Cup 43:

Person(s): Yasmina Boustani and Katharina Schmitt 

Drink: Cafe Americano in Cannes, France 

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On Friday, June 20th at 8:30 PM, I sent Yasmina Boustani a Facebook message. 

At 9:10 PM she responded. 

By 9:41 that night we had arranged to meet for coffee the following morning. 

… 

It was because of a  Facebook message that I was in France in the first place. A few weeks before my trip, I randomly received a Facebook message from my friend Trista, a recent alumna of Michigan State that had moved to Texas. She knew I was headed to Europe and wanted to let me know she was going to be in Rome assisting with a study abroad. She said if I could get to Rome she would give me a grand tour of the city. 

I told her I’d love to meet up and would contact her when I knew the dates I’d be there. 

When I emailed her the dates I discovered she was actually spending the weekend in Cannes, France at the Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity. A few months earlier Bill Ward, Cup 9, and I were having coffee to catch up and he mentioned that if I was in France it would be worth it to swing by Cannes to check out the festival—it was a great place to meet incredible creative people and see the latest and greatest in the advertising world. 

So, I rerouted to Cannes and met up with Trista, hoping to find a big hitter in the industry to meet for coffee. 

But, like so many times during my trip, plans changed.It happened during the last session I watched—the Future Lions Competition award ceremony.

According to their website, Cannes Lion is the world’s biggest celebration of creativity in communications that attracts over 8,000 delegates from 90 countries. During the week of workshops, exhibitions, and high-profile seminars, the festival presents the most prestigious international advertising awards. It is targeted to people currently in the industry; however, in 2006, Cannes introduced the Future Lions Competition to give students a chance to participate. 

Working in teams of two, college students were challenged to “advertise a product from a global brand in a way that couldn’t be conceived five years ago”. There were over 800 entries submitted from around the globe, of which, four finalists were chosen to attend Cannes and be acknowledged during the session I attended.

Each of the finalists showed a short video explaining their concept and it was fascinating to see the quality of the presentation and innovation of the ideas. The first two ideas were impressive, but it was the third idea, the one created by Yasmina and Katharina Schmitt, that struck me. 

Their idea for 1800 Flowers was to take the digital act of saying “Happy Birthday” on Facebook and make it more tangible, more meaningful. (Unfortunately I can’t embed the video, so please take a minute to watch their pitch here). 

At the end of the presentation the lively emcee put up the contact information and encouraged conference attendees to reach out to these talented young advertisers, stating very simply,  

“Hire them before they steal your job.” 

That’s when I decided I wanted to talk to Yasmina and Katharina. Not only did I love their idea, I thought it would be more fun to talk to the future industry big hitters than the current. 

… 

So there we were, Yasmina, Katharina and myself, sitting at an outdoor cafe a block from the Mediterranean Sea. 

After we ordered our coffee we began getting to know each other better. 

Yasimina is originally from Bierut, Lebanon. She earned a degree in Advertising and Art Direction from the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts before enrolling at the Miami Ad School in Europe. That’s where she met Katharina. 

Katharina is from Mannheim, Germany. Her aspirations were to become a dancer, but en route realized that she had a passion for advertising and shifted her efforts toward a Bachelors degree in Economics and Marketing before also enrolling at the Miami Ad School. Katharina and Yasmina quickly became friends, then project partners, then roommates in New York City where they studied for a semester.  It was there they created Flowers for Facebook for a class project.  Their professor encouraged them to submit the idea to Future Lions. They didn’t think the idea was ready for Cannes, but followed the professors advice anyway. 

After a few tweaks they submitted the idea and waited for a response—not really expecting much. With so many submissions they figured they didn’t stand a chance. 

They were happily wrong. The idea was good enough to make it to the final round, which meant Yasmina and Katharina were headed to France for an intense week of advertising adventures and also one last hurrah together before Katharina headed to Germany to begin her first job and Yasmina returned to New York for one last semester. 

I had really enjoyed my few days in Cannes and was excited to hear about their experience. I expected their stories to be about the great new people they were meeting. But when I asked the girls about this, I found but the opposite was true. They actually spent their time reconnecting with old friends from the industry. A great  part  of the Miami Ad School is that for the first year students are in one location but spend the rest of their time at one of the other 10 Miami Ad School locations. Over the course of their education they end up making friends from around the world. 

I could relate reconnecting. 

I’d gone all the way to France to connect with friends from my backyard in Michigan. And it wasn’t just France, along each step of my European adventure I connected with old friends; a running buddy from home now living in Poland, former MSU classmates in working in Scotland, Prague and Poland.  

If I’ve learned anything traveling through Europe it’s that technology is making it easier than ever to travel and connect with people around the globe. 

This is something I would have taken for granted if I hadn’t had a conversation with my 83 year old grandmother earlier in the week. She explained that when she was growing up in New York in the early 40’s she met a lot of wealthier Europeans that came to the United States for better opportunities. That’s how she met her high school best friend. Unfortunately, after graduation her friend moved back to Europe and she and my grandmother lost touch. They couldn’t use Skype to make free international calls or dash off a quick email that arrived in seconds. Amidst the rush of life—marriage, babies, new jobs—it was difficult to stay in touch and once they lost touch, it was difficult to find each other again. 

Compare that to today when a quick Facebook search will help you find anyone. Case in point, I was friends with a Mexican exchange student when I was a junior in high school. We fell out of touch but stayed friends on Facebook. She happened to see the picture I posted from Bucharest and emailed me to say she was currently living there and would love to meet up. That wouldn’t have been possible  even 10 years ago. 

The same thing can happen with Yasmina, Katharina and me. Someday we may find ourselves in the same city and we’ll be able to reconnect—just like the other young, talented students I met while I was in Cannes. 

It’s sort of remarkable that an American, Lebanese and German were all enjoying a great coffee and conversation in a cafe in France. 

But at the same time, it’s not. Technology is changing the way we connect and do business—global collaboration is becoming as easy as collaborating with the cubicle (or in my case, table in a coffee shop) next door. It’s an incredible opportunity. 

But only for those willing to leverage the tools; those willing to take take action, take risks and think globally. 

It doesn’t happen sitting at home behind a computer. It happens when you’re getting outside your comfort zone, finding ways to travel and trying new things. I made two new friends because Yasmina and Katharina were willing to enter a competition they had a slim chance of winning and were willing to say yes to a Friday night Fracebook message from a stranger requesting to meet for coffee. 

It’s easy to take two seconds and write “Happy Birthday” on a friend’s Facebook wall. It’s a little harder to take an extra step and do something memorable. 

But if Cup 43 taught me anything, it’s the extra step that creates the opportunities. 

And in today’s world—the opportunities can take you anywhere in the world. 

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Back to Reality

Hello from the Big Apple!

After seven incredible weeks in Europe I am back in the United States!

Over the past two months, I have been in a new city every three or four days meeting new people, seeing great sights and enjoying great food along the way. It has been a great learning experience and one that would not have happened without 52 Cups. The lessons I’ve learned and people I’ve met were the inspiration that led me to Europe.

I have more cups to post from Europe but they are slightly delayed. Fitting in time to write last week was challenging, which is one reason I’m happy to be home. I’ve missed my long afternoons spent in my favorite cafes. Those afternoons will now resume!

I greatly appreciate your patience and continued support of the project. The feedback I’ve received from so many of you makes the process so much sweeter.

Thanks.

Cup 42

Person: Mihaela Fabian

Drink: Cafe Americano in Den Haag, Netherlands

Before Cup 42 I had never given Romania much thought.
 
After Cup 42, I decided I needed to visit Romania so I did some research and swung through Bucharest on my way to Istanbul (I took this picture while there). Here’s a very quick history lesson:

After WWI, Romania was experiencing an era of prosperity. At the start of WWII the country wanted to remain neutral; however, a Soviet Ultimatum forced them to the Axis side. When the war ended the Soviet Union forced Romania into a social republic. Over the following decades the Communist government established a reign of terror over the country.   

In 1974, Nicolae Ceausescu took over as the Romanian President and began borrowing heavily to finance economic programs for the Socialist Republic of Romania. This left the country more than $13 billion dollars in debt. To solve the problem, Ceausescu began exporting agricultural and other industrial products to repay the debt. The plan worked economically but left Romanians in a dire situation—Ceausescu exports depleted the country of adequate resources to survive. In the 80’s, Romanians faced food rationing and frequent electricity blackouts to conserve food and fuel.

Mihaela Fabian was one of the many Romanians forced to endure the suffering and decline in standard of living.

…

We were sitting in the cafeteria at the Museon museum of popular science in Den Haag as Mihaela recounted the experience. As a young woman in school, she would be working on homework when the lights would shut off leaving her to finish the work in the dark and with food shortages, many staple items were unattainable. Mihaela shared a vivid memory of the first time she was able to leave Romania. The train station where she arrived  had bananas and beer for sale—she let out a cry of joy she was so excited. There were no bananas or beer in Romania.

It was clear that it was not an easy situation but she said close family ties helped her through it. Luckily life is much different now. The Romanian Revolution of 1989 brought an end to Ceausescu’s grisly reign and paved the way for a democracy that is slowly rebuilding the country after it’s rocky past.

As for Mihaela, she is no longer a young woman facing food shortages in Romania.

She is the wife of the Romanian Ambassador to the Netherlands.

…

My aunt Kim met Mihaela through the International Wives Club she joined when my uncle’s job moved them from Houston, Texas to the Netherlands. The club, which has a couple dozen ladies from all different countries and cultures, helps women that are new to a country meet other English speaking  women in the same situation. When my aunt told me about the group she mentioned Mihaela would be fascinating to talk with.

As luck would have it, one night while out to dinner we ran into Mihaela who was having dinner with a friend. My aunt introduced us and we set up a meeting for the following morning.  

…

I was forunate to grow up in a household where we never worried if there would be enough food on the table or if the lights would work when we flipped the switch. This made it difficult to grasp what Mihaela’s life was like growing up. It was even harder to try and comprehend how a ruler could allow his people to suffer in such a way (especially when a week later I visited Bucharest and saw the multi-billion dollar parliament building Ceausescu built during his reign).

I asked Mihaela if, during the difficult times, she ever imagined she’d be leading the distinguished life of a diplomat. She said she hadn’t.

Then she told me an older woman once told her she was lucky. 

It wasn’t a boastful comment. In fact, she immediately followed up with a disclaimer:

You pay a price for luck.

Mihaela endured difficult times, worked hard and made sacrifices to get to where she is today. In college, Mihaela studied psychology before becoming a speech pathologist for children with hearing impairments. There was great joy in her voice as she described years of working with the kids; watching their growth and development.

She explained the woman she was with the previous night was a former patient of hers. The young woman had lost her hearing when she was six months old because of an incorrect dose of antibiotics. This left her facing an uncertain future. Fortunately Miheala found her and through their work together, the girl developed the necessary skills to excel in high school and continue onto college where she is now working on an advanced degree in medicine.

Mihaela was filled with pride as she told the story and then said there are many other students she still stays in touch with. She was good at her job.

But then her husband became an ambassador and Mihaela knew she would have to quit her job to help serve her country.  

It is clear she misses it. While we were talking, two dozen preschoolers on a field trip ran past the window of the cafeteria toward the museum entrance temporarily stealing Michaela’s attention in the process. She loves kids.

But she also loves her country. Despite the difficulties it has had, Mihaela speaks of Romania with great affection and is grateful for the opportunity to show others what the country has to offer. She spends a lot of time meeting people and talking about Romania, which—between her warm personality and easy sense of humor—is a role the suits her. It didn’t surprise me when she said she made friends wherever she went.

We were on the topic of friendships when she casually said,

“We have to raise the potential of others.”

Mihaela sees the potential in kids and the potential in her country so she works hard to help both achieve that potential, and more. 

That is what I’ll talk away from Cup 42. We all have the capacity to help others find a higher level of success.   

Wether it’s helping young patients, serving as a diplomat for a Romania or befriending a Texan recently transplanted to the Netherlands, Mihaela helps people create a brighter future.

That’s probably why she’s so lucky.

It’s like the old adage that a rising tide lifts all boats; if you help make someone’s life a little better you make the world a little better—and that goodness eventually makes its way back to you.

The concept is simple but often forgotten. We get so wrapped up in achieving our own success we think we don’t stop to think about others.

Or worse, we hinder others’ success to make ourselves look better.

But achieving success that way won’t bring the joy I saw in Miheala’s eyes or the sense of accomplishment she radiates when she talks about her work. Success like that only happens when you’ve made the world better for someone else. 

That’s the success I hope to achieve. 

If I’m lucky.

Cup 41

Person: Roman Kroke

Drink: Espresso

I was sitting on a small floor cushion inside a fourth floor studio in Art House Tacheles. It’s an art center in Berlin that began as a department store in the Jewish quarter that was later used as a Nazi prison. When the Berlin wall fell the partially demolished building was overtaken by artists and transformed into studio space and a nightclub. It’s interior is filled with wall to wall graffiti and a streams of visitors looking at both the building and the art of its tenants.

Roman Kroke’s studio was much calmer than the rest of the building. Old American music played softly in the background while small candles on the table created a soft light illuminating the walls covered with black and white photos, old handwritten notes and black and white illustrations depicting scenes from the 1940s. After spending a day discovering Berlin’s history, it was moving to be in a building and a room with so much history and character.
 
The illustrations on Roman’s wall depicted excerpts from Diaries of the Dutch Jew Etty Hillesum. It is one of his most prominent projects. Etty was in her mid-20s during the Holocaust. The book, published posthumously, starts with intimate diary reflections describing the difficulties of life in Amsterdam during the German Occupation. The second half is a series of letters she sent from the Westerbork work camp where she lived until she was taken to Auschwitz and later died. Roman illustrated several scenes from the book for a documentary titled The Convoy and is now turning illustrations into a published book.

The pictures and letters covering Roman’s walls serve as both research and inspiration. His work, which focuses on the Halocaust and Berlin’s history, helps draw attention to events that are too often forgotten or misinterpreted—he loves interpreting history from a fresh perspective. As he told me, history from yesterday can teach us lessons we can apply tomorrow.

Roman career is much different than the one he had when he left university. As young student he had a difficult time narrowing his many interests down into one degree but eventually settled on International Human Rights Law. After several internships, his law career was off to a good start; however, he quickly realized he was not meant to have a life in law. His true passion was illustration.

He continued working part time as a lawyer and researcher while he launched his art career and eventually reached a point where he could be an artist full time. When I asked Roman if there was something he wished he had known back when he finished earning his law degree and he answered with a metaphor:

Every tree begins as a seed and grows inch by inch. No seed becomes a big tree overnight because every step is necessary.

He was saying you have to endure both good and bad to grow. The way he phrased his answer was powerful. Roman answered many of my questions with similar stories or insights—sometimes he answered my question with a question of his own. I appreciated his insight and imagination because it forced me to examine things from different perspectives.

Roman sees the world from a different angle and that quality leads to fascinating and thought-provoking conversation. I could see why the friend I was staying with in Berlin suggested we meet. Our conversation covered a variety of topics. One minute we are talking about the art workshops he runs for high school kids, the next I am writing down a list of my favorite country music artists. I told him I like country music because it reminds me of home and he asked me to write down a few names he could look into since country isn’t popular in Germany. 

After I’d written a list, Roman looked at it and commented that my handwriting was interesting; very linear—straight lines, sharp points, few curves. I found his observation interesting because earlier that week I’d looked through the hundreds of pictures I’d taken so far on the trip and realized I was drawn to pictures that had straight lines and symmetry. I took out my camera and showed him one of my favorites; a cross section of the Berlin wall that had several parallel lines.

Roman looked at the picture and agreed that it was very linear but then noted the fluffy clouds and blue sky were an important piece of the photo. He said without the sunny backdrop, the picture would be too structured and therefore boring. Then he pointed out the reverse is also true. A picture of a blue sky without substance would also be boring.

What makes the photo interesting is the mix of the two—the dichotomy of the wall’s strong presence against the peacefulness of the sky. It had the right balance.

I loved his critique of his photo because his insight related to more than just photography. It related to life. The key is finding the right balance.

During the course of our conversation Roman and I talked about the challenges of doing creative work, especially when self-employed, and it was clear many of the challenges stem from finding the right mix of two things. Working hard without overworking or burning out. Moving a project forward without forcing it. Enjoying the moment but still preparing for the future. Striving for greater things while still appreciating what you have. Being creative yet pragmatic, confident yet humble. The list goes on.

Finding balance is incredibly difficult—and even if you do, it’s usually for a fleeting moment. Life is too fluid. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth the effort. Roman uses swimming as an outlet for stress, surrounds himself with people that support his efforts and fortunately has incredible passion for his work that pushes him through the moments of doubt that everyone experiences.

…

I’m glad I met Roman and heard his stories before going back to the US and jumping into a career. Too often people get so wrapped up in their work they neglect another aspect of their lives—family, friends, heath, etc. It works for a while, but if the balance is wrong for too long, things start to fall apart.

Cup 41, and the picture of Berlin, serves as a reminder that I need to have structure in my life, but not so much that I don’t have blue skies too.

Because everyone’s life is a unique piece of art. And like Roman said, if you find the right balance you make it interesting.

You might even make a masterpiece.