to your readers because you help them in some way every day.

If you’re active on the web, maybe you’ve noticed that something is missing in your industry. That could be a sign of a market need. How would you improve upon the existing content in your niche, or create something entirely new that pushes the envelope? Can you bring a new attitude or perspective to a stale marketplace?

How can you deliver your own story and expertise to your vertical in a way that attracts a meaningful audience?

The headline test

Start writing down headline ideas of any post you’d like to write about, or video you’d like to record. Don’t flesh out the ideas, just write down the idea.

Now look over the list. is there a certain theme that comes out? Pay special attention to the last 10 ideas on the list. Is there some common thread that holds them together?

Among the billion people who have access to the Internet, there are more than a few people who will find your insights fascinating—perhaps even profound. They will value your experiences and want to hear more. They can’t help themselves because your story will enrich their own.

It’s all about love

Here is the ultimate guideline to picking a topic — what do you LOVE? In KNOWN I use the analogy of a dog chasing a tennis ball? Most people have some topic that they love to study and tear into every day. What’s your tennis ball?

If there is something truly burning inside of you, don’t worry about the competition, don’t worry about the niche, don’t worry about the need. Just start creating content and let it rip. Other than your time, the entry barrier to creating content today is nearly zero. What have you got to lose?

Don’t become paralyzed by fretting over a topic until it’s perfect. It’s likely that your theme will evolve over time. Maybe you won’t even determine your ultimate theme until you’ve been creating content for months.

When I started blogging, I was pretty dumb about it. I started a marketing blog in the most competitive content space on the entire web. But I couldn’t help myself. I LOVE marketing. If I had done a bunch of research, I probably would have talked myself out of it — it is so crowded! But I just started … and I found that I did have a “voice,” I could make a contribution, and through some miracle, you, and thousands of others, found me.

The most important thing is to START. Six months from now creating content will be easier, more focused, even more fun. But you’ll never get to experience that if you don’t take that first step and begin!

Mark Schaefer is the chief blogger for this site, executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions, and the author of several best-selling digital marketing books. He is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant.  The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world.  Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

The post How to select a common topic for a blog (or video or podcast) appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2oXXnAs

[repwincoml4a0a5]

How to select a common topic for a blog (or video or podcast)

When I coach executives about content marketing or personal blogging, a very common problem I encounter is the challenge of focusing on a single topic for a blog (or podcast or video series). “I like so many things,” my clients will say. “How do I pick just one?”

But it is something that must happen. When you commit to creating content on a consistent basis, you don’t want to confuse your readers (or viewers 0r listeners) by discussing cookie recipes in one post and exploring Russian history in the next. Your fans generally need to rely on you for some common theme.

That doesn’t mean you have to be stuck on one idea, or that it has to be boring. Let’s look at some practical ideas on how to achieve a content theme that stays relevant, fresh, and fun.

The ties that bind

The first thing to consider is that even if you have diverse interests, there is probably one core idea that holds everything together.

I was working with a young executive who was into martial arts, grief counseling, and leadership studies. She was exasperated and didn’t know where to start. I asked her, “what makes you come alive … what is that moment that makes you most proud?” She off-handedly remarked “when I bring people to their moment of courage.”

That was it.

That message tied everything together and provided a theme that was sort of an umbrella for all of her interests. In my book KNOWN, this would be referred to her as her sustainable interest. She is happily blogging about this core passion! I find that even when a person’s interests are seemingly disparate, there is usually some core idea we can find that holds everything together.

I’ve found that often people have a core idea right in front of them, but it may be difficult to discern until they start talking about it with another person.

Bring many ideas into your theme

Even though I blog about one theme — the intersection of marketing, strategy, and humanity — I’m never bored because I tell this story through my own varied interests and life experiences.

For example, I loved how an art museum in Scotland was using digital technology to connect to kids, and so I did a video blog about it.

I love working in the yard, and when a bunch of my new plants died, I was able to tell the story of a shocking customer service experience I had with the retailer.

I’ve related how my love of sports translates to brand loyalty.

On a trip to Russia, I was able to report on differences in advertising techniques I observed.

I even used a story about my grandfather to explain a marketing concept. So you see, I told my stories about my interests in art, gardening, sports, and travel to teach lessons about marketing. I’m always thinking in terms of stories!

The best bloggers learn to pay attention to daily epiphanies and quickly immortalize them in blog posts. The real key to success is having the discipline to collect these ideas and explore them through your content.

What is the need?

There are many reasons to blog, but if you hope to turn it into a business some day, you’ll need to focus on solving a problem for your audience. You want to be indispensable to your readers because you help them in some way every day.

If you’re active on the web, maybe you’ve noticed that something is missing in your industry. That could be a sign of a market need. How would you improve upon the existing content in your niche, or create something entirely new that pushes the envelope? Can you bring a new attitude or perspective to a stale marketplace?

How can you deliver your own story and expertise to your vertical in a way that attracts a meaningful audience?

The headline test

Start writing down headline ideas of any post you’d like to write about, or video you’d like to record. Don’t flesh out the ideas, just write down the idea.

Now look over the list. is there a certain theme that comes out? Pay special attention to the last 10 ideas on the list. Is there some common thread that holds them together?

Among the billion people who have access to the Internet, there are more than a few people who will find your insights fascinating—perhaps even profound. They will value your experiences and want to hear more. They can’t help themselves because your story will enrich their own.

It’s all about love

Here is the ultimate guideline to picking a topic — what do you LOVE? In KNOWN I use the analogy of a dog chasing a tennis ball? Most people have some topic that they love to study and tear into every day. What’s your tennis ball?

If there is something truly burning inside of you, don’t worry about the competition, don’t worry about the niche, don’t worry about the need. Just start creating content and let it rip. Other than your time, the entry barrier to creating content today is nearly zero. What have you got to lose?

Don’t become paralyzed by fretting over a topic until it’s perfect. It’s likely that your theme will evolve over time. Maybe you won’t even determine your ultimate theme until you’ve been creating content for months.

When I started blogging, I was pretty dumb about it. I started a marketing blog in the most competitive content space on the entire web. But I couldn’t help myself. I LOVE marketing. If I had done a bunch of research, I probably would have talked myself out of it — it is so crowded! But I just started … and I found that I did have a “voice,” I could make a contribution, and through some miracle, you, and thousands of others, found me.

The most important thing is to START. Six months from now creating content will be easier, more focused, even more fun. But you’ll never get to experience that if you don’t take that first step and begin!

Mark Schaefer is the chief blogger for this site, executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions, and the author of several best-selling digital marketing books. He is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant.  The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world.  Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

The post How to select a common topic for a blog (or video or podcast) appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2oXXnAs

[rtawngs20815]

How to select a common topic for a blog (or video or podcast)

When I coach executives about content marketing or personal blogging, a very common problem I encounter is the challenge of focusing on a single topic for a blog (or podcast or video series). “I like so many things,” my clients will say. “How do I pick just one?”

But it is something that must happen. When you commit to creating content on a consistent basis, you don’t want to confuse your readers (or viewers 0r listeners) by discussing cookie recipes in one post and exploring Russian history in the next. Your fans generally need to rely on you for some common theme.

That doesn’t mean you have to be stuck on one idea, or that it has to be boring. Let’s look at some practical ideas on how to achieve a content theme that stays relevant, fresh, and fun.

The ties that bind

The first thing to consider is that even if you have diverse interests, there is probably one core idea that holds everything together.

I was working with a young executive who was into martial arts, grief counseling, and leadership studies. She was exasperated and didn’t know where to start. I asked her, “what makes you come alive … what is that moment that makes you most proud?” She off-handedly remarked “when I bring people to their moment of courage.”

That was it.

That message tied everything together and provided a theme that was sort of an umbrella for all of her interests. In my book KNOWN, this would be referred to her as her sustainable interest. She is happily blogging about this core passion! I find that even when a person’s interests are seemingly disparate, there is usually some core idea we can find that holds everything together.

I’ve found that often people have a core idea right in front of them, but it may be difficult to discern until they start talking about it with another person.

Bring many ideas into your theme

Even though I blog about one theme — the intersection of marketing, strategy, and humanity — I’m never bored because I tell this story through my own varied interests and life experiences.

For example, I loved how an art museum in Scotland was using digital technology to connect to kids, and so I did a video blog about it.

I love working in the yard, and when a bunch of my new plants died, I was able to tell the story of a shocking customer service experience I had with the retailer.

I’ve related how my love of sports translates to brand loyalty.

On a trip to Russia, I was able to report on differences in advertising techniques I observed.

I even used a story about my grandfather to explain a marketing concept. So you see, I told my stories about my interests in art, gardening, sports, and travel to teach lessons about marketing. I’m always thinking in terms of stories!

The best bloggers learn to pay attention to daily epiphanies and quickly immortalize them in blog posts. The real key to success is having the discipline to collect these ideas and explore them through your content.

What is the need?

There are many reasons to blog, but if you hope to turn it into a business some day, you’ll need to focus on solving a problem for your audience. You want to be indispensable to your readers because you help them in some way every day.

If you’re active on the web, maybe you’ve noticed that something is missing in your industry. That could be a sign of a market need. How would you improve upon the existing content in your niche, or create something entirely new that pushes the envelope? Can you bring a new attitude or perspective to a stale marketplace?

How can you deliver your own story and expertise to your vertical in a way that attracts a meaningful audience?

The headline test

Start writing down headline ideas of any post you’d like to write about, or video you’d like to record. Don’t flesh out the ideas, just write down the idea.

Now look over the list. is there a certain theme that comes out? Pay special attention to the last 10 ideas on the list. Is there some common thread that holds them together?

Among the billion people who have access to the Internet, there are more than a few people who will find your insights fascinating—perhaps even profound. They will value your experiences and want to hear more. They can’t help themselves because your story will enrich their own.

It’s all about love

Here is the ultimate guideline to picking a topic — what do you LOVE? In KNOWN I use the analogy of a dog chasing a tennis ball? Most people have some topic that they love to study and tear into every day. What’s your tennis ball?

If there is something truly burning inside of you, don’t worry about the competition, don’t worry about the niche, don’t worry about the need. Just start creating content and let it rip. Other than your time, the entry barrier to creating content today is nearly zero. What have you got to lose?

Don’t become paralyzed by fretting over a topic until it’s perfect. It’s likely that your theme will evolve over time. Maybe you won’t even determine your ultimate theme until you’ve been creating content for months.

When I started blogging, I was pretty dumb about it. I started a marketing blog in the most competitive content space on the entire web. But I couldn’t help myself. I LOVE marketing. If I had done a bunch of research, I probably would have talked myself out of it — it is so crowded! But I just started … and I found that I did have a “voice,” I could make a contribution, and through some miracle, you, and thousands of others, found me.

The most important thing is to START. Six months from now creating content will be easier, more focused, even more fun. But you’ll never get to experience that if you don’t take that first step and begin!

Mark Schaefer is the chief blogger for this site, executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions, and the author of several best-selling digital marketing books. He is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant.  The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world.  Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

The post How to select a common topic for a blog (or video or podcast) appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2oXXnAs

[grgedoors02142]

How to select a common topic for a blog (or video or podcast)

When I coach executives about content marketing or personal blogging, a very common problem I encounter is the challenge of focusing on a single topic for a blog (or podcast or video series). “I like so many things,” my clients will say. “How do I pick just one?”

But it is something that must happen. When you commit to creating content on a consistent basis, you don’t want to confuse your readers (or viewers 0r listeners) by discussing cookie recipes in one post and exploring Russian history in the next. Your fans generally need to rely on you for some common theme.

That doesn’t mean you have to be stuck on one idea, or that it has to be boring. Let’s look at some practical ideas on how to achieve a content theme that stays relevant, fresh, and fun.

The ties that bind

The first thing to consider is that even if you have diverse interests, there is probably one core idea that holds everything together.

I was working with a young executive who was into martial arts, grief counseling, and leadership studies. She was exasperated and didn’t know where to start. I asked her, “what makes you come alive … what is that moment that makes you most proud?” She off-handedly remarked “when I bring people to their moment of courage.”

That was it.

That message tied everything together and provided a theme that was sort of an umbrella for all of her interests. In my book KNOWN, this would be referred to her as her sustainable interest. She is happily blogging about this core passion! I find that even when a person’s interests are seemingly disparate, there is usually some core idea we can find that holds everything together.

I’ve found that often people have a core idea right in front of them, but it may be difficult to discern until they start talking about it with another person.

Bring many ideas into your theme

Even though I blog about one theme — the intersection of marketing, strategy, and humanity — I’m never bored because I tell this story through my own varied interests and life experiences.

For example, I loved how an art museum in Scotland was using digital technology to connect to kids, and so I did a video blog about it.

I love working in the yard, and when a bunch of my new plants died, I was able to tell the story of a shocking customer service experience I had with the retailer.

I’ve related how my love of sports translates to brand loyalty.

On a trip to Russia, I was able to report on differences in advertising techniques I observed.

I even used a story about my grandfather to explain a marketing concept. So you see, I told my stories about my interests in art, gardening, sports, and travel to teach lessons about marketing. I’m always thinking in terms of stories!

The best bloggers learn to pay attention to daily epiphanies and quickly immortalize them in blog posts. The real key to success is having the discipline to collect these ideas and explore them through your content.

What is the need?

There are many reasons to blog, but if you hope to turn it into a business some day, you’ll need to focus on solving a problem for your audience. You want to be indispensable to your readers because you help them in some way every day.

If you’re active on the web, maybe you’ve noticed that something is missing in your industry. That could be a sign of a market need. How would you improve upon the existing content in your niche, or create something entirely new that pushes the envelope? Can you bring a new attitude or perspective to a stale marketplace?

How can you deliver your own story and expertise to your vertical in a way that attracts a meaningful audience?

The headline test

Start writing down headline ideas of any post you’d like to write about, or video you’d like to record. Don’t flesh out the ideas, just write down the idea.

Now look over the list. is there a certain theme that comes out? Pay special attention to the last 10 ideas on the list. Is there some common thread that holds them together?

Among the billion people who have access to the Internet, there are more than a few people who will find your insights fascinating—perhaps even profound. They will value your experiences and want to hear more. They can’t help themselves because your story will enrich their own.

It’s all about love

Here is the ultimate guideline to picking a topic — what do you LOVE? In KNOWN I use the analogy of a dog chasing a tennis ball? Most people have some topic that they love to study and tear into every day. What’s your tennis ball?

If there is something truly burning inside of you, don’t worry about the competition, don’t worry about the niche, don’t worry about the need. Just start creating content and let it rip. Other than your time, the entry barrier to creating content today is nearly zero. What have you got to lose?

Don’t become paralyzed by fretting over a topic until it’s perfect. It’s likely that your theme will evolve over time. Maybe you won’t even determine your ultimate theme until you’ve been creating content for months.

When I started blogging, I was pretty dumb about it. I started a marketing blog in the most competitive content space on the entire web. But I couldn’t help myself. I LOVE marketing. If I had done a bunch of research, I probably would have talked myself out of it — it is so crowded! But I just started … and I found that I did have a “voice,” I could make a contribution, and through some miracle, you, and thousands of others, found me.

The most important thing is to START. Six months from now creating content will be easier, more focused, even more fun. But you’ll never get to experience that if you don’t take that first step and begin!

Mark Schaefer is the chief blogger for this site, executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions, and the author of several best-selling digital marketing books. He is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant.  The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world.  Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

The post How to select a common topic for a blog (or video or podcast) appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2oXXnAs

[rtscrndr53704]

How to select a common topic for a blog (or video or podcast)

When I coach executives about content marketing or personal blogging, a very common problem I encounter is the challenge of focusing on a single topic for a blog (or podcast or video series). “I like so many things,” my clients will say. “How do I pick just one?”

But it is something that must happen. When you commit to creating content on a consistent basis, you don’t want to confuse your readers (or viewers 0r listeners) by discussing cookie recipes in one post and exploring Russian history in the next. Your fans generally need to rely on you for some common theme.

That doesn’t mean you have to be stuck on one idea, or that it has to be boring. Let’s look at some practical ideas on how to achieve a content theme that stays relevant, fresh, and fun.

The ties that bind

The first thing to consider is that even if you have diverse interests, there is probably one core idea that holds everything together.

I was working with a young executive who was into martial arts, grief counseling, and leadership studies. She was exasperated and didn’t know where to start. I asked her, “what makes you come alive … what is that moment that makes you most proud?” She off-handedly remarked “when I bring people to their moment of courage.”

That was it.

That message tied everything together and provided a theme that was sort of an umbrella for all of her interests. In my book KNOWN, this would be referred to her as her sustainable interest. She is happily blogging about this core passion! I find that even when a person’s interests are seemingly disparate, there is usually some core idea we can find that holds everything together.

I’ve found that often people have a core idea right in front of them, but it may be difficult to discern until they start talking about it with another person.

Bring many ideas into your theme

Even though I blog about one theme — the intersection of marketing, strategy, and humanity — I’m never bored because I tell this story through my own varied interests and life experiences.

For example, I loved how an art museum in Scotland was using digital technology to connect to kids, and so I did a video blog about it.

I love working in the yard, and when a bunch of my new plants died, I was able to tell the story of a shocking customer service experience I had with the retailer.

I’ve related how my love of sports translates to brand loyalty.

On a trip to Russia, I was able to report on differences in advertising techniques I observed.

I even used a story about my grandfather to explain a marketing concept. So you see, I told my stories about my interests in art, gardening, sports, and travel to teach lessons about marketing. I’m always thinking in terms of stories!

The best bloggers learn to pay attention to daily epiphanies and quickly immortalize them in blog posts. The real key to success is having the discipline to collect these ideas and explore them through your content.

What is the need?

There are many reasons to blog, but if you hope to turn it into a business some day, you’ll need to focus on solving a problem for your audience. You want to be indispensable to your readers because you help them in some way every day.

If you’re active on the web, maybe you’ve noticed that something is missing in your industry. That could be a sign of a market need. How would you improve upon the existing content in your niche, or create something entirely new that pushes the envelope? Can you bring a new attitude or perspective to a stale marketplace?

How can you deliver your own story and expertise to your vertical in a way that attracts a meaningful audience?

The headline test

Start writing down headline ideas of any post you’d like to write about, or video you’d like to record. Don’t flesh out the ideas, just write down the idea.

Now look over the list. is there a certain theme that comes out? Pay special attention to the last 10 ideas on the list. Is there some common thread that holds them together?

Among the billion people who have access to the Internet, there are more than a few people who will find your insights fascinating—perhaps even profound. They will value your experiences and want to hear more. They can’t help themselves because your story will enrich their own.

It’s all about love

Here is the ultimate guideline to picking a topic — what do you LOVE? In KNOWN I use the analogy of a dog chasing a tennis ball? Most people have some topic that they love to study and tear into every day. What’s your tennis ball?

If there is something truly burning inside of you, don’t worry about the competition, don’t worry about the niche, don’t worry about the need. Just start creating content and let it rip. Other than your time, the entry barrier to creating content today is nearly zero. What have you got to lose?

Don’t become paralyzed by fretting over a topic until it’s perfect. It’s likely that your theme will evolve over time. Maybe you won’t even determine your ultimate theme until you’ve been creating content for months.

When I started blogging, I was pretty dumb about it. I started a marketing blog in the most competitive content space on the entire web. But I couldn’t help myself. I LOVE marketing. If I had done a bunch of research, I probably would have talked myself out of it — it is so crowded! But I just started … and I found that I did have a “voice,” I could make a contribution, and through some miracle, you, and thousands of others, found me.

The most important thing is to START. Six months from now creating content will be easier, more focused, even more fun. But you’ll never get to experience that if you don’t take that first step and begin!

Mark Schaefer is the chief blogger for this site, executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions, and the author of several best-selling digital marketing books. He is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant.  The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world.  Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

The post How to select a common topic for a blog (or video or podcast) appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2oXXnAs

[chpatdoorsl3z0a1]

How to select a common topic for a blog (or video or podcast)

When I coach executives about content marketing or personal blogging, a very common problem I encounter is the challenge of focusing on a single topic for a blog (or podcast or video series). “I like so many things,” my clients will say. “How do I pick just one?”

But it is something that must happen. When you commit to creating content on a consistent basis, you don’t want to confuse your readers (or viewers 0r listeners) by discussing cookie recipes in one post and exploring Russian history in the next. Your fans generally need to rely on you for some common theme.

That doesn’t mean you have to be stuck on one idea, or that it has to be boring. Let’s look at some practical ideas on how to achieve a content theme that stays relevant, fresh, and fun.

The ties that bind

The first thing to consider is that even if you have diverse interests, there is probably one core idea that holds everything together.

I was working with a young executive who was into martial arts, grief counseling, and leadership studies. She was exasperated and didn’t know where to start. I asked her, “what makes you come alive … what is that moment that makes you most proud?” She off-handedly remarked “when I bring people to their moment of courage.”

That was it.

That message tied everything together and provided a theme that was sort of an umbrella for all of her interests. In my book KNOWN, this would be referred to her as her sustainable interest. She is happily blogging about this core passion! I find that even when a person’s interests are seemingly disparate, there is usually some core idea we can find that holds everything together.

I’ve found that often people have a core idea right in front of them, but it may be difficult to discern until they start talking about it with another person.

Bring many ideas into your theme

Even though I blog about one theme — the intersection of marketing, strategy, and humanity — I’m never bored because I tell this story through my own varied interests and life experiences.

For example, I loved how an art museum in Scotland was using digital technology to connect to kids, and so I did a video blog about it.

I love working in the yard, and when a bunch of my new plants died, I was able to tell the story of a shocking customer service experience I had with the retailer.

I’ve related how my love of sports translates to brand loyalty.

On a trip to Russia, I was able to report on differences in advertising techniques I observed.

I even used a story about my grandfather to explain a marketing concept. So you see, I told my stories about my interests in art, gardening, sports, and travel to teach lessons about marketing. I’m always thinking in terms of stories!

The best bloggers learn to pay attention to daily epiphanies and quickly immortalize them in blog posts. The real key to success is having the discipline to collect these ideas and explore them through your content.

What is the need?

There are many reasons to blog, but if you hope to turn it into a business some day, you’ll need to focus on solving a problem for your audience. You want to be indispensable to your readers because you help them in some way every day.

If you’re active on the web, maybe you’ve noticed that something is missing in your industry. That could be a sign of a market need. How would you improve upon the existing content in your niche, or create something entirely new that pushes the envelope? Can you bring a new attitude or perspective to a stale marketplace?

How can you deliver your own story and expertise to your vertical in a way that attracts a meaningful audience?

The headline test

Start writing down headline ideas of any post you’d like to write about, or video you’d like to record. Don’t flesh out the ideas, just write down the idea.

Now look over the list. is there a certain theme that comes out? Pay special attention to the last 10 ideas on the list. Is there some common thread that holds them together?

Among the billion people who have access to the Internet, there are more than a few people who will find your insights fascinating—perhaps even profound. They will value your experiences and want to hear more. They can’t help themselves because your story will enrich their own.

It’s all about love

Here is the ultimate guideline to picking a topic — what do you LOVE? In KNOWN I use the analogy of a dog chasing a tennis ball? Most people have some topic that they love to study and tear into every day. What’s your tennis ball?

If there is something truly burning inside of you, don’t worry about the competition, don’t worry about the niche, don’t worry about the need. Just start creating content and let it rip. Other than your time, the entry barrier to creating content today is nearly zero. What have you got to lose?

Don’t become paralyzed by fretting over a topic until it’s perfect. It’s likely that your theme will evolve over time. Maybe you won’t even determine your ultimate theme until you’ve been creating content for months.

When I started blogging, I was pretty dumb about it. I started a marketing blog in the most competitive content space on the entire web. But I couldn’t help myself. I LOVE marketing. If I had done a bunch of research, I probably would have talked myself out of it — it is so crowded! But I just started … and I found that I did have a “voice,” I could make a contribution, and through some miracle, you, and thousands of others, found me.

The most important thing is to START. Six months from now creating content will be easier, more focused, even more fun. But you’ll never get to experience that if you don’t take that first step and begin!

Mark Schaefer is the chief blogger for this site, executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions, and the author of several best-selling digital marketing books. He is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant.  The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world.  Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

The post How to select a common topic for a blog (or video or podcast) appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2oXXnAs

[stormdoors78476]

How to select a common topic for a blog (or video or podcast)

When I coach executives about content marketing or personal blogging, a very common problem I encounter is the challenge of focusing on a single topic for a blog (or podcast or video series). “I like so many things,” my clients will say. “How do I pick just one?”

But it is something that must happen. When you commit to creating content on a consistent basis, you don’t want to confuse your readers (or viewers 0r listeners) by discussing cookie recipes in one post and exploring Russian history in the next. Your fans generally need to rely on you for some common theme.

That doesn’t mean you have to be stuck on one idea, or that it has to be boring. Let’s look at some practical ideas on how to achieve a content theme that stays relevant, fresh, and fun.

The ties that bind

The first thing to consider is that even if you have diverse interests, there is probably one core idea that holds everything together.

I was working with a young executive who was into martial arts, grief counseling, and leadership studies. She was exasperated and didn’t know where to start. I asked her, “what makes you come alive … what is that moment that makes you most proud?” She off-handedly remarked “when I bring people to their moment of courage.”

That was it.

That message tied everything together and provided a theme that was sort of an umbrella for all of her interests. In my book KNOWN, this would be referred to her as her sustainable interest. She is happily blogging about this core passion! I find that even when a person’s interests are seemingly disparate, there is usually some core idea we can find that holds everything together.

I’ve found that often people have a core idea right in front of them, but it may be difficult to discern until they start talking about it with another person.

Bring many ideas into your theme

Even though I blog about one theme — the intersection of marketing, strategy, and humanity — I’m never bored because I tell this story through my own varied interests and life experiences.

For example, I loved how an art museum in Scotland was using digital technology to connect to kids, and so I did a video blog about it.

I love working in the yard, and when a bunch of my new plants died, I was able to tell the story of a shocking customer service experience I had with the retailer.

I’ve related how my love of sports translates to brand loyalty.

On a trip to Russia, I was able to report on differences in advertising techniques I observed.

I even used a story about my grandfather to explain a marketing concept. So you see, I told my stories about my interests in art, gardening, sports, and travel to teach lessons about marketing. I’m always thinking in terms of stories!

The best bloggers learn to pay attention to daily epiphanies and quickly immortalize them in blog posts. The real key to success is having the discipline to collect these ideas and explore them through your content.

What is the need?

There are many reasons to blog, but if you hope to turn it into a business some day, you’ll need to focus on solving a problem for your audience. You want to be indispensable to your readers because you help them in some way every day.

If you’re active on the web, maybe you’ve noticed that something is missing in your industry. That could be a sign of a market need. How would you improve upon the existing content in your niche, or create something entirely new that pushes the envelope? Can you bring a new attitude or perspective to a stale marketplace?

How can you deliver your own story and expertise to your vertical in a way that attracts a meaningful audience?

The headline test

Start writing down headline ideas of any post you’d like to write about, or video you’d like to record. Don’t flesh out the ideas, just write down the idea.

Now look over the list. is there a certain theme that comes out? Pay special attention to the last 10 ideas on the list. Is there some common thread that holds them together?

Among the billion people who have access to the Internet, there are more than a few people who will find your insights fascinating—perhaps even profound. They will value your experiences and want to hear more. They can’t help themselves because your story will enrich their own.

It’s all about love

Here is the ultimate guideline to picking a topic — what do you LOVE? In KNOWN I use the analogy of a dog chasing a tennis ball? Most people have some topic that they love to study and tear into every day. What’s your tennis ball?

If there is something truly burning inside of you, don’t worry about the competition, don’t worry about the niche, don’t worry about the need. Just start creating content and let it rip. Other than your time, the entry barrier to creating content today is nearly zero. What have you got to lose?

Don’t become paralyzed by fretting over a topic until it’s perfect. It’s likely that your theme will evolve over time. Maybe you won’t even determine your ultimate theme until you’ve been creating content for months.

When I started blogging, I was pretty dumb about it. I started a marketing blog in the most competitive content space on the entire web. But I couldn’t help myself. I LOVE marketing. If I had done a bunch of research, I probably would have talked myself out of it — it is so crowded! But I just started … and I found that I did have a “voice,” I could make a contribution, and through some miracle, you, and thousands of others, found me.

The most important thing is to START. Six months from now creating content will be easier, more focused, even more fun. But you’ll never get to experience that if you don’t take that first step and begin!

Mark Schaefer is the chief blogger for this site, executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions, and the author of several best-selling digital marketing books. He is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant.  The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world.  Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

The post How to select a common topic for a blog (or video or podcast) appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2oXXnAs