July 19, 2017
A CALL TO ACTION FROM HEDGEHOUSE
I was recently asked by my partner to try to work "a call to action" into these posts. What do you readers think? Now, I don't have a problem communicating with subscribers, clients, and followers - in fact, I enjoy it. After all, without you, we don't exist. Where I get uncomfortable - or, should I say, "caught up" - is with the language; "A call to action" doesn't sound like something I would ever say. It just doesn't sound like me. And, one thing I try to do at Hedgehouse is to give you the real me. If you believe me, you can believe in our products. Take the word "blog" for example - that's just an awful word. I've never liked it! To me, it sounds like Clot. Blog - I have never said the word one time in my life without dying a little inside - Blog. "Hey check out my Blog." Gross. But, that's what it's called, and that's what people expect. I mean, what the hell else do I call it? A piece? An article? A thing on our website? So, I suck it up and call it what it's called. I understand why Jodi uses the term. It has no meaning to her other than its literal meaning. It's practical and specific - she can give the directive and move on with her day, whereas I will hang around in "But Why" land - for quite some time. And that's a place where I've wasted years, days, hours, minutes.
One of the many things I love about HEDGEHOUSE is that, as a brand, you get what you see. We started out too scrappy to be any other way. It's in our DNA and will never go away. From that struggle, comes an authenticity that is undeniable, and it's something that we are betting will, in an age of filters, crops, automated call centers, etc., make finding us a pleasurable experience. There's actually someone home, and we are in fact human, with experience, perspective, and, most importantly, a sense of humor. It took me a long time to be comfortable with myself. To be comfortable with my past and my present. Bending the truth about who I was, reinventing myself in hopes to get you to like me. Well we all know that never works in the long term. It's much easier to figure out who you are and just be that. When you're not clear on who you are or where you come from, it's nearly impossible to go anywhere, especially forward. So in many respects Hedgehouse has gifted me with that - an outlet to be me. As authentic as the products we make.
We think aspirational is a great word because it implies that you have a place to go. You aspire to get somewhere, and it gives us a reason to get up and go, but we draw the line when that aspiration becomes unattainable. That's a frustrating place. Do you know how many times I've pounded on my phone keypad trying to get a goddamn human to talk to?Other times, I have thoroughly appreciated not speaking to anyone - just hitting a few buttons and getting on with my day. I fucking love sticking my credit card in a slot and bypassing any interaction with an airport ticket counter person (no offense, airport ticket counter people!) It's just so much more efficient! In saying that, though, I am (as I've pointed out) human, and I move and grow and change. What I want today is not at all what I may want tomorrow, particularly when it comes to customer service. Tomorrow, I may want or need to talk to an airport ticket counter person. Just because I'm building an empire, doesn't mean that I will stop being human. I will always remain thoughtful, flawed, empathetic and engaged. So as long as I'm around at Hedgehouse, that won't change, and I can speak for Jodi and the rest of the team when I say that - although they would each probably say it in their own unique way. We may not be the most polished brand out there, but we are real. We embody the American dream, and we do it every day. We have a hell of a lot of character and style and, if you've found us, we are guessing that you do to do. And on that note I'll get to that "call to action": What are your aspirations? What do you want?
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