Woman, Do You Think You're Ugly?

A good friend of mine sent me the following link a few days ago...

Take a look.

It's from Dove's Beauty Campaign

After I watched it, I thought to myself: "I don't have this problem with my looks. I think I'm okay. I could do with losing a couple of pounds, but generally, I'm okay". Is that arrogant? :) While I know I'd never make a Victoria's Secret model line-up, I would like to believe I would be "objective" about my bodily features in a situation like this and wouldn't negatively over-exaggerate them - and I thought most women would feel the same.

But then something that surprised me happened. I saw friends and online acquaintances appraise and applaud the video and campaign, stating that it made them think about their own negative self-image issues - and today it makes me ask the question:

Why do so many women feel ugly?
 
Is it that oftentimes women are conditioned to act as if they feel they are not beautiful - even if they secretly believe they are - to avoid being viewed as conceited?

Or do some women genuinely look in the mirror and believe they are not beautiful?

Do we unfairly compare ourselves to electronically modified models online?

Do we have unrealistic ideals of beauty? And who the heck set those ideals? Women? Men? Aliens from Outer Space?

Who decides the rules of beauty - and do you subconsciously follow them?

I know that the negative self-image doesn't apply to every woman (we all have brains to think on an individual basis, Dove!) - so I also don't believe the ludicrous claim that only 4% of women believe they are beautiful.

I find this campaign patronising and dangerous: I feel it perpetuates the idea that most women have negative self-images of ourselves (I can't conclude that we do, because we're not all the same!) and Dove is the one to save us from ourselves. Nah mate, the beauty industry is probably one of the causes of it - if anything! How is the phrase "Women are their own worst beauty critics" empowering? No! No! No!

However, one facet of negative self-image that I can relate to is that of inner beauty / personality. In a world of extroversion and self-promotion it can be a little scary if you're not good at being (or acting like) that. One thing we could all do with is reminding ourselves of our gifts and talents - the things we take for granted - love ourselves because we exist.

'Tis a good thing to be confident - and believe in yourself. On the inside and outside!


Women, we are amazing. Let that just be that.

And of course, men you are too, don't like this silly old ad below make you believe you're not. But I don't think y'all ever would. OK, maybe 4% of you might...

What are your thoughts on the Dove Beauty Campaign? And its parodies?

Is the campaign a force for good? Or not so much?

Let me know your thoughts below!

New books! (For Self-Development)

I had the pleasure of reviewing two books over the spring break period: The Yes No Book: How to Do Less and Achieve More by Mike Clayton and What Managers Don't Know & Workers Can't Tell Them by Darren Smithson.

Both seem to emphasise the idea of priorisation...

The Yes No Book is for those who seem to have little time because they happen to yes to a lot. How many of us are guilty of that? The book aims to make you think about what is truly important to you, and what you need to add - and subtract from your decision-making processes to make that happen.

The book is written in a very simple fashion with "gophers, beavers and dormice" popping up throughout the book to illustrate points, it gives you exercises to do, throughout the chapters of the book.

The book will require an investment of time, but it's your life... and you want to make good changes, don't you? Is that a "Yes"...? 

The Yes No Book 7/10

What Managers Don't Know is not just a business book, it has an entrepreneurial outlook, which looks at areas of concern in managing and leading resources - to grow not just a profitable enterprise, but an enjoyable one.

Darren encourages activities such as time and personality audits. It suggests way of you making your environment better - emphasising that half your waking hours are spent working!

The book is filled with advice and anecdotes, in a bright and breezy style and is most useful for entrepreneurial managers, business owners and self-managing employees looking to make the most of their working environment. 

What Managers Don't Know 7.5/10

*Entrepreneurship*

I am intrigued by the work of entrepreneurs, so when the team behind the makers of the new brand, Corkers Crisps approached this blog I was happy to find out more...

 The makers are Rodney Garnham and Ross Taylor - both 34...

BOOM!: You are entering a heavily populated market of snacks. How much experimentation did you do to get the finished product?

Rodney Garnham: We conducted a lot of market research over a period of around eight months working in product development programmes and understanding what not only the consumer wanted but what trade required. We used focus groups so we could get back feedback from the group discussions. This helped Ross and I create a clear view of what we wanted to produce. This has paid off as we have the British crisp made from produce from our farm based in the fenland. 

B: What are your work experiences?

RG: I left school at the age of 16 to study aircraft and engineering. I spent 11 years travelling the world with aircraft working on planes and managing groups of teams. I left the job to set Corkers crisps up back here in Cambridgeshire as I have always been passionate about the produce from the land. When I was growing up, agriculture played a large part in my childhood. 

B: You have the super-riche and starving inventor juxtaposition – where do you feel you fit in this spectrum?

RG: We are potato farmers that decided we wanted to make the best of what we had to offer. We strongly believe we have the best potatoes in the country due to our fenland soil so we diversified the farm into the crisp industry. Previously, we sold the potatoes the fish and chip industry however the potato market has been extremely volatile so we wanted more security within our farm. 

B: Have you always worked in the food industry?

RG: No, I predominantly worked in aircraft. Luckily for me I had the opportunity to see many different cultures and therefore cuisines across the globe. This made me appreciate the food industry from a young age.

B: What advice would you give to budding inventors?

RG: Be prepared for a very long road, take the highs when they come along as the next low is quite often just around the corner. You need to have strong resolve and absolute passion for your service or good. 

B: Which entrepreneurs inspire you?

RG: The innocent smoothies inventors Richard Reed, Adam Balon and Jon Wright inspire because they took such a simple idea and made it into a nationwide, global business that has sustained the test of time. They found a gap in the market and took a risk.

B: Who do your crisps appeal to?

RG: The British public who appreciate a product that is from great origin. We aim to cater for all ages as we cut our crisp thinner so it is less abrasive on the pallet. Due to the nature of our Naturalo potato our crisps are less greasy than other varieties which gives us a less greasy crisp. What is unique about Corkers? Here in the fenlands we have very rich, black peaty soil which was previously flooded for thousands of years. The land was reclaimed in the 1800s and has been farmed by us ever since. The other interesting fact about our land is that it contains bog oak, which has cured in the fields for the same amount of time as it has been flooded giving, us a really rich and nutty taste to our potatoes. Due to this we have the most delicious Naturalo potatoes in the country which are high in quality and rich in taste. 

B: What beckons for the rest of the year and next year? 

BG: Here at Corkers we have maintained a high level of growth which we have forecasted to keep up in the forthcoming years. We have a wonderful team behind the brand now which are regularly attending shows and tastings that help us increase the brand awareness of Corkers Crisps. Recently we launched the first ever pack of crisps into space which helped us portray the fun and innovation to the company. Look out for more stunts like that in the very near future!

As told to Ebunola 

Filter. Light. Cojones.

These three words represent my tripartite theme for 2013... Filter. Light. Cojones.

Filter. I could spend days and days online reading everything and nothing. I want to be more discerning and time-precious and conscious about how much my life is spent doing things that don't pay off. That includes less life-sapping social network and site surfing. I am striving to reduce online consumption and FILTER through to get what is necessary. And as an social media addict like me, that won't be easy, but by the grace of God I'll succeed. If you have any tips on effective online filtration, do me a favour and leave it in the comments section or on my Twitter, please! The next word would certainly help me with that...

Light. Illumination. Enlightenment. Wisdom. Call it what you will, I will doggedly pursue it. When you know what you're here for, you waste no time on things that are leading down the wrong route. It's easy to get side-tracked, but I would love to be able to justifiably say daily that I walk in Light - and let that guide what I do. So help me God!!! When you're guided by Light, you're not left in the dark - metaphorically or otherwise. But with the Light comes risks: public exposures of weaknesses, ridicule, criticism... But I guess when you have the next word, that's less of a worry...

Cojones. The scariest part of my theme. Spanish for balls as in ballsy I am not considered the most outspoken person - online or off - but this year I strive to speak truth more boldly than I ever have before and I want to be the bravest that I have ever been before too: be ejected from planes, do marathons or half, I want to carry this word "cojones" in my head and my metaphorical heart all my life. It will also mean perhaps coming to blows because of the differing views - however this quotes from Forbes magazine sums it up so well: "Fear of confrontation is so overwhelming, but if you communicate boldly, more frequently, and honestly in 2013, and you’re not afraid to work through conflict, you’ll likely reduce your stress..." But that apply to every dang day you're alive.

So this is it.

My theme for the year is: 
Filter. Light. Cojones.

What's yours?

Why I ♥ to Floss

I'm dental-hygiene crazy.

I floss once or twice (maybe more on some occasions) each day and when I do it, I feel like I'm at the hygienists.

Flossing your teeth is just as important as brushing them, but I think people ignore the former activity - at their peril. If I was to conduct a survey (and give people truth serum beforehand), I bet 70-90% of people would tell me that they don't floss - or just as bad, don't floss BEFORE brushing their teeth.

Think about it. Compare it to cleaning the kitchen floor. Flossing your teeth is the equivalent of brushing the kitchen floor to get rid of the debris, you know, bits of onion, chicken, rice, languishing on the floor before mopping it, which is the equivalent of brushing your teeth - not the other way round. Learnt my lesson there.

Also, I don't rinse my mouth after brushing it, I let the active ingredients in the toothpaste do their job and I think my teeth thank me for it.

No, I don't have perfectly formed gnashers, but they are praised when I go to the dentists, and that's good enough for me. And I'll get a brace job soon anyway... :oD

xoxo

Art* Latest celebrity sketches in ballpoint pen - Solange Knowles and Nelson Mandela

Words...

Do you ever think we will live in a world where we don't need defence-mechanism phrases such as "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" because people are responsible enough to know their words do make an impact?

I hope so.

I would love that.