One of my favorite classic movies is:
“Citizen Kane”
It starred Orson Welles.
And, was about the life and legacy of a powerful newspaper publisher.
Why is this important to you?
Why should you care?
Patience!
We’ll get to that.
But first, check this out:
(WARNING HUGE MOVIE SPOILERS)
The movie starts with Charles Foster Kane dying, with his last word being “Rosebud” — and the entire movie is this sort of question of what “Rosebud” is. Turns out it was simply the trade name of a cheap little sled on which Kane was playing on the day he was taken away from his home and his mother as a child.
Welles revealed in an interview:
“In his subconscious it represented the simplicity, the comfort, above all the lack of responsibility in his home, and also it stood for his mother’s love which Kane never lost.”
The point?
We all have our rosebud.
And recently I was reminded of mine while talking to my mom about some of the shi– I mean stuff — I left in her attic over the years.
Specifically:
My extensive comic book collection.
I spent years curating it, and hundreds of hours reading through them, while rudely ignoring everyone around me. And they represent a part of my innocent childhood.
A time before I had any responsibility.
Or real problems.
Or, cares about what goes on in the world.
But, they’re more than that:
I can also trace my entire direct marketing career to those hours of mindlessly reading through the same stories — admiring the writing, artwork, and creativity that went into them.
They shaped my mind.
Molded any smidgen of inborn creativity.
And, even today, I catch myself “swiping” ideas from comics I read 20 years ago… in my emails today. Snippets I have no conscious memory of. But, that are floating around in my subconscious — ready to be used at a moment’s notice.
Those comics are my biggest inspiration.
My “rosebud” if you will.
When I wheez out my last breath I’ll probably even say:
“Make mine Marvel…”
All of which brings me to the point:
What is YOUR rosebud?
Think long and hard about it, Chuckles.
Then crawl back into that time in your mind when it was in your life, tap into those memories and emotions… relive them, and try to figure out what it was about that object and time that shaped who you are today. Chances are it will inspire you. Give you focus. And, a whole new outlook on your business.
Even better:
It will make great “fodder” to talk about in emails.
Kind of like this email is.
Very simple.
Speaking of emails…
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Ben Settle
