Date: February 2015

Give me all the money in the world and I would return it, stupidly some may say, for a life filled with fitness, health and happiness.

My theory being that if you hold those three of life’s gifts close to your heart, the money will follow.

The sharks were circling. Their prey nervous. Beads of sweat popping and streaking. Hands raised to wipe their brow.  Vocal chords faltering. Knees buckling under pressure. Sensing weakness the sharks go in for the kill.

That’s the basic principle of a television show called Shark Tank and the show on which it is based Dragon's Den. Shark Tank has just started airing in Australia and has been running in the US since 2009. The Sharks comprise of four entrepreneurs, with a combined wealth of somewhere in the billions of dollars who must judge the business presentations of ‘wanna-be’ entrepreneurs.

Life is about telling a story. It is about creating a story. It is about taking the bull by the horns and living like there is no tomorrow. Even when life slows down, when children take a chunk of your patience and when time seems limited, life is there to be loved. Love your children, your family, your friends, work and colleagues and tell the stories of how each and every one brings out the best in you.

Your life is your brand. And you can direct it in in any way you see fit to deliver your personal message.

By Max Gross:

No man is an island. At Marketing Eye, we appreciate and learn from the world around us. We are constantly inspired by creative campaigns in our environment by our fellow marketers.

Here are some of the Marketing Eye Melbourne office’s favourite recent marketing campaigns.

Today I rocked up to the office in Melbourne with casual Friday attire. 

A few days back I wrote a blog "9 Fears and Insecurities That I Have". 

It's the type of blog that people think about, and talk about. It's something that gives food for thought. As I dined last night with two of my girlfriends in Melbourne, I decided to bring up the blog. Immediately, they asked me to read it out.

As I went through point by point, they shared their own experiences. What I found fascinating is that so many of our fears are the same. "Are we good enough?", "do we have purpose?", "who will love me when I am old?". For women, it is so much about love and a fear of losing their looks. For men, its primarily about being a good provider and being admired by their peers.

What is right for one, may not be for another.

I read an article recently that stated journalism has an originality problem not a plagiarism problem. Author Kelly McBride says, “These days, we must see always what others have written before we begin – and there’s so much that’s been written about any given topic because writing now is mostly the continuation of a conversation already in play.”

Of course those who are truly original start the conversation, but what conversations are left?

Written by Intern, Katina Lindaa.

Creating a blog in itself can be difficult, but creating a strong social media following for your blog can be even more challenging. Here are some tips. 

What comes first the blog or the social media following? This is dependent on the individual. For example, some individuals already have a strong online presence through their social media accounts. They might already have a large following on their Instagram posting about lifestyle, and want to take it that next step further. They then create a blog geared towards lifestyle, so they are able to write more in depth posts.

Never die wondering. It's not just what I say, its what most people would say, even you, had you not been so afraid to take the risk.

I don't know about you, but I am tired of people coming to me for advice, and then never doing anything about it. I am not talking about coming to me for advice and not following my advice. I am talking about coming to me with an idea, and never executing it, mostly due to fear of failure.

The other day I read an article that Ashton Kutcher shared on Facebook "8 Fears and Insecurities Everyone Has". Of course, like the millions of other people who clicked through to the article, I wanted to know what insecurities and fears other people have.

Ashton outlined his fears in the retweet:

No. 1 I'm not good enough
No. 2 My work isn't good enough
No. 6 I'm afraid of failing/disappointing
No. 7 If people knew the real me, they wouldn't like me

It got me thinking. What are my fears and insecurities? Like most people, I have many but I possibly don't dig deeply into them too often, because who wants to be confronted by what we fear most?

I don't want to be reminded about my fears/insecurities but after reading the article, I decided that it's possibly not the worse idea to confront them head on and by doing that, share them on this blog.

They are a bit 'girly' in some ways and not at all the same as Ashton's (but hey, he is gorgeous, successful, smart, hot blah blah blah). But they are something I think a few readers may relate to.

After a bit of soul searching, this is what I came up with: