We became friends in 2008 when I assumed office as the pioneer Executive Director/CEO of Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation, Lagos, where I initiated media parley with the management of the foundation. Waheed Bakare was among the several Muslim journalists that honoured my invitation even though he knew me not before that time. Waheed as popularly called was an unassuming person. That was the first impression I got from him on the first day of our meeting and remained consistent until his demise.

Within the span of those years, it was either we met at one of the events of the foundation or another Muslim programme. On other occasions, we spoke on phones about upcoming events of the foundation or Nigerian Project or how to support the Muslim journalists by building their capacity. Waheed was a selfless journalist who put the interest of his colleagues in the media profession above his. Any opportunity he had with me, he always centred his conversations on the need for the Muslim Ummah to work insidiously either through collaboration or partnership with local or international organisations on the human capital development of Muslim journalists. I recall a particular day when he called me on phone to express his joy upon hearing that our foundation had muted the idea of sponsoring Muslim journalists abroad for training. He was very excited and appreciative of the initiative and wished that many other Islamic faith-based organisations could emulate our footstep.

Waheed was also a reliable, trusted and loyal friend. During the wedding of one of my daughters, he was among those I sent late invite to. In spite of his previous commitments which clashed with the date of the wedding, he honoured my family with his attendance from the beginning to the end of the ceremony. Waheed demonstrated his loyalty as a true friend.

To say Waheed Bakare was a Muslim activist and core professional in the media sector is an understatement.

Aside being a practising Muslim, he used the pen to propagate Islam, defend its image and represent the interest of the larger Ummah without infringing on the rights of non-Muslims. He was able to balance Islamic activism with professionalism. Like the sayings of Ali bn Abi Talib, the value of every person is found in what he is best at, inspired by altruistic motive, I can say that Waheed was never found wanting in his journalism profession by any of his employers and within the space of the Muslim Ummah till his soul returned to its creator.

My tribute to Waheed will not be completed if I do not mention that he was humane, kind-hearted and generous. Many people have wrong impression about journalists. Majority will even throw caution to the wind by associating beggary with journalism. Of course, this is far from been true. Again, I recall early this year, 11th January 2020, when I created a WhatsApp group named A Helping Hand used for crowd funding to bail out a young school certificate girl that lost her father and her family were ejected from their apartment because they could not afford the rental fee among other existential challenges. Though I dont know the girl before our conversation, I promised to assist her.

At that time, I was financially constrained. I thought of what to do for this girl that wolfs in human skins wanted to take advantage of. Allahs guidance came at hand. In my own words, quoting from the wall of the group However, due to the urgency and circumstances beyond my control at this period, I am unable to do the needful. Hence, I have to reach out to kind-hearted people like you for a FAVOUR on behalf of a distressed Muslim sister, who needs urgent assistance of #500,000.

The late Waheed Bakare was among the few kind-hearted friends I added to the group. Within 24 hours, I was able to realise N750,000 for the distressed girl. Waheed kept sending private sms explaining the difficulty he was experiencing from network failure which caused his inability to make his donation. I was impressed that some men such as Waheed from the fourth estate of the realm could be so passionate and moved by altruism to support the distressed girl. He never rested until his payment transfer was successful. He donated handsomely. Indeed, in the words of Abubakar, the first Caliph, Taking pains to remove the pains of others is the true essence of generosity Without mincing words, Waheed Bakare contributed in removing the pains of others. He was indeed a generous person.

Waheed Bakare did not stop after his donation; he was also a strong advocate of crowdfunding for the benefits of others. In his words when I initiated the crowdfunding, he said: This should not be a one-off thing please. Five months after he uttered the statement, Waheed never had any premonition that his journey on the path of humanity would be terminated so soon. Succinctly put, the fourth Caliph, Ali bn Abi Talib said: Days are the pages of life, so make them eternal with your best deeds. Waheed had paid his dues on the path of goodness to his creator and fellow human beings.

Despite the great pains his exit has caused us in the last day of the month of forgiveness, mercy, blessings and period of Eid-il-Fitr celebration, one is hopeful and prayerful that Allahs mercy will be on his soul and Jannatul Firdaws will be his final abode. For, Allah is with the doers of goods. Q29:69.

Finally, as advocated by Waheed himself, part of my tribute to him is the need to use the same crowdfunding strategy to mobilise fund for his immediate family (wife and children) in order to soothe their pains and reposition the familys economic sustainability and human capital development. As a suggestion, if the funding strategy is efficiently handled, may be by his immediate constituency the Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN), I believe, a reasonable millions of naira could be realised within a short time to wipe the tears of the family Waheed Bakare left behind. In the words of William Shakespeare in As You Like It, Men have died from time to time, and worms have eaten them, but not for love. Indeed, those that have genuine love for Waheed Bakare, this is the time to rise and do something tangible for his family. Albert Einstein once said Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value. Let the friends and colleagues of Waheed add values to the friendship we had with him even after his demise. For, Hilary Hinto, popularly known as Zig Ziglar said You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.

Therefore, let us use crowdfunding to humanise his family. Crowdfunding is a cost-effective and impactful strategy of raising fund within a short period for an urgent and time bound challenge or event. I will end my tribute with the summary statements of the Chief of Staff to the Governor of Ogun State, Alhaji Shuaib Afolabi Salis (SAS), on the crowdfunding I used which Waheed participated. SAS said:

Before we shut down the platform, permit me to share the lessons this exercise has further reinforced in me.

1) Muslims are responsive and do donate to a worthy cause, contrary to self-denigrating narrative we like to parrot about ourselves. 2) The response is directly proportional to the credibility and social capital of the anchor. 3) Break any problem down to smaller bits, it is easier to chew the bits and solve the problem in no time. 4) Eniyan lasomi Build and network that you can always tap into, whenever there is need. The young lady did, our brother, Abdullah, just demonstrated it. 5) Dont hide the finger that hurts you and keep lamenting. Share the problem appropriately and the help may be on the way.

Less than 24 hours ago, the target was oversubscribed by 50%.

These principles are applicable to not only raising N500K but any other project.

I wish some of our numerous WhatsApp platforms will do less with copying and forwarding over circulated and irrelevant posts and use social media for more meaningful engagements.

Lastly, I thank my friend, Abdullah Shuaib, PhD, for the initiative and the window he offered to us to be part of this commendable effort.

May Allah reward us with the best of our intentions.

Dr Abdullahi Shuaib, CEO, Jaiz Charity and Development Foundation, Abuja

Vanguard Nigeria News

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Waheed Bakare: A clear definition of altruism - Vanguard

She has proved that age is no bar when it comes to battling hardships, no matter how unfavourable the circumstances. A 100-year-old woman who had tested positive along with other family members has successfully defeated the novel coronavirus after an 11-day battle. The woman Chanda Bai, from Nehru Nagar, Indore, was discharged from a city-based hospital after recovering from the infection. This came shortly after a fortnight when her 70-year-old son died due to suspected coronavirus infection.

The officials have termed her recovery as the triumph of her strong will power. The elderly woman was facing a lot of difficulties to move around due to her knee problems. Her 70-year-old son had died a few days ago. But due to her strong will and the treatment, the elderly patient finally recovered and returned home, they were quoted by a news agency.

The elderly woman, along with five members of her family, was screened for COVID-19 and hospitalised after testing positive. Her son, though, didnt make it. According to a family member, he exhibited COVID-19 like symptoms, including fever and cough. However, even before his samples could be taken for testing, his condition suddenly deteriorated, and he died during the treatment.

That is when the entire family of 16 members decided to get tested for the disease, which confirmed that six people from the family, including the centenarian woman and 10-year-old twinsa brother-sister duo, were infected. They were since then hospitalised at Sri Aurobindo Institute Medical Sciences (SAIMS) Hospital in Indore.

Indore is one of the worst-hit districts in the country in terms of the spread of coronavirus. On Friday, the number of COVID-19 patients increased to 2,850 in the district. Of these, 109 patients have died, while 1,280 people have recovered from the epidemic after treatment.

Photo: Representational image

Also Read: Girl Who Cycled 1200km In 7 Days During Lockdown Called For Sports Trial

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100-Year-Old Woman Defeats COVID-19, 17 Days After Losing Son To The Virus - Femina

In the absence of theatres, many film-centric organizations have been finding creative ways to show moviesand, moreover, to get movies seen. In the process, theyre overcoming one of the long-standing woes of moviegoingthe extremely limited and localized release of many of the best films. Its a constant frustration to see great movies playing, say, one week at one New York venue, knowing that theyll then drop into oblivion until, months or even years later, they come out streaming. The BBC has taken a bold step to help: on Thursday, they launched LongShots, an online film festival of seven international documentaries, all available to view for the next month, free of charge (viewers can vote to determine the winner).

Id read an enthusiastic review of one of these films, Sad Song, directed by Louise Narboni, so thats the one I started with. Its an intricate and painful docu-fiction thats as audacious in its concept as it is troubling in its substance. Elodie Fonnard, a classical-music singer (specializing in Baroque repertory), lives in Paris and is providing a temporary home to Ahmad Shinwari, a young man from Afghanistan. He has arrived in France as a refugee, seeking asylum there, and is awaiting an official answer to his application. Narboni films Fonnard and Shinwari in Fonnards comfortable home (a house with a garden) as they re-create, for the camera, real experiences that they shared.

The action is simple, staged by Narboni in spare, largely static compositionsbut its narrated by Elodie, in voice-over, and her perspective on the action is itself a crucial part of the drama. She explains that, following a personal tragedy, she became active with an organization that assists refugees; there, she met Ahmad and decided to work with him, tutoring him in French, acclimating him to life in France, getting him needed medical care, and helping him assemble his dossier to apply for asylum. Ahmad had worked on his familys small farm in Afghanistan but, under threat from the Taliban, fled first to Kabul and then, after an arduous journey on foot, eventually reached France.

Ahmad is also an accomplished musician and poet; he and Elodie bonded through their love of music and lyrics, and their artistic collaborations and mutual admiration is displayed in action. Yet it has no practical or professional outlet; Elodie is busily pursuing her career, preparing for a recital involving a varied repertory (including songs by Duparc and Szymanowski), and Ahmad, while waiting for the French bureaucracy to take up his case, is in a holding pattern, doing household chores, studying with Elodie, and thinking about his family at home. He has long suspected that, during his absence from home, his mother has been concealing from him the death of his sister; when he eventually gets confirmation of this news (which leaves him his mothers sole source of support), it complicates his plans to stay in France. Yet the greatest complication involves the possibility (no spoilers) of a romance between Ahmad and Elodie.

Sad Song is both a straightforward drama and an elaborate reconstruction that reflects, with aesthetic self-awareness, the troubling complexity of its own attempt to tell Ahmads story through the double framework of Elodies personal perspective and Narbonis cinematic one. What the movie presents of Ahmads life is largely based on what he told Elodie, and what, working with him, she carefully pieced together and then translated into French for official presentation in his dossier to apply for asylum. (Their common language is English; they speak French together only rarely, whereas Elodies copious voice-over is in French.) Ahmad acknowledges that his renactment of his life with Elodie at the time of the administrative bottleneck is itself therapeutic. Still, no less than Ahmad is subject to French authority, hes also subject to Elodies gaze, Elodies interpretation, Elodies domestic regimeand to Narbonis cinematic reconstitution of his life by way of Elodies perspective.

Sad Songs subject is subjectivity, the very possibility of presenting Ahmad as a subject who expresses himself, and the fact that every mediating presenceElodie, the French state, and Narboni herselffails in some way to render Ahmads story in his own voice. (Theres even a noteworthy, seemingly unintended pun on the soundtrack, when Elodie hopes that hell find sa voiehis waywhich is a homonym for sa voix, his voice.) The films representation and dramatization of this failure is key to its severe and anguished success; its a story of the camera as an unseeing eye, of vision as a mode of overlooking. It is more than a crucial tale of the dire personal, physical, emotional, and political circumstances that refugees are now facing in their effort to seek safe haven. Its an artistic way of thinking about the very difficulty that outsiders face in even thinking about refugees and in trying to help.

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What to Stream: Sad Song, an Audacious French Documentary from the BBCs Online Film Festival - The New Yorker

The #FeedTheNation social campaign helps raise awareness by sharing farmers views on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to reassure the public at large that the farming community is doing the best it can to keep the country going.

Despite being classed as very high risk to coronavirus, 86-year-old Devonshire farmer Alec Burrough, is working every day to keep Britain farming and help #FeedTheNation.

What farmers do today will most likely stay in the publics mind for a generation. However, with farmers humility and self-awareness, they are not describing themselves as heroes but simply declaring their willingness to help in any way they can and be as supportive and welcoming as safely and realistically possible.

Farmers are helping to feed the nation during the coronavirus pandemic by setting up makeshift drive-through shops. Manor Farm Fruits, near Hints, Staffordshire, is growing 22 hectares of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants and blackberries, and is offering its first-ever Strawberry Drive-thru.

Key players in agriculture have got behind the #FeedTheNation campaign to back UK farmers working flat out to produce safe, affordable and sustainable food to feed the nation. It has never been more important to show the British public the effort that goes into putting food on their tables.

The campaign is raising public awareness by highlighting the actions farmers are taking to keep the nation going during difficult times.

Response to the campaign has been both surprising and outstanding, but most of all, the comments have been heart-warming.

As part of the #FeedTheNation campaign, Farmers Weekly has created the Farmers Army initiative. The Farmers Army was created in the spirit of the 1941 competition published in Farmers Weeklys Home Section that asked for ideas about how the thousands of women and children evacuated from towns might be brought into a useful relationship with country and farming life.

In the 1940s the Land Army helped win a war through resilience and sheer stubbornness and now 80 years later Farmers Weekly is once again asking the general public to come and help farmers that need domestic seasonal workers to tackle the harvest labour shortage and be able to #FeedTheNation.

Karl Schneider, Editor of Farmers Weekly, said:

Britain's farmers are playing a vital role in this crisis. It falls to all of us to work together to do everything we can to keep our farms - and our nation - going.

Farmers Weekly is now taking the #FeedTheNation campaign a step forward and are asking all media outlets to help and work together to connect farmers that would like to donate part of their harvest with charities such as feeding low income families and our NHS heroes in cities, towns and villages across the UK.

Help with suggestions and contacts of charities all over the UK that would like to get involved and share the good work that farmers and the supply chain are doing to keep the nation fed. Use the hashtag #FeedTheNation and join the conversion on social media.

Read more:
#FeedTheNation campaign showcases the best in British farming - The Pig Site

The ability to stay strong is about learning how to keep hardship in perspective, and taking active steps to adjust to the circumstances.

MONTREAL, Quebec (PRWEB) May 30, 2020

During a crisis, the platitude stay strong is well-intended, but difficult to put into practice. Resilience is not an inherent trait - it is developed and strengthened through hardship. Recent research conducted by PsychTests.com reveals that mentally tough people nurture a specific type of mindset, and engage in certain practices in order to stay strong in the face of adversity. It seems that resilience isnt just a state of mind; its also a state of action.

Analyzing data from 12,259 people who took the Emotional Intelligence Test, PsychTests researchers focused their analysis on two distinct groups: Those who are highly resilient (in the 90th percentile and higher), and those who are not. Heres where the two groups differed:

RESILIENT PEOPLE BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES, AND HAVE A STRONG SENSE OF SELF-WORTH

RESILIENT PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS WORKING ON THEMSELVES

RESILIENT PEOPLE ACTIVELY PRACTICE SPECIFIC COPING METHODS TO DEAL WITH STRESS

RESILIENT PEOPLE STRIVE TO MAINTAIN A POSITIVE OUTLOOK

RESILIENT PEOPLE DEVELOP THEIR SELF-AWARENESS, AND STAY IN TOUCH WITH THEIR INNER WORLD

Resilience is an elusive trait, because were never really taught how to be strong, either by our parents or in school, explains Dr. Jerabek, president of PsychTests. Were told to toughen up, man up, stay positive, or that things will get better eventually, but are not told how to do that. And so we learn to simply ride out storms in our life by hanging on for dear life, or drowning out the pain, neither of which develops our resilience very much. This is because resilience is an active process. Tough people dont sit back and let adversity wash over them like a tidal wave; they take action. They consciously monitor their thoughts and feelings, summon up various coping techniques, stay in the moment rather than ruminating about the future or the what-ifs, and they face their problems head-on. So when a proverbial storm comes, resilient people become the captains of their ship. They take charge, and take steps to improve their situation, or their attitude."

"This is what we need to be doing during the pandemic," suggests Dr. Jerabek. "Dont just sit at home obsessively watching the news and worrying about what is to come. Accept what is going on, and then take steps to adapt. Ask yourself what you can do right now to make things better, even just a little. Find soothing activities, learning new coping techniques, practice mindfulness and meditation, keep yourself busy, and then at the end of the day, count every single one of your blessings. This is what it means to be resilient.

To schedule an interview with Dr. Jerabek, go here: https://calendly.com/ilonajerabek/30-min-meeting-with-dr-ilona-jerabek

Want to assess your EQ? Check out our Emotional Intelligence Test at: https://testyourself.psychtests.com/testid/3979

Or take the free Pandemic Resilience Test here: https://testyourself.psychtests.com/testid/4106

Professional users, such as HR managers, coaches, and therapists, can request a free demo for Emotional Intelligence Test or other assessments from ARCH Profiles extensive battery: http://hrtests.archprofile.com/testdrive_gen_1

The Pandemic Resilience Test is available free of charge to all ARCH Profile clients (employers/companies), coaches, and therapists) who can offer it as a screening and personal development tool to employees and clients. Businesses can request a free demo for this or other assessments from ARCH Profiles extensive battery here: http://hrtests.archprofile.com/testdrive_gen_1

To learn more about psychological testing, download this free eBook: http://hrtests.archprofile.com/personality-tests-in-hr

About PsychTests AIM Inc. PsychTests AIM Inc. originally appeared on the internet scene in 1996. Since its inception, it has become a pre-eminent provider of psychological assessment products and services to human resource personnel, therapists, academics, researchers and a host of other professionals around the world. PsychTests AIM Inc. staff is comprised of a dedicated team of psychologists, test developers, researchers, statisticians, writers, and artificial intelligence experts (see ARCHProfile.com).

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A nifty little low-budget retro-UFO feature, The Vast of Night lands on Amazon Prime after first touching down at Slamdance and Toronto in 2019, leaving behind some impressive crop circles (so to speak). Its the directorial debut of Andrew Patterson, whos been labeled a newcomer to keep your eyeballs on; he seems as inspired by Richard Linklater as he is by J.J. Abrams, and recently got a stamp of approval from Steven Soderbergh. So does the movie match the hype, or should we tamp down our expectations a bit before pressing play?

The Gist: Cayuga, New Mexico is a small town so small, when its 1950-something and theres a high school basketball game, its deserted to the point that a flying saucer or two could stop by to top off the tank and grab a Mountain Dew and hardly anybody would notice. But Everett (Jake Horowitz) is a radio man and Fay (Sierra McCormick) is a switchboard operator, and their jobs never sleep, so theyre gonna miss the game. They dont seem bummed about that at all. These platonic teenage pals would rather break in Fays nifty new tape recorder, and banter about gee-whiz-bang gizmos of the future, like electric roads that pilot cars while drivers sleep, or tubes that whoosh people quickly across long distances, or the least plausible of them all, miniature wireless TV-phones that people will carry with them everywhere. Ridiculous!

But the movie fades in on an old tube TV set framing what were about to see as a grainy episode of Paradox Theater complete with an eerie Twilight Zoned-out musical theme so we know this isnt going to be your typical night of spinning tunes and patching in callers dedications. Fay jabs a quarter-inch plug into a socket with a resounding tactile snap and hears a strange noise, a thrumming oscillation that sounds oddly like a Tralfamadorian P-920 warp drive or something thereabouts. So she plays it for Everett, who soon shares it on the radio waves, promising a piece of Elvis carpet for any caller who might identify it.

And the phone jingles and jangles as era-specific phones do. One call is from an ex-soldier who was selected for a crazy military coverup project because hes black and nobody would listen to his wild story; hes very sick now. Another is from an old woman with a more haunting tale that nobody likely believed because a female voice was telling it. And theres no doubt Fay and Everetts little saga is about to get much weirder.

Performance Worth Watching: McCormicks performance brims with confidence. The movie wholly pivots on her axis in a long, one-take scene that steadily alters the movies tone from upbeat to eerie: Fay navigates her switchboard like a pro, popping and plugging cables and chattering like the old-timey operator she is and slowly realizing this night isnt a normal night, not at all.

Memorable Dialogue: When Fay assuredly pushes back that Everett is a bit of an overbearing jerk sometimes, he replies, You are on a stick with me tonight! (You go, girl? You go, girl!)

Sex and Skin: None.

Our Take: McCormicks assured work represents The Vast of Night perfectly its a thoroughly tenacious and engaging film, clever but never gimmicky, detailed but never mired down in its bobbysoxers and horned-rimmers. I went into it with zero expectations (I read up on the buzz after watching), and was caught off guard by its tenacious pace, buzzing energy and eerie atmosphere.

Its full of long takes not to flash for flashiness sake, but to draw us in, establish character and setting and elongate suspense. Listen to how its lengthy monologues hypnotize and tease us, make us a little bit tense. Notice how exterior sequences are lit by streetlights suspended across roads, hovering on cables, or the ghostly glow of a water tower in the corner of the frame. It concludes not sensationally, but with spooky and awesome visual poetry.

Our Call: The Vast of Night is a stunner on many fronts. STREAM IT!

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com or follow him on Twitter: @johnserba.

Stream The Vast of Night on Amazon Prime

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Stream It Or Skip It: 'The Vast of Night' on Amazon Prime, an Earnestly Clever Neo-Throwback UFO Thriller - Decider

The coronavirus pandemic has put leadership the good and the bad into the spotlight.

But throughout the crisis, executives from around the world have pointed out that empathy, vulnerability, and honesty is the key for being a great leader and colleague. Above all, when this crisis is over, executives say that these will be key attributes for when they look for the next generation of the workforce.

Emotional intelligence, or emotional quotient, is vital to our success in the workplace and it is something employers are on the lookout for when hiring.Essentially, IQ is knowing things and EQ is knowing people.

Ranked one of the top 10 skills that employees need to possess to thrive at work by theWorld Economic Forum, EQ affects our self-awareness, how we interact with colleagues, bosses and clients and impacts how we make personal decisions.

Gathering for a DIAL Global Digital Summit, where Verizon Media is a strategic partner, leaders at the worlds largest organisations discussed how companies can lead and win through inclusion and how organisations can craft better inclusion strategies for a competitive edge.

In the fifth session, entitled Future-proofing the workplace and shaping the new and better normal withpeople at its core, executive leaders explained how theyre preparing for the future, however uncertain that may be, and tell us about their perception and challenges ahead in our new world of work.

READ MORE: Why employers want to hire people with 'emotional intelligence'

Ann Pickering, Former CHRO &Chief of Staff, O2 (Telefonica UK) (TEF) said that going forward, trustful and empathetic leadership will continue to be the key to unlocking productivity at a company. She said that employers need to keep up with employees and regardless of what the new normal looks like, it always comes down to the culture.

She said that I have always said, working at company should be like a hotel, not a prison. Staff should choose to want to stay, not just work here because it pays the bills. Pickering added that by fostering an inclusive and empathetic culture ultimately has led to huge amounts of discretionary effort when it comes to work.

Board effectiveness has never been more critical. Boards may not understand that they need to change or the way they lead needs to change, but thats what required going forward, she said.

Pickerings thoughts were supported by a range of executives from previous sessions at the DIAL Global Digital Summit. Bosses at Siemens (SIE.DE), Just Eat (JET.L), and Verizon Media(VZ) said that the crisis has actually turbo-charged some positives changes and presented opportunities to make the world of work a better place such as empathetic leadership.

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Coronavirus: Why concept of 'EQ' is the key leadership quality firms will seek out - Yahoo Finance UK

SIX YEARS AGO, Gary Vaynerchuk was on a night flight back to New York from a speaking gig in what might have been Dallasthese things tend to blur into one for Vaynerchukwhen he leaned his head against the window and had a realization. He was 38 years old, overworked, and out of shape.

I said to myself, Youre going to die younger than you need to if you dont start eating better and working out, and just literally decided right then, within seconds, that on my 40th birthday I was going to hire this trainer, and then theyre going to follow me around in perpetuity, he says. As the flight went on, the plan accelerated. By the time I landed and hit the ground, it went toWhy not start now?

He soon locked down a personal trainer, and suddenly, fitness became Gary Vaynerchuks latest hustle toward getting happier.

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As Vaynerchuk stories go, this one is extremely on-brand. That's because "GaryVee," as hes known among his legion of often young admirers, has built his reputation on moving quickly when inspiration strikes. As the bootstrapping tale goes, he's the guy who, nearly a decade and a half ago, transformed a discount liquor store in New Jersey into an online wine-selling empire through the then-novel sales tactic of creating a YouTube channel and making people really care about him and his products. (The channel was called Wine Library TV.)

As the shows host, GaryVee appeared to be plainspoken and authentic, with sales insights that turned him into a new-age and occasionally f-bomb-dropping business guru. He quickly parlayed that fame into a line of best-selling books and more advice-sharing YouTubes to build an even bigger multiplatform following. He now has 2.1 million followers on Twitter, 2.6 million subscribers to his YouTube channel, 3.8 million fans on TikTok, and a whopping 7.9 million Instagram followers ready to receive daily koans like Spend 0 seconds dwelling about yesterday. But much of his early appeal revolved around a concept that seemed to take a toll as he aged.

AP

As he shared in a YouTube rant entitled The Most Important Word Ever (spoiler alert: its hustle) that he posted way back in December 2014, the VaynerNation thinks theyre hustling, and straight to your face, I think 99.9 percent of you are not, he says. Everybody has time. Stop watching fucking Lost. That dispatch earned more than 1 million views.

Since he started working out, though, GaryVee seems to have stepped back from that hard stance. In March 2019, he gave a keynote speech at a major marketing forum in Jakarta, the key theme of which was happiness, not hustle. The video is titled 95% of People Are Confused About Success and Happiness. In it he lays out his theory of how to create a better life: I believe that self-awareness, and the ability to actually give without expectations, are the two bricks of happiness, he says in an almost pleading tone with the audience.

The moment comes off as seemingly smart but also a little crypticanother classic GaryVee tactic to get people to listen closer.

WHEN I TALKED to GaryVee during a Zoom call in mid-May, he was isolating at his parents house in New Jersey but still keeping up a busy schedule. He's reportedly married with two young children but is generally guarded about his personal life. "Never assume you have the whole story," he wrote online in defense of apparent criticism of his work-life balance several years ago. "Yeah, you see me working eleven hours and in meetings and flights and hustling. But there is a lot you dont see too."

During our video chat he wore his usual casual uniform, a loose T-shirt and black hat with the letters VS on ithis logo for VaynerSports, his agency, which represents a moderate roster of NFL talent. Beneath the brim, his face was stubbled, and he looked tired.

I think that message got taken too far, he says about his early suggestions that the best way to get ahead was to grind hard, late, and often, although it was unclear if he was taking his own advice.

GaryVee says his days currently begin at 7:00 a.m. with a virtual workout with the same trainer he first hired, Mike Vacantione day arms, the next legs. He looks leaner than he does in older online videos, and says he's added some much needed muscle. He likes training with someone because it holds him accountable.

That's followed by several hours of filming to create his roughly hour-long new YouTube show, Tea With GaryVee, which launched during quarantine to help people during this difficult time, and on which followers tweet at him or even call in virtually for all manner of guidance. It's one way he's realized he can give without expectationhe's responding to what his audience finds most important. He has also learned to pay close attention to how people are receiving each message he puts out into the world. What I do for a living, probably more than anything else, is read comments, he says.

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His afternoons consist of virtual meetings for VaynerX, the umbrella company of the seven businesses in the GaryVee empire, which basically break out various opportunities for the different clients and companies he represents. Theres VaynerSpeakers, VaynerProductions, VaynerCommerce, and other assets. In total, hes estimated to be worth about $160 million. His creative agency, VaynerMedia, has worked with clients like Pepsi, Chase, and Budweiser.

Courtesy of Gary Vaynerchuk

He has dinner with his folks at 7:30 p.m., he says, and spends another hour or two on email in the evenings. Rinse, repeat. Anybody familiar with Vaynerchuk shouldnt be surprised that hes still trying to work under lockdown. But the experience has also prompted himas it has many of usto reflect on his life and business. When he comes out of this, he wants to travel less and spend more time with his kids. He currently makes about 150 flights per year, but says hes planning to reduce that by at least 20 or 30 to start.

He was also helping to organize a coronavirus-relief event called the All-In Challenge, which features a number of sweepstakes and auctions for experiences with celebrities including Tiger Woods, Chris Hemsworth, and Kelly Slater. One prize will give someone yearlong ultimate access to Vaynerchuk, including moments that appear custom-built to help him unplug, although its unclear if hell use this for future online content. The adventures include garage-sale scavenging (a favorite pastime), training sessions with him and Vacanti, and tailgating at a New York Jets game. He hopes to one day buy the forlorn football team.

VAYNERCHUK'S LEGEND AS a hustler is well-known, akin to the Horatio Alger myth and tied into the way many of us judge success still today. He was born in the Soviet Union in 1975, and his American journey began three years later, when his family moved to Queens, New York, before settling in Edison, New Jersey. When Vaynerchuk was a kid, his dad ran a liquor store and the family of eight lived in a small studio apartment. To make his own money, he washed cars, operated a lemonade franchise, and bought and sold sports cards (an interest he maintains to this day).

After graduating college in 1998, Vaynerchuk took over operation of his dads store in Springfield, New Jersey. He rebranded it from Shoppers Discount Liquors to Wine Library, and focused on online sales. In 2006, Vaynerchuk launched Wine Library TV, a daily webcast about wine that he posted on YouTube, which was still in its infancy. Vaynerchuk has large, curious eyes accented by thick eyebrows and a dimpled smile that allows him to make a minimal mood change feel infinitely more expressive. He speaks at a steady pace that makes what hes sharing accessible and not too slick feeling. The effect is earnest yet unapologetic, energetic but empathetic all at the same time.

In five years, his small family business was doing $60 million in annual revenue. GaryVee has since written four best-selling books that read a lot like business and lifestyle how-to manuals with hustle as the recurring ingredient. (The titles include both Crush It! in 2008, and its follow-up a decade laterCrushing It!) As for concrete sales tactics, he offers that, too. His 2013 book, Jab Jab, Jab, Right Hook, covers the one-two punch of first offering your fans something of value and then making your ask.

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During a recent episode of Tea With GaryVee, for instance, he spoke with a young woman about connecting with influencers to help sell her book (You need to be reaching out to every podcast, every platform you can), conversed with a follower about how she can help people by becoming a life coach after getting out of an abusive relationship (The only way youre going to do itits similar to working outyou have to put in the reps, you have to put out the content), and spread his gospel about producing lots and lots of content to gain momentum (Something happens when you put something out).

The actual sell was subtle: He signed off by saying, Im going to hang up now and write todays wine text, because its the single best pinot noir weve ever offered.

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VAYNERCHUK MAY BE pushing for more balance in his lifeand yoursbut hes far from saying hustle is bad word. Coming out of the coronavirus pandemic, he says, I have a funny feeling that hustle and hard work are about to be put on a pedestal again because 50 million Americans are out of jobs.

For him, the current moment feels similar to, although obviously more deadly than, the financial crisis of the late aughts. The economy was in a tailspin. The world was financially melting, and I definitely am a high-energy guy, and I definitely made comments like 7:00 p.m. to two in the morning is your opportunity to shine, because I was desperate to help people, he says. I was like, Hey, youre crying, youre suicidal. The Internets here nowyou could be actually having a job and coming home and starting the next thing that can get you out of it.

I still to this day believe hard work is foundationalbut Im empathetic to it, he says. I could have done a better job to create more clarity about balance. And I think also I have garnered the wisdom over the last 12 to 15 years to realize, wow, when youre a communicator, people are going to run with individual parts and take them directly out of context.

This introspection about how his message is received has prompted more nuance in how he delivers it. The smart hustler needs to pick a pace that feels sustainable because it takes time to get ahead. I would argue with most people that if they dont have the patience to navigate through choppy waters for 18 months, its highly unlikely that theyre going to achieve what they want anyway, he says.

Vaynerchuk admits that hes often winging it onstage, so its fair to say his theory of happiness is fluid. But the Jakarta talk stands out for the way he implores his audience not to simply hustle for what they want but to live a life thats fulfilling to them. Self-awareness, Vaynerchuk explains, is about competence over insecurity. Self-awareness means knowing your shortcomings and being okay with them. It means reading people around you and knowing your audience. Giving without expectations means having no agenda. I think a lot of people give as a manipulation tactic. Its, youre giving for a reason, he says.

In Jakarta, he made no promises that his advice could lead his listeners to financial success. Instead, he told the crowd, almost all of whom were young entrepreneurs, that many of them would fail. The point, he said, isnt success alone. The point is to make sure youre doing something because you believe in yourself, and then, because in many ways you cant control the outcome, to learn to feel good about the way you tried to make that happen.

Please, my friends, dont live a life that gets you to 80, 90, 100 years old, where youre sitting there saying, I wish I did, Vaynerchuk said at the event. Older people will not talk to you about what they did, but what they didnt do.You have one life, you might as well live it.

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To that end, his recent social-media posts have been affirmingand could also read as his own reminders to maintain a less-frantic lifestyle. Stop telling people how to fix themselves, fix you, he writes in one. Everythings scary until its not, says another.

If more people decide to tune in for that kind of wisdom, the happiness message could become pretty lucrative for GaryVee. But he appears to genuinely value his new perspective.

"I used to think I was outworking people[but] as I became more known and had more human interactions, things started to become clear to me, Vaynerchuk says. Its funny, because Im such a modern communicator, but Im such an old-school character. As Ive gotten older, Im like, Oh, right. I believe in the shit that the 90-year-olds believe in. You know what I mean?

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Gary Vaynerchuk on Coronavirus, Work-Life Balance, and His New YouTube Show - Men's Health

"We are leaving the industrial economy and entering the connection economy." -- Seth Godin

The disruption to the world's economies caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to wipe out 6.7% of working hours globally in the second quarter of this year -- the equivalent of 195 million jobs worldwide, according to theUN's Labor Body. And that statistic excludes employed people seeking new roles. In an increasingly tight job market, connection is king. And referral is the currency of choice. Are you hoping to hit the connection jackpot by playing the uncertain game of chance networking while your career is on the line?

You'll need more than luck to beat the odds in the COVID Connection Economy. Every day we are on the receiving end of burgeoning invitations to connect. And we are not alone. So it is your dream boss. Your ideal mentor. Your future recruiter. Your future hiring manager. And your future investor.

Successful connections and referrals begin with articulating your story in a trustworthy and unique way. It's about demonstrating competence and character.

Referrals result from how effectively you differentiate yourself. What you expect from a good mentor is also what you can find in a good referral. To earn a good referral, you must be able to demonstrate competence and character. You must demonstrate trustworthiness and unique abilities that set you apart from others. A good mentor will teach you how to think, not what to think. A good referral reveals who you are, not what just what you can do.

That's why it is shocking to repeatedly discover these six strangers -- and one standout superstar -- asking for connection and help. How often do you masquerade as one of these characters in your "click to connect" messages?

Fortunately, I occasionally hear from Powerhouse Pat. Who is Powerhouse Pat?

Powerhouse Patis the standout superstar in a cast of mediocrity. Prepared. Articulate. Focused. With clear priorities. Talking points. Examples of outcomes and impact. A well thought out ask at the end of the message. And an offer of shared value or reciprocity. Powerhouse Pat is the one who gets the yes. The connection. The referral.

How can you show up as Powerhouse Pat and increase your odds of a successful outcome? Invest as much thought in crafting your "click to connect" message as you would in preparing for a job interview. Your message matters. Your message is your tool to make a great first impression. And to differentiate yourself.

Remember, the simplest message is always the strongest. Before you send your high stakes "click to connect" referral request, be sure your invitation message concisely answers these four questions:

Success begins with your story.

These are very difficult times for people who are looking for meaningful jobs and new career opportunities. Asking for a referral, and getting one, is also hard work. Those of us who are fortunately working should do everything we can to help others. We should be empathetic and generous with our time and knowledge. If there is an opportunity to coach, we should coach. Giving back and helping others is the most rewarding and important work at times of uncertainty and economic downturns. Being a door opener matters, and a good referral can open doors.

Karen Mangia, vice president of customer and market insights and a member of theSalesforce'sWork From Home Task Force, and I have co-authored severalarticles on how you can reach your full potential and deliver peak performance while working from home. We've covered how you design andarchitect your surroundings, the art and science ofpublic speakingand presentation skills, the ability topause, ponder, and prioritize your time, how to effectively managing your remote teams, and how leaders must cultivatehealthy relationships for all stakeholders. We also know the importance ofmanaging relationships with managersand how world recording holding athletes develop amindset that keeps you inspired and motivatedto work from home. All of these articles can help you develop the capabilities you need for a strong referral.

What are you discovering as you work from home? We welcome your insights here or by joining us on Twitter at@karenmangiaand@ValaAfshar.

This article was co-authored byKaren Mangia, vice president, customer and market insights, atSalesforce.

Karen engages customers globally to discover new ways of creating success and growth together. From Executive Advisory Boards to strategic consulting engagements, her insights are central to Go-to-Market strategy, product development, marketing, and branding. In addition,Kareninfluences industry thought leadership in her role as Chair of the Customer Experience Council for The Conference Board. Formerly responsible for Insight Innovation at Cisco Systems, she led a global team with oversight into Customer Satisfaction and Experience, Diversity Business Practices, and Global Offset and Countertrade. Karen is also the author ofSuccess With Lessand a TEDx speaker.

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How to broker a referral in the COVID connection economy - ZDNet

Polarizing and provocative pop-rock outfit The 1975 have only striven harder and harder to make the kind of experimental and mind-opening music to match what often comes across as delusions of grandeur and strained connections of their work to global activism as their careers have progressed. After somewhat of a breakthrough with their past album, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, The 1975 came come out with their most love-it-or-hate-it project yet as hilariously evidenced by not only a perfect score but also a 1/10 and a 5/10 on the reviews segment of its Wikipedia page.

A wildly genre-hopping 80-minute project that contains numerous ambient instrumental interludes, musings on a wide swath of social issues and opens with a 5-minute original speech by teen climate activist Greta Thunberg, the band have certainly come a long way from their mundane and nondescript beginnings. Of course, frontman Matty Healys lyrics can be as ridiculous as ever, and sonically they sometimes take a huge swing and miss, but their penchant for a great hook and who would have ever guessed even a little bit of comedic self-awareness make this one of the bands most admirable collections yet.

The chaos of what youre getting yourself into becomes quite evident after the aforementioned Thunberg speech suddenly takes a tumble into the screaming industrial punk track People, a complete left turn in sound for the band that never returns as Healy responds to the speech by counting down the days to extinction and repeatedly urging people to wake up over blown-out wailing guitars. For a band that I often wish explored the issues they seem so passionate about further, you have to admire Healys sudden injection of frenetic passion here, sounding absolutely distressed and shocked at peoples inaction. At the very least, placing such a surprise at the start certainly got me excited about what was to come.

The second vocal track Frail State Of Mind introduces what is clearly one of the bands biggest new influences in the electronic sounds of UK garage and trip-hop, the glitchy percussion skipping wildly across quite a few of these tracks and backing up Healys softly crooned vocals instead of the more typical abrasive palates in what proves to be an engaging move. At times, however, their tendency to rely on the instrumental and chopped-up vocal samples while using this style does result in a couple of these tracks feeling underwritten, most notably the track Yeah I Know which follows shortly thereafter. Healys vocals are oddly processed and monotone on the verses, before a very minimal and repetitive pitched-up chorus. The style is used to its greatest effect on the track I Think Theres Something You Should Know, the hi-hats and bass bouncing off a fuller piano mix as Healy offers up a series of confessions about his muddled mental state.

The band gets most of their half-baked ideas out of the way in the early goings of the tracklisting Then Because She Goes is another experimental choice that quickly goes off the rails as the band attempts to recreate the kind of noisy shoegaze goodness of 90s pop-rock but comes through with a very muddy and borderline unlistenable mix but the real highlight of the opening run is The Birthday Party. For an album that many accuse of being disjointed, I appreciate its connection to Healys discussion of his social anxiety in Frail State of Mind, as he uses The Birthday Party to spin a kind of Father John Misty-esque self-deprecating story of a series of awkward and uninteresting interactions at a house party in his surprisingly smooth lower register, coasting over a calming mid-tempo groove enhanced by a couple of orchestral solos and a banjo that pops up periodically in the mix. Healy has a charming vocal delivery and a couple of funny lyrics before poignantly dropping the bomb at the end of the track that he goes to these undesirable social functions so that others hold him accountable for staying clean, after recently beating a lifelong struggle with drug addiction.

The excellent pairing of calming acoustic vibes and heart-wrenching lyrics of the albums first half continues on the track Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America, where Healy projects his personal struggles with religion onto the character of a gay man grappling with his real-life romantic feelings disagreeing with his love for his faith. The storytelling and emotional vocal delivery are only enhanced by the presence of Phoebe Bridgers, who sounds absolutely beautiful harmonizing with Healy and offers a similar female perspective on the second verse.

By its middle, the album steadily transitions into massive, anthemic pop hooks as well as some of its better sonic experiments as Healy finally lets up a little on the self-seriousness. The track Roadkill adopts an upbeat and appropriately twangy country vibe as Healy offers some amusing anecdotes about the ridiculousness of some attitudes he ran into while touring the American South, becoming refreshingly self-aware in one key lyric as he addresses the self-imposed unrealistic expectations placed on him to speak out against any and all social issues. Me & You Together Song is the track that most resembles their earlier work, improving the formula with a delightfully jangly 90s-pop mix and starry-eyed romantic lyrics and kicking off a long run of tracks where The 1975 flex their stadium-sized muscles.

The band used a gospel choir to outstanding effect on their last album and the choral arrangements return in a big way to the shimmering track Nothing Revealed/Everything Denied, Healy exasperatedly searching for the truth in an increasingly confusing world before he drops into a soulful lo-fi hip-hop groove and confesses about embellishing a little in his previous songs at a time that needs his full honesty. With an impressively hard-hitting Jamaican dancehall interlude performed by Cutty Ranks in between them, the tracks Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy) and If Youre Too Shy (Let Me Know) lean even harder into finding that extravagant pop euphoria with their hooks. The former introduces itself with a decidedly Kanye-inspired pitched-up soul sample before dropping into an almost reggae tempo and an instantly iconic, sweetly sung hook that climaxes as all instruments but a triumphant horn section drop away near the end of the track. The latter takes a look at double standards of how intimacy is viewed when separated by a computer screen as Healys interaction with a camgirl is soundtracked by rubbery synth-bass, classic-sounding guitar stabs and a jubilant falsetto melody.

The albums final series of tracks close things out on a more emotional note, the raw and acoustic Playing On My Mind offering some great layered harmonies as Healy tacks on a couple more deep existential questions and some more hilarious jabs at himself I wont get clothes online cause I get worried about the fit, but that rule dont apply concerning my relationships is an absolutely elite lyric. What Should I Say is built around a looped vocal from the inimitable FKA Twigs, but the final two tracks are an overwhelming one-two punch that should get the tears flowing. Healy describes Dont Worry, a song penned 30 years ago by his father, as what he believes to be the first song he ever heard as it was sung to him in his crib, and he recruits his father to sing it with him here. A simple and beautiful declaration of pure love, hearing the two Healys combine on the piano ballad is absolutely stunning. The album closes with Guys, as Healy expresses his appreciation for his bandmates while calling their friendship and musical union the best thing that ever happened.

As someone who admittedly used to be quite the detractor of this band, seeing them learn from their mistakes and venture ever closer to being the kind of envelope-pushers they viewed themselves as from the beginning has been a surprising and enjoyable experience. The 1975 throw just about everything at the wall over the course of this album, and for the first time, a vast majority of it sticks.

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Polarizing and provocative: The 1975 return with 'Notes On A Conditional Form' - Vancouver Weekly