#Wheresthelove is quickly becoming a viral video hit at a time when the message couldn’t be more relevant.
In each of the last two days since it dropped, it’s gotten about 1 million views per day on YouTube.
Basically, a friend of mine sent me a link to watch the new Where’s the Love video by The Black Eyed Peas. In case you have not seen it, here it is:
For me, this reaches into breaking down the walls that divide and raising the values that unite.
Will.i.am — This One’s for You
In light of what’s going on in the world, I decided to write something about the state of things today.
From the current rise in riots and shootings and political discord and international disintegration, it’s enough to make one lose hope.
For the last couple of weeks I couldn’t put my finger on it.
Then it hit me: correct solutions unite; wrong solutions divide.
Wrong solutions start from a premise that one has been wronged and others need to make up for it.
The problem with this premise is it gives “those who have wronged us” all the power to “make it all OK by what they decide to do.” (And we’ve all been wronged one way or another: from partners who have been unfaithful, to kids who have done something “unthinkable,” to the driver who cut us off without signaling, to some client or customer who decided it was fairer not to pay us after all the work was done.)
ANY solution that has as its premise that another’s decision and action is the only thing that will make it all OK is a problem.
Why?
It keeps us divided.
It keeps us at war.
It keeps us at each others’ throats.
I realized early on in business that we can always do so much more together than we can apart. Then I started to see this happened in all areas of living.
Life is interconnected.
If one portion of a ship is damaged, this leaves the whole ship at risk, not just the part that hasn’t been maintained.
Apart, we survive less or not at all.
Together, we survive.
Sometimes it’s easier than others.
But, “surviving together” does open the door to being a united, coordinated front.
Instead of a sinking ship.
Those whose solutions keep us at war with one another are the enemy, no matter how they package that solution.
If the outcome is more fighting, it’s not a solution, but more of the problem.
If the outcome is more division, it’s not a solution, but more of the problem.
If the outcome keeps us in turmoil, think of what’s being forsaken: the desire to help, art, beauty, kindness, a soft embrace instead of a random slap.
I judge solutions by their outcome, no matter how poetically the message might be packaged.
Together, let’s survive and thrive.
Some May Ask: What’s This Got to do with Branding?
In a nutshell: everything.
Why? Because if your brand isn’t aiding people’s lives, it’s serving nobody, no matter what amount of revenue it’s generating.
Like anything in life, a brand should exist to help us, empower us and enhance our ability to survive and do well with each other. Just like the message in this video.
If you agree, help me spread the word.