The Power of Positive Part II
by John R. Sedivy
Background
In Part I of this article I had introduced the power of positive concept. I had discussed the difficulties of taking negative thoughts, statements, actions, or situations and reframing them into something positive. In Part II I will discuss a practical example of this and the lobster concept.
A Practical Example
My business partner Amy and I have discussed the power of positive concept at length and have even implemented it in our way of doing business. We have personally pledged that individually as John or Amy, or collectively as Cape Cod Branding, as an individual or company brand we will strive to never release a negative statement about a person, company, brand, or idea. This is tough, but achievable, and is admittedly one of the benefits of having a partner to keep me in check 
As I had mentioned in a previous post, I have found that “like attracts like” and that positive thoughts, statements, actions, and an overall positive image attracts positive clients and vendors who fit naturally.
Lobsters
Another concept we find ourselves discussing at length is that of lobsters. Lobsters tend to behave in a manner that when isolated tend to be non-aggressive, however when grouped together will fight until one is dominate and the others submissive. Practically one may witness this at a restaurant lobster tank where lobsters will attempt to crawl over one another to pull each other down in hopes of escape. My experience is that human behavior is much the same, and this concept is being backed up by a recent Harvard Medical School study researching the similarities between lobster and human behavior.
To Be Continued…
So what does positive concepts and lobsters have to do with my business and branding? In Part III I will discuss how a brand can distinguish itself from a world of lobsters through the power of positive.
Like attracts like, convey a consistent, positive image and you will attract the same!
The Power of Positive Part I
by John R. Sedivy
Background
Recently I had stumbled upon articles written about Calvin Coolidge and his non-confrontational campaign style. During the 1924 Presidential election Coolidge never once maligned his opponents, or even mentioned them by name, but continued on to win the election nonetheless. Given the recent elections this truly appeared to me as an amazing concept and demonstration of character, which prompted me to think of its application to business, specifically branding. I will discuss this concept in a three part series titled The Power of Positive.
The Power of Positive
There has been much written on the power of positive thinking and the affects it may have on one’s life. It may appear obvious to most that positive people attract other positive people and that positive people attain positive results, however try enacting this in real life – it is easier said than done. Each time you have a negative thought, attempt to reframe the situation into a positive thought and translate this to a positive statement or action. You will soon realize how difficult this exercise is – especially if you are yourself the direct target of a negative statement or action from another. But with repeated practice you will soon find this exercise becomes natural and very much worthwhile.
My business partner Amy has been on board with this concept for most of her life, but I required a bit of selling. Not that I consider myself overly negative, but historically one of my most valuable traits is the ability to find the negative or problem point in a given situation or business and recommend a corrective action. Furthermore, this skill had been honed for years in my previous life as an engineer and assisted in my climbing the corporate ladder. Finally, factor in the idea that I am human, and therefore flawed to a certain extent, and needless to say I required some training.
To Be Continued…
In Part II I will discuss a practical example of the power of positive approach and what it means for your brand.
As an individual or business, try taking a negative thought or situation and transforming it into a positive statement or action and witness the results!
Why we started our business, Cape Cod Branding
by Amy Stevens Adams
Foreword: As John mentioned in his inauguratory blog, I will be writing about the human elements of our business, specifically us and our clients. My first post spotlights Cape Cod Branding. In subsequent posts I will highlight future clients.
As with many important decisions in life, Cape Cod Branding was formed after a string of events that all seemed to point in one direction…
Let me pause here and first tell you my philosophy in life. We all have multiple ‘paths’, and just like Robert Frost said, sometimes you need to choose the one least traveled. What’s right for 99% of people may not be right for YOU. Of those many paths in front of you, most are blocked. It’s up to you to choose if you’re going to push through a roadblock and go down a difficult path that isn’t right for you just because society/family/friends say you should, or if you’ll follow the path of least resistance (least resistance doesn’t mean ‘easy’, and it is usually the path least traveled). So here’s my belief…. watch for the signs, follow the obvious path that is right in front of you. It may be hard to see at first because you’re not expecting it, but it’s there, and it’s wide open.
CCB was like that for both John and me. It was a 100 little signs and ‘nudges’ pushing us down this path, and in all reality (even though it’s hard work), it’s an easy path to follow. While we both had other businesses under our belts, Cape Cod Branding came to us like a huge “Ahh-ha” and the clarity was immense.
For us, we love forming businesses. We love creating something new and giving it life, watching it grow. With each of our previous companies, our favorite part was the ‘starting’. Taking an idea and making it real. For me, it’s all the little details, like design, color, font, image, ‘vibe’, etc. John loves the concept, and determining the ‘brand’ of a new business. We love the fast-paced creative brainstorming that fuels decisions about identity, value, target market, image and perception. (Perception is perhaps the most important, and often most overlooked attribute of any company. Just because you view yourself one way, and want the world to as well, doesn’t make it so.) Everything clicked into place, and we decided that if our favorite part of any business is creating it, then why not create businesses? So now we work with small specialty boutiques to create their identity, and bring their businesses alive. We each do what we love, and as a team we make a pretty cool company.
So this is our path, in front of us and wide open, and we’re following it. Most opportunities in life are temporary, and if you wait for the ‘right time’ they’ll be gone. Don’t be concerned about the risk of loss, be concerned about the risk of missed gains.
It’s a certainty that over time our business will continue to evolve, as our mutual need for change forces us to grow. Our paths may be different in a year, or 5 years, but all that matters is doing what’s right in the present….
Find your passion, whatever it is, and pursue it.
