Summarising his most recent report, Branding Expert & Consultant at Lindstrom Company, Martin Lindstrom, says:
“Psychologists argue that the most stressful situations we encounter in life are divorce, the death of someone we love, and moving from one home to another. Well, now they can add a fourth experience to the statistics: the coronavirus.
Today’s experts agree. The pandemic will have a profound, long-lasting impact on us. Here’s my take on what is likely to happen. Sadly, it’s far from good news.
We’ll all get fat We’ve never gained as much weight as we have in the last few weeks, and nothing indicates this will change. The industry term for this is “Mindless Munching.” We’re eating on autopilot. Experiments show that when rats are under severe stress, they eat more.
Divorces skyrocket Domestic violence has increased threefold in certain U.S. states since self-isolation kicked in. Close proximity to our family members, the lack of routine, and the temporary closure of churches are major factors. The conclusion is simple but scary: expect the divorce rate to skyrocket after the coronavirus.
What’s my purpose in life? With all that, we’ll wake up to another reality, another view on life. Many people have realized what loneliness means. Many are already heading full-on towards depression. We have plenty of time – some may say, too much time – to evaluate ourselves, our lives, and our future. There’s only so much Netflix one can watch. And with that, we’ll re-examine our role in society.”
What impact will these predictions have on you, your family, your life and your business? Something to think about.
G’day Winston,
Since 1995 I have soaked up as much Business Marketing stuff from you as I possibly can. With what I learned my specialist design and build business took off – went gangbusters. In 2006 I sold it but the way the sale was structured caused it to crash – I chose the wrong people to sell it to and used the wrong lawyers. I slumped into severe depression. At the same time, I was dabbling in self-storage (just 16 lockups) which turned out to be the cloud with the silver lining. Even though my headspace was shot from the lose of the design and build business the self-storage gave me a very basic income without too much effort. I know you always say, ‘test and measure’ and, ‘if something is working just keep doing it’. By 2015 I was spending more time on those magnificent beaches again. By January 2020 (when COVID-19 hit) I loved my business because it gave me a good income working just 35 hours a week and 3 months holiday on overseas trips every year. Even now after 5 weeks of alert level 4 lock down (which is a lot tougher than you have in Australia) it’s just business as usual for us. I almost have to cover the smile on my face. I recall another saying from one of your mates, ‘those who don’t know how to market their business have skinny kids’. It’s so true. In the meantime, I’ll keep learning. To that end there are 2 areas I could really improve on: 1) public speaking, and 2) my database. But I’ll get there with both.
Thanks for being a great mentor Winston.
Geez Julian, what you have said in that wonderful message is fantastic and much appreciated although I think you have overlooked the important ingredient in the ups and downs of your achievements and that is… you! You did what so many people fail to do… act on what they learn. Y’know I have often said “that to know and not to do is not to know.” And you did it! You applied all those very simple ideas and made them work. And its great to be able to smile your way through the Covid-19 virus epidemic coz so many people are miserable but, then again my, old high school motto is very appropriate. “Every man is the architect of his own fortune.” You are a shining example! And one of my 4 keys to assessing whether I have had a good day is “Have I learnt something today?” coz so many people stop learning when they finish school, or university. Shame! In this digital world, learning has never been easier.
To help you keep on learning with your first challenge I’ll send you some notes on public speaking… its easier than you think if you have a system.
Thank you once again for your marvellous words. You’d need several bricks to wipe the smile off my face!