- Wonder & Wow at Wa'am Writes
- Posts
- What She/They Said
What She/They Said
Wise & Inspirational Words For These Times
Laura Paisley Beck
January 29, 2025
Every act of pleasure or comfort is an act of rebellion.
Port-infused ganache at a port-tasting demonstration in Porto, Portugal, served with fresh raspberries, blackberries, grated hazelnuts, and pansies.
Finding hope and light in dark days may not feel possible if the news about some of our useful connections or media outlets turn against you and your people.
The rainbow in the heavy sky for me shows up in the many brilliant minds arriving in my Inbox and feeds. May you find inspiration is these wise words too.
The IPA President talked of advertising worldwide surpassing ‘$1tn in revenue’ and that our industry is ‘stronger together’ – but what good is this economic power and this strength when it fails to be wielded to protect vulnerable communities? What good are our industry bodies if they don’t work to facilitate collective action?
Let’s do more than wear rainbows in Pride Month. Let’s do more than talk about it or complain. Let’s make money talk where love wins. Better yet, let’s let love win where money talks.
“We can retrain our brains. We can train ourselves to find trust in people that are different. It is truly an achievable thing. In fact, one of the simplest and most straightforward ways of achieving it is to spend time with people that violate your stereotypes the smartest people must be brought together to solve the kinds of problems we've been talking about today, but that only works if we listen to them, if we have the courage to hear a different opinion from a different kind of person.”
Easier said than done. How do we sit at the table with powerful people who actively oppose our existence? We must find something we can discuss with our elbows on the table, courageously solving problems because of inclusivity.
Nobody will step over or negotiate our rights. Not in Brazil, or anywhere in the world.
A democracy is composed of its people and you can never stop looking at those who make up those people.
In marketing, this means braving representation, all the time. Acknowledge who makes up the population of our planet. See people. Believe in people.
These times are complex and evolving, but one thing remains clear: we are stronger together. Now more than ever, we need to stand firm as a community, lifting one another up, being supportive, and showing resilience in the face of adversity.
How can you move forward and stay strong?
Collect your superheroes. Reorganize your own solar system. Realign your stars. And dare to find pleasure and comfort in your daily life.
Stay tuned for more ways I can help you when I return from Spain (I’m going February 4th -14th).
In the meantime, I’m sending you lots of love and power,
Laura