Need Inspiration? Ask Bob Dylan

They connect us with people; and it is the people and human voice I am always trying to understand as a writer and as a marketer.

So I have a challenge for you…

Turn on your streaming audio service or your old record player or dust off that mixed tape (yes, they are making a comeback) and play Bob Dylan, or Leonard Cohen, or Joni Mitchell, or David Bowie, or Joan Baez, or Sly Stone, or Bjork, or Billy Joel.

Let one song sink in. Listen to what’s between the lyrics, the lines of poetry, the notes.

As Marketers we are called to listen to the voices of the people and what is said or left unsaid. Listening helps us become better marketers. Caring helps us become better connected with the world.

Because we can and because we care…

Being close to the human spirit means seeing beyond the obvious and hearing the silence between the notes. Muse with me as I explore the possibilities in pauses and blank canvases in all forms of art.

Space allows beauty to resonate, reverberate, and reach its full measure of expression. Without this space, noise and cacophony would result.

So if you need some inspiration, turn to the artists, read some poetry or throw on a Dylan album. Turn off and tune in to the beautiful words (and worlds) that our great singer-songwriters, past and present are expressing. You may just develop a better understanding of a problem to be solved or an appreciation of what your customers hold near and dear to their hearts.

Cue: “Blowin’ in the Wind” “The Times They Are A-Changin’” or “Like a Rolling Stone.”