Creativity and wisdom

Listen to…

• We’ve listed Rick Rubin in the reading list before, and we’ll probably list him again. This time, we are focusing on Rubin’s social media voice clips rich with insights. While primarily known for his work in music production, Rubin’s voice clip advice reflects a deep understanding that true creativity cannot be rushed or forced. This patience and trust in the process are key aspects of his approach to work.

How do we navigate and manage industry/market expectations?

Look at…

• “Be loose” she says; Laurie Anderson, a renowned performance artist and musician, in an interview 'Advice to the Young', shares earnest and wise advice to the next generation of artists. Anderson’s approach to art and life emphasizes continual learning and intellectual curiosity. She encourages young artists to explore and seek out knowledge in various forms while emphasizing the need for artists to be authentic and to create work that is true to themselves rather than conforming to external expectations.

How do we maintain authenticity?

Think about…

• “I hate poetry, the officer says”... Solmaz Sharif is a poet whose work seems to examine the language of war, surveillance, and politics. Full poem; He, Too. You might find yourself questioning the narratives that have shaped our understanding of freedom and production.

What is institutional language? 

Products and services

• Intellectualizing; Body, Movement, Language: AI Sketches with Bill T. Jones"  is an innovative, critical, and interdisciplinary approach to exploring the integration of AI in dance made by Google Creative Labs. However, the same attributes that drive this deep exploration—the pursuit of knowledge, critical analysis, and mentorship—also introduce elements of confusion and ambiguity. The interdisciplinary nature of the project can create confusion as it merges different fields with their terminologies and methodologies. Participants and in this case the creative team producing the video can struggle to find common ground, leading to miscommunication or unclear objectives. Take a moment to read through the comments; to further illustrate my point…

Why is this story necessary?

Lifestyle and inspiration

• Carl Sagan was known for his ability to convey complex scientific concepts in an accessible and engaging manner. His books and TV series, such as "Cosmos," reflect the Sage’s ability to educate and inspire through clear and thoughtful language. A particular example we selected to illustrate his ability to explain complex concepts such as God is his use of precise, thoughtful language that aims to educate and provoke deeper understanding. His language emphasizes humility and the recognition of the limits of human understanding, core aspects of the Sage archetype. Sagan often described himself as agnostic, acknowledging the limits of human knowledge. He suggested that while we cannot disprove the existence of God, we also lack sufficient evidence to confirm it.

What do you mean when you use the word God?

We’ve been here before

When a culture has a word in its language, it’s a sign of an idea that was visited before. 

Non-binary ideas on gender are often criticized as new and strange concepts. But, a short study on words that are over two hundred years old reveals how non-binary ideas on gender have been visited by cultures around the world for much, much, longer than most religious rhetorics and traditional narratives portray them to be. These words and their derivational word families often describe a wide spectrum of gender expressions, demonstrating how nonbinary ideas on sexuality have been a natural aspect of society. Human cultures have acknowledged the complexity of gender identity for centuries—our languages hold evidence.

Pandaka 

(Deriv. asittakapandaka, ussuyapandaka, opakkamikapandaka, lunapandaka, pakkhapandaka, napumsakapandaka) 

Used in ancient Sri Lanka to describe nonbinary genders, pandaka is a cognate from Pali. The origin of the term pandaka is thought to be derived from anda, which variously means `egg' or `testicle' in Pali, with the basic concept appearing to be that of a non-procreative sexuality. Subsequently, the derivatives of the term incorporate diverse expressions of genders and their sexual preferences, including exclusive fetishes, intersex individuals and those with a libido linked to lunar phases.

Ubhatobyanjanaka

(Deriv. ubhatō)

Found primarily in Buddhist Pali texts in Sri Lanka, Thailand, and India, the root of this term is ubhato meaning `two-fold', while byanjana denotes a sign or mark of gender or reproductive characteristic. Hence, in literal terms, the word means 'a person with the signs of both sexes/genders'. Bunmi Methangkun—late head of the traditionalist Abhidhamma Foundation in Bangkok, observes that the category of ubhatobyanjanaka persons described in the canon is understood as including both biological and ‘psychological’ intersex persons. 

Pakkha

(Var. kalapakkha, junhapakkha)

Used in India and sparingly in Sri Lanka, this term and its derivatives exclusively identify sexual expression responsive to the lunar cycle. Those becoming aroused during the waning moon (kalapakkha) and the waxing moon (junhapakkha) were recorded by the Buddhist scholar-monk Buddhaghōsa saying that a pakkha "becomes temporarily impotent for fourteen 'black days' of the month”.

Napumsaka

Used widely across South Asia to identify intersex people, this term communicates the idea of ‘half’. This is probably the reason for the popularity of the term, as the preposition of ‘half’ could be used to describe many gender expressions with both masculine and feminine characteristics.

Calalai

Used among the Bugis ethnic group in Indonesia, Calalai infers ‘to be a man’ and refers to biological women who represent themselves in masculine ways.

Calabai

Used in Indonesia, Calabai infers ‘to be a woman’ and describes people who have male biological sexual characteristics but occupy a role traditionally occupied by women. 

Bissu

Used in Indonesia, Bissu is a word used to describe the totality of masculinity and femininity. The etymology of the term is unclear but it probably derives from the Sanskrit word bhiksu, meaning monk. It refers to the spiritual role of this gender expression as they perform rites and are thought to bridge the worldly and the divine.

Hijra

Still used throughout the Indian subcontinent, the etymology of the word ‘Hijra’ can be traced to its Arabic root ‘Hijr’ which means departure or exodus from one’s tribe. It’s usually used to describe transgender persons and in a way, ties poetically with how all trans persons are in perpetual exile from the world and their own biological body.

Mukhannath 

(Deriv. khanith)

Found in classical Arabic and Islamic literature, this term is used to describe non-binary people, typically referred to as effeminate men or those with ambiguous sexual organs. Its etymology points to the meaning ‘variant’ and gave rise to the vernacular Arabic term ‘khanith’ used in some parts of the Arabian peninsula. 

Mudhakkarah

Used in classical Islamic texts, Mudhakkarah describes women who were masculine in appearance or mannerisms and preferred to function in roles typically carried out by men. 

Two-spirit 

(Incl. niizh, nádleehí, winkté, hemaneh)

In 1989, during a gathering in Winnipeg, Manitoba, LGBTQ people from North America adopted the term ‘Two Spirit’ to collectively identify themselves within their tribes. This term is used by tribes in Canada and the USA and serves as a unifying concept for the diverse gender identities acknowledged across various tribes. The term ‘Two Spirit’ was introduced as a universal term in English to foster broader understanding, although its meaning may not always translate to the complete or exact meaning of Native languages. 

✺ The attitude towards non-binary genders changed with influences like colonialism and religious states embracing orthodox values of a single belief system.  Within such contexts, some of these words have gained associations with criticism and negativity, and even given rise to colloquialized versions used as derogatory terms. However, all these terms have initially been used simply to identify, acknowledge, and distinguish diverse identities that were naturally present in society. Understanding the etymology and original meanings of these words allows us to use this language to create understanding rather than hostility.

Stories to stay authentic in the travel and hospitality business

Right now, everyone is a self-proclaimed adventurer. The internet is flooded with pictures of people posing from popular destinations, sitting on palm-fringed beaches and eating exotic food, hashtagged #wanderlust. So much so, that it contradicts the true meaning of exploring, which is to go where it’s uncharted, beyond the comfortable choices and off those beaten tracks. Often enough, travel and hospitality businesses use these populist narratives; so, we were quite excited to get a client that wanted to stay away from the trending narratives and lean into their authenticity. Let’s look at some story examples from our long-term client the Spice Trail—a fantastic string of boutique hotels for families and surfers—that has a pronounced Explorer archetype in their business persona.

With the Spice Trail, we make sure to bring out the traits that highlight their sense of adventure, resourcefulness and ability to stay authentic despite shifts in time and place. A business with an Explorer persona like the Spice Trail leverages visuals and themes that signify ideas of journeying, new places, and surfing, which tie in with its target audience's affinities.

When it comes to story narratives, the classic arc of adventure where a protagonist embarks on a quest, gains an extraordinary experience, and returns transformed is always a great option for Explorer businesses because it can be interpreted with new experiences beyond the beaten path; like how to get somewhere, surf expeditions, lesser-known histories, or navigating major changes through symbolic journeys. 

It’s interesting to create stories that speak to the Explorer archetype in the audience too; we created a story series to give away to guests, as postcards. This was a way to create common ground with their audience who are travelers and within a frame of mind that appreciates journeying and adventure.

The Explorer’s authenticity shines the brightest when they’re tested with challenges that make it harder to stay true to their core. We created a story to help the Spice Trail’s resident restaurant to communicate how they stayed true to their offer during Sri Lanka’s economic crisis (You get to see the backend of our story design process here; what we call a story outline identifying the key ingredients of the story from the key messages and story facts. Scroll down in the linked document to see the finished story). This was a story designed to show how an Explorer persona used its superpower to stay true to itself in the thick of changes using a seriously challenging context where the government had imposed strict import restrictions leading to ingredient limitations for their eclectic menu based on recipes around the world. 

When designing these stories, we moved away from populist travel narratives so our client’s authenticity is highlighted. As much as the popular narratives are useful pointers to what consumers want and desire right now, a business that only follows the trends misses the mark when it comes to authenticity. So, while we use popular narratives to understand what audiences are interested in, we help our clients share stories that are new, more interesting and authentic.

Our most frequent Explorer brand clients are in hospitality, food & beverages, and recreation. We encourage them to share more stories about the Explorer’s quest itself, the transformation it delivers or those involving truly uncharted experiences. To find out how we can tell your stories, get in touch. To ask us questions and get custom consultations, become a paid subscriber, or ask us about the story membership. 

Like our stories? Read these stories featuring a personal viewpoint on what it means to really travel, and how we follow a story, from our co-creators Shamalee and Alain.