A world governed by reason and emotion

benjs

From an interview between Om Malik and self-made billionaire Brunello Cucinello (http://pi.co/brunello-cucinelli-2/):

"This century is where enlightenment and romanticism must blend. A great idea that is born out of the mind and then goes through the soul — there is no doubt that the outcome is marvelous. If this idea is true, fair, beautiful, there’s no doubt that it is also a good idea. I think this applies to everything."

I love this. Let ideas be inspired by the soul or by reason, but guarantee that they are filtered by your soul to ensure truth, fairness and beauty prior to realization. Curious to hear thoughts about this here!

hedonist

Such odd synchronicity, benjs...I referenced my dad in another thread, just a few minutes ago. He's been on my mind more that usual, in a roundabout way, and one constant of my view of him has been "pragmatic romantic / idealist". I loved and admired that about him, and think (hope) he passed a bit of that spirit and balance to me through demonstration and his energy.

That said, I still have yet to read your link! And I will - just needed to get this out, as your post and its timing just made me...happy.

rr165892

"In order to be credible we must be transparent and true"

I love when these successful individuals keep the basic moral values and ideals and weave them into the fabric(no pun intended) of their climb to success.More so how they use such raw and honest self governance to formulate being on top of their game.

I find being true to who we are and to those around us,wether at work or in our private lives as a guiding beacon.If you mix excitement and passion into the honesty and purity of a idea great things can come from it.
I find myself trying to tap into the same soul inspired ideas when creating in my buisness.Letting how something feels internally help guide the creative process.And yes,I agree for that comes beauty in the form of soulful inspiration.

rr165892

Hedo,some would say that "he is with you" when those we love who have passed continually occupy our thoughts.I find that strangely comforting.

benjs

I'm so glad (and not remotely surprised) that the two of you are the first to respond to this thread

Hedo, I think rr nailed it. If you leave an indelible mark on even one person as your father clearly has on you - you never really leave the planet. Your body may be inanimate, and your tongue may not speak, but the essence of your soul has been transmitted to someone you showed care for, and your core being lives on through someone else.

For me, working for my dad's business, I unfortunately have learnt how I would do the opposite of him (still valuable learning). My family has been granted a very comfortable existence as a result of much hard work put in by my dad in his self-started business. That being said, it's retail (a Jew in retail!?), and there's an imbalance between the 'top' and the 'bottom'. We forget monetary compensation too quickly, and a 'raise' isn't the kind of long-lasting motivator people would hope for: we need to be emotionally invested in an organization for it to realize itself as the best version of itself. That comes through ensuring each participant in a team possesses (and receives) human dignity, preaches and delivers on respect for community, and that comes through deciding what a business is for: I think it ought to be more than to be just a place which generates profit.

I've been developing a roadmap and business model for a new consulting firm, and my long-term goal is to have the business run autonomously while I focus on sourcing and optimizing charitable ventures who could not afford it otherwise. Businessmen like Cucinello help me remember that this is not a naive or foolish idea, and that if I keep that on (at least) equal priority as the bottom line - I'll get there.

hedonist

I think you both nailed it.

Woke up with Green Disease in my head...that one line - "can you feel this world with your heart and not your brain?"

Nope - they rely upon and work with each other.

(and, at the risk of being called an ass-kisser, may I say you two - among others here - make this ride rock in the nicest way)

rr165892

Ditto kids.Always a pleasure when you both get rolling on an issue.
I like your angle Ben.I know if you are behind it,it will thrive.It sounds like your dad is a hell of a dude,and committed to his craft.Learning what not to do(you sound like my kids) is part of the lesson right.("Do as I say not as I do").Also you crack me up with the "Jew in Retail" bit.

I have some close family members who are and were big players in the Women's fashion
industry.My uncle likes to say "A Jew in the garment industry,who woulda thought"? You made me think of that.Got a good laugh.

I 100% agree on how to treat your people and have them invested and passionate in their work and career.I think you know I feel very strongly about this subject and take great pride in letting my employees reap the rewards and be part of our buisnesses success.I am only as good and strong as they help me be.(I think that made sense)

badbrains

2 closet conservatives and a Zionist patting each other on the back, job well done. Now who would've thought hahahaha

*(note to all, this is a joke, not being serious) and I assure you all, these 3 know I'm joking with them. Carry on

backseatLover12

hedonist

badbrains said:

2 closet conservatives and a Zionist patting each other on the back, job well done. Now who would've thought hahahaha

*(note to all, this is a joke, not being serious) and I assure you all, these 3 know I'm joking with them. Carry on

I resemble that, BB!

And yeah, learning "anti-lessons" are as educational as the others. Like my mom is fond of saying - "Where you do learn good manners? From those with bad manners." True 'dat!

badbrains

hedonist said:

badbrains said:

2 closet conservatives and a Zionist patting each other on the back, job well done. Now who would've thought hahahaha

*(note to all, this is a joke, not being serious) and I assure you all, these 3 know I'm joking with them. Carry on

I resemble that, BB!

And yeah, learning "anti-lessons" are as educational as the others. Like my mom is fond of saying - "Where you do learn good manners? From those with bad manners." True 'dat!

You feel that earthquake the other morning? Was it yesterday?

hedonist

Yup, early Sunday morning. Can't believe I slept through it! But some folks close to the epicenter actually had stuff fall and break.

rr165892

Cmon Nart Im fully out of the closet(not that IWas ever in) and feel FABulous!!!!(that was an over the top Nathan Lane from birdcage voice in case you couldn't tell)lol

I heard about the shaking you guys had.Isnt Cali supposed to fall into the ocean anyday now?Thats the rumor.And what do your cats do when that happens Hedo ? do they freak or what?

badbrains

rr165892 said:

Cmon Nart Im fully out of the closet(not that IWas ever in) and feel FABulous!!!!(that was an over the top Nathan Lane from birdcage voice in case you couldn't tell)lol

I heard about the shaking you guys had.Isnt Cali supposed to fall into the ocean anyday now?Thats the rumor.And what do your cats do when that happens Hedo ? do they freak or what?

According to tool and Maynard, hedonist can vow for me, supposedly back in 95 when aenima came out. Hahaha

hedonist

See you down in Arizona Bay, baby!

Yeah, the cats HATE it (they always sense it first) - freaked out and hidden behind our bed. I feel so bad for them, because explaining to them, as my husband said, "It's just a little fun ride!" does no good whatsoever.

I've also read through about half of the link benjs posted (and it's a great read thus far! Just not one I want to skim through). This resonates:

[In the past, people] didn’t know anything about their employer. My father or my brother didn’t know if their employer had a villa on the sea. Whereas with Google Maps, I can see where your house is. That’s where the world is becoming new. Mankind is becoming more ethical, but it is not happening because man has decided to become better than he was 100 years ago. It’s because we know we live in a glass house where everybody can see.

backseatLover12

BB, we all know that behind every joke is some truth…

rr165892

backseatLover12 said:

BB, we all know that behind every joke is some truth…

I think your starting to get it BSL. There's still hope.I knew you had it in Ya.

rr165892

Arizona bay sounds like a retirement community in Scottsdale.

hedonist

It could be! I want to retire in this here city though - or somewhere small, peaceful, can leave your doors unlocked without fear...like Lichtenstein

rr165892

hedonist said:

It could be! I want to retire in this here city though - or somewhere small, peaceful, can leave your doors unlocked without fear...like Lichtenstein

Is that possible in LA?????

oftenreading

I liked a lot of things about this article, and I'm glad you posted it because I would never have seen it otherwise. I do, however, struggle with the whole idea of such fantastically expensive luxury goods (and these items aren't even close to the worst of them). I understand what he means about paying the workers a fair wage and I'm all for that, but to me the whole idea of someone paying more for one jacket than most of the world's population makes in a whole year is repellant. Who really needs a $500 sweater? Is it fundamentally better than a $100 sweater, or just another way to show off?

Sorry to bring negativity to the otherwise great discussion on this thread

benjs

oftenreading said:

I liked a lot of things about this article, and I'm glad you posted it because I would never have seen it otherwise. I do, however, struggle with the whole idea of such fantastically expensive luxury goods (and these items aren't even close to the worst of them). I understand what he means about paying the workers a fair wage and I'm all for that, but to me the whole idea of someone paying more for one jacket than most of the world's population makes in a whole year is repellant. Who really needs a $500 sweater? Is it fundamentally better than a $100 sweater, or just another way to show off?

Sorry to bring negativity to the otherwise great discussion on this thread

As someone who probably hasn't spent $50 on a sweater at one time, let alone $500, I think that's fair. That being said, I recognize that the rich have the right to buy luxury goods, and if the rich didn't want to buy luxury goods - companies like this simply wouldn't exist, so the demand is there. I can't blame a businessman for opting to occupy a niche - if I were to point fingers, it would be in the hands of the buyers of lavish goods themselves: they enable these industries to live on. That being said, it's a free market, and it'd be hard to argue to a buyer of a $500 sweater that he or she should not live so lavishly because... because what?

rr165892

Let us not forget they amount of good paying jobs,from manufacturing,to modeling,to advertising,shipping,to retail that is created by these products.
We can't cherry pick what and who these items are for.More power to the buisness owner.Its a free market baby,go get you some.And even though they worker bees aren't purchasing these products they are able to purchase other things due to the employment provided while making this stuff.Circle of life.
I find it win win situation.Oh and the Govt gets a little off the top both coming and going.So I guess everyone except the consumer who can only window shop is happy.

oftenreading

Those are valid points, and I'm certainly not suggesting that people should be prohibited from buying luxury goods, or that such businesses should be proscribed. I just see it as a real waste of what that money could be doing instead, and a sad comment on the values of the people buying that stuff.

And rr, been watching a little too much Lion King lately?

rr165892

Hakuna Matata !!!
I'm conflicted.So Mustafa is also Darth Vader(boom) mind blown!

benjs

oftenreading said:

Those are valid points, and I'm certainly not suggesting that people should be prohibited from buying luxury goods, or that such businesses should be proscribed. I just see it as a real waste of what that money could be doing instead, and a sad comment on the values of the people buying that stuff.

And rr, been watching a little too much Lion King lately?

Is it a waste? I think the answer to that will remain entirely subjective, as we all place different value on different things. Not to mention that value is typically measured by opportunity cost: when you have little money, you can choose to eat meals for 4 weeks, or buy the $500 cashmere sweater. When you have more money, you can do both. When your paycheque is in the millions of dollars, the cashmere sweater has essentially no opportunity cost, unless we placed charitable ventures on the same level of importance as the sweater. The reality is, few are selfless enough to do this, and people also have predetermined amounts of what a reasonable percentage of wealth one should give to good causes. So, if you're making millions of dollars per year, you opt to donate 50% of your income to charitable ventures, and you're left with a fraction of millions (say, a million), and a cashmere sweater still has nearly no opportunity cost to your life - I think you've earned the right to buy luxury goods if they make you feel good.

oftenreading

rr165892 said:

Hakuna Matata !!!
I'm conflicted.So Mustafa is also Darth Vader(boom) mind blown!

Archetypes - they'll always get you in the end.

rr165892

oftenreading said:

rr165892 said:

Hakuna Matata !!!
I'm conflicted.So Mustafa is also Darth Vader(boom) mind blown!

Archetypes - they'll always get you in the end.

Lol

rr165892

Ben,I think perceived value has to be factored in.
Example-I personally will splurge on better seats or vip,etc at a show or concert.That is what I enjoy so I put a higher value on it.You may feel Im wasting my money or that activity has no value to you and you view it as a waste.It really is to personal to chery pick.
And I don't think there is guilt as long an individual can or is benevolent in other ways or in other forms.(Time,volunteering,fund raising etc)

benjs

rr165892 said:

Ben,I think perceived value has to be factored in.
Example-I personally will splurge on better seats or vip,etc at a show or concert.That is what I enjoy so I put a higher value on it.You may feel Im wasting my money or that activity has no value to you and you view it as a waste.It really is to personal to chery pick.
And I don't think there is guilt as long an individual can or is benevolent in other ways or in other forms.(Time,volunteering,fund raising etc)

We're on the same page here

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

callen

rr165892 said:

Ben,I think perceived value has to be factored in.
Example-I personally will splurge on better seats or vip,etc at a show or concert.That is what I enjoy so I put a higher value on it.You may feel Im wasting my money or that activity has no value to you and you view it as a waste.It really is to personal to chery pick.
And I don't think there is guilt as long an individual can or is benevolent in other ways or in other forms.(Time,volunteering,fund raising etc)

Ed " people in the front look at the people in the rear, people in the front look at the people in the rear".

Like you, have splurged on premium tickets. Obviously as we were feet from each other at such an event. Have though looked at those less fortunate and realized how lucky I was.

As to charitable causes and volunteering, drive is from ones personal gains rather than the perceived beneficiary. Not a bad thing and people are helped but giving is a selfish act.