My friend, CEO and newly minted
PRovoke Media
Sabre Innovator of the Year
Olga Fleming
has a great saying: “go off the beaten path but always carry a GPS.” It’s great advice for any PR professional.
Our business is about the observation of our surroundings and people. And, if we don’t exercise that muscle, we become dull, predictable and obsolete in our personal and professional lives. As you think of ways to explore new areas, here are three things any PR professional can do starting today.
- Put your head on a swivel. Simply put, become more observant and try to discover something new in your normal daily routine. I’ve walked through Times Square to work hundreds of times over the past two decades, and this week I discovered a sign I’ve never seen before.? If you’re in the NYC area, see if you can find it also. It’s the picture on this post.
- Savor something. I think our COVID isolationism coupled with our digitally driven society may have effectively destroyed our ability to truly savor things. Let’s bring back that feeling. Take more minutes to get lost in a view, a smell, a new meal, an experience or just something you used to love to do. You can only truly savor something if you’re fully embracing the moment. It allows us to think and imagine – but more importantly – break free of the artificial intelligence running our lives so we can start to claw back truly human experiences.
- Get a little bit lost. Just because you’re carrying a GPS, doesn’t mean you have to use it.? Try taking a different path on your daily routine, explore a park you haven’t been to before, take a run through a different part of town or explore a new playground with your kid. It’s ok to create a self-imposed adventure. It challenges your mind and lets you experience something new. And if you get a bit lost, maybe you’ll have to ask someone for directions and create a new human connection. ??
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