Time-Place started a blog today
I’ve always been ambivalent about Throwback Thursdays and nostalgic social media. I just feel like, if you’re relevant, there should be no space to talk about the past. You should be innovating today, instead of resting on your history. But I’m also stuck in the bubble of thinking anyone who knows about us now knew about us then. For anyone recently stumbling across this project, welcome. When I think about when the anniversary of this project several dates come to mind. Was it 2007 when I purchased my first pair of ray bans? Was it the first time I listened to Jay-Z on the blue print? Was it the first time I questioned why and what made mainstream conglomerate brands so out of touch with the qualities and beliefs that made the start up last the first few years. Was it the day I dropped out of high school and made a promise to myself figure it out on my own? Or the day I admitted myself to rehab for substance abuse? The day I left? The day I took my only $300 to a custom tee shirt kiosk in the nearest stereotypical American mall? Or the day of my first pop up? I’m not sure. Sure legally there was an incorporation date. I’m thinking every year I’ll celebrate the anniversary of time-place on a different date until somebody notices and then ask them the question and let them decide. It doesn’t matter when it started, only that it did. This project has both saved me and cost me everything I once knew. Maybe that’s what real passion is, it’s feeling so strongly about an idea your willing to forfeit yourself and allow it to consume you. Jimi Hendrix didn’t write all along the watch tower by casually practicing guitar. If I told myself 3 years ago I would soon give up all the vices I once obsessed over for the sake replacing the instant gratification of chemically induced highs and the pursuit of validation from the opposite gender and instead build something that may never finish construction, I’d call you full of shit because drugs are tasty and women are intoxicating. Here it goes. In the world of the internet and social media it seems everyone is taking a crack at starting a business, curating a lifestyle brand, it’s the era of the entrepreneur. It’s the easiest and most difficult time in history. Yes, the walls of communication with the world around us have vanished, but so has the flood gates. Every douchebag with an idea and I hint of drive is giving things a go. Some may last a few months, before the reality of just how daunting they’re ambitions are. What differentiates those who will prevail verse those who will succumb to the statistics? Is it in you or on you. Which excuse are you gonna use to rationalize your inevitable meeting with reality. A new T-shirt brand is birthed every 4 seconds. Why? It’s a great first business for many who will get the chance to learn about production, advertising, sales, with a low entry fee. But what qualities make up the brands that stand the test of time? What is it about these brands that are able to not only consistently convert new customers but turn them into life long supporters? I read a book today. The first book in more years than I should proudly admit. I enjoyed it. I got lost in it as the story reflected one I wouldn’t mind writing myself. The story of an under qualified, under funded, prick who stood for what he believed in and had the courage to see it through giving it all he had. I write this to say this. DIY and DIFY (do it for yourself).