on being an original

My friend Asha has become a trusted sounding board whenever I'm struggling with my personal goals or the direction of Chookooloonks. She's one of those brilliant friends who is unfailingly kind, yet doesn't pull punches: she's a tireless cheerleader, who also suggests where you might be going off the rails. I value her opinion immensely.

I've mentioned Asha before, and her brilliant advice: "you are your own niche." I continue to think of her words as strategize my direction for Chookooloonks in the coming year, and my desire for it to be something very different, while also being inspired by good work that I see being done by others. While I've been working to clarify this, I happened to come across this awesome TED talk that's all about the tension between imitation and being your own niche. I thought it was really interesting, and so today I share it with you. Hetain Patel's performance piece makes you think about who you are, and how you express that person to the outside world -- and he explains all of it with the help of Bruce Lee, his dad, and a Chinese Mandarin translator.

Click this link or the image below to watch.