Taoism in Advertising – The Perfect Stance

Can you coax your mind from its wandering
and keep to the original oneness?
Can you let your body become
supple as a newborn child’s?
Can you cleanse your inner vision
until you see nothing but the light?
Can you love people and lead them
without imposing your will?
Can you deal with the most vital matters
by letting events take their course?
Can you step back from you own mind
and thus understand all things?

I’m told by colleagues and friends who are well versed in the martial arts that your stance is everything – the posture and position you adopt when you’re ready for what’s coming at you. Being grounded and flexible at the same time – is what you want.

Similarly, there is a perfect mental stance for being the most intuitive and agile marketers we can be, and it’s beautifully articulated in the above passage from the Tao.

“Keep to the original oneness.” Stay on strategy, on mission, on purpose. Do not follow every trend or blip that comes along.

“Cleanse your inner vision.” A cluttered or chaotic mind cannot see or hear opportunity clearly. So important for those of us in creative businesses to clear our minds on a regular basis.

“Lead them without imposing your will.” As leaders and as marketers, we must light the path or inspire, without undue force. This is far more effective and sustainable.
“Step back from your own mind and thus understand all things.”  Leaving aside our personal biases and opinions, our second-guessing and mental noise, is necessary before we can engage the full faculties of the intuitive mind, which can defy verbal description when they’re truly at full power. Transcending one’s own narrow perspective, we can see and feel the marketplace as if it were a mind of its own, with patterns and preferences that become clearer and clearer. And thus you achieve “original oneness.” And do some groundbreaking work in the process.
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