Simple Earth Day 2010 Reminders

Happy Earth Day 2010!

This is a particularly momentous Earth Day - number 40 to be precise. If your community is like mine, you have all kinds of activities and celebrations taking place in honor of Earth Day.

For me, Earth Day is a reminder.

To stop and appreciate the world around me... the burgeoning trees, the riot of colors, the warmth of the sun.

To be grateful for all that I have.

To focus on what's simple.

As it relates to simple, I love what Zappos' Alfred Lin says in Building a Brand That Matters, One Employee at a Time: The Zappos Story:

In this environment, Lin said, retailers need to focus on the “simple” things, like providing good customer service and a consistent shopping experience. “We sometimes do the complicated things very well, but we don’t always do simple things well,” he said. “This is a time to focus on what works.”

Shari Boyer in Getting Back To Our Roots This Earth Month also addresses simplicity in the context of Earth Day [or month].

She writes: "This Earth Month, many companies are giving a nod to the simple lessons inherited from our ancestors who had such an influence on public grounds and keeping them in mind when practicing the marketing principles of today. Lessons of simplicity [i.e., scaled back and pared back], value [i.e., more than just a good price, the new value mindset combines frugality with an emotional connection] and doing good for the community always have a place in environmental programs and even more so now with the post-recession consumer."

Focusing on the environment we live in - air, water, natural resources - doesn't get much more basic to existence. Good, then, to appreciate it all and remember to do the simple things well.

What do you think of as you celebrate Earth Day? What simple reminders come to mind?


-------
Image courtesy of GovGab's Earth Day and Going Green.