Remember the last time you walked into a forest during spring? It is like walking through a market. Full of colour, smells, shapes and noise. The sounds of buyers and sellers wheeling and dealing. Lots of currency being traded. Value being exchanged. But not one single dollar. You see the currency of the forest is measured in units of lifeforce rather than money.

As a marketer, have you spent many a late night coming up with a new marketing concept? Or perhaps you are a business owner who seeks to balance ethical business practices with making sustainable profits. You shake your head as you read the recommendations of your marketing manager. Quick-fix solutions. No long term thinking. Everything is now, now, now.

Look at your hands? There is wisdom, hard knocks, scars and life's experiences carved into the lines. Your hands have made you rich. Or poor. They have wiped your tears. They have gripped your fears. They have soothed away pain. Maybe held a friend's hand as they died. Who knows except you. Your hands tell your life story. Whether you are painter, a musician, a soldier, a surgeon, a gardener, a midwife or a parent.

In todays' world, new markets are opening up all the time. With six billion plus people scattered across the globe, cross cultural marketing is vital to business success. No longer can dominant marketing practices apply globally. What works in the USA may not work here in New Zealand. And vice versa. What works in Europe might not work in Asia. It comes back to our parent culture.

Ok, so you have not made your first million within
90 days as you thought. Your idea crashed and you
feel gutted. Worst, your partner says I told you so. You
and your get rich ideas. Well, I salute you because
you tried and failed. Guess what? The more you fail, the
faster you will succeed. So keep falling forward. Get up and keep moving.