Copywriting for Crisis

8.3.1The Way - Short Story

Shifu - Buddhist Monk
Valor - Lost Wanderer

You look up, the sun shines incessantly, your vision blurs, your face burns, your skin stings, your body feels dehydrated, your knees and spine bend, your hands rest on your leg and you begin to catch your breath.

Suddenly, you realize that you are following a path that no longer makes sense with the way you think today, who you are, your dreams, and your desires. There aren't enough flowers, plants, and trees decorating the sides of the road to make you feel good, the obstacles don't make any sense, your body feels exhausted, the ground hurts your feet, and the people who were supposed to be with you moved on without you because it didn't make sense for them to help or wait for you.

So you wonder. “Where exactly is this path leading me? When did I start following it? What is at the end anyway? Wasn't this supposed to be an adventure?”

Coming up behind you, a wise and old Shifu appears, walking with all the tranquility in the world, holding a staff in one hand, a scroll between his arm, carrying a full waterskin, and wearing a refreshing flannel outfit and a yellow cape that can be seen from far away, covering only one of his arms and shoulders,

1. SShifu

   — Greetings, my child, would you like some water?

2. VValor

   — Please, sir. You just saved my life. Thank you very much.

3. SShifu

   — What is your birth name?

4. VValor

   — Valor, it is. How about yours?

5. SShifu

   — People call me Shifu but my mother used to call me Little Buddha.

6. VValor

   — I'm glad we've crossed paths, Shifu.

7. SShifu

   — You look exhausted, hang in there. I'm sure you're getting close to your destination.

8. VValor

   — I don't know about that, I think I have been lost for a while.

9. SShifu

   — After all this progress and effort? What makes you want to give up?

10. VValor

    — This path doesn't make sense to me anymore, I feel sick, weak, and alone. I don't even remember what or who is waiting for me at the end. This adventure was a lost cause ever since the beginning.

11. SShifu

    — Interesting, but is it about giving up or starting over?

12. VValor

    — I just need a map, I need to understand where I am. Can you help me?

13. SShifu

    — What a beautiful coincidence, I have one right here. But is that really what you need, my child?

14. VValor

    — The problem is that I don't see any signs around, and without a map, I might get lost again.

15. SShifu

    — Listen to the wise heart of these old words, my son. Said the Shifu as he kneeled down to meet the height of Valor, who was resting on the ground. — I understand that you don't want to take a risk with this decision, but maybe that's what it's about. Is it really a map you are waiting for, or do you lack the courage to explore the unknown, Valor?

Valor started looking at the ground, feeling like he had lost all words of his vocabulary while the Shifu continued.

1. SShifu

   — It's only after the risk has been taken that the new path will begin to make sense to you, the universe can’t help you if you don’t tell it what you want. If you are so stuck on an old path, you will never be able to start a new journey, the art of detachment is subtle and light, but it can only be cultivated in the bravery that dwells in the strongest of hearts.

2. VValor

   — I don't know about that sir, it would be irresponsible to start trailing a new path without a map.

3. SShifu

   — Understand, my child, that there is a path set in stone for each of us. I ask you one last question: Do you really need this map if you can deeply understand in your thoughts that the guidance of your heart awaits you? It's all about trusting yourself, and in this brief conversation, my young one, I feel that you are destined for greatness.

4. VValor

   — I think I understand now, sir. Thank you for this conversation, it's exactly what I needed.

5. SShifu

   — Take the water, you'll need it. Amituofo.

8.4.1Vision / 1 Dream

The destination. The future your company is building.

How does a future with your company look and feels? If you close your eyes and imagine 20 years from now, what do you see? How many floors do your headquarters have? How many branches? How many brands? How many products and services? How many collaborators? What innovation did it bring to the world? What is the most unique thing about it? How does it help fight climate change? How it gives back to society?

• Is it a better future for consumers, collaborators, the planet, just the company, or just for you?

8.4.2Mission / 1 Journey

The assignment. The daily commitment in every action outside or inside your company.

The word "mission" comes from the Latin word "missio" which means "to send". When everyone, including you, wakes up in the morning for the daily commute, what is the true reason for doing that? A mission is an important assignment, it can either be an inspiring adventure or a long-lasting punishment. It is the guiding principle of your organization and represents what should be done.

• How broad, scalable, bold, and tangible is it? There is always a sweet spot.

8.4.3Valor / 6 Core Values

The guidance. The foundations that need to be constantly reinforced, the Vision's fuel, and the true arguments behind the Mission

The word valor derives from the Old French word "valour," which means "worth, value, or strength.”, your core values are the pillars that sustain the weight of your endeavors. They are the guidelines and requirements that assure your boat doesn’t stir away from the right direction.

• Do they, in any way, give back the immense amount of human time, mental health, and natural resources the company spends to grow? Is there diversity and social inclusion?

8.4.4Ethos / 10 AI Ethical Principles

The beliefs. The rules that your company implies and applies to the world and itself.

In Greek, "ēthos" refers to the moral nature or guiding beliefs of a person, group, or institution. If you will build a future that doesn’t yet exist and your company will be an important part of it, then you need to start asking what could go wrong if your dreams come true. In addition to the positive side, what are the negative impacts of your ideas, and how to mitigate them? The advent of AI technology will empower absolutely all the companies that know how to properly use it, but it should be used with responsibility.

• If your company will innovate in such a disruptive way, then what rules it will end up breaking in order to do that? What rules will replace the old ones?
• Research on AI Ethics: https://www.deepmind.com/publications/ethical-and-social-risks-of-harm-from-language-models

8.5.1In the Lenses of Thi

1 / 5

There’s a huge misconception nowadays in regard to what meditation is. It is mostly related to an immediate spiritual exercise and some apps teach us that meditating is about dodging our thoughts to find absolute silence and balance.

That is not what meditating is.

The word "meditate" comes from the Latin verb "meditari," which means "to think, contemplate, devise, or ponder."

To meditate is to think. Have a conversation with your thoughts and go through every single pending thing until you find yourself contemplative and free of worry. Like clearing a huge inbox of unread emails until you know a little bit more about yourself. Until you know a little more about the world.

If you think hard enough, there is a triad of questions that might show up at a given moment, these are the questions that every human being have tried to answer at some point in their lives. “Who am I?”, “What is life?” and “What happens after life?”.

If you skip these questions for long enough, you will find yourself in the short story told at the beginning of this edition.

If you ask them every now and then, you won’t get an answer, but at least you meditated on it and found a new hypothesis.

8.5.2Chords 🎶