6:44am. Another work from home day. A 5:30am rise time has allowed me to pray, get in my morning core workout, and have some time to post this blog. As mentioned in yesterday’s post (and previously on Bluesky), I’ve decided to return to blogging. I enjoy it but don’t feel I have to be consistent in doing it (as seen from my past history). I tried and succeeding in doing a 30 day blog challenge a year ago, as well as as a 30 day podcast challenge. They were both fun, BUT, it didn’t result in my forming a habit to keep doing both. I’ve been blogging just as long as I’ve been podcasting – 15 years, but podcasting takes far more prep work. Blogging, I enjoy the best, when I just sit down and do it when I topic comes to mind. If I have to think about it for more than 60 secs, I lose interest. Weird, maybe, but it just seems like a natural decision point because I don’t feel like it’s “work”.
On to the topic at hand. Companies strive to their very best to draw and retain customers – that is obviously their life blood. The same goes for any entity, in principle, that strives to retain the largest interest base possible. Nike is one of two companies that have been able to do that with me (the other I will blog about, or plan to, at some point).
It’s not Nike’s products that have retained me as a customer, but the advertising through the stories they tell. For me it all started with the Nike+, Nike Fuel Band ecosystem. I am the first to say that discipline trumps motivation, hands down. Consistency develops discipline and out of discipline, habits are built (good or bad). There is something strangely and strongly motivational about the stories Nike tells. So influential that I watch these YouTube stories every time I do my home workouts. Motivational and inspirational, even DURING the workout, is what always happens. I recently discovered their YouTube series “What Are You Working On?”, and I love it. The series title itself extends itself beyond physical fitness, so it makes me answer that question on many levels and, in a way, facilitates focus. Foundationally, I think they’ve just mastered the art of storytelling regarding their company. While many love listening to music, I love watching Nike videos like this – they draw me into what I’m doing as I work out and causes me to think about the incremental progress of doing so.
Speaking of “what are you working on”, time to shift gears to that which brings home the bacon. Have a great day.
Fresh.
