Juergen Teller got everyone’s attention when he posed naked on a donkey, but he isn’t the only one presenting unconventionally shot architectural photography. We put a spotlight on 10 of the most bizarrely shot projects. Read more
Bésame Mucho is a restaurant that seeks to position the real Mexican cuisine, named by UNESCO as intangible heritage of humanity in 2010, in the European market. The restaurant is located in Milan, capital of fashion, Italian creativity and economic engine of the country, located in the “Porta Nuova” area, few minutes from the historic Brera district, this new area of the city becomes a natural extension of the revitalized city center, and one of the major developments that establish the new business district of Milan.
The “Liquen” Agency, developed the brand concept Besame Mucho, was inspired by the Mexico of the 50’s, when Acapulco was considered the favorite Hollywood´s stars international destination.
The agency commissioned the firm RCD (Ricardo Casas Design) restaurant´s interior design, emphasizing the importance of creating an atmosphere in which clients live a “Mexican” experience; and Chef Mario Espinosa menu design, emphasizing the importance to include dishes that cover the different regions of Mexico and eliminating false concepts of Mexican food as burritos or nachos.
Considering the requirements, it was decided to generate an open kitchen which functions as multiple scenario, where you can observe the ingredients and the way the food are prepared, or you can also take cooking classes, food or wine tastings, and know Mexican food brands and products.
There is another element, which dominates the space due to its originality, scale and aesthetic level: the monumental chandelier hanging from the ceiling. RCD designers used the Acapulco chair, one of the most iconic elements of the 50’s. The piece is made up of forty blue chairs in three rows of concentric circles.
In order to generate a neutral base that gives uniqueness to the environment, most of walls and columns are covered with Italian handcrafted ceramic in dark tone, evoking the traditional Oaxaca black clay and, which was placed in a “thorn fish” way, simulating the pattern of Mexican baskets and textiles.
Some of the walls are covered with wallpaper in Mexican pink color, most used in vernacular architecture in the country and widely used by some representative architects of the modern movement in Mexico as Luis Barragán and Ricardo Legorreta. Another touch of color is achieved through the range of blue chairs, tableware and accessories.
Furniture is mostly made of natural wood. The Liquor Storage, an independent area in place, is located within a cube of concrete that has wooden shelves; fifty desk lamps recalling Moooi´s piece, Dear Ingo that was designed by Ron Gilad in honor of Ingo Maurer, illuminate it. A neon sign that says “Salud” gives the emphasis in this area, word that Mexicans use to say “cheers”.
Finally, bathrooms are covered with a special coating where people can write phrases and drawings with colored chalks.
Mexican firm Estudio 3.14 has visualised the “gorgeous perversity” of US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall along the countries’ border. Read more
I’m excited to announce the latest “short read” ebook that I’ve written: Ultralight: The Zen Habits Guide to Traveling Light & Living Light.
Traveling light has become one of the joys of my life, shedding the extra weight in return for freedom, lightness, and energy.
This book contains my recommendations and methods for:
I also talk about applying these ideas to simplify the rest of your life, in a “living light” section of the book:
I’ve found that living simply and traveling light are wonderful ways to live, and I hope you’ll find use out of this book as I’ve tried to put as much useful information as I can.
I’ve written this intentionally as a “short read” … and so I’m pricing it low ($4.99), so more people will be able to buy and use it.
You can buy just the ebook here (in PDF, Kindle & iBooks formats):
But I’ve also created a package with three videos to go along with the ebook:
You can buy the package with the video downloads and the ebook in 3 formats here:
Here’s the table of contents:
Introduction: Why Travel Light? Freedom From Burden
Part I: Ultralight Travel
Part II: Living Lightly
I’ve written the book in PDF, Kindle (mobi) and iBooks (epub) formats. You can buy them all in one compressed file here for $4.99:
If you just want to buy the book from the Amazon Kindle store, you can buy it here for $4.99. That will only be the Kindle format, though. I would love it if you gave me a good review and/or rating! (Note: It should be available in all of the global Amazon stores.)
If you just want to buy the book from the Apple iBooks store, you can buy it here for $4.99. That will only be the iBooks/epub format, though. And again, I would love it if you gave me a good review and/or rating! (Note: It’s available in all of the global iBooks stores.)
Finally, I have the three formats (PDF, mobi, epub) plus a package of three audio guided meditations for $9.99 that you can buy here:
If you’d like to see the table of contents, plus the introduction and first two chapters, you can download/open the PDF here:
Table of Contents & Sample Chapters
You have questions, I have answers.
Q: What do I get when I buy the ebook?
A: If you buy it using the blue “buy the ebook” button above, you’ll get a compressed zip file … when you decompress it, there will be a folder with the PDF, epub (for iBooks) and mobi (for Kindle) files.
If you buy from the Kindle store, you’ll just get the Kindle book.
If you buy from the iBooks store, you’ll just get the epub version.
And if you buy the package deal, you’ll get the three formats plus links to download three companion videos that I’ve recorded.
Q: Is there a print version? What about an audiobook version?
A: No, sorry. This is only being released as an ebook.
Q: I bought the package, but where are the video files?
A: Open the “Read me” PDF file in the folder you downloaded … there are links to download the video files in the Read me PDF.
Q: Did you do the design yourself?
A: No, I wish! The cover was designed by Dave of Spyre, and the interior was designed by Shawn Mihalik.
Q: I’m hugely disappointed and want my money back!
A: I’m sorry to hear that. There’s a 100% money back guarantee on all my books. Just email support@zenhabits.net and we’ll give you a full refund. I don’t want unhappy customers.
You’re reading The Brutal Truth: How To Be Successful When It Seems So Impossible, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
What I am about to tell you is as unfair as it gets. If your company is struggling, or not progressing as quickly as you would like, whose responsibility is it? Yours. You work the hardest, care the most, put in the most hours, most dedicated, most passionate, put in the money, strain your personal life (if you have one), deplete your finances (if you still have any), strain your relationships (if you have any), cry, drink, don’t sleep, don’t date and spend every waking moment on the business. Is anyone else willing to make the sacrifices you make every day? No one said being an entrepreneur was fair.
Early stage companies need to accomplish a lot with limited resources, and this can lead to organizational chaos. This chaos is characterized by common problems:
• Too much to do
• Lack of financial resources
• Lack of human resources
• Lack of established priorities
• Lack of clarity with internal and external constituents
• Emotional and reactive decision-making
• Frustration with existing resources
• Reactive day-to-day management
The definition of chaos is:
1. “Complete confusion and disorder: a state in which behavior and
events are not controlled by anything.”
2. “The state of the universe before there was any order.”
Starting a business is like driving in New York City. All taxi drivers swerve from lane to lane. Taxi drivers with passengers drive fast and erratically (to get their passengers to the destination as quickly as possible). Taxi drivers without passengers drive slow and erratically (to be in a position to pounce on an available fare). Now add the constant wail of sirens from police cars and fire engines and the inevitable garbage truck. Crazy. Imagine if you took away all structures of order—lights, lane lines, speed limits and traffic signs—and threw in jaywalking pedestrians, a couple of skateboarders, a dog walker with an unwieldy pack of hounds and a good oil slick. It becomes a game of Frogger on steroids. Chaos!
Now you know what it feels like to be an entrepreneur—if you didn’t already. Without the appropriate tools to manage, entrepreneurship is a like driving in New York City without any lane lines, speed limits, stop signs or traffic signals.
Sounds about right, doesn’t it? You probably believe the cause of this chaos is that your business is unique or faces a unique set of obstacles, you’re developing a new market, or you don’t have the resources to operate like a more established business. It is common for us entrepreneurs to blame the chaos on others, the lack of money, the lack of resources, the lack of a defined market, or one of the many other excuses for not fixing the chaos. When you believe passionately in your idea and chaos ensues, it’s easy to blame everyone and everything else. After all, you think you are doing the right thing. This may be ego, insecurity or over-confidence in your ability. The natural reaction is, “How dare you challenge me? Without me, this business would be nothing.” We all say, “It’s not me, it’s you.” Customers don’t understand. Employees don’t work hard enough. Employees aren’t talented enough. Vendors don’t perform. Advisors aren’t committed. Investors haven’t seen something like this before. Friends don’t care as much as we do. Family can’t understand what it feels like to walk a mile in our shoes. There may be some truth in each of these complaints, but what is important is why you are getting negative results in the first place.
Want to know the cause? You may be ticking off a hundred reasons in your head as you read this sentence, but ultimately, there is only one, and that is You. Why? In addition to being the most dedicated, you are also the most emotional, the most tired, the most reactive, the most frustrated, the most _______________ (insert what you are feeling right now). You get the picture.
The pressure, emotion and intensity of being the entrepreneur is often accompanied by a lack of perspective, and a failure to apply to your own behavior a set of basic principles that will prevent a chaotic business environment. The same drive, self-assurance, and creativity that enable you to create a vision, are often the same characteristics that prevent you from bringing that vision to life.
Isn’t that a relief? You thought you had hundreds of problems to fix and you only have one—You.
Don’t look at this as fixing something that is wrong with you. It’s natural that you are in over your head. Being an entrepreneur is a humbling experience. Your friends say to you, “You get to be your own boss.” You think to yourself, “It must be cool to make the donuts at Dunkin Donuts.”
Accepting that your company is flailing because of you is a tough pill to swallow, but once you take the medicine, and put the job of “learner” on your resume, you can do great things. Accept this truth, and it will set you free.
With that in mind:
Why is there too much to do? Because you need to set the priorities and align your resources to those priorities.
Why do you lack financial resources? Because you need to raise enough money to keep the company properly funded.
Why do you lack human resources? Because you need to raise the capital necessary to build the right team.
Why do you not have established priorities? Because you need to understand how a company that has to do everything, can still prioritize one thing over another.
Why do internal and external constituents lack clarity? Because you need to avoid communicating in a way that is confusing and verbose.
Why are you frustrated with existing resources? Because you need to understand their role, establish their job, and align their skills to the appropriate tasks.
Why do you make reactive and emotional decisions? Because you are reactive and emotional.
Why is the management of your company reactive? Because you need to build a plan.
Bottom line—it is your job to fix these issues. You are the leader, and must manage the chaos, whether it is the pressure, passion, pleasure or pain, a lack of experience or a lack of perspective doesn’t matter. But while you’re doing hard work, remember that you are the greatest tool you have to transform chaos into order and to bring your vision to life—and to see it grow successfully.
Michael Dermer is the founder/author of The Lonely Entrepreneur, a methodology to help entrepreneurs with the struggle. He discovered this methodology when the company he built for a decade – the first to provide rewards for healthy behavior – was nearly destroyed by the 2008 financial crisis. He not only overcame this to become an industry pioneer, but discovered this methodology to help entrepreneurs with the struggle and is now a professional speaker, consultant, and coach for startup businesses and entrepreneurs.
You’ve read The Brutal Truth: How To Be Successful When It Seems So Impossible, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
Sig Nordal 