By Rayomand J Patell
One of the things that doesn’t cost money in any agency is the art of being relentlessly optimistic.
At the end of ‘Desiderata’ is this line, ‘Strive to be happy.’ I can’t think of a better exhortation for anyone in advertising today.
While most of society tends to think of Pollyanna as a somewhat derisive slur, I for one think we should all – as leaders – as mid levels – as juniors err towards the Pollyanna side of life in agencies.
Whether Suit, Planner or Creative, hell even the chai boy, we need Optimism Max Pro Ultra.
Because the Lord knows, there are enough Cassandras and Doubting Thomas’ all around us.
Somewhere along the way agencies have accepted that fear and insecurity are the base emotions to operate from. To lead from weakness rather than to lead from strength.
So I feel it’s incumbent on all of us to weaponise Optimism. I don’t mean the faking it sorts. I mean not allowing ourselves to lapse into easy lazy sloppy negative traits or speech patterns.
And not for a moment do I mean being unaware of the negatives.
But to understand, that this business runs on enthusiasm, optimism and happiness. That those things are very tiny sparks, that need to be fanned and shielded. The cold waterfall pouring constantly on anyone remotely trying to change things, will get them to switch off. And join another agency where everyone is more open, more can do, more fuck yeah let’s do it.
Instead of saying what the negative can be, (which even the person who’s got the idea in the first place knows), a much more productive way of dealing with things is to say that’s a great idea, this is a possible stumbling block BUT we could overcome it by abc or pqr. Force yourself to think of the solution not just repeat the problem ad nauseam.
Do it often enough and then you’ll have made lifelong friends in this business who will land up at Breach Candy Hospital to donate blood for your dad’s bypass because you made them feel to quote Adidas, that ‘impossible, is nothing’.
If someone says something cool, allow yourself to speak only if you have a way of moving mountains out of that idea’s path, of being Godly when it comes to solving a particular client problem for the idea and so on.
Don’t fall into your lower default state of being – of being negative and cynical.
In Zoroastrianism, we believe that words create reality, so our baseline is about Good Thoughts, Good Words and Good Deeds.
You don’t have to be a Parsi to look at what you’re saying all day and if ‘no’ or ‘that’ll never happen’ or various other negative phrases emerge, don’t be very surprised if your reality is exactly that.
All change for the better starts within us, if you’ve read the book Pollyanna, she was, “a gifted individual with the ability to direct her extreme optimism and good-naturedness (for the good) towards the manipulating of the negative, worldly, cynical or disillusioned emotions of the adults that inhabited her life.”
If that isn’t the absolute perfect description of modern day agency life, I don’t know what is. Some cringe in bed during the rain and some dance in the storm.
Remember, the optimist produces the plane, the pessimist produces the parachute, but even the pessimist who came up with the idea for a parachute was probably taken to the nearest bar by the plane team to celebrate.
So, skip through the minefields gaily, knowing where they are and yet being a blithe spirit. Be like Pollyanna. You’ll have a far better week at work. I guarantee it.
Rayomand J Patell is an advertising veteran and InspiRAYtion is a weekend column on everything about advertising and marketing.
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