The most common question i get asked is, what next? After Letters to a Stranger, what's next? What's the big follow up? what's your next movie?
Have no idea how to answer that one. Wish I did but I don't. Why not? Dunno, guess am just waiting for the chips to fall where they may
Odd huh? For someone who yells Be proactive! Don't react, don't wait for something to happen, MAKE it happen.
Guess after a while you learn that there are certain things that you control and others that are out of your hands
Am watching Heroes as this. After seeing Ugly Betty season 2. What would I really love to do? Create my own TV show. My own great great TV show
One that'll be so massive that people will happily wear the T-shirt while millions will download the screen savers. And after season one? I'll get a million emails asking for the premiere date for season 2.
That's what I want right now. That's the dream. It might not be what I get. But it's what am aiming at. Will I get it? Who knows right?
Hey, what are YOU aiming at?
Victor Sanchez Aghahowa
Monday, April 21, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Once Again!
hello people! long time no see, by the way look at the comments on the last post. nigerians i hail o! once the topic is food we must show ourself! lol! but i appreciate all those who take the time to read this blog. and now for the news highlights. where have i been and what have i been up to? working working working...the same old same...what have YOU been up to? since i last posted up here i have said goodbye to the apprentice Africa. hello to another project, a soap opera by the way, details later...just popping in to say Hello!!!
Oh and by the way, have you ever gotten like REALLY depressed over stuff you think you should be doing as opposed to the normal yet everybody else thinks its great life that you have now?
Just asking...
Oh and by the way, have you ever gotten like REALLY depressed over stuff you think you should be doing as opposed to the normal yet everybody else thinks its great life that you have now?
Just asking...
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
EATERIES, MARGARET THATCHER AND AGEGE BREAD...
Today I am writing on a topic that most people will find decidedly odd,
Agege bread.
Makes no sense? Well at least not yet. For those of you who have never been to Lagos State and have never tasted this delicacy, I offer my condolences.
It is a very normal looking brick-shaped [as most of our local bread is shaped] of bread with a fan base numbering in tens [if not hundreds] of thousands and a taste that’s not only addictive but so rich that you just KNOW that it has to be bad for you [Indeed I heard about a year ago there was a big hullabaloo by health officials who said research had shown that it IS harmful, potassium bromate et al]
But why am I telling you about it? Why should you care? This began as a random thought – on marketing and a simple question
Why do loaves of bread have labels?
As to the larger size ‘family’ loaves I can think of a few reasons. Since they are usually whole family meals/breakfasts, there is a chance of brand loyalty – where a family can adopt one brand and stay with it [more out of convenience than loyalty really]
Also when traveling or intra-city commuting and a sweaty roadside hawker thrusts a loaf in your face unasked, [he must have a 6th sense that tells him you’re hungry] you can take a look at the label and in a haughty tone tell him that you don’t buy this brand – then sweeping a fast eye over the rest of his wares, you note a brand he doesn’t have and then loudly ask if he has that brand, and that it is the only one that you buy.
You see, that way you can turn him down, hide the fact that you’re broke and appear to have high taste in pastry all at the same time.
I’m not talking about the family loaves. I’m talking about those generic 30 naira bricks [and some, if not most, of them are as hard as bricks]
I decided to investigate. 100% of all respondents I interviewed said the same thing. Nobody reads those damn labels
So I took the questions to the bakers and the retailers. Answer = The labels are there to inspire loyalty between retailers and bakers. Does it work?
HA!
What’d did they expect? That we would all clamor for our favorite breakfast sawdust brick? And that the retailers who had to throw away a third of their stock daily would stay with them long enough to build a bond of any kind? Retailers tend to switch bakeries on the average of every three weeks.
And then there’s Agege bread. A veritable institution. A few days after I ingested my first loaf I was a hopeless addict. I mean it’s been discussed on NTA network shows. I have heard at least two songs ENTIRELY dedicated to its virtues AND seen an accompanying video on network TV. I’ve witnessed foreign exotic vehicles stop by the road side to buy the Big Powerful Oga in the back seat his daily fix...
Here’s a fun fact,
Agege bread has no label.
The point? You should have reached it by now. All the pizzazz, glamour and packaging in the world won’t build a brand for or save a product that is of low quality, no remarkability and has no value to offer
Forget the wrapping and trying to create perception. CREATE VALUE!
Yes sometimes value and pizzazz do go hand and hand, but sometimes value alone is enough...
That’s how institutions are born.
Let me tell you how NOT to build an institution. Go to the famous Allen Avenue, Ikeja Lagos State. Whirl around with your eyes closed and point to any building. There’s an 80/20 chance that you’re pointing at an eatery or clothing store.
Eatery 80%, Clothing store 20%
Doing what worked for ‘that guy’, or following an industry ‘standard’ is the worst thing that you can do. At best you simply become an unofficial brand extension of the pioneer.
Look at it this way; True or False all the eatery’s you’ve ever been in are all clones of each other?
See how ripe that market is for someone who is ‘label-less’ but with a menu that actually tastes like it’s worth the prices these clones charge? True, these eateries make money but in doing so they leave the REALLY big money right there on the table for some unknown to pick it up and walk away with it [basically what Bill Gates and Microsoft did to IBM and the ‘giants’ of their time, and Wal*Mart did to Sears and Co.]
If you REALLY want to talk cloning I have two words only to personify the ENTIRE trend.
Pure. Water.
Enough said.
So you have two choices. Spend a lot of money dressing up a monkey and try to pass him off as a woman, or dress up a teenager girl to pass for a grown woman...
Only one of them has a chance to really ever become one
And like Margaret Thatcher once famously said “Being a Leader is like being a Woman; if you have to tell people that you are, then you are definitely not one...”
Victor Sanchez Aghahowa
Agege bread.
Makes no sense? Well at least not yet. For those of you who have never been to Lagos State and have never tasted this delicacy, I offer my condolences.
It is a very normal looking brick-shaped [as most of our local bread is shaped] of bread with a fan base numbering in tens [if not hundreds] of thousands and a taste that’s not only addictive but so rich that you just KNOW that it has to be bad for you [Indeed I heard about a year ago there was a big hullabaloo by health officials who said research had shown that it IS harmful, potassium bromate et al]
But why am I telling you about it? Why should you care? This began as a random thought – on marketing and a simple question
Why do loaves of bread have labels?
As to the larger size ‘family’ loaves I can think of a few reasons. Since they are usually whole family meals/breakfasts, there is a chance of brand loyalty – where a family can adopt one brand and stay with it [more out of convenience than loyalty really]
Also when traveling or intra-city commuting and a sweaty roadside hawker thrusts a loaf in your face unasked, [he must have a 6th sense that tells him you’re hungry] you can take a look at the label and in a haughty tone tell him that you don’t buy this brand – then sweeping a fast eye over the rest of his wares, you note a brand he doesn’t have and then loudly ask if he has that brand, and that it is the only one that you buy.
You see, that way you can turn him down, hide the fact that you’re broke and appear to have high taste in pastry all at the same time.
I’m not talking about the family loaves. I’m talking about those generic 30 naira bricks [and some, if not most, of them are as hard as bricks]
I decided to investigate. 100% of all respondents I interviewed said the same thing. Nobody reads those damn labels
So I took the questions to the bakers and the retailers. Answer = The labels are there to inspire loyalty between retailers and bakers. Does it work?
HA!
What’d did they expect? That we would all clamor for our favorite breakfast sawdust brick? And that the retailers who had to throw away a third of their stock daily would stay with them long enough to build a bond of any kind? Retailers tend to switch bakeries on the average of every three weeks.
And then there’s Agege bread. A veritable institution. A few days after I ingested my first loaf I was a hopeless addict. I mean it’s been discussed on NTA network shows. I have heard at least two songs ENTIRELY dedicated to its virtues AND seen an accompanying video on network TV. I’ve witnessed foreign exotic vehicles stop by the road side to buy the Big Powerful Oga in the back seat his daily fix...
Here’s a fun fact,
Agege bread has no label.
The point? You should have reached it by now. All the pizzazz, glamour and packaging in the world won’t build a brand for or save a product that is of low quality, no remarkability and has no value to offer
Forget the wrapping and trying to create perception. CREATE VALUE!
Yes sometimes value and pizzazz do go hand and hand, but sometimes value alone is enough...
That’s how institutions are born.
Let me tell you how NOT to build an institution. Go to the famous Allen Avenue, Ikeja Lagos State. Whirl around with your eyes closed and point to any building. There’s an 80/20 chance that you’re pointing at an eatery or clothing store.
Eatery 80%, Clothing store 20%
Doing what worked for ‘that guy’, or following an industry ‘standard’ is the worst thing that you can do. At best you simply become an unofficial brand extension of the pioneer.
Look at it this way; True or False all the eatery’s you’ve ever been in are all clones of each other?
See how ripe that market is for someone who is ‘label-less’ but with a menu that actually tastes like it’s worth the prices these clones charge? True, these eateries make money but in doing so they leave the REALLY big money right there on the table for some unknown to pick it up and walk away with it [basically what Bill Gates and Microsoft did to IBM and the ‘giants’ of their time, and Wal*Mart did to Sears and Co.]
If you REALLY want to talk cloning I have two words only to personify the ENTIRE trend.
Pure. Water.
Enough said.
So you have two choices. Spend a lot of money dressing up a monkey and try to pass him off as a woman, or dress up a teenager girl to pass for a grown woman...
Only one of them has a chance to really ever become one
And like Margaret Thatcher once famously said “Being a Leader is like being a Woman; if you have to tell people that you are, then you are definitely not one...”
Victor Sanchez Aghahowa
The Last Day
Hey people! Been gone for a minute, but now am back! Today is the last day I shoot the boardroom at Apprentice Africa - I am not saying I was the best AP on the show, but I really think I had the best crew
For all those who worked on the boardroom shoot, I cannot thank you enough. You guys are the greatest!!!
Watch the show people! It's great!!!
On a more personal note, there are a lot of people that I met on this show that I will NEVER forget, for good or for otherwise. More of the former thankfully...
There are certain faces that I will miss the excuse to see everyday - to all of those people (and those 'persons') I will miss you SEVERELY...
Today's shoot is going to bittersweet for me, but ah well, the show must go on - 8 minutes to go. Have to go check on my crew - one last time
Lights, camera - ACTION!!!
Victor Sanchez Aghahowa
For all those who worked on the boardroom shoot, I cannot thank you enough. You guys are the greatest!!!
Watch the show people! It's great!!!
On a more personal note, there are a lot of people that I met on this show that I will NEVER forget, for good or for otherwise. More of the former thankfully...
There are certain faces that I will miss the excuse to see everyday - to all of those people (and those 'persons') I will miss you SEVERELY...
Today's shoot is going to bittersweet for me, but ah well, the show must go on - 8 minutes to go. Have to go check on my crew - one last time
Lights, camera - ACTION!!!
Victor Sanchez Aghahowa
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
THE BIG IDEA
At most of our G.I.S.T [Great Ideas for Starting Things – an acronym Guy Kawasaki created] sessions, I am often asked the Very Good Question. “How do I find an idea/plan? How do I discover what I was ‘Meant To Do’?”
Like I said, A Good Question. Which I can’t answer...
“What?! What kind of consultant are you?”
Consider this; have you ever felt like you were meant to do something MAJOR on this planet? You have? Good for you...
“What about the rest of us who have No Idea At All?”
How do you find that One Big Idea? Good Question, especially now that you are sick of all these motivational speakers and all these ‘secrets of success’. As a matter of fact they can keep their secrets!!! And those seminars are so empty of content that the only thing you’re motivated to do is throw up...
“Details! Details man! Give Us Specifics! Okay we’re blank – we have NO plans. We’ve suppressed our dreams so much that we’ve lost them. YOU know so much Mr. Speaker, so go ahead and give us a dream. Go ahead, roll up your sleeves and deliver to each of us that custom made built-just-for-us One Big Idea!”
Paradox
Know what that means? Paradox = ‘a statement containing two OPPOSITE ideas that make it seem impossible or unlikely, although it is probably true’
That’s what that request is – and I get it all the time.
Let me clarify something; I am NOT a ‘motivational speaker’
I don’t speak to motivate you. My goal is to motivate you to speak. To stand up to, for and to be yourself.
I cannot give you your idea. That’d be cheating. I could shrink-wrap an idea and put it in your hands already ‘pre-cooked’ – but what good does that do you? How have I helped you?
You will NEVER hear me say anything about ‘success’.
I DON’T teach or preach ‘success’
I preach self discovery. We teach EVOLUTION
So, back to the basics. Back to the One Big Idea. There are some of us who have a plan already. One that we think just might be the Big One. But how do you know for sure?
You Don’t
“Say what?”
I said, You Don’t...
Nobody can tell you if what you’re doing is good, meaningful or worthwhile. The more compelling the path, the lonelier it is...
So naturally you ask yourself, if and when you finally come up with The Big Idea after years of toil, struggle and doubt, how do you know whether or not it is ‘The One’
Answer = You don’t
There is no ‘glorious swelling of existential triumph’. That’s not what happens.
All you get is a rather kvetchy voice inside you that seems to say;
“This is totally stupid. This is utterly moronic. This is a complete waste of time. I’m going to do it anyway”
And you go do it anyway...
Hugh MacLeod
Very Good Answer
Obviously this article was inspired by the above quote and the numerous people who have asked me that question over the years
Well that’s my answer and you heard it here first. I cannot sit here and tell you that I know what your future holds. I can’t tell if you are on the right or wrong path...
That is for you to know.
If the path leads to places that you don’t expect or particularly like – well, what did you learn from it? Experience has been defined as what you get whenever you don’t get exactly what you wanted...
And if the path takes you where you should go?
That’s for all of us to find out, and marvel at...
So here’s One Big Idea; To Do Everything [or attempt to] is way, WAY better than To Do Nothing.
Doing Something Right Now is even better. Much better.
Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits
Henry Ford
So quit using Waiting for the Big Idea as an excuse for your Analysis Paralysis. Do something! Right Now!
If you don’t have a Big Idea, FORGET the Big Idea! Focus on the multitude of Smaller Ones all around you and do whatever you can. Do the utmost you can
Right Now!!!
If you already have a plan – make a vow starting now...to Never Ever Again Talk About It.
Start doing!
Don’t hesitate, CREATE!
Sure you’re not ready, sure you’ll probably fall on your face – but that’s how we learn
That’s how we prepare to turn the world upside down when the time is right. And the time is right...
RIGHT NOW!!
Victor Sanchez Aghahowa
Like I said, A Good Question. Which I can’t answer...
“What?! What kind of consultant are you?”
Consider this; have you ever felt like you were meant to do something MAJOR on this planet? You have? Good for you...
“What about the rest of us who have No Idea At All?”
How do you find that One Big Idea? Good Question, especially now that you are sick of all these motivational speakers and all these ‘secrets of success’. As a matter of fact they can keep their secrets!!! And those seminars are so empty of content that the only thing you’re motivated to do is throw up...
“Details! Details man! Give Us Specifics! Okay we’re blank – we have NO plans. We’ve suppressed our dreams so much that we’ve lost them. YOU know so much Mr. Speaker, so go ahead and give us a dream. Go ahead, roll up your sleeves and deliver to each of us that custom made built-just-for-us One Big Idea!”
Paradox
Know what that means? Paradox = ‘a statement containing two OPPOSITE ideas that make it seem impossible or unlikely, although it is probably true’
That’s what that request is – and I get it all the time.
Let me clarify something; I am NOT a ‘motivational speaker’
I don’t speak to motivate you. My goal is to motivate you to speak. To stand up to, for and to be yourself.
I cannot give you your idea. That’d be cheating. I could shrink-wrap an idea and put it in your hands already ‘pre-cooked’ – but what good does that do you? How have I helped you?
You will NEVER hear me say anything about ‘success’.
I DON’T teach or preach ‘success’
I preach self discovery. We teach EVOLUTION
So, back to the basics. Back to the One Big Idea. There are some of us who have a plan already. One that we think just might be the Big One. But how do you know for sure?
You Don’t
“Say what?”
I said, You Don’t...
Nobody can tell you if what you’re doing is good, meaningful or worthwhile. The more compelling the path, the lonelier it is...
So naturally you ask yourself, if and when you finally come up with The Big Idea after years of toil, struggle and doubt, how do you know whether or not it is ‘The One’
Answer = You don’t
There is no ‘glorious swelling of existential triumph’. That’s not what happens.
All you get is a rather kvetchy voice inside you that seems to say;
“This is totally stupid. This is utterly moronic. This is a complete waste of time. I’m going to do it anyway”
And you go do it anyway...
Hugh MacLeod
Very Good Answer
Obviously this article was inspired by the above quote and the numerous people who have asked me that question over the years
Well that’s my answer and you heard it here first. I cannot sit here and tell you that I know what your future holds. I can’t tell if you are on the right or wrong path...
That is for you to know.
If the path leads to places that you don’t expect or particularly like – well, what did you learn from it? Experience has been defined as what you get whenever you don’t get exactly what you wanted...
And if the path takes you where you should go?
That’s for all of us to find out, and marvel at...
So here’s One Big Idea; To Do Everything [or attempt to] is way, WAY better than To Do Nothing.
Doing Something Right Now is even better. Much better.
Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits
Henry Ford
So quit using Waiting for the Big Idea as an excuse for your Analysis Paralysis. Do something! Right Now!
If you don’t have a Big Idea, FORGET the Big Idea! Focus on the multitude of Smaller Ones all around you and do whatever you can. Do the utmost you can
Right Now!!!
If you already have a plan – make a vow starting now...to Never Ever Again Talk About It.
Start doing!
Don’t hesitate, CREATE!
Sure you’re not ready, sure you’ll probably fall on your face – but that’s how we learn
That’s how we prepare to turn the world upside down when the time is right. And the time is right...
RIGHT NOW!!
Victor Sanchez Aghahowa
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Return Of The Prodigal
And....I'm back --
After a lengthy absence in which I'm sure maybe ONE person truly missed me, I am back scrawling my thoughts on the walls of cyber space
How've y'all been doing? I'm just chilling, especially after having the most emotionally wracking few weeks of my life. I know I may have flippantly mentioned the fact that I recently came out of a very serious relationship. I have made it a rule not to discuss that here or anywhere else, but I'll say this much, this last two weeks? That's when it really HIT me
HARD
Still reeling, bloodied, bowed, but still on my feet. I decided to move on. In every single facet of my life. Like a line I heard before - there is a big difference between deciding to change your life and actually doing it (hey, I think I got that quote from the first season of Nip/Tuck)
So I find myself preparing to move to a new place, a new job, a new personal project, a new album. I guess that's the main theme in my life right now - reboot
Start over - but no by pretending that what came before didnt exist or matter. But by admitting that it wasn't working and it had to stop and restart
As I glance over my recent posts, it seems that they've gotten rather personal and rather gloomy...hmm, that wont do - that won't do at all, LOL
Hey, you know what I just realized? Sometimes its a trip to just wake up in the morning and not recognize a damn thing. It reminds you that there is a tommorow you know NOTHING about and that your present routine is just a snippet of the tapestry that WILL be your life
It's just not there yet. Whereever you are right now? You're just not THERE yet...
This is the part where I quit my binging on junk food and put down the PS2 controller. Life goes on - to where? I don't know. But that's two thirds of the fun right?
I shall post again soon...
Victor Sanchez Aghahowa
After a lengthy absence in which I'm sure maybe ONE person truly missed me, I am back scrawling my thoughts on the walls of cyber space
How've y'all been doing? I'm just chilling, especially after having the most emotionally wracking few weeks of my life. I know I may have flippantly mentioned the fact that I recently came out of a very serious relationship. I have made it a rule not to discuss that here or anywhere else, but I'll say this much, this last two weeks? That's when it really HIT me
HARD
Still reeling, bloodied, bowed, but still on my feet. I decided to move on. In every single facet of my life. Like a line I heard before - there is a big difference between deciding to change your life and actually doing it (hey, I think I got that quote from the first season of Nip/Tuck)
So I find myself preparing to move to a new place, a new job, a new personal project, a new album. I guess that's the main theme in my life right now - reboot
Start over - but no by pretending that what came before didnt exist or matter. But by admitting that it wasn't working and it had to stop and restart
As I glance over my recent posts, it seems that they've gotten rather personal and rather gloomy...hmm, that wont do - that won't do at all, LOL
Hey, you know what I just realized? Sometimes its a trip to just wake up in the morning and not recognize a damn thing. It reminds you that there is a tommorow you know NOTHING about and that your present routine is just a snippet of the tapestry that WILL be your life
It's just not there yet. Whereever you are right now? You're just not THERE yet...
This is the part where I quit my binging on junk food and put down the PS2 controller. Life goes on - to where? I don't know. But that's two thirds of the fun right?
I shall post again soon...
Victor Sanchez Aghahowa
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The Morning Blues...
Hey, Hi, Hello there - I am having a mental melt down because seemingly everyone around me is having one
It's like a flash drive, the new fad, everyone HAS to have one, whether you own a computer or not - it's just kinda cool
The melt down thing isn't kinda cool - I was talking about flash drives
I have a long list of movies and stories in development and the such, and right now I dont send them. I am an hour behind on my shooting schedule, in fact I should be with my crew right now - am at the desk in the office writing this...
I DO NOT know what I want for myself, or from the rest of my life - I am finally man enough to admit that I do have a vague idea
Why is it that we have the nagging need to act like we know EXACTLY what we want from or to do with our lives? We don't. The problem is that admitting it scares us...
Think about it, every thing that's happened, didn't you just sort of 'stumble' into it? Sure there was the one thing leads to another cumulative effect and the feeling that 'one thing leads to another' - but wasnt all that good news (or bad news for that matter) COMPLETELY unexpected?
Just blabbing - who knows what will happen and the direction that my life will take in the next 24 hours, I just have the feeling that all things have led to this point...
We'll see...
Goodmorning...
Victor Sanchez Aghahowa
It's like a flash drive, the new fad, everyone HAS to have one, whether you own a computer or not - it's just kinda cool
The melt down thing isn't kinda cool - I was talking about flash drives
I have a long list of movies and stories in development and the such, and right now I dont send them. I am an hour behind on my shooting schedule, in fact I should be with my crew right now - am at the desk in the office writing this...
I DO NOT know what I want for myself, or from the rest of my life - I am finally man enough to admit that I do have a vague idea
Why is it that we have the nagging need to act like we know EXACTLY what we want from or to do with our lives? We don't. The problem is that admitting it scares us...
Think about it, every thing that's happened, didn't you just sort of 'stumble' into it? Sure there was the one thing leads to another cumulative effect and the feeling that 'one thing leads to another' - but wasnt all that good news (or bad news for that matter) COMPLETELY unexpected?
Just blabbing - who knows what will happen and the direction that my life will take in the next 24 hours, I just have the feeling that all things have led to this point...
We'll see...
Goodmorning...
Victor Sanchez Aghahowa
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