I have been trying to pay more attention to my mother's terrace garden in the last few years and I am getting better. My dad has a love for greenery as well, only that he is more whimsical and impulsive when it comes to implementations in our garden. So when you visit, you will see a few trees that would not be seen growing on a terrace example a banyan. Yes... you read that right a banyan tree. My mom's idea of gardening is about having to take what you can nurture and care for while doing your best to allow the plant grow comfortably. This didnt mean anything to me the last few years but since a few weeks I am beginning to see what she meant. And it has been bothering me that these trees that could tower, spread, anchor is stunted by out love to keep them home. So today I thought, lets see if we can find one of them a home where people werent living in apartments and would be able to care and nurture for this tree. I didnt even know what tree it is.
I thought why not let the tree ask around for a new home... and so I posted this in multiple groups on the noon of 3rd Jan 2018. And this is what the tree had to say:
By the next day, it had received over 150 reactions and over 30 conversations sprung from it. Before I knew it- people poured in their love and support for the tree... some addressed it.. few complimented me on my story telling skills (I didnt know I had any left from childhood up till now. I thought I just was in good mood and having fun while planning my garden). What struck me is how this tree's letter captured people's imagination. How the feelings of what we consider an inanimate object touched human beings. Some of them wrote to the tree! I was touched.
It reminded me of something I was taught a couple of years ago while i had the fortune of volunteering with for one of their photo exhibitions that raised funds for charities. The wall was adorned with magnificent pictures. There were a handfull that were beautiful pictures indeed but not really extraordinary. Those two days, the picture that sold the most was one such picture - the picture of a sun set. One you would have seen a 1000 times being clicked by so many people around the world or may be yourself. This stunned the rest of us and on the second day, my friend announced the number of prints that picture sold and then he went on to explain the magic behind the phenomenon. The photographer who clicked that picture was a bespectacled scrawny soft-spoken young lad who was doing his degree at the time and had a moustache in the development stages. As visitors came in, he would stand infront of his photo, staring at it contemplatively. And when the potential buyer approaches, they stop to see the photo. In a few seconds, the young photographer softly strikes up a conversation - gentle smiles and nods are exchanged. A conversation of few words crafted to pull a string out of the photograph's weave and tie it to the buyers heart. As the buyer walks away believing that he is in control of the cheque book in his pocket, while he gazes at several other technically superior photos and reaches the billing counter, thinks for a while, but the spell had been cast and that feeble string tugged at his heart and he wrote a cheque to buy that sunset. The photograph didnt make that happen ... that photographers personal story of what caught his attention about that sunset on that very day did it.... The fun bit is - the young gentleman was kind enough to be honest to tell us that not all of that story was true, but his feeling for that picture and the beauty he saw in it was... all he did was sell that feeling to someone else - justify the beauty he saw in it. Call is master salesmanship or whatever - that young guy had such a profound understanding of human nature at that age. This was just a story that lay in the back of my mind till today. Today I accidentally understood the value of the story. I had made a heart connection through this sale post.
It might seem like that young boy was being crafty - but was he? Of course he loved his work! Of course he hoped someone would want to buy his print! So he actively did what he could to make it happen ... he managed to raise a 5 digit amount for the cause... the highest of all the pictures there. Self promotion needs self-worth and courage. It can be mistaken for vanity. Yes as someone gains more confidence it can turn into vanity but that is upto that person to find means to keep it in check. That lesson was taught to me about 5 years ago, but i learnt it only today. There is no shame in doing what you have to do to sell an idea what is important is that do you know why you are selling it? - is it go give your self a sense of grandiose? is it to dupe someone? Is it to give someone joy? is it earn a decent living?
Can i deliberately evoke this skill? That young man definitely could, so Im sure I could too. But at first I will have to overcome the awkwardness that comes with it... a feeling that 'its unnatural' and that I am twisting the turn of events which otherwise would not be in my favour. That young man is an accomplished photographer with several awards to his credit. His persistent and consistent effort can be seen in how technically better his photographs have gotten over the years.
The art of selling shouldnt be morally judged - its an art. And like all arts it can be cultivated, nurtured and perfected - Like this gentleman perfected his photography.
UPDATE: Here is what is happening with the tree. I just posted an update to it now:
UPDATE: Ladies and gentlemen, I and Nita are overwhelmed with the response you all have given. But as she has been trying to get me out of the pot, we are beginning to see the difficulty and its taking her time. We promise we will get back to you in the coming days. But she needs time to gently uproot me from here. She had already spoken to a few of you generous people. She promises to get back to you when im out and safe. No- this hasnt changed my mind. I am certain that my decision is right and we are going all the way. It just needs time.Once again solemn hug and love to each one of you. We promise to reach out.
I thought why not let the tree ask around for a new home... and so I posted this in multiple groups on the noon of 3rd Jan 2018. And this is what the tree had to say:
By the next day, it had received over 150 reactions and over 30 conversations sprung from it. Before I knew it- people poured in their love and support for the tree... some addressed it.. few complimented me on my story telling skills (I didnt know I had any left from childhood up till now. I thought I just was in good mood and having fun while planning my garden). What struck me is how this tree's letter captured people's imagination. How the feelings of what we consider an inanimate object touched human beings. Some of them wrote to the tree! I was touched.
It reminded me of something I was taught a couple of years ago while i had the fortune of volunteering with for one of their photo exhibitions that raised funds for charities. The wall was adorned with magnificent pictures. There were a handfull that were beautiful pictures indeed but not really extraordinary. Those two days, the picture that sold the most was one such picture - the picture of a sun set. One you would have seen a 1000 times being clicked by so many people around the world or may be yourself. This stunned the rest of us and on the second day, my friend announced the number of prints that picture sold and then he went on to explain the magic behind the phenomenon. The photographer who clicked that picture was a bespectacled scrawny soft-spoken young lad who was doing his degree at the time and had a moustache in the development stages. As visitors came in, he would stand infront of his photo, staring at it contemplatively. And when the potential buyer approaches, they stop to see the photo. In a few seconds, the young photographer softly strikes up a conversation - gentle smiles and nods are exchanged. A conversation of few words crafted to pull a string out of the photograph's weave and tie it to the buyers heart. As the buyer walks away believing that he is in control of the cheque book in his pocket, while he gazes at several other technically superior photos and reaches the billing counter, thinks for a while, but the spell had been cast and that feeble string tugged at his heart and he wrote a cheque to buy that sunset. The photograph didnt make that happen ... that photographers personal story of what caught his attention about that sunset on that very day did it.... The fun bit is - the young gentleman was kind enough to be honest to tell us that not all of that story was true, but his feeling for that picture and the beauty he saw in it was... all he did was sell that feeling to someone else - justify the beauty he saw in it. Call is master salesmanship or whatever - that young guy had such a profound understanding of human nature at that age. This was just a story that lay in the back of my mind till today. Today I accidentally understood the value of the story. I had made a heart connection through this sale post.
It might seem like that young boy was being crafty - but was he? Of course he loved his work! Of course he hoped someone would want to buy his print! So he actively did what he could to make it happen ... he managed to raise a 5 digit amount for the cause... the highest of all the pictures there. Self promotion needs self-worth and courage. It can be mistaken for vanity. Yes as someone gains more confidence it can turn into vanity but that is upto that person to find means to keep it in check. That lesson was taught to me about 5 years ago, but i learnt it only today. There is no shame in doing what you have to do to sell an idea what is important is that do you know why you are selling it? - is it go give your self a sense of grandiose? is it to dupe someone? Is it to give someone joy? is it earn a decent living?
Can i deliberately evoke this skill? That young man definitely could, so Im sure I could too. But at first I will have to overcome the awkwardness that comes with it... a feeling that 'its unnatural' and that I am twisting the turn of events which otherwise would not be in my favour. That young man is an accomplished photographer with several awards to his credit. His persistent and consistent effort can be seen in how technically better his photographs have gotten over the years.
The art of selling shouldnt be morally judged - its an art. And like all arts it can be cultivated, nurtured and perfected - Like this gentleman perfected his photography.
UPDATE: Here is what is happening with the tree. I just posted an update to it now:
UPDATE: Ladies and gentlemen, I and Nita are overwhelmed with the response you all have given. But as she has been trying to get me out of the pot, we are beginning to see the difficulty and its taking her time. We promise we will get back to you in the coming days. But she needs time to gently uproot me from here. She had already spoken to a few of you generous people. She promises to get back to you when im out and safe. No- this hasnt changed my mind. I am certain that my decision is right and we are going all the way. It just needs time.Once again solemn hug and love to each one of you. We promise to reach out.
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